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Chardham: Badrinath-Kedarnath-Gangotri-Yamunotri
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yatra
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to the Chardham
- Yamunotri, Gangotri,
Kedarnath and Badrinath....
The
Himalayas with its
glorious peaks,
crystal clear mountain
streams and dense
forests has been
known as Dev Bhoomi,
the land
of the Gods.
The four
shrines of Yamunotri,
Gangotri, Kedarnath
and Badrinath –
known as the Char
Dham -
these are the holiest
Hindu shrines. Yamunotri
and Gangotri
are revered as the
sources of the two
most holy rivers
in India, the Yamuna
and the Ganga.
Kedarnath
and Badrinath
have shrines dedicated
to Shiva
and Vishnu,
two of the gods
in the Hindu trinity.
Yamunotri
Temple
is the main temple
is dedicated to
Goddess Yamuna.
Maharani Guleria
of Jaipur built
the present temple
in the late nineteenth
century. Once destroyed
by an earthquake,
it has been rebuilt.
The temple is approachable
by road. However,
the route is little
away from the normal
pilgrimage route.
Passing through
many lakes like
Dodital , Ruinsara
Lake and Yamunotri
Pass, the trek to
Yamunotri becomes
an adventure pilgrimage.
The trek route passes
through many high
elevation meadows
and passes offering
excellent view of
Swargarohini group
of mountains.
Gangotri,
the source of the
river Ganges and
seat of the goddess
Ganga, is one of
the four sites in
the Char Dham pilgrimage
circuit. The river
is called Bhagirathi
at the source and
acquires the name
Ganga from Devprayag
onwards where it
meets Alaknanda.
The origin of the
holy river is at
Gaumukh, which is
further 18 km trek
along the Gangotri
glacier.
Kedarnath,
according to legend,
Lord Shiva wished
to elude the Pandavas,
who had come to
seek penitence for
having killed their
kin in the battle
of Kurukshetra.
He took refuge in
Kedarnath in the
form of a bull.
Bhima, one of the
Pandava brothers,
found Shiva amongst
a herd of cattle.
Having identified
the meanest and
most arrogant of
the herd as Shiva,
Bhima is said to
have grabbed him
by the hindquarters.
What remains at
the shrine in Kedarnath
is the rear end
of the bull, with
the rest of its
body scattered throughout
the Garhwal. Shiva
dived into the ground
leaving behind him
a hump on the surface.
This conical protrusion
is worshipped as
the idol. It is
the main site of
the Panch Kedar
temples.
Badrinath
Temple,
on the right bank
of Alaknanda lies
the sacred spot
perched at an altitude
of 3,133 meters
above the sea level.
Encircled by a beautiful
valley, the 15 mts.
high temple is dedicated
to Lord Vishnu.
It is built in the
form of a cone with
a small cup of a
ilt bull and spire.
Built by adi guru
Shankaracharya the
philosopher-saint
of the 8th century,
the temple has been
renovated several
times due to damage
by avalanches. Its
colourful 'singh
dwara' or the main
entrance gate give
it a new, modern
look.
The
Chardham Yatra Route
: Start
with Yamunotri,
going on to Gangotri,
Kedarnath and culminating
the journey at Badrinath.This
route follows the
Hindu tradition
of parikrama or
clockwise circumambulation.
