Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand’s comments on the Kedarnath gold scam have gone viral. The truth is that the gold plating on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath Mandir is actually made of brass and was only gilded. Be it the vagaries of weather or the continuous burning lamp in the sanctum sanctorum, the gold plating slowly turned black. It was never gold, nor is there any confirmation of the existence of such gold. There is no record in the temple trust either, which can verify that there was a significant amount of gold and where it came from.
Gold plating on the four walls was carried out by a businessman from Mumbai in 2022. It was done in the presence of an expert team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). However, Badri-Kedar Temple Committee Chairman Ajeyndra Ajay denied the charges, claiming that the exact quantity of the gold plating was not as stated. According to him, it weighed less than 220 kilograms.
Since Uttarakhand is ruled by the BJP ahead of state elections, this is an attempt to put the government in an awkward situation. There is no doubt about the 228 kilograms of gold that went missing from the Kedarnath Mandir sanctum sanctorum. The temple committee had issued a receipt for the gold plates provided by the donor businessman,” Vinod Shukla, a senior functionary of the local priest’s body, Kedar Sabha, told the Statesman.
The Kedarnath Mandir is one of Sanatana Dharma’s most revered sites. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, where people from across the globe travel to seek blessings from Bhagwan Bholenath. However, the mandir has recently come under public scrutiny due to allegations of a Rs. 1.25 billion gold scam.
The gold plating was opposed by several local pandas at Kedarnath, who claimed that the shrine was known as an abode of penance and salvation and regarded as Muktidham, as per Sanatan traditions and beliefs. According to them, “being a place of salvation, gold plating was not needed in the temple as it is considered worldly glitter, and decoration is not acceptable to Lord Shiva.”
Badrinath Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati is known for courting controversies with his statements from time to time. He was one of the prominent speakers against the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, as the temple structure was still under construction. The political turmoil over the construction of a temple like Kedarnath in Burari, Delhi, is intensifying. Opposition parties and pilgrimage priests have raised their voices against it. Meanwhile, Surendra Rautela, founder of Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust, has made an important comment regarding the controversy over the Kedarnath temple being built in Burari. He said that if sentiments are being hurt by naming the temple to be built in Delhi as Kedarnath Temple, then the trust will change the name of the temple. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is the protector of religion, so he was invited to the foundation stone laying program of the temple. Chief Minister Dhami has nothing to do with the temple trust.
Another heated controversy has arisen following the foundation stone laid for a new Kedarnath temple in Delhi, with objections raised by Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. The Shankaracharya vehemently opposed the construction, arguing that Kedarnath’s sanctity cannot be replicated in the national capital while also hinting at an “ongoing gold scam.”
Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Mandir. It is approximately 86 kilometers from Rudraprayag, the district headquarters. Kedarnath is the most remote of the four Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is located in the Himalayas, about 3,583 meters (11,755 feet) above sea level, near the Chorabari Glacier, which is the source of the Mandakini River. The town is flanked by snowcapped peaks, most prominently Kedarnath Mountain. The nearest roadhead is at Gaurikund, about 16 km away. The town suffered extensive destruction during June 2013 from the flash floods caused by torrential rains in Uttarakhand state.
