I along with my elder brother Dr Surya Pratap Ojha/Smt Meera Ojha , my sister Mohini Ojha , Santosh Misra /Smt Misra , and their daughter Mini undertook Char Dham UttraKhand Yatra .
I started my onward journey from Allahabad on 29th June 2011 by boarding Sangam Express and the train reached Meerut City 5 hours behind schedule on 30.06.11. Every member of the team had been early and anxiously waiting for my arrival. My brother was very furious as he had suggested that I should have boarded Prayag Raj Express . Any way .
Thereafter after having a bath and Nasta Paani , our onward journey commenced on a TAVERA
and at about 4.00 P M we reached HARDWAR and we had a SNAN at VIP GHAT at Har Ki Paudi . I/we, in fact were mesmerised by the sheer beauty of the place and the water current of the Ganges was very swift, if one is not alert one can be washed away/engulfed.
We reached at Command, Tehri Garwal and we took our night halt at the aforesaid place on the 30th June itself and in the morning of 30th June 11 all day we travelled in our Travera covering Chamba, New Tehri, Chaam , Dharasu, Hanuman Chatti Sayana Chatti , Rana Chatti, and Finally Janki Chatti . We boked a Hotel Mandakani , Janki Chatti and on 1st July 2011 at about 6.30 A M , each of the seven members hired a horse/pony and proceeded on a 7 KM Trekking (one way) of Yamnotri District Uttarkashi . Travelling is believing. I/we could never imagine that any one of us could have undertaken such a adventurous trip. We and our safety was totally at the mercy of the horses and we our undertook the journey because of our firm belief that Maa Yamnotri would do no wrong . We were right .
Shrine of Yamunotri, source of river Yamuna is situated in the direction opposite to Gangotri and the road bifurcates and goes to Yamunotri from Dharasu, a place between Rishikesh – Uttarkashi. 55 km away is Barkot, affording a fabulous view of the Banderpunch Range and Barkot is also approachable by road directly from Delhi (334 km ) via Saharanpur, Harbartpur, Nainbagh , Naugaon. About 8 km from Barkot is Gangani, a place of pilgrimage, on the left bank of Yamuna. Holy tank here is Gangayan Kund. Water from the tank is taken for puja purposes to the opposite village of Than, housing the imposing temple of Rishi Jamdagni. 2 kms. from Gangani is Kharadi a place known for its roaring waterfall.
The motorable road continues till Jankichatti via Syanachatti, Ranachatti and Hanumanchatti, 50 km from Barkot. From Jankichatti its is a 7 km trek to yamunotri for which ponies,dandies and kandies (baskets for carrying children) are also available.
Yamunotri Temple Opening Timings6:00 AM to 8:00 PM Aarti Time : 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm
Temple of Yamunotri falls on the left bank and was originally constructed by Maharaj Pratap Shah of Tehri Garhwal. Around and near the temple are three hot springs. , Surya Kund, is a tank full of boiling water into which rice and potatoes are dipped to be cooked and taken as “prasad”. Near the Kund, a rock slab, the “Divya Shila” is worshipped before puja is offered to the black marble idol of Yamuna. The shrine of Yamunotri is one of the “four dhams” of Uttarakhand. Source of Yamuna lies above 1 km. ahead at an altitude of about 4421 meters. Approach is extremely difficult, and pilgrims therefore offer puja at the temple itself. Pilgrims can find accommodation in the houses belonging to the “Pandas” or the sole Dharamshala.On the way one can stay at Janaki Chatti 8 kms. from Hanuman Chatti. There are tourist bangalow, PWD and Forest Rest Houses and Dharamshalas including hotels.
The journey which commenced at about 6.30 AM concluded both to and fro, after a darshan of Maa Yamnotri . We offered Pooja Archana took bath at the Kund (hot water ) and also in the river Yamuna. IT was chilling cold but very enjoyable. We again stayed overnight at Janki Chatti , Uttarkashi and on 2nd July 2011 we left Janki Chatti for our onward Journey for Gangotri .
It has been a great trip , the whole of uttarakhand is picturesque , villages were small, and the beauty of each village was that it had supply of water and were electrified , and each village is well connected to roads. The people were nice , cooperative , educated and cultured.There are schools all around and we could see small children going to school, on foot and other available source.
After a long day drive via Ghorsali, Batwari Raithal, Gangnani, Bhairoghat ,we reached Uttarkashi on 2nd July 11 itself , at about 6.30 P M, as in whole of Uttrakhand night journey after 8.00 P M is banned , for security reasons, We lodged ourselves in a Hotel at Uttarkashi.On 3rd July 2011 we left Uttarkashi and at about 2.30 P M we reached Gangotri , District Uttarkashi ,
GANGOTRI UttarKashi Uttrakhand
One among the four sites , amongst the holiest places, Char Dham in India, is Gangotri. It is located in the northern part of the state of Uttarakhand. It is known as the source of River Ganges and also the seat of Goddess Ganga. Ducked amidst the sprawling Garhwal hills, Gangotri is an ideal location for all those who wish to take a dip into the oceans of divinity and also for those who have a thirst for adventure which makes Gangotri an ideal spot in terms of travel and tourism and spiritualism and also Gangotri also has a strong historical past and bears the eternal feel of antiquity. According to mythological records King Bhagirath did penance here after which as per Lord Shiva's wishes River Ganges came down on earth. However, to save the earth from the fierce force of the river, Lord Shiva held her in his locks. Thus, river Ganges is also known as Bhagirathi here. Moreover it is also believed that Pandavas came down to this place to perform Deva Yajna. Gangotri is a significant place from religion point of view. Hundreds of devotees throng the place year after year in order to unleash the secrets of spirituality. Some of the main attractions of Gangotri include Gangotri Temple, which was built by Gurkha Monarch Amar Singh Thapa, around 3000 years back and another pilgrim site here is Jalamagna Shivalinga, which is a natural rock Shivalinga submerged in the river. It is deemed to be the place where Lord Shiva held Ganga in his locks. This Shivalinga is only visible in winter months. Another worth visiting place in the vicinity are, Gaumukh (source of Ganges), Gaumukh Glacier and Nandanvan. Drifting towards the adventurous aspect of Gangotri, it offers a number of sports for fun lovers such as river rafting, trekking etc. Thus, to enjoy the natural beauty and religious fervor at its best, Gangotri is a must visit place for all.
We took holy dip in chilled Ganga, (Glacier), offered Pooja , Panditji performed Abhishek and left the place at about 4.30 P. M and again reached Uttarkashi at about 7.30 P M we stayed at Uttarkashi on 3rd July 11 . On 4th July we commenced our journey for Kedarnath District Rudra Prayag.
KedarNath District Rudra Prayag Uttrakhand
Pilgrims traditionally first visit Yamunotri and Gangotri and bring with them the holy waters from the sources of the rivers Yamuna and Ganga and offer abhisheks to Kedareshwar. The traditional pilgrim route is Haridwar - Rishikesh - Devaprayag - Tehri - Dharasu - Yamunotri - Uttar Kashi - Gangotri - Triyugnarayan - Gowrikund and Kedarnath. Alternatively, the route to Kedar from Rishikesh is via Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Ukhimath. Near Kedarnath is the source of the river Mandakini which joins Alakananda at Rudraprayag. Kedarnath is situated set amidst in the stunning mountainscape of the Gharwal Himalayas at the head of the Mandakini River. Kedarnath is a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva, the protector & the destroyer, situated 92 kms from Rudraprayag, at an altitude of 3,581 m above sea level. The shrine of Kedarnath is one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and also is one of the 4 sacred dhams of Uttaranchal. It is a scenic spot set against a backdrop of the Kedarnath range of mountains. The temple is more than 1000 years old.
Architecture:Situated at an elevation of 3,580 m (11,750 ft), this Hindu pilgrimage spot in the high Himalayas and dedicated to Shiva. An imposing sight standing in the middle of a wide plateau surrounded by snow covered peaks. The temple faces south, which is an unique feature, as most temples face east. This temple is very solidly built. The Kedarnath Temple is believed to have been built by the Pandavas and is almost 1000 years old. The present temple built in 18th century A.D. by Adi Guru Shankaracharya lies adjacent to the site of an ancient temple built by Pandavas. The inner walls of the assembly hall are decorated with fixtures of various deities and scenes from mythology. Built of extremely large heavy and evenly cut gray Slavs of stones. It evokes wonder as to how these heavy Slavs had been handled in the earlier days.The enternce of the temple has a Conical lingam- the main idol, a statue of Nandi - the celestial bull of Shiva, a 'Garbha Griha' for worship and a mandap for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors. A conical rock formation inside the temple is worshipped as lord Shiva in his sadashiva form. Inside the temple there is an irregular three-faced linga, representing the hump of Lord Siva when he took the form of a bull. It is about 9 ft long, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet high. Pilgrims are allowed to touch the linga, perform worship, abhishika (bath), and massage the linga with ghee. 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. 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. 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.
LegendAccording 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.
We took the return journey via Uttarkashi and thereafter we covered New Tehri, Chamba, Pauri , Srinagar,Nagrasu,Ratura, Rudra Prayag, Bhatwari, Ukhimath,Gupt Kashi, Phata, Son Prayag and finally Gauri Kund . The whole stretch was awesome beautiful and as compared to District Uttarkashi, District RudraPrayag was more vegetative and the hills were more fertile. We saw huge farming and all the fileds were sown with rice and other vegetables and cereals. The roads were comparitively good and were wide and totally metallic , and we foresee a huge development in the area in the years to come. We reached Gauri Kund at about 6.30 P M on 4th July itself. We stayed there in a Hotel and on 5th July 2011 at about 7.00 A M we hired horses/Pony for 14 K M one way trecking i.e. 28 K M both way trecking ) for our onward journey to Kedar Nath and we reached Kedar Nath District Rudra Prayag at about 1.00 P M. We had our darshan of Baba KedarNath , and Panditji performed rituals and abhishek .Seeing is believing, we thank our stars and the almighty that we had darshan and it was agreat spiritual feeling .We had our lunch. The journey/trecking on horse was enjoyable so far . The roads were not as steep as Yamnotri nor dangerous . However when we left the place and while returning the journey on horses was very painful and troublesome . It really exhausted our energy and I in particular was not in my best moments .Finally we came back to Gauri Kund and each one of us was exhausted ,and tired and we could not keep our steps and were shaky in our efforts and therefore we decided that we take rest at Gauri Kund on 5th July 2011 and on 6th July 2011 at about 8.00 A M, each one of us was feeling fresh and after our daily chores, as it was raining mildly , we left Gauri Kund for our last leg of char dham. i.e Badri Nath Dham District Rudra Prayag Uttrakhand
Badrinath is situated in the lap of Nar-Narayan Parvat, with the towering Neelkanth peak (6,597mts.) in the background. Also known as the Vishal Badri, the largest among the five Badris, it is revered by all as the apt tribute to Lord Vishnu
It is believed that to revive the lost prestige of Hinduism and to unite the country in one bond, Adi Guru Sri Shankaracharya built four pilgrimage centres in four corners of India. Among them were Badrikashram (Badrinath temple) in the north, Rameshwaram in the south, Dwarkapuri in the west and Jagannath Puri in the east. Badrinath situated at an elevation of 3,133 mts. is considered to be amongst the most pious.
The revered spot was once carpeted with wild berries which gave it the name 'Badri Van' meaning 'forest of berries.' Built by Adi Shankaracharaya, the philosopher-saint of the 8th century, the temple has been renovated several times due to damage by avalanches and restored in the 19th century by the royal houses of Scindia & Holkar. The main entrance gate is colourful & imposing popularly known as Singhdwar
Flight of steps takes pilgrims to the main gate and thereafter into the Badrinath temple which is divided into three parts - the 'Garbha Griha' or the sanctum sanctorum, the 'Darshan Mandap' where the rituals are conducted and the 'Sabha Mandap' where devotees assemble. The Garbha Griha portion has its canopy covered with a sheet of gold offered by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar. The complex has 15 idols especially attractive is the one-metre high image of lord Badrinath, finely sculpted in black stone. It represents Lord Vishnu seated in a meditative pose called padmasan.
Darshan Mandap: Lord Badrinath is sitting meditating in the padmasana (lotus yogic posture). As you look at the Deities, standing to the right side of Badrinarayana is Uddhava. To the far right side are Nara and Narayana. Narada Muni is kneeling in front on the right side and is difficult to see. On the left side are Kubera, the god of wealth, and a silver Ganesh. Garuda is kneeling in front, to the left of Badrinarayana.
Special pujas are also performed on behalf of individuals preceded by a holy dip in the Tapta Kund. Special morning pujas are Abhishek, Mahaabhishek, Geeta Path whereas special evening pujas are Aarti & Geet Govind. Such pujas are to be booked in advance. The Badrinath temple opens at 0430 hrs & closes at 1300 hrs. Once again it opens at 1600 hrs & closes at 2100 hrs after the divine song Geet Govind. Rawal is the administrator-Pujari of the temple well versed in puja ceremonials & Sanskrit language and is expected to be celibate..
Badri refers to a berry that was said to grow abundantly in the area, and nath refers to Vishnu. Badri is the Sanskrit name for the Indian Jujube trees, which has an edible berry. Some scriptural references also refer to Jujube trees being abundant in Badrinath. Legend has it that Goddess Lakshmi took the form of the berries to protect Lord Vishnu from the harsh climate during his long penance. We covered Gaurikund Son Prayag, Phata,Guptkashi Ukhimath,Gopeshwar Chamoli and by this time it was about 7.00 P M on 6th July 11 we took refuge in a hotel at Chamoli and after a goodnight sleep we after after having our breakfast proceeded further for our onward journey to Badrinath via Pipalkoti, Joshimath,Govindghat, Pandukeshwar,Hanuman chatti and finally BadriNath on 7th July 2011 at about 4.00 P M and after making certain inquires we finally boarded/lodged in Bharat Sree Guest House in Badrinath District Rudra Prayag. Immediately after reaching Badrinath , I went in search of my childhood friend Dinesh Panchbhaiya who did his schooling in Allahabad and Post Graduation M A Economics from Allahabad University and on the eve of his fathers retirement from A G U P left thte place to his native place Rishikesh/Badrinath Uttrakhand in the year 1986 and since then I was not in touch with him. I made few inquires from Pandas/Brahmins and happily the first person whom I asked about my friend knew him and guided me to locate him and within 30 minutes I was with my Childhood friend and thereafter we both came to the Guest House I introduced him to other members of our team and under his guidance we visited Badrinath Temple and had our Pooja Archana and also participated in the Aarti in the evening.
After offering our rituals at the temple we took our dinner in a resturent and thereafter came back to the guest house. On 8th July few of us visited the temple again and at about 8.00 A M as we had completed our Char Dham Yatra ,we started our journey back home and as we covered a distance of about 20 km from Badrinath District RudraPrayag ,as there was cloud burst in the preceding night near Govind Ghat we are faced with first hinderance of the nature , there is landslide and big boulders are scattered all over the land / road blocking the entire road and pilgrims both visiting Badrinath and/or Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara and/or Valley of Flowers are checkmated either way. Each pilgrim including us are stranded due to nature's upsurge and the Military and Border Road Organisation were deloyed to clear the road and it took them full 8 hours to clear the debris after using Gelatines to blast the rock, twice, and cut the size of the boulders, lying on the road so that hydrolic machines could clear the road. In the meantime there was Langar of Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara and we and I in particular for the first time in my life took to langar and I do not remember the last time when I took such tasty food.
After sometime we again took our lunch in a hotel in the near vicinity and finally we started our onward jouney at about 5.00 P M and after covering Ratura Nagrasu ,Gaucher we reach Karan Prayag and as everybody was very tired and exhausted we made night halt in hotel at Karan Prayag .
(to be continued.......)
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