(adi Sankara) 19 Visit To Kedarnath Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

After his trip to Badrinath,
Sankara went to Kedarnath.
By the power of his yoga,
He visited then Kailasa

He bowed before Siva
And His consort Uma
In praise of Siva, he sang.
The Lord heard him sing.

Siva Paadaadi Kesaanda Stothra,
Siva Kesaanda Paadaadi Stothra,
Praising Siva top to bottom,
And to the top from bottom.

The Lord blessed him
With five Crystal Lingams,
In appreciation of his work
That was a tremendous task.

When he wanted to sing,
Then about Uma a song,
He couldn’t go ahead,
As he stood stunned.

What Lord Siva wrote
Praising Uma, His Consort,
‘Soundaryalahari’ by name,
The Lord gave it to him.

Half of it Sankara shared,
With Nandideva, the guard
The rest of it, he brought,
With the Lingams-gift.

When he came down
He mind became free then,
So, the other half he did
And the whole he completed.

Those who read this prayer,
They remain blessed forever.
Thus Sankara gave this world
A treasure of prayers in gold.

Then he visited Nepal.
He had a welcome royal.
He saw a five-faced-Lingam.
Pasupatinath was His name.

Out of the five, Siva gave him,
He installed Vara Lingam,
At Neelakand religious center.
A pilgrim place it became later.

Mukti Lingam, the second,
At Kedarnath he installed.
Moksha Lingam, the third,
At Chidambaram, he installed.

Bhoga Lingam, the fourth one,
Was installed at Sringeri Town.
Yoga Lingam, the fifth one,
He kept for worship of his own.

At Kanchi, a sacred place,
Blessed by the divine grace,
He was received by Rajasenan
The king of that region.

At Visveswara Temple he stayed
And the town layout he studied.
He saw it was a holy place
Which had Kamakshi’s grace.