Thursday, October 22, 2015

Baba Baidyanathdham, Deoghar, Jharkhand

Baidyanath Jyotirlinga
Baba Baidyanath Jyotirlinga at
Baba-Dham Deoghar

Fifth Jyotirlinga out of twelve mentioned in "Shiva-Purana"

               Baidyanathdham, Deoghar is the most important and the most visited Hindu religious place in the state of Jharkhand, India. The 90 km long "Kanwar Yatra" in the holy month of "Savan" (Hindu Calendars) from the north-flowing Ganga River at Sultangunj, Bihar to here Baidyanath-dham, Deoghar is not only world famous but also has been an inspiration to all "Kanwar Yatras" nowadays performed in different parts of the country. The popularity of this 'Yatra' is increasing year by year. In the holy month of "Savan," the number of devotees visiting the temple crosses the one lakh mark daily. Some reach here from Sultanganj on foot journey with a "Kanwar" on the shoulder in 3-4 days walking, some complete it within 24 hrs walking plus running as a "Dak-bum", some bring 'Ganga water' by vehicles and many directly come here and offer well-water to Baidyanath Shivalinga. On ordinary days the worship of Shiva is done by touching but due to the heavy rush in the month of "Savan", the administration restricts entry into the "Garbha-grih" and allows devotees (called bum) to have only 'darshan' from the "Choukhat" of the "Garbha-grih" and offer Holy water through a big "Argha". The Mondays of "Savan" see an even heavier rush of devotees and it is a big challenge for the administration to maintain order in such situation.  

The man going up the Shiva Temple for
"Gathbandhan Puja"

                 The  "Shivalinga" is one of the twelve "Jyotirlingas"  mentioned in "Shiva-purana". The names and places of  "Jyotirlingas" are composed in "Shloka" wherein it is thus said- "Paralyam Vaidyanatham". It means that the "jyotirlinga" of "Vaidyanath" is at "Parli". That is why some people say that the Shivalinga at "Parli, Maharashtra" is the fifth "jyotirlinga". But most people say that "Parli" means a land of pyres and in ancient times Deoghar was a land of funeral places. The claim of Deoghar to have "Baidyanath jyotirlinga" becomes more confirmed as Adi Shankaracharya has written about it as follows, 

पूर्वोत्तरे प्रज्ज्वलिका निधाने

सदा वसंतम गिरिजा समेतम

सुरासुर आराधिता पद पद्मम्

श्री वैद्यनाथं त्वामहं नमामि

Here too it is said that "Baidyanath jyotirlinga" is at "Prajjwalika Nidhane" (Meaning land of funeral places) and it is situated in the North-east. The place of Parali in Maharashtra is not in the North-Eastern region but Deoghar is. It also says "Sada vasantam Girija sametam" (meaning that he always resides there with Goddess Parvati  who is reborn Sati) and in the very temple complex of Baba Dham, Deoghar is a "Shaktipeeth" (51 places where parts of body of Sati had fallen). At this "Shaktipeeth" heart of Sati had fallen. This unique combination of  "Jyotirlinga and Shaktipeeth" makes "Baba Baidyanathdham", Deoghar very very special and important. 
Baba Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple at Babadham Deoghar, Jharkhand

               That is why when my children asked me to plan a journey in their vacation I took them to Deoghar and Basukinath. It was Christmas time and winter at its peak. We reached Jasidih railway station early in the morning of Xmas and took an auto to Deoghar. We stayed at a hotel about half a km from the Temple. We had stayed here on our earlier visits. Since we were five members we took two rooms that were connected. They called it a suite. The bathroom was spacious. We all got fresh, took our bath, and started on foot for the temple. The surroundings of the temple are very congested with numerous small shops, most of them selling "Peda, Mukund-dana" and "Badhhi" which devotees buy as "Prasad" after worship. These sellers would call you in competition to sell "Prasad". There is always a rush in these lanes. 

                 When going on foot the local priests called "Pundas" would ask devotees "Who is your Punda ?" It is so because they have been allotted regions all over India and abroad, and a devotee from a particular place would have his particular "Punda". I remember, in my childhood that so many asking about "Pundas" would irritate someone. They even maintain registers in which one may find his grandfather's names and signatures if they ever visited here. Whenever there is a dispute or poaching, these registers are opened to prove who is the real "Punda" of that devotee.

                   Since we had to go to "Basukinathdham" after the completion of worship here, so we took the very first "Punda" with us who asked the above question. Like all other "Pundas" he too guided us to take the "Sankalp" of worship and helped to enter the "Garbha-grih" of the temple where there is always a rush. They give you a person who guides and goes inside the temple with you and makes way for you in the heavy rush. He would walk backward with his face towards you and push the crowd with his back and hands and help to pour holy water with flowers over the "jyotirlinga" and touch it. One thing that may annoy the devotees here is that every here and there one may find people asking for money. At the very entrance of the temple, you will find a priest collecting coins from the devotees in the queue, and he will make it difficult if you do not hand over at least a Rs 1 or 2 coins per head. Priests sitting near the "jyotirlinga" will ask for at least Rs 10 and similarly near the big "Akhand Deep". When you come out of the Shiva temple from the exit gate another priest will ask for money. The same is the case with other temples on this campus. Not only the priests but sellers of many items will try to forcefully sell their items in the courtyard of the temple.

               We worshiped the "jyotirlinga" by touching it because here it is the importance of "Sparsh Puja". Then to "Parvati" temple. Inside this temple, there are two idols - one each of "Parvati" and "Durga"- placed on a three-foot high platform with steps in the front. There is no order maintained for incoming and outgoing devotees. First, you will get it difficult to go up to idols because returning people will be in front of you and when coming down again it is difficult because incoming people will be before you. Here too the guide provided by your "Punda" will help you.

                      After worshiping in this temple our "Punda" said that the "Puja" was over and asked for formalities so that they could look for other "Yajmaans" but we wanted to have 'darshan and Pujan' in some other temples too. So we requested him to wait for a while till we came back. Other temples do not have heavy rush so we went without a guide to some selected temples like "Bhairo, Suryanarayan, Saraswati, Bagalamukhi, Ram darbar, Annapurna, Kali, Narayan and Neelkanth Mahadev".  

                 There are some other special types of worship performed here for which you have to deposit a fixed amount at the management committee office and take the receipt. The same is the case with other Hindu Sanskaras. You can notice one or two Mundan Sanskaras going on on campus. 
The man reaches at top of Baba Temple
near "Panchshool" for "Gathbandhan Puja"
at Deoghar 

                  My wife desired to have "Gathbandhan Puja". So I gave "Pundaji" the required amount and he brought the receipt and arranged for it. A person came with a red tape with which we performed the "Sankalp" and the person began to ride on the 'Baba' Temple. It was such fun to see him going up with the help of a heavy chain. He went up to the very top where there is the "Kalash" and "Panchshool". (Yes! Unlike other Shiva Temples there is not a "Trishool" on the top of the temple but a "Panchshool", having five teeth). He fastened one end of the tape there and dropped it to us standing below. Each member of our family held it and took it unfolding near the "Parvati" temple. In the meantime, that person had come down from the Shiva temple. He took the other end of the tape from us and went up to the "Parvati" temple where he fastened it at the top and completed the "Gathbandhan". He had also untied another "Gathbandhan" tape from the top of both temples during this act and handed it over to us as "Prasad". After all these worships were completed we performed "Karpoor Aarti". We stood in front of the Baba Temple (Shiva Temple) holding a big spoon (Called Kalchhul in the local language) with burning camphor, singing the Aarti. Satisfied, we paid the dues of sellers like flower-wala, Sindoor-wala, Agarbatti-wala, etc, and donated to our "Pundaji" and receiving "Aashirwaad" from him we set off to "Baba Basukinathdham". We had hired a cab for the to and fro journey. You can read about "Baba Basukinathdham"   by clicking this link, 

 "Baba Basukinathdham" .     

                   On the return journey, we tried to visit "Trikoot Parvat" which is about 2 km off the main road. "Trikoot Parvat" is the name of the hill on which Lanka of Ravana was situated. This name comes from Ramayana. But that "Trikoot Parvat" is believed to be in Sri Lanka. It seems that this name given to the hill is due to the link of Baidyanath Jyotirlinga to Ravana. (This Jyotirlinga is said to have been placed here by  Ravana ,the demon king of Lanka. A brief story is being given below.) When we reached near the hill, we were surprised to see such a heavy rush. It was Christmas day and last week of the year when a large number of people go out for picnic and holidaying. There was a long queue for the rope-way. So we refreshed ourselves here and took rest for half an hour. A large number of monkeys were attracting visitor's attention. We returned back to our hotel and took rest till evening.
The Holy-well called "Chandrakoop" in the Babadham Temple complex.
The steel cover of the well in the shape of a "Shivalinga"

Ravaneshwar Mahadeva

Ravana was a great devotee of Shiva. He had got a boon from "Brahma" that was very near to immortality. Now he wanted to bring Shiva (his est-deva, favorite god) to his kingdom of Lanka so that he could worship him daily and no one could attack Lanka due to Shiva. But Shiva had to perform his important role as a part of Trideva. Neither His family nor other gods wanted Him to go there. But Ravana requested and insisted, So Mahadeva told him that He personally wont go there but gave him a Shivalinga to place in Lanka that would be as divine as Shiva Himself. But there was a condition - that he will not place it on the earth till he reaches Lanka, otherwise the 'Shivalinga' will be installed for ever at the place where it is kept on the ground. Ravana happily took the 'Shivalinga' and set on the way to Lanka. This made the gods afraid and they planned to trick Ravana so that 'Shivalinga' could not reach Lanka. They chose Ganesha, the god of intelligence, to do this job. He disguised himself as a village boy and followed Ravana from a distance. When Ravana got thirsty due to the heavy weight of 'Shivalinga', Taking this opportunity Ganesha offered him a pot of water which Ravana accepted. But that was not an ordinary pot of water. God Varuna (god of water and ocean) himself had put the water of a full pond to adjust inside it. After some time when he reached the present-day Baba-dham, Deoghar (it was a dense forest then) Ravana felt an intense urge to urinate. Ganesha this time, disguised as a brahmin came from the opposite direction whom Ravana requested to hold the 'Shivalinga' for a while in his lap so that he could attend this natures call. He warned the brahmin not to keep it on the ground whatever may be the situation and the brahmin asked him to return back soon because it was too heavy to hold for a long time. When Ravana started, the water of a whole pond inside him began to come out and he could get relief only when the process was complete. But it took quite a long time and when he came back he saw the 'Shivalinga' put on the ground by the brahmin. He tried hard to lift it up but in vain. 'Shivalinga' was installed there. It is said that in frustration Ravana hit the 'Shivalinga' with his fist which resulted in moving down of 'Shivalinga' further into the ground and only a part of it remained above the ground. That divine 'Shivalinga' is the "Baidyanath Jyotirlinga" of Deoghar and due to this association of Ravana in bringing it here, it is also called "Ravaneshwar Mahadeva". One may notice the height of  'Shivalinga' is less in comparison to the width here.

              In the evening we again visited the Baba temple. It was the time of "Shrigar Puja" and "Sandhya Arti". The 'Shivalinga' is decorated beautifully with different types of flowers, 'Bail-leaves', sandalwood paste, and perfumes, and then 'Arti' is performed. You will find a heavy rush in a small place taking part in this occasion. In the courtyard, there was no rush no hurry, and it was the time when one could feel and enjoy the divine peace here.    

               Next morning we planned to visit nearby places but before that it was agreed that we shall again do the morning worship in the Baba temple. We first went to "Shivaganga", the holy pond near the temple complex. Though some people take a bath in this pond before going to the temple, we simply sprinkled its water over us because we had already taken our bath at the hotel. Then we headed towards the temple. On way to it we got another "Pundaji" following us asking the same question - "Who is your Punda?" He was fluent in Bengali language, perhaps his allocated area was in Bengal from where most of his "Yajmans" came. We took him for our today's worship. He helped to enter the temples and perform the worship.                          

              Back from the temple, we were hungry so we went to a restaurant near the tower chowk. There are good restaurants here and also near the old railway station of Baidyanathdham. Next we decided to visit the nearby places- Tapovan and Nawlakha Temple. I will write about that visit in the coming blogs. 

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Monday, August 17, 2015

Badri_Vishal -- भगवान विष्णु की तपोभूमि !!

The memorable visit to heavenly "Sri Badrinath Dham" !!

Sri Badrinath Dham, Narad Kund, Iron Bridge to cross the Alaknanda (left) and in the background the Narayana Hill

 (Continued from last blog "Jai Kedarnath")

Morning view of Chopta, Uttarakhand

            We got up from the bed the next morning. It was cold. But the scene outside was fascinating. There was a deep valley full of dense forest on the other side of the road and beyond the valley was a range of high mountains on which white snow was spread. On this side of the road was our rest-house which was on the rising slope of another mountain. There was a path going up full of steps some distance away from us. We saw some horses and horse owners near it. I inquired about it from the hotelwala who in return asked me "Will you go to the Tungnath Mahadev. It is up this path. You may go on foot or on horses". Then he told me that this is one of the "Panch Kedar". It is the place where the tail of the bull (Who was in fact Mahadev) had fallen. Neither we knew about it before coming to Uttarakhand nor had we planned it beforehand. So we said "Namaskaar to Tungnath" from this place only. 

Rocks hanging above the road ahead of us
on the way to Sri Badrinath Dham, Uttarakhand

           This place "Chopta" was a very beautiful and peaceful location on the hills amid the forest. The population as a village was not visible to us. There were only a few rest houses and shops along the road. Even without the religious purpose, this place is quite suitable from the health point of view. Away from the killing heat of plains, the pure mountain air fills one with energy and freshness. 

               The street dogs here were of some different breed with more hairs on their bodies to save them from cold in chilling winters. What drew our attention was a wide metal collar around the neck of the dogs that was more loose on the head end than the shoulder end. They said that the hyenas and the leopards from the surrounding jungles come in the night and take away their pets holding them by necks. These collars save the pets. 
Meandering road on the hills, way to Badrinath Dham,
Uttarakhand, India

                 After we got fresh, we took our breakfast and left this beautiful place in our vehicle. For a long time our vehicle passed through a dense reserved forest in which we did not see people except in a few vehicles moving on the road. After a long journey through the forest, we were on NH 58. NH58 is alongside the river Alaknanda. About 11 AM, we were in Joshimath where there was a long queue of vehicles on one side of the road. It was due to the administration which was clearing the coming vehicles from Badrinath which was large in numbers. When waiting in the vehicle in the queue, we saw many boys selling items like asafetida (हींग), Shilajit, etc. and they were asking in every car window. We thought it to be fake, so did not buy. This Joshimath is the place where God Badrinath's idol is kept and worshiped in
A bridge over River Alaknanda near Vishnuprayag
 in Uttarakhand, India. 
winters after the doors are closed in Badrinath Dham. About half an hour of the wait was over and we moved forward slowly gaining altitude. As we neared, the temperature began to fall but the sky was clear and the sun was bright. We saw ice melting on the roadside hills and the cold water coming out beneath them. We were kind of enjoying the journey but a diesel car ahead us was leaving dark fume out of its exhaust pipe. It did not give sides for a long time. At least visitors in such places should keep the environment clean. 
Alaknanda River coming from Badrinath and 
the road alongside that has many bends to go up the hill

            The vehicles reach Badrinathdham directly, no need of on foot journey or horse riding. We saw numerous vehicles parked here. Compared to Kedarnath-dham there is more open space here, so more developed. I asked my family to wait in the vehicle at a place and went asking about our "Panda ji" (priest) Sri Jawaharlal Bhatt. I saw a restaurant and a good market. I had to spend about half an hour time in moving and searching for him. I was getting my breathing fast even going up a few steps. Later I thought that it was due to less oxygen in the air at this altitude. Pt Bhatt was a very
Melting ice and thin waterfalls on the way
to Badrinathdham, Uttarakhand, India
gentle person. He came to our vehicle with me and took us to park it at a place. Then we came with him with our luggage to a "Dharmshala" of a trust that was like a good hotel. It was on the side of the river Alaknanda, the open space and the railing were on the river side. Standing here we could enjoy the fast current of Alaknanda on the rocky bed. On the just opposite side of the river, we could see the "Kund" (Pond) of hot water that is also called the "Narad Kund". Devotees were having a bath in it. Bhagwan Badrinath's temple was also visible that was at a level about 20 - 25 ft higher than the Narad Kund. About 100 ft downstream was the steel truss footbridge through which people were commuting.  
A frozen stream on the hills near Badrinath,
Uttarakhand, A small glacier. 

            We were hungry so went with "Panda ji" to a restaurant and took our meal. Now we wanted a darshan of Bhagwan Badrinath. "Panda ji" took us to the temple. There was a long queue of devotees. We had a darshan from the gate of the temple and got Tulsi-dal as "Prasad". The Tulsi-dal here were of a different variety than we see at our home. Now "Panda ji," told us to take a rest for an hour or two, then we shall go for evening "Aarti Darshan" before which we could have a dip in the "Narad Kund". We did so. "Narad Kund" is open from all sides except there is a shade over it. Only gents go into it. A few feet away is another "Kund" for women which is enclosed. Perhaps the water sources of both the "Kunds" are linked. I entered in the "Kund" but the water  was hotter than I had expected. Standing up to the waist level I wondered how some other people were
Entrance to Vyas Gufa and the multi-layered rock above
that represents Vyas Pothi (The book of Vyas)
 at Mana Village, Badrinath, Uttarakhand
taking the bath. And a "Sadhu" poured a bucket full of "Kund" water over me from behind. He said, "Daro math, himmat kar pani me dubki lo, thik lagega" (Do not fear, have courage and take a dip into the water, it will be ok). One can understand my situation then. Hastily I took three or four dips and came out of it because do not know why I was not getting accustomed to it and was finding the water unbearably hot. Anyway, the hot water made our exertions go away. My family took the dips in women's "Kund" and they said that the water was very hot but not unbearable. They kind of enjoyed it. 
The rock is named Vyas-Pothi (Book of Vyas)
because the layering resembles the pages of
a book and on the right-hand side a board says
"Last tea stall of India" at Mana Village,
Badrinath, because beyond this place is the
 Chinese border 

              We went to the temple for "Sandhya aarti darshan". They sell three types of tickets for this "Darshan" and in limited numbers. These three are "Swarn aarti, Rajat aarti and Tamra aarti". These ticket holders are only allowed inside the main temple and accordingly "Aarti" by their names are performed using golden, silver, or copper plates. They are allowed to sit in this order too, Golden at the front and brass at the back. Due to the limited numbers, these tickets are all sold in the morning itself. Devotees ask their priests in advance to purchase the tickets. Since we had reached here a few hours ago without informing our priest, no tickets were available. But our priest Pt Bhatt ji arranged tickets from another priest whose client did not turn up. These were tickets for "Rajat aarti". We stood in the queue.  

Fiercely flowing river Saraswati has cut deep gorge in the hill
near Mana Village, Badrinath, Uttarakhand

               This difference in tickets creates arrogance in some people's mind as I saw. A lady ahead of us asked many other ladies about their tickets and replied that she holds Golden Aarti tickets. We smiled at ourselves. The "Aarti darshan" was really worth visiting. We could see the idols only a few feet away. The priest conducting this "Aarti" described the idols and we saw the "Aarti" being performed. It was one of those moments in our life that we would never forget. We returned to our room to see the temple, river, and mountains. Before taking dinner outside we did some marketing. 
This big rock across river Saraswati is said to be placed by
Bheem, the Pandava. So it is named as "Bheem-pul"

               In the morning we got up early, took a dip in the "Kund" and stood in the queue after about 150 devotees. About after one and a half hours, we got our chance to enter the temple where there was a huge rush. We hardly got the "Darshan" for a few seconds in which the priest took our "Thali" of worship for an offering and returned it in a super-fast manner. When out from the main temple we paid our "Namaskar" to other god idols in the courtyard of the temple. Our worship was over. Our Panda ji took us near the ghat of river Alaknanda and told some stories from "Puranas" about the place. He said that the two mountains on both sides of Alaknanda are "Nar-Narayan", avatars of Vishnu who fought for a very long time with "Sahastrabahu" and defeated him. At the
River Saraswati flowing to meet River Alaknanda
at the confluence ahead
very place where the temple is situated, once God Vishnu started "Tapa" (penance - तपस्या). When the heavy snowfall began His wife Goddess Lakshmi took the form of a tree of zizyphus fruit (बेर का वृक्ष) behind Him and checked the ice falling over Vishnu. So God Vishnu completed his penance without any hindrance. After he opened His eyes and saw the work of Goddess Lakshmi, He thanked Her and said that from Now onward this place will be known as Badri-nath because Badri in Sanskrit means zizyphus fruit (बेर का फल). We paid donation to the Panda ji who also asked for a certain amount that he would take when vising at our residence in next January. We agreed but he too like Kedarnath Dham Pandaji got it written in a copy. 
We saw this "Pahadi-Jharna" on the return journey from
Badrinath, Uttarakhand

 As I have said earlier that Badrinath Dham is one of the four Dhams of Hindu religion established in four corners of India by "Adi Shankaracharya". He was the great pundit of Vedas and Puranas and he was the person who united the Hindus earlier divided into different sects. These four Dhams he established in four corners of India are for devotees to visit and get acquainted with the cultures of different regions. To further strengthen the bond among Hindus he also established the convention of appointing Head priests in each of the Dhams from distant regions. For example, the head priest in Badrinath Dhams temple can only be appointed from South India. The selection of priests is also a very difficult process. A person having some special marks (related to God Vishnu) by birth is selected, trained, and educated as the successor to the present priest. These pieces of information were given by our Panda ji.  

On the roadside, we saw this big ice chunk
 that had become like a tunnel due to melting
of ice underneath, Back from Badrinath,
Uttarakhand 

              Panda ji suggested that before leaving we should visit "Mana" village about one km ahead. "Mana" is the last Indian village before the Chinese border. It is a village of the "Bhotia" tribe and vehicle plying road ends here. He showed us the "Ganesh Gupha"(Cave of Ganesh) and "Vyas Gupha"(Cave of Vyas). It is said that Maharshi Ved Vyas composed "Puranas" and Ganesh wrote them at this holy place. Ganesh had only one condition that Vyas should speak continuously without a halt to which he agreed. Near the "Vyas Gupha"(Cave of Vyas) there is a big rock different from others. It has numerous thin layers like a bunch of pages in a book. It symbolizes the "Puranas" composed by Maharshi Ved Vyas. They have written on it as "व्यास पोथी" (The book of Vyas) 

Dangerous road at a place back from Badrinath, Uttarakhand

             Near here is a river known as "Saraswati" which is short in length because few hundreds feet downstream it meets "Alaknanda". But it crosses the way to "Satopant" near the origin of "Alaknanda". It is the very way to the heavens (Said in Puranas) through which "Pandavas" along with Dropadi and a dog went. Draupadi was not finding herself able to cross the river "Saraswati" because it falls with great speed here and has cut deep gorges in the rocks. So Bhima placed a big rock across the river as a bridge. It is called Bhima-pul (Bridge of Bhima). Now a small temple of Saraswati has been built near here. 

At Devprayag is the confluence of River Bhagirathi (Right
with clear water) and River Alaknanda (Left), Ahead they
flow as River Ganga

          The hills around do not have trees, only some herbs and grass grow here. Among these herbs is the variety of "Tulsi" that grows here and its Tulsi-dal are used in offerings to Baba Badrinath. Pure air that was slow, freshly scented and cool filled us with new energy. The surroundings are so lovely that one would like to sing the common lines composed by some local Muslim,

पवन    मंद  सुगंध  शीतल   हिम  मंदिर   शोभितम् 

निकट गंगा बहती निर्मल श्री बद्रीनाथ विश्वम्भरम्। 

(This means that the master of the world God Sri Badrinath is in a temple that is among snow near Ganga and slow, scented, and cool breeze blow here)

           After seeing all these we took some tea, thanked Panda Ji, and left Baba Badrinath Dham. We were fortunate that the visit to all three Dhams we wished to visit was complete. 

A Shiva temple and big Shiva statue at Devprayag,
Uttarakhand

               By the evening we reached Karnprayag, here we decided to take a night halt. The next morning we started our journey back home. Via Rudraprayag and Srinagar, we reached Devprayag. Among high hills, two main rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda have a confluence here, after this place the river is called Ganga. We stopped our vehicle here and walked up to the "Sangam". Sprinkled some water over us. A Pandit ji came and read some Mantras for Tarpan and we offered water to Pitars. Devprayag is a holy place from ancient times. Tarpan to Pitars has its own importance here. 

Manasa Devi temple at the top of a hill
at Haridwar, Uttarakhand

               The Kumbh Mela that is arranged now every 12 years at Haridwar was earlier used to be held here. However, due to a lack of open space, it was shifted to Haridwar. The crystal clear water of the Bhagirathi River and the turbid water of Alaknanda create a lovely scene here. A slim variety of fish comes in numbers to eat the grains offered in Tarpan. By noon, we reached Haridwar. It was a full moon day and a large number of devotees were having a dip in Ganga here. We took a dip at Har ki poudi and went to worship Manasa Devi temple by rope-way. When we left Haridwar the sun was going behind the "Manasa" hill and satisfied to the core we reached back Faridabad by the night, from where we had started our journey a week ago.   

A Shiva Statue in Haridwar,
Uttarakhand

             For those planning to go to these Dhams should avoid the journey in the rainy season because the danger of landslides increases manifolds and travelers get trapped. I would suggest planning a journey in the month of May when the doors open for worship, as we did and it remained a hindrance-free journey.       

           
                  Arial view of  Ganga at Haridwar
                 & roapway

            Though People also go to these places on package tours by bus and they complete it in a time-bound manner, I prefer such tours by taxi or cab. This allows me to have my own control over the journey and enjoy it more.

                       By describing the journey of Gangotri, Kedarnath Dham, and Badrivishal Dham I have relived the joyful and memorable moments. 

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