Char Dham is the names of four pilgrimage places in India that are widely revered by most Hindus. The names of Char Dhams (four temples) are Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. 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) in the north, Rameshwaram in the south, Dwarkapuri in the west and Jagannath Puri in the east.
Badrinath
Badrinath is situated in the lap of Nar-Narayan Parvat, with the
towering Neelkanth peak in the background. It is also known as the Vishal
Badri, the largest among the five Badris, it is revered by all as the apt
tribute to Lord Vishnu.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.' The main entrance gate is
colourful & imposing popularly known as Singhdwar.The Hindu Scriptures
state that the life of a Hindu can't be complete without a visit to Badrinath.
The snow covered mountains, the water falls , the fresh air, the innocent faces
of the Gharwal people they are mesmirising.
About the Temple:
Badrinath is situated at an altitude of 3500 meters amidst the
snowy and magnificent valley between the two mountains called Nara and Narayana
after the great sages who meditated here. The temple is situated on the right
bank of the river Alakananda which later joins Mandakini and then Bagirathi at
Devprayag from where it is called Ganga. The idol of the Lord here is a
saligrama (type of a holy stone) seated naturally in padmasana (lotus pose). Only
here the idol of Vishnu is in yogic pose. Here he sits alone in splendid
isolation without his consort and is immersed in the bliss of soul. According
to eminent historians, the temple had existed well before the period of the
Mahabharata. The ancient temple was destroyed and the idol was thrown into
Alaknanda river. It was Adi Shankaracharya, who discovered the image in the
Alakananda from the pool known as Narad Kund and installed it in the Garud
Gupha near the hot water spring known as Tapta Kund. It remained here for about
seven centuries. Then at the insistence of the great Vaishnava saint called
Varadarajacharya, the then ruler of Garhwal made a temple at the spot where the
present temple stands and had the idol installed therein. The gold canopy of
the temple is supposed to have been a gift of the famous Queen, Ahalyabai of
Holkar.
Narad Kund is a recess in the bed of the Alakananda River which
forms a pool and is close to the Tapta Kund. It is sheltered by a projecting
rock which breaks the force of the river and allows people to bathe in it. Adi
Shankaracharya knew this by his great powers and retrieved the idol from this
pool. He is the one who has laid down the rules by which the Lord is to be
worshipped.
How to reach:
·
Railway: Rishikesh
·
Road: Since it is near China border road has been constructed by the
BRO. Badrinath is at a distance of 290 kms from Rishikesh. Rishikesh is the
last railhead. Lot of Buses run from Rishikesh to Badrinath. Private vehicles
can be hired. The road through the weak structures of himalayas are prone to
frequent landslides . So better avoid going by your own vehicle. It is better
to hire experienced driver of that area. State buses are very frequent.
Dwarka
Dwarka the headquarters of Okhamandal taluka is in the extreme
west of the Saurashtra peninsula on the Arabian Sea. Dwarka is derived from
'Dwar', a door, and in ancient times its flourishing port was considered to be
the gateway to the main land. As 'Ka' means 'Brahma' meaning, gateway to
Moksha. It is called Dwarkamati and Dwarkavati. Being adopted home and capital
of Shri Krishna after he gave up Mathura. It is held in such a high esteem as a
place of Hindu pilgrimage that it is considered to be one of the four principle
holy places or chardham, it is also known as Mokshapuri.
How to reach:
·
Airport: Nearest Airport is Jamnagar (146 Kms.)
·
Railway: Dwarka is directly connected to Jamnagar, Rajkot, Ahmedabad and
Bombay.
·
Road: State transport buses and luxury coaches are available from
different parts of Gujarat. Private Taxis, Autorickshaws, Tongas are available
for local transport.
About thr temple:
In 1241 AD When Mohammad shah attacked on Dwarka and broke the
temple, Five Brahmin males fought with them and lost their lives and become
martyr. Their names were Virajee Thakar, Nathu Thakar, Karasan Thakar, Valjee
Thakar, and Devasee Thakar. Their shrines are near to the temple. Muslims have
changed the place in 'Panch Peer'.
In vikram era 1616 Shankaracharya Shree Anirudhashrma had made the
idol at Dungarpur and established them at another place in the same campus and
renovated the temple. Meanwhile poet Isar Barot presented his volume 'Hariras
to Dwarkadhish (in 1540).
Since 1960 Indian Government takes care of it and renovates it
gradually. In 1965 A.D. Pakistan navy attacked to destroy the temples but
failed.
Jagannath Puri
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to
Jagannath (Krishna) and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of
Orissa, India. The name Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) is a combination of
the Sanskrit words Jagat (Universe) and Nath (Lord of).
The temple is an important pilgrimage destination for many Hindu
traditions, particularly worshippers of Krishna and Vishnu.The temple is famous
for its annual Rath Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three main temple
deities are hauled on huge and elaborately decorated chariots.
About the Temple:
The present temple is a rekha deula withcurviliner tower on a
Pancha Ratha plan.It was built by Ananta Barma Chodaganga Dev during 12th
century A.Dand was completed by his grandson Ananga Bhima Dev.This temple is
one of the tallest monument in the country,the height of which is about 214
feet from the ground level. It stands on an elevated platform of stone
measuring about 10 acres, located in the heart of the town and presents an
imposing sight.The temple is bounded by two enclosures.The inner enclosure is
400' x 278 'size and known as Kurma Bedha. The outer enclosure is of 665' x
644' size with the height varying from 20 ' to 24 ' is and popularly known as
Meghanad Prachir.
The temple has four gates at the eastern,southern,western, and
northen midpoints of the Meghanad Prachir and are called Lions gate,Horse Gate
, TigerGate and the Elephant Gate respectively.
The temple has got four halls in a row such as Viman (main temple
where Lord Jagannath is worshipped with brother Balabhadra, sister Subhadra and
Sudarshan), Jagamohan (Audience hall ), Natamandap (Dance hall ) and the Bhoga
Mandap (offering hall ).
How to Reach:
· Airport: The nearest
airport is Biju Patnail Airport located 60 kms from Puri in Bhubaneshwar. The
major domestic carriers operate regular flights from New Delhi, Kolkata,
Visakhapatnam, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai.
· Railway: The railway terminus
of the city offers express and super-fast train connections with New Mumbai,
Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and Baidyanath Dham.
Puri also has excellent rail connections with Tirupati, Okha and Ahmedabad.Puri
Is under judistriction of East Coast Railway.
· Road: From
Bhubaneshwar it is a 60 kms drive on state highway. The main bus stand is
located nearby Gundicha Mandir on Grand Road and
regular bus services to the nearby destinations such as Konark and Bhubaneshwar
are available.
Rameswaram
Rameshwaram
is the only one of the four Dhams where the resident Deity is Lord Shiva. The
other three have either Vishnu in one form or one of his avatars in residence.
The temple is built on an island in the Gulf of Mannar at the tip of the
peninsular that project out of the Indian subcontinent towards Sri Lanka. It is
built on the site where Lord Rama, Vishnu's seventh avatar, worshipped Shiva prior
to his attack on Lankapuri, the capital city of the Rakshasas to rescue his
beloved wife Sita who had been abducted by Ravana, king of the Rakshasas.
The temple has additional significance because it is, firstly, a
Jyotirlinga, and secondly, it is said in the scriptures that a pilgrimage to
Varanasi to pay homage to Lord Vishwanath is incomplete without also paying
homage to Lord Ranganatha at Rameshwaram. The Dham is also singular in that it
is an important pilgrimage place for both Vaishnavites as well as Shaivites.
About the Temple:
It is famous in the world as a typical architectural example. This
temple is situated on a big island of sand. The main entrance of the temple
tower has many storeys and stands tall. Its structure carvings, statutes and
the peaks make people dumb founded. On the tall stone pillars of temple,
beautiful carvings can be seen. Elephants with their trunks raised are seen.
The four sides of the temple are enclosed by strong stone walls. They are 650
ft. and 12ft. wide and tall respectively.
Near to a gold plated pillar, a river is carved on a monolithic
stone of 13 feet high and a foot wide. This indeed is a typical example of
beautiful sculpting. Near the main temple of Rameshwar, there is a separate
temple for Parvati known as Parvatavardhini temple. Besides this, there are
temples of Santana Ganapati, Veerabhadra Hanuman, navagrahas, etc. At a
distance of about 2 kilometers from the main temple, there is Gandhamaadhan
Mountain. In spite of being a sandy area, it is very green with a variety of
flora.
How to Reach:
Though Rameshwaram is an all-year round
destination, it is preferable to visit it during the period from October to
March. Rameshwaram has a hot and humid clime throughout the year with summer
temperatures hovering between 37-30 degree Celsius and winter temperatures
between 30-25 degree Celcius.
· Airport: The nearest
airport is at Madurai, at a distance of 154-km.
· Railway: Rameshwaram
is well connected by trains from all the major cities of India.
· Road: State
transport buses are available from the railway station to the various places in
and around Rameshwaram. For local transportation taxis, auto-rickshaws,
cycle-rickshaws and tongas are available. Also city
bus service is available in the island.
Rameswaram Floating Stone
Rameswaram View from Inside
Rameswaram Visit as Captured by NDTV