Har Ki Pauri

Hindi: हर की पौडी़, हरिद्वार - CLICK TO SEE HINDI DESCRIPTION

हरिद्वार मे अधिकतर लोग हर की पौडी़ पर ही स्नान करते है। कहा जाता है की इसी जगह पर अमृत गिरा था! यह स्थान भारत के सबसे पवित्र घाटों में एक है। इस घाट को ब्रह्मकुण्ड के नाम से भी जाना जाता है। माना जाता है की राजा श्वेत ने हर की पौड़ी में भगवान ब्रह्मा जी की पूजा की और राजा की तपस्या एवं भक्ति से प्रसन्न होकर ब्रह्मा जी ने उन्हें दर्शन दिए और तब से हर की पौड़ी के जल को ब्रह्मकुण्ड के नाम से भी जाना जाता है। हर की पौडी़ में स्नान करने से समस्त पाप धुल जाते हैं।

सूर्यास्त के समय यहां नियमित रूप से गंगाजी की आरती की जाती है और लोग उस समय नदी में दीप दान करते हैं। गंगा नदी मे प्रवाहित किए जाने वाले यह दीपक एक अलौकिक दृश्य उत्पन्न करते हैं। गंगा नदी में बहते असंख्य दीपों की आभा देखते ही बनती है यह बहुत ही रमणीय दृश्य होता है।

Location:	In Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Famous For:	Being the point where the Ganges enters plains

One of the most famous and most visited sites of Haridwar, Har ki Pauri is considered as one of its five main holy sites. It is believed to be the sacred place where Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, two great Hindu Gods, appeared in the Vedic era. This place is considered equivalent to the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Banaras, in religious terms. It is also said that Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation, performed a yagna at the Har ki Pauri. The ghat is also said to have the holy footprints of Lord Vishnu.

Har ki pauri is believed to be the exit point of the river Ganges from the mountains and its entry into the plains. A dip in the holy water of the ghat is said to relieve a person of all his sins. The place is surrounded by some ancient and some newly build temples. Throughout the year, religious rituals like 'upanayan' or the initiation ritual, 'mundan' or the head tonsuring ritual, 'asthi visarjan' or immersion of the ashes of the dead and 'shraddha' or prayers appeasing one's ancestors take place here.

Har ki pauri is always crowded with devotees and priests, offering prayers to the Sun God and the holy Ganges. This place is the perfect destination for people deeply in love with religion, philosophy and spiritualism. The auspicious fair of Hindus, the Kumbh mela, is held at Har ki Pauri, after every 3 years. This sacred ghat was built on the bank of Ganges, by King Vikramaditya, in the memory of his brother Bhartrihari. Har ki pauri is famous for Ganga Aarti, a holy ritual of offering prayers to the Ganges.

Ganga Aarti takes place on the ghat in the evening, after sunset. A group of Brahmans hold huge fire bowls in their hands and offer their holy mantras to river Ganges, Shiva - the Hindu God of destruction, Surya - the Sun God and the entire Universe. The devotees then offer flowers and earthen lamps - diyas - to river Ganges, in order to pay due regards to their ancestors in heaven. The scenario at Har ki pauri at the time of Ganga-Aarti is mesmerizing.

Har Ki Pauri is the place where the divine nectar fell from celestial Kumbh. The Kumbh mela is held here (last held in 1998, next in 2010). The holy river Ganga, enters Brahmakund from one side and exits from the other. Though the water here is around waist-high, one has to be very cautious while bathing on the Ghats since the flow is swift and speedy. Chains and rails have been provided to enable devotees to catch on safely while they take a holy dip. Famous temples - Ganga Mandir and Haricharan mandir are also located here.

Har Ki Pauri gets its name from the feet (Pauri) of lord (Hari). Vishnucharanpaduka, the footprints of the Lord, are believed to be imprinted on the wall beneath the waters of Ganga here and with the guidance of a priest, it is also possible to touch it.

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Devprayag

<From Wikipedia>

Devprayag (Devaprayāg) (Devanagari: देव प्रयाग) is a town and a nagar panchayat (municipality) in Tehri Garhwal district in the state of Uttarakhand, India, and is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River.

Overview

Traditionally, it is considered to be the place where sage Devasharma led his ascetic life, giving birth its present name, Devprayag. It is one of the five sacred confluences in the hills and is an important place of pilgrimage for devout Hindus.

"Devaprayaga" means "Holy Confluence" in Sanskrit. As per Hindu Scriptures, Devaprayaga is the sacred event of merging two heavenly rivers, Alakananda and Bhagirathi, to form the holy Ganga.

On a terrace in the upper part of the village is the temple of Raghunathji, built of huge stones, pyramidal in form and capped by a white cupola.

Devprayag is the home of the late Acharya Shri Pt. Chakradhar Joshi (a scholar in Astronomy and Astrology) who established Nakshatra Vedh Shala (an observatory) in the year 1946. This is located on a mountain called Dashrathanchal at Devprayag. The observatory is well equipped with two telescopes and many books to support research in astronomy. It also contains about 3000 manuscripts from 1677 AD onwards collected from various parts of country. Apart from the latest equipment, it also has the ancient equipment like Surya Ghati, Jal Ghati and Dhruv Ghati which showcase the pride of Bharatiya progress in the field of astronomy. Shri Dr. Prabhakar Joshi and Acharya Shri Bhaskar Joshi (Popularly known as Guruji) are currently in charge and caretakers of the observatory.

Devprayag is full of natural beauty. Other than Sangam and Raghunath Ji Temple in Devprayag, one can visit nearby sacred places like Danda Naggaraja (Lord of Snakes) temple and Chandrabadni temple.

Geography

The Alaknanda rises at the confluence and feet of the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers in Uttarakhand. The headwaters of the Bhagirathi are formed at Gaumukh, at the foot of the Gangotri glacier and Khatling glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya. These two sacred rivers join to form the Ganges (Ganga) in Devprayag.

Devprayag is 70 km from Rishikesh. Devprayag has an average elevation of 830 metres (2,723 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Dev Prayag had a population of 2144. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Dev Prayag has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 82% and, female literacy is 72%. In Dev Prayag, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. The town is the seat of the pandas of the Badrinath Dham.

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Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, Rishikesh

Originally posted on : http://nayna.in/

May 29, 2008

A temple with patient devotees…a temple with no touts, no one to force you to pay up for a special VIP doorway. A temple where you can take your time and pray without hearing the words “Move Ahead, Keep Moving.” 

Does this sound unbelievable? Trust me, I was surprised too.
Nestled on a high mountain top with pristine waters of the holy Ganges below, devotees are invited to seek blessings from Neelkanth Mahadev in Rishikesh.

Neelkanth Mahadev is none other than Lord Shiva. This name befell on him because of a precarious feat he undertook because he could not see his devotees suffer. The Puranas state that during the churning of the ocean-Samudra Manthan, there came out a poison called-Halahal. The venom was exceptionally powerful that it could annihilate mankind. The gods were distressed and didn’t know how to destroy it. Lord Shiva stepped in and decided to drink it.

Mahima (Magnanimous Aura) of Lord Shiva is divine. He surely drank it but did not swallow the poison. He allowed it to remain in his throat. This venom turned his throat blue. Neel defines the color blue, Kanth is throat and Mahadev means Lord of the gods. Lord Shiva came to rest in Rishikesh. The gods tried hard to comfort him and ultimately decided to pour water on his head to cool him off. This is one of the reasons why even today, devotees offer water to Lord Shiva.

After several years of rest and meditation, Lord Shiva removed the poison from his throat and left it on a mountain. He returned to his abode, Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. Later a temple was build around this and now stands as symbol of Lord’s grace at a height of 1675 m.

A drive of 32 km. from Rishikesh via Barrage or an alternate route of 22 km. via Ram Jhoola can get you there with ease. The scenic beauty was breathtaking as on one side was the mountain terrain and the other side was a steep drop into the fast flowing Ganges.

The holy water of Ganga was much cleaner as compared to the water that flows through Haridwar and Varanasi. The current was tremendous and so river rafting was an extremely popular sport here. Tourists worldwide visit this city for this adventurous thrill.

The temple’s car park was lined with stalls selling offerings for the deity. It consisted of coconut, a sealed-plastic glass containing water from the Ganges, Bel leaves, assorted-fresh flowers, fruits like dhatura and jujube, box of incense sticks, small Chunnari (piece of red veil) and a laminated photograph of the Lord Shiva with the backdrop of the temple.

As I walked ahead, I was taken aback by the temple’s architecture. The entire Samudra Manthan was depicted with colorful idols of all the gods and goddess. One look at it and the entire Puranic story flashes in front of your eyes. The architecture is extremely well-maintained and the photographs don’t do enough justice to them. Photography is not allowed inside the temple so I was forced to take as much as I could from the outside.

I stood in line to enter the inner sanctum. A life-sized idol of goddess Parvati was seated near the entrance. Her striking grandeur forced everyone to bow and offer their obeisance. The arena around the lingam was made of marble. There were detailed etchings of guards or Dwarpals on the columns with intricate detailing that showed their weapons. Opposite the lingam was Lord Shiva’s mount Nandi, the bull.

Devotees kept chanting “Om Namah Shivay” and finally it was my turn. I sat in from of the lingam which was encased in silver. It had an opening at the top to see the original form. I poured the water from the Ganges while a priest seated, chanted the Vedic mantras and helped me complete my worship.

At the exit of the sanctum, there was a gigantic Pipal tree. Devotees had tied chunnaris to it. I guessed that it was for their wishes that needed to be fulfilled. But I really didn’t have anything to wish for. Getting a darshan like this was more than what I had dreamt of.

I feel that if you really want solitude with Lord Shiva, you will get it here in Rishikesh. Even the 12 Jyotirlings won’t give you the solace because of the packed crowds and touts.

Jyotirling at Mallikarjun in Sri Sailam, Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, Trymbakeshwar in Nasik, Nageshwar near Dwarka and Somnath in Gujarat do not allow always devotees to touch the Lingam. Security concerns, crowd management and arrival of VIP dignitaries can dampen your spirits. I hope my travel experiences give you a clear idea how to get personal one on one time with Lord Shiva.

©Nayna, 2007-2008. All Rights Reserved.(http://nayna.in/)

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Danda Nagraj Temple Pauri Garhwal --By Ramu Kanchi

FROM http://dandanagrajtemple.blogspot.com/

Ramu

I heard a lot about this temple through one of my friend from Pauri Garhwal area, so I decided to visit the temple at any cost. After my visit I felt that the visit was a worth more than that I expected.

This is lord srikrishna temple, when god came to Uttaranchal first time, came in the snake form by crawling and reached to the ridge of the hill hence this temple named as “Danda Nagraj Temple”. People in this area strongly believe that real god is staying here and so powerful, if you pray here sincerely, your wish will be fulfilled. Every year in April month the famous “Kauthig” is celebrated here. This temple is situated in top of hill in plane area with ample space around the temple, also you will observe some thousands of bells are tied in the temple premises by devotees who’s wish is fulfilled. Also you will find the devotees are offering jaggery (gur) sweet as prasad to the god.

This place is well connected from Pauri city by road approximately 34 km.

From Delhi to this place is around 300km, there are 3 ways to reach this place.

1. Delhi----Meerut--- Haridwar—Rishikesh---Byasi---Devprayag—Pauri—Danda Nagraj Temple.

2. Delhi----Meerut---Bijnor---Najibabad----Kotdwara—Lansdowne-- Pauri—Danda Nagraj Temple.

3. Delhi----Meerut--- Haridwar—Rishikesh---Byasi---Devprayag—Kharkhola village, form this village6 km walking to climb up the temple.

I choose to go by rishikesh route, I booked one taxi from Delhi and accompanied with one of my friend who’s brother is residing at Srinagar garhwal town which is after 30km from devprayag. From Srinagar to pauri is 28km, though it is a long route, i thought to go along with the known people to understand better about garhwal, since I am from South India. We started Friday at 7pm from Delhi and reached haridwar at 2am night time, we thought beyond this place it is not safe to travel to hills, so we took rest in a hotel in haridwar till morning 8am.

Haridwar

After taking breakfast we left haridwar at 9am and reached the spectacular yoga town rishikesh, from here actual garhwal hills starts and the ghat road is narrow and half of the way is filled with land sliding with lots of stones smaller to huge rocks, our taxi driver is an expert person in ghat road driving though many vehilcles coming opposite, he managed a smooth drive.We enjoyed the view of river “Ganga” running in the valley along the road.

Rishikesh

Road is not good till the place byasi, 20km from rishikesh, After the Byasi the road is fantastic, so we enjoyed the travel by viewing the spectacular lush green hills and beautiful valley with the forceful river Ganga.

Byasi

In between we stopped many places to have tea, snacks etc., I told driver to stop at selected places to view the beauty of the fantastic mountain ranges and mind blowing sceneries. We reached devpryag at 12pm. Devprayag is the point where the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda River join to form the Ganges River. Devprayag is located at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers. It has an average elevation of 830 metres and is one of the five sacred confluences in the hills and is an important place of pilgrimage for devout hindus.

Devprayag

We stopped our car here for sometime to view the sangam of the both rivers and formation of Ganga river. It was a very nice experience. Then we started from devpryag at 12:30pm and reached Srinagar at 1:15pm.

Srinagar is situated on the banks of Alaknanda river and it was the capital of Garhwal before the arrival of British rule. it remained capital of Garhwal for over 300 years, Srinagar offers simply a view of a moderate sized typical mountain town, bigger than other mountainous towns, with slopes and descending - ascending lanes and streets, sights of tall trees, green paddies and colourful horizons with criss-crossed hills and peaks all around. It offers a fresh air to view scattered townships, buildings, temples, monuments and above all the sneaking, rushing Alaknanda, another tributary of mighty holy Ganga, the legendary river, rather a mother Ganga for every Indian.

Srinagar (Garhwal)

Srinagar is a bit hot temperature since it is situated at low altitude comparing to other places around. We reached to my friend’s brother house at 1:30pm, he is also very much interested to go Danda Nagraja Temple with us. He is a pure Garhwali and knows each hook and corner of all areas in Garhwal. After taking lunch at his home we started our journey at 3pm to Danda Nagraja Temple via Pauri.

Srinagar to Pauri is 28 km distance, we enjoyed the views of beautiful mountains and ghat road travel. The Pauri City which is situated at an altitude of 1814 Mts. above the sea-level on the northern slopes of Kandoliya hills is the headquarters of the District Pauri Garhwal and the Garhwal Division. Headquarters of all Govt. departments are located in the city Pauri .

We reached pauri at 4pm and stopped our car to purchase coconut and Jaggery to offer as Prasad at temple. From here danda nagraj temple is 30km, we crossed 3 or 4 mountains and thick forest, but road is nice to travel, after some time of journey we felt that temperature became cool as we are going up to the hill and we had a pleasant climate with cool breeze. We reached the temple area at 5:30pm at the evening dawn and that time the place is covered with full of fog and the visibility is only 5metres but I enjoyed that atmosphere, I took the strong breathe in that fog, almost I felt I am covered by the clouds. It was a great experience in that climate ,one should have at least one time in the life. There is only one shop in this area, you can get tea, snacks etc., from the main road to temple there is a ramp way, a 100metres climb in the ramp.

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Dhari Devi Temple, near Srinagar

Perched atop a 20 metre high rock, the temple of Dhari Devi is situated on the banks of river Alaknada. One has to travel a distance of 19 kms. from Srinagar (Pauri Garhwal) on Srinagar-Badrinath highway upto Kaliya Saur, then down trek another half a kilometer towards Alaknanda river. According to a local legened, the temple was once washed off by floods, while floating the idol struck against a rock, the villagers heard the cries of the idol. On reaching the site they heard a divine voice instructing them to install the idol as it was, on the spot it was found. Since then the fierce looking idol remains where it was, known as Dhari Devi, under the open sky, and thousands of devotees on the way to Badrinath pay their obeisance to it. The temple of Dhari Devi in Srinagar hosts only the upper part of idol of Godess Dhari, the remaining lower part is believed to be in Kalimath in Rudraprayag district.

It is believed that the idol of Dhari Devi shall not be put under roof. For the same reason, the idols in Dhari Devi Temple are put under open sky. Taking photographs of Dhari Devi idols is strictly prohibited.
The village near the temple is name after godess Dhari and known as Dhari Village. A hanging bridge over Alaknanda river connects the Dhari Devi temple to Dhari Village.

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