Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Jai Kedarnath - बाबा केदारनाथ की जय !!!

Baba Kedarnath Temple, Kedarnath, Uttarakhand


Continued from last blog Gangotri Dham, Uttarakhand in Himalayas ! 

        Next morning at "Dhauntri" we got fresh, took our bath and had breakfast at 8 AM and started for Kedarnath dham. Since the route was long and we would have reach at our destination by the evening, so "Darshan"/worship was not possible that day. That is why we took our breakfast, otherwise we would have remained empty stomach for worship as had done in "Gangotri Trip". 
Back Waters of Tehri Reservoir,
Uttarakhand

          Though we had the route map given by "Hotel-wala" at Hotel Vijayraj, Uttarkashi even then we asked and inquired about the safe and good route to "Kedarnath Dham" from local people and got ahead. Next came Lambgaon where we stopped for a while to have some good tea. We were now accustomed to hilly roads and mountains and enjoying the journey. Our road was parallel to the river that was behind the guesthouse where we had stayed last night. We crossed this river once. The stepped farming sight on the hilly slope was new for us. After many hours drive in the afternoon we reached "Rudra Prayag". In fact, it is the place where two important rivers "Mandakini" and "Alaknanda" join together and go ahead by the name of "Alaknanda". Near the sources of these two rivers are two important pilgrimage sites "Kedarnath Dham" and "Badrinath Dham". Since the sources of rivers happen to be near peaks of hills so are these two places which we had to visit. The aerial distance between these two places is about 60 km only but due to the location on two different peaks, the road route is many times more. "Rudra Prayag" is the place from where one may take the route alongside the Mandakini River to reach Kedarnath Dham or take the route alongside the "Alaknanda" River to reach Badrinath Dham.  

The bridge we crossed en-route Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

            It was late afternoon and we were feeling hungry. We could not find a good place for lunch at "Rudra Prayag". So we drove ahead on the road alongside the "Mandakini" river. A few kilometers ahead we found a good roadside "Dhaba" where we took lunch and then for 20 minutes saw the river, and hills surroundings to ease out the tiredness of sitting continuously in a moving vehicle. Between the "Rudra Prayag" and here we saw a place on the road which was repaired after the damage by a landslide. We saw such sights at other places too. On this road, we passed a few places where rock projections from one side of the hill were just a few feet above us while on the other side, it was open down the slope to the river. The slopes of Himalayan hills are prone to landslides because the rocks are mostly fractured and fissured. In geological terms, the Himalayas are the young mountains and are in the process of stabilization by erosion and landslides. In many places, they seem to be a mixture of stones, boulders, and rocks which in the rainy season get weak and can cause landslides. Fortunately, we were traveling in the month of May when such risks were minimum.
Mandakini and the road between two
mountains

           For me the most attractive and memorable thing in the journey between "Rudra Prayag" to Gouri Kund was the water and flow of the holy river Mandakini. The crystal clear water was so inviting that I hardly stopped myself from going down to touch and drink it. 

Hills, Mandakini River, and step farming en-route
Gaurikund, Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

    Next, we passed through a village named "Agastmuni". "Agastmuni" is a place from where helicopter service for Kedarnath Dham is available. We saw a chopper at the helipad. Here I saw buildings, on the roof of which car was parked. How? Because the roof itself was at the ground level (Road level). These buildings were between the road and the river. Its two or three floors (The whole building) were below the road level. In fact, at a glance, one may miss completely that there was a building.
Helicopter at the helipad near
Agastmuni, Uttarakhand

           Then we crossed the famous Ukhimath which is the winter seat of Baba Kedarnath. In winter when snow covers the Kedarnath Temple, the doors of the temple are closed and a movable idol is brought to a temple in Ukhimath where He is worshiped throughout the winter.  

          As we were driving ahead gaining elevation, the hilly roads got more and more winding. Near Kalimath we came to a road that was around a valley that made the road in the shape of a big V. We entered one tip of the V-road and saw vehicles moving on the other tip of V-road, the aerial distance within 500 m but we were to reach there by covering a distance of about three kilometers. The weather ahead was changing as we gained elevation. The light was getting dim as the sun had ready to set. The forest on the hills was getting dense too. Near Sonprayag and ahead we saw water seeping from the hills and flowing over the road at many places.

Journey on Horseback to Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

               The road up to Gaurikund was well motorable then because we had visited there many years before the 2013 cloud burst and flash flood tragedy. It was the terminal place for motorable roads. Ahead was about 13-14 km path on which only pedestrians or horses could move. Gaurikund was packed with visitors and their vehicles. There were some shops and some guest houses but all were full. We too did not want to stay here because the next morning we had to worship at Kedarnath and this long movement on the hill would take time and would be tiresome. So we decided to move on. On foot journey was not possible for us, so we decided to go there riding on horses. The horse owners were along the path up to some distance. We were advised to buy a raincoat each because on the hills above it could rain anytime. Though we could not believe them then, purchased raincoats for each of us that were just enough for once or twice use. At a place beside a shop a clean tank of water about 20' x 15' was there and a priest there was saying that it was the Gaurikund and you may take a bath. It was going to be late so we did not stay there and went ahead. After the shops, there were many horse owners asking to get a ride. We talked to them and took four horses, one for each of us. 
Snow-capped peaks near Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

               This journey on the horseback was going to be a memorable one for each of us. For one thing, none of us ever had ridden over horseback, I had once but that too in my childhood. The second thing was that our first horse riding was going to be on such a hilly path not on plains. The winding and steep slope of a five-foot wide path which was with steps at some places looked dangerous. Mandakini River was now a thin river with much less water than we had seen at Rudraprayag and was flowing on a congested path between two very close hillsides that were nearly vertical. It was flowing on the right side of the path many feet below while on the left was the vertical side of the hill. The horses tended to walk very close to the hillside which was dangerous for us because our legs might get hurt between the horse and rocks. We were careful and time to time asked horse owners (घोड़ेवाला) to keep them in the middle. 

              The scenes of thin lines of waterfalls at many places were awesome on the hills. At a place, we felt the falling drops of water on ourselves. Me and my daughter were enjoying the horse ride but not my mother and wife. They were a bit scared and mother's horse got bent to one side on walking. After about half the journey we came to a place known as Rambara. Here the horse owners (घोड़ेवाला) took the horses for feeding because they were tired. We too needed some refreshments, so had coffee and snacks. After half an hour's rest, we again moved ahead on horses. And now came the use of our raincoats because it started to rain. It drizzled for about 15 minutes. 

Path and shops in front of Kedarnath Temple, and lovely
snow-capped peaks in the background

             By the time we reached Kedarnath, it was about 9:30 PM and full dark. The horse-owners (घोड़ेवाला) stopped about 200 feet before a small culvert at the entrance to Kedarnath village. My mother's legs got weak due to less blood circulation during the hours of riding a horse. She was unable to stand on her feet herself after getting down the horseback. I held her by the shoulders and walked with our baggage to a building called "Maharashtra Mandal" and asked about a priest named 'Pt Manoj Jee'. These names were suggested by our relative who had visited here last year. People there asked us to wait for a few minutes. Though it was the first half of May when in the plains of India heat was at its peak but at such height it was so cold, We saw stalks of snow on the building sides. These were cleared a few days ago. 

Nandi and entrance to Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand

           He came after 15 minutes. He was not happy because we had reached here so late. It was 10:00 PM, but then he arranged for food and our stay in a nearby building. My mother was extremely tired. For her "Pundit Jee" arranged a glass of hot milk. I pressed her legs to give her some relief. There were extra blankets in the room. We each covered ourselves with two blankets to keep us warm. Soon we fell asleep. 

              The next morning "Pundit Jee" arranged two buckets of hot water for a bath. Soon we got ready and reached the Kedarnath Temple with "Pundit jee". There was a long queue of devotees. After more than one and half hour wait in queue, we could enter the temple. The temple built with heavy stone blocks is impressive. The entrance to the temple is in a hall in which statues of Pandavas are there on the walls. There were some "Sadhus" and "Yogis" here. We saw a "Hathyogi" here who had not sat for the last 10 years. Inside in the sanctum we saw and worshiped the "Jyotirlinga of Kedarnath". The linga here is quite different in shape. It is in the shape of the back of a bull with a hump. The story says that angry Shiva in the form of a bull hid here. One of the Pandava brothers Bheem came in his search here and dismembered its limbs and head and threw them in different directions. The body of the bull remained here. Finally, Shiva came in his own form, then could only Bheema knew that the bull was Shiva himself. Repenting Bheema fell on Shiva's feet asking for His forgiveness. Finally, Shiva forgave Bheema and established Shivalinga at all the five places where the limbs of the bull had fallen. These are known as "Panch Mahadev". The Shiva linga in the shape of the body of the bull was established as "Kedarnath Jyotirlinga". Near "Chopata" where the tail of the bull had fallen it is called "Tungnath Mahadev". Near Kathmandu the head of the bull had fallen, it is known as "Pashupatinath Mahadev". There are other two Mahadevas at different places. 
Lovely scene at Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

        Since the bull had got injured, so here application of "Ghee" (Clarified butter) on the Linga has got main importance to give relief on the wound of the bull. People offer Bael leaf (बिल्व पत्र) made of silver to the Linga. 

          After worship, we felt our feet numb with cold. We were barefooted for two hours in this cold. The campus too was pitched with stone slabs that had got very cold. Some Sadhus had made fire with wood to keep them warm just beside the temple. We could not stop ourselves to go there to get some warmth of fire. Took some pics near Nandi Idol outside the temple.

"Samadhi Sthal" of "Aadishankaracharya" behind
Kedarnath, Temple, Uttarakhand

              Next, we went to see the "Samadhi Sthal" of "Aadi_Shankaracharya" that was behind the temple. There was one other place named "Temple of Bhairav Nath" where some people visit. But our Pundit jee did not encourage us and we too were tired. So returned back seeing the snow-capped mountains all around. He took us to a small hut where on the ground in a six-inch dia hole water was full to the edges. He said that it is called "Amrit Kund" and it never gets dried. We all had a few drops of "Amrit Kund" water and Pundit Jee gave us a small bottle filled with it to take home. 

Small Bridge just outside Kedarnath
Temple village

            Worship was over and we felt satisfied and blessed. Pundit Jee took us to a nearby hotel where we ate ''Parantha - Sabji". Now it was time to get permission to leave.  So I wanted to give him "Dakshina". But he said that he is building a guest house here for his "Yajmaans" from Bihar and the Jharkhand area, so he needed more money and he would come to our residence next year. I agreed but he got it written from me in a copy. I saw some other people's commitments written in it too. He noted down my address and phone number. Even then I gave him some "Dakshina" and left the village with our baggage. In fact, it is the tradition that when the doors of temples of "Kedarnath" and "Badrinathdhams" close at the dawn of winter (October and November), these priests return to their respective villages in Uttarakhand after a long stay at these holy places. After the "Makar Sankranti" in January they go to the residences of their "Yajmaans" in different parts of India and collect the committed donations. After two months of their visits they come back to their villages.  
'Om' and 'Samadhi Sthal' written on the rock just
upstream the bridge at Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

             We crossed the Mandakini River on foot that was like a hilly Nala here through a small iron culvert. Near the upstream, we saw a rock on which written were "ॐ" and "साधना स्थल". Ahead was a piece of land that was more or less plain and a number of horse owners (घोड़ेवाला) with their horses were waiting for customers. At this very place, we had reached last night riding horses. Again we took horses and started our journey back to "Gaurikund". Downward journey on horses seems more scary. At noon we reached "Gaurikund" and got to know that the main Kund was nearby. We saw it and sprinkled a handful of water over ourselves. My mother insisted on taking a dip in the Kund and she did so.

Crowd of Horses at Kedarnath,
Uttarakhand

           After some shopping, we came to our vehicle and started our next journey to "Baba Badrinath Dham". We took lunch at a place and continued the journey with the help of a map and information from locals. The journey through the Himalayas is so enjoyable.
A helicopter flying over the Mandakini
river valley at Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
By the evening we reached in zone that had more dense forest and less population. At about 7 PM we reached "Chopta" village and decided to night halt here. In a small lodge on the road, we stayed. There was no power here and people said that this area is not only protected but environmentally sensitive too. So generators are not allowed. There was a solar lamp in the room that soon got down. So we lit a candle and went to bed after dinner in the cold night.
Gaurikund, Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

(These journey details are from many years before the "Kedarnath cloud burst and flash-flood Tragedy of 2013". When we saw the destruction on TV in 2013, it was really heartbreaking. Nowadays perhaps vehicles do not go up to "Gaurikund" due to heavy damage to roads ahead of Sonprayag) 


next part of our journey to "Baba Badrinath Dham"...... in coming blog. Visit at following link:-

===<<O>>==

                        

INDEX






































                                          

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)