According to a belief, Shankaracharya, the great philosopher, died here in about 820. Despite the antiquity of the site, the Kedareshvara temple here is of recent date. The sanctuary is contained within an unadorned curved tower with shallow projections and a timber roof at the summit. The projecting mandapa is gabled; its facade displays bands of curved ornamentation and decorated niches. Along with Badrinath, it is famous among the Hindus as one of their four prime pilgrimage centers. There are deities of goddess Parvati and Ganesh in front of the main altar door. Outside the second door are Lord Krishna, the five Pandavas, their wife Draupadi, and their mother, Kunti. In the temple is a Laksmi-Narayana Deity which was installed by Adi Sankaracarya. Outside the temple door a large statue of the Nandi bull stands as guard. The interiors of the Kedarnath temple are exquisitely carved with image. It was at Kedarnath, narrates the epic Mahabharat, that Yudhishthir, the eldest of the Pandav brothers, departed to Heaven. Another legend has it that the Pandavas of the Mahabharat epic underwent severe penance's here to atone the killings of their kith and kin in the great battle of Kurukshetra and so established this shrine. The present temple is credited to Sri Shankaracharya while the remains of an earlier structure, believed to belong to the Pandava age, are seen behind this temple. The temple of Sri Kedarnath is visited by hundreds of devotes every year.

The structure of the temple is much like other temples in Uttaranchal. There is a large Nandi facing the main entrance. Inside the temple is a rectangular space with railings around it. All along the wall there are niches in which there are idols of the Pancha Pandavas, Parvati, Lakshmi & Narada. A small archway and a short flight of stairs lead to the deity. The method of worshipping is also unique. One is supposed to try to grab the large conical stone with both hands and embrace it. It is cold and damp in the confined space and during darshan time there is a fervent rush to embrace this Ashutosh linga. Outside at the north-east corner is a small temple of Ishaneshwar Mahadev.

According to one such legend Goddess Parvati worshipped Kedareswar to unite with Lord Shiva as Ardhanareshwar. Another such legend has it that Nar and Narayan, the two incarnations of Lord Vishnu practised severe penances at Badrikashram in front of a Shivalingam. When Lord shiva gave them the divine appearance, they requested him to make Kedareshwar his permanent abode. Lord Shiva thus manifessted himself in the form of Jyotirlingam. Myths and legends coupled with the enehanting beauty of the Rudra Himalaya range gives this place a pristine beauty. It is believed that Arjuna, one of the Panch Pandavas worshipped Lord Shiva to attain the divine weapon, Pasupataastra. After winning the Kurukshetra war, The pandavas after having won over the kauravas in the Kurukshetra war, felt guilty of having killed their own brothers & sought the blessings of Lord Shiva for redemption. In order to seek salvation from the sins of war, they sought the advice of their mentor, Krishna. Krishna advised them to worship Shiva. Pandavas searched for Lord Shiva in the Shivalik mountains in the Tehri - Garhwal region.

Shiva led them to this site and here, assumed the form of Bull and started grazing amongst the cattle. The Pandavas devised a ruse, to seek Shiva, who had hidden himself amidst a flock of cattle. At dusk, when the cattle were taken back to their shelters, Bhim – gigantic in stature , strongest and courageous of Pandavas stretched his legs across the mountains so that cattle could pass through his legs. As suspected, Shiva, in bull form refused to do so and instead sank himself into the earth. Realising quickly that this was the play of Shiva, Bhim bent downwards and could catch hold of the hump (back portion of the bull). Shiva, pleased with the determination of Pandavas, blessed them and granted them salvation from their sins. The hump, in conical form, is worshipped as Shiva (in the form of a Shivalingam).

Kedarnath including these four shrines is treated as Panch Kedar:

Kedarnath: The hump or the hinder part of the bull which was held by Bhim is worshipped as Lord Shiva.

Maddhyamaheshvra : Nabhi or the middle-part of the bull is worshipped as Lord Shiva. This is located at 21 kms from Ukhimath – the abode for Lord Kedarnath during winter.

Tungnath: The Bahu or hand of the bull is worshipped here as Lord Shiva. It is located enroute to Badrinath and is 37 kms from Ukhimath, on a mountain in between Chamouli and Ukkhimath.

Rudranath: The Mukh or the mouth of the bull is worshipped as Lord Shiva here. It is about 19 kms from Mandal Chatti.

Kalpeshwar: The Jata or the hair of the head of bull is worshipped as Lord Shiva. This place is located about 8.7 kms from Helang, on the other side of the river Alaknanda