OUR TRIP TO UTTARANCHAL
17th September 2008 to 26th September 2008.
Mumbai-NewDelhi-Haridwar-Rishikesh -Dev Prayag-Rudra Prayag- Joshi Math-Badrinath-Maana
DAY 1- 17th September, 2008:
We (a group of three couples) travelled by the Rajdhani Express from Mumbai Central on 17th September, 2008 around 5 pm and reached Nizamuddin station of New Delhi at 10am next day.
DAY 2- 18th September:
We left Delhi immediately in a tempo traveler through heavy morning rush hour traffic and reached Haridwar around 6pm.After a quick freshening up, we left for Har ki pauri (known for a footprint of Vishnu on a stone in a wall )and reached just in time to witness the evening aarti. While the aarti is in progress in the Ganga temple large number of people take a dip in the Ganga, perform pooja .Offerings of lamps and flowers are made to the river immediately following this ceremony and it is a moving sight to watch hundreds of miniature lamps float along the river In the darkness all round. After the aarti, we had darshan of all the temples in the area. The main one is for Ganga. This is supposed to be the place where Ganga landed after the penance of Bhagiratha. In fact here in Haridwar, Ganga reaches the plains. The other temples are of Anjaneya, Kalbhairav, and replicas of Badrinath and Kedarnath.
The other important temple is the Manasadevi temple situated on top of a small hill.
Haridwar is also the site of celebration of the Kumbha Mela, once in twelve years, when Jupiter transits to the zodiac sign of Aquarius.
DAY 3- 19th September:
We left the hotel very early as we had a long drive and reached Joshi math around 5pm. It is about 270 kms, and at an altitude of 1650 M. On the way we crossed Rishikesh, Dev Prayag and Rudra Prayag.
DAY 4- 20th September:
Joshi Math is one of the four great 'maths' established by the Adi Guru Shri Shankaracharya in the 8th century AD.
At Joshi math we visited the Narasimha temple, which is about 1200 years old. Dedicated to Vishnu, the presiding deity of the temple is Narsimha, the half-man, half-lion and fourth incarnation of Vishnu .This is the place where the Badrinath idol is brought and kept during winter months. The temple also had idols of Adi Sankar, Siva and Durga. There is also a tree under which Adi Sankara meditated for 5 years and then established the Sankar Math.
Situated some 30 yards from the Narsimha Temple, the Vasudeva Temple is one of the most famous Vishnu temples in north India. It was considered very sacred by the Tamil vaishnavite saints known as alvars . The presiding deity of the temple is Vasudeva who is identified with Vishnu. The idol is carved out of a piece of black stone measuring 6 feet in height.
From Joshi Math the vehicles wait in a convoy to go to Badrinath. Since the road is very narrow, vehicles from Joshimath are allowed 5 times a day at 6,9,11.30am& 2:30 and 4 pm. Vehicles from Badrinath come during the in between periods. We waited in the queue from 7.30 am, but at 2pm we were told that there was no chance of leaving that day due to heavy land slides on the way. We went back to the same hotel.
After a little rest we visited the Sankara math situated on top of a small hill. Both Dwaraka Mutt and Badri Mutt have the same Sankaracharya. However from Varanasi a Sanyasi is deputed to take care of the Mutt’s affairs when Sankaracharya is away at Dwarka. We met this Sanyasi who is in charge of the Mutt.
From Joshi Math there is a cable car service to Auli, one of the few places in India for skiing and other winter sports.
DAY 5- 21st September:
We left the hotel again by 6.30 am. and joined the queue at the check post. We were allowed to move around 2.30 pm after news came that the land slide has been cleared.
First comes Gobind Ghat from where a road goes to the Valley of flowers and a famous Gurudwara.
After some distance we could see the amount of land slides that had taken place and the efforts Border Road Organisation was taking to clear the mess. It was a stupendous task. In spite of all the machinery at their disposal they were able to clear a small way for one vehicle to pass. There was hill on one side about a hundred feet high from which the slide happened and on the other side a steep fall. The amount of earth to be cleared was enormous.
We reached Vishnu Prayag where a small river Dhauli Ganga joins Alakananda. A 400 MW capacity Hydro electric project is under construction here.
We then reached Pandukeshwar, where all vehicles stop. Here alternately vehicles in each direction are allowed to pass. We had to wait there for nearly 45 minutes.
We reached at Badrinath at around 5 pm. The distance travelled is hardly 45 kms. Badrinath is at an altitude of 3450M and the temperature was around 8 deg.C.
Badrinath is considered to be amongst the most pious of the eternal pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. Badrinath temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu said to have been built by Adi Guru Shankaracharya in the early 9th century AD is located on the right bank of river Alaknanda, perched at an altitude of over 3100m in the middle of a valley full with scenic beauty.
The temple does not have an idol of Badrinath as understood commonly. Instead there is a large Saligram with features like carvings. The Saligram was recovered by Adi Sankaracharya from a hot spring near the temple called Tapt Kund. The diety is flanked by Nara, Narayana, Narada, Kuber, Garuda, Uddhava
There is a hot water spring, Tapt Kund, near the temple. It has hot water even when it is freezing cold all around. The spring is said to cure several diseases naturally by taking a dip in it. The other hot water springs in Badrinath are Narad Kund and Surya Kund.
Nar and Narayan Parvats with the Neelkanth peak (6,597m) in the back ground can be seen from the temple.
Since no vehicles could leave Badrinath for two days, lots of people were stranded. This caused a tremendous crowd at the temple. We had to push through them. Some how, we managed to have darshan and came out of the temple.
DAY 6- 22nd September:
Next morning it started drizzling a little. We went to the temple and stood in a queue. Devotees are let in groups of six and can remain inside for a few minutes. Luckily we could get in quickly and had a peaceful darshan. It started raining heavily and we all got wet. We returned to the hotel and after some time left for Maana which is about 3 kms from Badrinath.
Maana( actually Manibhadrapuri) is the last village before the border with Tibet. There is a tea stall which claims to be the last tea stall on Indian soil before the border. This is Kesava Prayag where Saraswathy and Alaknanda join. One can see the difference in colours of the waters of the two rivers. We went up a little hill where there is a huge boulder across Saraswathy, which is called Bhim pul. On the other side there is a cave from which water gushes out. This is said to be River Saraswathy.
There is a temple for Ganesha. It is said that he sat here and wrote the Mahabharat while Veda Vyasa dictated it. Further ahead is a cave called Vyasa Guha in which Ved Vyas is said to have done penance before dictating the Mahabharat. Beyond this is the Draupadi temple, which we did not visit. This is the point where Pandavas while going to the Heavens started falling off one by one.
We had another great darshan leisurely after lunch. We then got tickets for another darshan in the evening and retired to the hotel. We were back at the temple in the evening. This time they allowed about 40 people together and made us all sit just near the garbhagriha. The priests recited Vishnu Sahasranamam. We could sit there for nearly 40 minutes and had a wonderful darshan. Every one was over joyed that in a period of slightly more than a day we could have darshan four times.
DAY 7-23rd September:
First batch of vehicles are permitted to leave Badrinath at 9am. We left Badrinath in the first batch. Due to the time lost at Joshimath we cancelled our halt there and decided to go directly to Rudra Prayag. After Pandukeshwar, there was again some hold up. While we were waiting there we could here blasting of huge boulders which had blocked the road. We could see the smoke coming out of the blasts. Once the road was cleared we left the place. We had lunch at Pipal Kot and reached at Rudra Prayag around 5.30pm.
Rudraprayag is situated on the confluence of the rivers Mandakini and Alaknanda. It is home to the Rudranath Temple that is dedicated to Shiva. Near the temple is the place where Narada, reputed to be the inventor of the veena, a musical instrument, is believed to have meditated.
There is a fork in the road near Rudraprayag, one leading to Badrinath and the other to Kedarnath. Helicopter service is available during season from Patta near Rudraprayag to Kedarnath.
DAY 8 - 24th September:
To day, we reached Deo Prayag at 10.30am. This is the confluence point of Alakananda and Bhagirathi and from here the river gets the name Ganga. The bathing ghat on the other side of the river has three levels and we went to the lowest level to have a dip in the river. Water was freezing cold. Since the two rivers join here the water was rather turbulent. We were told during seasons the water raises up to the top most level. After the dip in Ganga we travelled to Rishikesh .
According to legend, sage Raibhya Rishi, undertook staunch penance at this place to please God. In answer to his meditation, God appeared here, manifested as `Rishikesh’ and the place thus came to be called after him.
We visited the Laxman Jhoola and some temples around it. The original jhoola, a suspension bridge made of ropes got destroyed in 1889 and a new one with steel ropes was constructed in 1939 by a business man from Kolkata. This has a span of 140 ft.
Rishikesh has become a center for learning and research in yoga and meditation, the renowned Indian methods for mental and physical health. The International Yoga Festival which attracts participation from all across the world is held here annually for one week in the month of February (2nd to 7th) on the banks of the serene Ganga.
We left Rishikesh for haridwar where we stayed the night.
DAY 9- 25th September:
We left Haridwar at 8 am and reached Nizamuddin at 2.30pm. and took the August Kranti Rajadhani express and reached Mumbai the next morning.
