Jyotirlinga Shrine

Visiting Char Dham or the ‘four holy pilgrimages’ – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is every devout Hindu’s dream.


Kedarnath

Perched at the head of Mandakini river, 3584 metres above sea level, the Kedarnath Temple is the most important Hindu temple in the Himalayas.
It is also one of the most important Shiva temples in India.
I have visited Kedarnath twice.

The second time, it was in the month of June.
We travelled by car from Delhi via Dehradun and Mussourie.
We reached Gaurikund (14 kms from Kedarnath) around 4 P.M.
The road passes through beautiful mountains.
At times, you can see a river snaking far below.
And you pass over frail looking bridges.

From Gaurikund, you can either walk up, be carried in a basket (for youngsters and aged), hire a palanquin, or ride a pony.
I wanted to walk up.
But since it was getting late, I was coerced into hiring ponies.

The scenery was extremely beautiful.
But the pony tracks were far too narrow, at times just sufficient for a single pony.
On one side of the track would be the mountain face.
On the other, a steep vertical fall.
And whenever I looked down, I was reminded…. that if…..……. the pony slipped, I would land thousands of feet down.

I had never seen a snow fall.
I was hoping we would see snow fall.
But the pony owners told us it was too late for that.
Just two kilometres short of Kedarnath, the sky started turning dark.
Visibility fell rapidly.
And we were covered with what we felt were fluffs of soft cotton.

But these were not fluffs of cotton, but beautiful flakes of snow.
In a few minutes, the sky became completely dark.
We could not see anything beyond a few inches.
Visibility was zero.
Our hands started freezing.

We were just one kilometre from Kedarnath.
Our pony owners told us we must stop.
Because one slip in the darkness meant certain death.

There were no hotels on the way. Mere ‘chattis’ – small shops made of roughly hewn stones stacked on top of one another – where one can have tea, coffee and simple vegetarian meals.
They also keep blankets, pillows, etc. for a night stay.
Even today, some pilgrims prefer to walk the 14 kms.
And they spend the nights in these ‘chattis’.

So we entered a ‘chatti’.
The crackling log fire was more welcome than any five star luxury.
We had some hot tea followed by some good simple meals.
The snow on our clothes melted.
We had not carried any extra clothes.
So we had to take off most of our clothing and hang them up to dry.

There were no beds.
The ground was rocky and uneven.
Icy winds blew in through the holes and crinks between the stones.
We squeezed into some blankets huddling to each other like penguins.

A little past midnight, I ventured outside in my undergarments.
I was in fairy land!
The scene was so enchanting, I did not feel the cold.

All around were beautiful ice clad blue mountains I had read about in fairy tales.
There was no moon, yet visibility was good.
It was one scene, I have never seen again.

Mythology

According to mythology, after the Pandavas defeated the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war (Mahabharat), they felt guilty of having killed their own brothers and sought the blessings of Lord Shiva to repent for their sins.
But Lord Shiva did not want to bless them and evaded them repeatedly.
Finally, Lord Shiva took refuge at Kedarnath in the form of a bull.

The Pandavas followed him…… relentlessly.
At Kedarnath, Lord Shiva dived into the ground to hide, leaving only his hump on the surface.

The stone hump is the form in which Lord Shiva is worshipped in Kedarnath temple.
The remaining portions of Lord Shiva appeared in four other nearby places and are worshipped there as his manifestations.
The arms appeared at Tungnath; the face at Rudranath; the belly at Madhmaheshwar; and his head with locks of hair at Kalpeshwar.

Kedarnath and these four shrines (Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhmaheshwar and Madhmaheshwar), where different parts of Lord Shiva appeared, are known as Panch Kedar.
There are five holy peaks here. Rudra Himalaya, Vishnupuri, Brahmapuri, Udayagiri -Kanha and Swargarohini.
Swargarohini (meaning Road to Heaven) was used by the Pandavas and Droupadi to reach heaven.
Arjuna did severe penance here to please Lord Shiva and get Pasupata, the most potent weapon.

The Temple

According to mythology, the Pandavas built the original temple at Kedarnath.
Adi Shankaracharya visited Kedarnath during the 8th century A.D. and he built the present temple.

Adi Shankaracharya took his Samadhi in Kedarnath at the young age of 32.
His Samadhi lies just behind the temple.
Beyond this sketchy detail, we don’t have any indication about who built the temple and when.

The present temple is built of large grey stone slabs.
The temple has a ‘Garbha Griha’ the sanctum sanctorum, which contains the image of Lord Shiva in the form of a stone hump (a conical rock formation measuring about five feet by four feet);and a Mandap where pilgrims and visitors gather.                                    

In this form, Lord Shiva is known as Lord Maheswar-Kedareswar

The inner walls of the assembly hall are decorated with figures of various deities and mythological scenes.

Just outside the temple door is a huge and beautiful statue of Nandi (the Bull), Lord Shiva’s vahan.

Time to Visit

Kedarnath temple is surrounded by high mountains.
During the winter months, it is impossible to reach Kedarnath.

In November, Lord Shiva, is carried down from Kedarnath to Ukhimath; and is brought back to Kedarnath in the first week of May.

It is believed that Lord Shiva is worshipped by the lesser gods for six months and the rest of the year by the humans.
May to October is the best season to visit Kedarnath.

Places of Interest

· Chorabhari Tal or Gandhi Sarovar (3 kms).
· Gaurikund (14 kms) – hot springs of medicinal values and a temple dedicated to Gauri.
· Vasuki Tal (6 kms) – this beautiful lake is 4135 m above sea level.
· Triyuginarayan (5 kms from Son Prayag) – this is the mythological place where Lord Shiva married Parvati.
· Gupt Kashi (49 kms) – famous for the temples of Ardhnarishwar and Vishwanathji.
· Ukhimath (60 kms) – winter home of Lord Kedarnath, and the seat of the Rawal (Priest) of Kedarnath during the winter months.
· Panch Kedar – the five most important temples of Lord Shiva in the Garhwal Himalayas.
· Chopta (40 kms from Gopeshwar) – one of the most picturesque spots in the entire Garhwal region. It provides a breathtaking view of Himalayan ranges.
· Deoria Tal – in the early morning, the snow-capped peaks are clearly reflected on the waters of this lake on the Chopta – Ukhimath road.
· The Kedar Massif – is an outstanding massif formed by three major mountains.

Reaching there

Rail

The nearest station is Rishikesh (221 kms).

Road

Kedarnath is connected by road with Delhi (450 km), Haridwar (250 km), Rishikesh (226 km), Kotdwara (256 km), Badrinath (242 km).

Accommodation

Plenty of reasonably good accommodation is available in Kedarnath.

My recommendation

Kedarnath is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Kedar or Lord Shiva.
Even if you are not interested in religion and temples, do visit the Char Dhams.
They are really beautiful places to visit.

The Most revered Temple of Lord Vishnu

Visiting Char Dham or the ‘four holy pilgrimages’ – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is every devout Hindu’s dream.

Badrinath also known as ‘Vishal Badri’ is situated on the banks of Alaknanda river – 3,133 metres above sea-level.
This temple is the largest and most popular of the five Badri or Vishnu temples in the Himalayas.

The first time I visited Badrinath was during the initial phases of my training as a civil servant.
Class I officers are selected on the basis of a written examination followed by an interview.

The selected officers comprise an odd assortment – from different regions, with diverse educational backgrounds, coming from different strata of society, representing different cultures, etc.
They are given an orientation training designed to enable them to mix with each other and adjust into the elite bureaucratic set up.

It seems rather strange that the training never did me any good.
Till my last days in service, I could never feel myself any different from the ordinary man.
I was and remained a commoner.
My office was open to everyone and sundry.
I never left my office without meeting the last visitor.

As a part of their training, new entrants to the civil services are sent to different parts of the country.
To see things – first hand!
We were sent to Badrinath and Kedarnath.
The program included a visit to the Jawans (Indian army) in the Mana pass.
From Joshimath, military vehicles and escorts took us into the heights of the Mana village and then onwards to the military camp.

The commander there had arranged a mock battle for us.
Two groups of soldiers fought against each other as they would in real war.
Machine guns rattled.
Shells burst and dense smoke billowed.
There were mock attacks.
The soldiers shrieked and shouted and even fell down stone dead as if they had been hit by a bullet.
The soldiers did their best to show off their acting talents.
And they succeeded.
The battle looked very realistic.

I started taking photographs of the mock battle.
A soldier came up to me, reminded me that we were in a prohibited forward area and asked me to stop.
The Commander (a lieutenant colonel) who was watching from a distance immediately stepped in, asked what the problem was, and gave the green signal. “Go ahead. Sir”, he said.
We tasted the normal lunch which our jawans usually have in the high altitude border areas.

I have visited Badrinath twice after that.

Mythology

Badrinath is mentioned in the Hindu ancient texts.
There was an ancient temple here during the ancient times.
Although the statue is very old, the present temple was built recently.
The statue of Lord Vishnu in Badrinath temple is made of Shaligram stone.
It is in the padmasana or sitting pose.

One legend explains why Vishnu’s statue is in the padmasana pose, rather than in the usual reclining pose.
A sage saw Lakshmi (Vishnu’s wife) massaging the feet of Vishnu.
He rebuked Vishnu.Vishnu came down to Badrinath to perform austerity and meditated for a long time in padmasana pose.

The area around Badrinath attracts yogis who come here for meditation and seclusion.
Another legend says that Shiva and Parvati were residing in Badrinath.
Vishnu came disguised as a small child, crying loudly and disturbed them.
Parvati asked the child why he was crying.
He replied that he wanted Badrinath for meditation.
Shiva and Parvati recognised Lord Narayan in disguise.
They left Badrinath and moved over to Kedarnath.

Adi Shankarachary visited Badrintah in the 8th century.
He retrieved the statue of Badrinarayan from the Alaknanda River where it had been thrown away centuries ago and installed it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs.

The King of Garhwal established the present temple in the sixteenth century.
The temple was badly damaged by the earthquake of 1803.
It was then rebuilt by the Maharaja of Jaipur.
Some authors claim that the temple was built on a former Buddhist temple site.

The Temple

Badrinath temple is flanked by two mountain ranges known as Nar and Narayan.

The majestic Neelkanth peak provides a befitting backdrop.
This area was once carpeted with wild berries which gave it the name ‘Badri Van’, meaning ‘forest of berries’.
The statue of Lord Vishnu is made of Shaligram and depicts him sitting under a badri tree under a gold canopy.
There are fifteen more statues in the temple including statues of Nara & Narayana, Narasimha (the fourth incarnation of Vishnu), Lakshmi, Narada, Ganesha, Uddhava, Kubera, Garuda (the vehicle of Lord Narayan) and Navadurga.

Facing the temple at the bank of Alaknanda river is a hot water spring known as ‘Tapt Kund’. It is supposed to have medicinal properties and curative powers.A bath in this spring is very refreshing. There is a separate tank for women.

Time to Visit

Badrinath is too cold and inaccessible during the winter months.
The temple is closed in November and the statue is moved to nearby Jyotirmath .
The best time to visit Badrinath is between May and October.

General Information

Rail

The nearest station is Rishikesh (293 kms).

Road

Badrinath is connected by road to Rishikesh (293 km), Haridwar (313 km), Kotdwara (325 km), Joshimath (42 km) & Valley of flowers (38 km), Kedarnath (242 km) and Delhi(518 km).

Places of interest

· Mana Village (3 kms) – the last Indian village near the Indo-Tibetan border. Even today, the traditional people here maintain their own way of life.
· Bheem Bridge – this is a natural bridge over the river Saraswathi, near Mana Village, made of a huge boulder.
· Vasudhara Falls – this is a high waterfall 5 kms after Bheem Bridge.
· Satopanth Lake – this beautiful lake full of lotus flowers is 18 km from Mana Village.
· Pandukesar (20 kms) – this is a memorial for the Pandavas. There are two ancient temples with intricate carvings.
· Govind Ghat – 2 kms before Pandukesar, this is the gateway to the Hem Kund Lake and the fabulous Valley of the Flowers. The Hem Kund is 20 kms by foot from here. The Valley of the Flowers is a 17 kms walk.
· Hanuman Chatti – 13 kms before Badrinath – this is a temple. Nearby is a nursery of rare birch trees.
· Kheerau Valley – when you cross the bridge on the Alaknanda River on the way from Hanuman Chatti to Benakuli, you see this extremely beautiful valley. 4 kms from here is the Kheerau village.
· Joshimath (42 kms) – Adi Shankaracharya visited this place in the 18th century and founded the Mutt called Jyotir math or Joshimath.

My recommendation

The statue is considered to be one of eight swayam vyakta keshtras, or self-manifested statue of Vishnu.
A peculiar feature of this temple is that in accordance with the practice started by Adi Shankaracharya, the Rawal, or head priest of this temple, is a Nambudiri Brahmin from Kerala (south India).

Visit the place.
The journey is most enjoyable.
You will forget the hustles and bustles of city life and get immersed in a world of peace and tranquility.