History of PURI JAGANNATH

JAGANNATH PURI

by Brahmananda Naatha Saraswathi (of Hari Hara Bhuvaneshwari Peetam)

Jagannath Puri is a temple city in the Indian State of Odisha located 60 KMs from Bhubaneswar, on the seashore of Bengal. Jagannath Puri is one of the four Dhamas of India along with Dwarka, Rameshwaram and Badrinath. Jagannath Puri is the spiritual capital of Odisha and also known by other names such as Shri Purushottama Kshetra, Martya Vaikuntha or the abode of Lord Vishnu on Earth, Shri Kshetra, Nilachal, Nilagiri, Shankha Kshetra or Jagannatha Dham. This Holy City finds

mention in various ancient texts such as Rig Veda, Kurma Purana, Narada Purana, Padma Purana and the Vishnu Khanda of the Skanda Purana.

The most significant aspect of Jagannath Puri is the Jagannath Temple which is famous for its huge Deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Devi Subhadra and Their annual Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival) which is the largest religious gathering on the planet. The Puri Ratha Yatra attracts devotees from all over the world. In the Skanda Purana, the chapter called as Purushottama Kshetra Mahatmyam delineates the glories of Hagannath Puri. In this Chapter, Jaimini Rishi states that
anyone desiring to visit Sri Purushottama Kshetra will become free of their past sinful actions.

HISTORY OF JAGANNATH PURI

Puri was the capital of the province of Odisha and the headquarters of the Collector till 1816. The ancient city of Purushottama Kshetra was established by King Indradyumna after the installation of the Deities of Lord Jagannath. Over centuries, the city has been looted and destroyed by Muslim rulers and rebuilt and reestablished by various Kings. The Jagannath Temple was invaded eighteen times during its history to loot the temple treasures. However, the Deities were taken to safe places by the head priests during the time of the invasion.

Govardhana Matha, Puri has gained special significance as one of the four dhamas of India. It is the Eastern Dhama and one of the four Shankaracharyas of India stays here. It is believed that, there were 752 Mathas i.e., religious endowments, constituting institutions for the study and propagation of religious creeds in Puri. But now, about a dozen of them deserve mention. The arrival of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a great Gaudiya Vaishnava Saint from Bengal in the 14th century increased the significance of the Bhakti movement with Puri as one of the major seats of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. As per the scriptures, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the incarnation of Lord Krishna in the mood of Srimati Radharani.

Just like Jagannath Puri is glorious, its residents are also so glorious as they drink the nectar of Lord Jagannath’s pastimes every day. In the Brahma Purana, Lord Brahma says that all the residents of Puri have four arms; Purushottama Kshetra is so amazing that even the donkeys living there have four arms, then what to speak of the human beings.

“Aho Kshetrasya Mahatmyam Samantad Dasha Yojanam
Divishthaa Yatra Pashyanti Sarvaan-eva Chaturbhujam”

The glories of Purushottama Dhama are extraordinary. The Devatas from the heavenly planets look upon all living beings with a radius of ten yojanas of this sacred land as four handed residents of Vaikuntha.

In the Garuda Purana, Vyasa Deva goes on to explain,

“Yatra Sthitaa Janaah Sarve, Shankha Chakraabja Paanayah
Drishyante divi devaamsh cha, mohayanti muhur muhuhu”

When the devatas see that the residents of Puri are four armed with Shankha, Chakra and Padma, residents of Vaikuntha who also adorn the same faint innumerable times by seeing them.

Different Names of Jagannath Puri and their Significance

• Sri Kshetra – The word Sri refers to the internal potency of Lord Jagannath Knows as Lakshmi Devi. Hence the trace of land predominated by Sri Shakthi is called as Sri Kshetra. The local residents and Odiyan Vaishnavas refer to the main temple of Lord Jagannath as Sri Mandir and not Jagannath Mandir.
• Sri Purushottama Dhama – Lord Krishna resides here in the form of archa Vigraha called Sri Jagannath Dev or Sri Purushottama Dev and hence, Puri is called as Purushottama Dhama.
• Jagannath Puri Dhama – Jagannath means the Lord of the Universe and hence, his sacred abode is called as Jagannath Puri Dhama.
• Sri Shankha Kshetra – The land area of puri resembles the shape of a conch and hence called Shankha Kshetra. Lord Vishnu’s four weapons are represented in four different places in Odisha (also known as Odradesha), Shankha Kshetra is Jagannath Puri, Padma Kshetra is Konark, Chakra Kshetra is Bhubaneshwar and Gada Kshetra isJajapura. Of the four, Shankha Kshetra is the best as the Lord resides in His deity form as Jagannath Swami with all his majesty, beauty and sweetness.
• Nilachala Dhama – There is a small mountain situated in the middle of Puri which is bluish in colour on which the current day Jagannath temple is located. Hence, the name Nilachala Dhama. Earlier, Lord Jagannath was known as Nila Madhava whose Deity was made of a dazzling blue stone and worshipped by the local tribesmen called as Sabaras.
• Dasha Avatara Kshetra – It is said that Lord Vishnu originally manifests his different avataras in Puri and then goes to other places to enact the lilas associated with that avatara. After finishing the particular lila, the Lord returns to Puri. The Skanda Purana says that one gets the result of seeing the Dasha Avataras of Lord Vishnu by having just one darshan of Lord Jagannath.
• Bhauma Vaikuntha – As per the Kapila Samhita, Puri is a direct replica of Vaikuntha (sakshat vaikuntha rupam tat). Hence, it is the best of all kshetras and tirthas.
• Narasimha Kshetra – Puri is called as Narasimha Kshetra in the Padma Purana. When Lord Brahma had performed the installation ceremony of the Jagannath Temple, Lord Narasimha manifested from the Yagna Kunda in a ferocious form which frightened King Indradyumna. Seeing this, Lord Narasimha assumed a peaceful form.
• Bhusvarga – As per the Skanda Purana, Puri is known as Bhusvarge i.e., heaven on Earth. The Brahma Purana says that Puri is a very divine abode unlike any other place on Earth which is rarely attained even by the devatas.
• Puri Dhama – The word Puri means residence. Lord Jagannath is the Parama Purusa, i.e., the supreme person who lives here and hence called Puri Dhama.

Benefits of Visiting Jagannath Puri

As per the Skanda Purana, in Dvapara Yuga, Lord Sri Krishna and Arjuna visited Nilachala Dhama i.e., Jagannath Puri for three days. They observed vratas and had darshan of Lord Jagannath.

In the Padma Purana, Sage Narada tells the great devotee Prahlada –“One who sees or even hears about the Supreme Lord manifest on the summit of Nilachala hill will attain Lord Vishnu’s abode”.

In chapter eleven of the Padma Purana, Lord Vishnu tells Lord Shiva – “I eternally reside in Sri Kshetra and I eat there every day. By sleeping in Puri, one obtains the result of Samadhi, and lying down here brings the results of offering obeisances. By wandering around Puri, one obtains
the result of parikrama. Every word spoken here is a prayer glorifying me. Puri is so sanctified and pure that one attains the result of eating havishya (boiled rice with ghee) even by eating fish. Everyone who resides in Jagannath Puri is equal to me. Yamaraja has no jurisdiction to
punish anyone in Puri.”

The Shiva Purana says the following about Puri Dham –

“Aaste ananto avyayo voshnuh, purana purushottamah
Muktim dadaati yo devah, saptadha bhakti vatsalah
Smaranad bhakshanaad, tatha naamaanakirtanaat
Kshetre vaasaad asu-tyaagaad, darshanaach ca yathaa tathaa”

The unlimited, imperishable and primeval Sri Purushottama Deva resides in Puri. Being warmly affectionate to his devotees, Sri Jagannath Dev bestows liberation in the following seven ways – by remembering him, by honoring his Mahaprasadam, by visiting his holy abode, by chanting his holy names, by residing in his holy Dham, by having his darshan or by dying there.

The Brahma Purana states that by bathing in any one of the five sacred places in Jagannath Puri, a person will get liberation. These places are –

1. Indradyumna Sarovar
2. Markandeya Saroar
3. Sveta Ganga
4. Rohini Kunda
5. Sea at Puri, the Mahodadthi, where all sacred rivers of India flow into it.

Places to Visit in Jagannath Puri

• Jagannath Temple, the main attraction of Puri dedicated to Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi.
• Alalanatha Temple, also known as Brahmagiri where there is a temple of Lord Jagannatha and a stone slab containing the imprint of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s body. The Deity here called as Alwarnatha is said have been consecrated by one of the Alwars.
• Narendra Sarovara, which is a large water tank with a temple in the middle dedicated to Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi. Behind them, there is a Deity of Yashoda Devi, the mother of Lord Krishna. At the other end of the temple rooms is the Deity of Lakshmi Devi. A temple of Lord Shiva and Balakrishna are also present.
• Balagandhi, where Lord Jagannath’s chariot stops to accept Bhog
• and offerings.
• Jagannath Vallabha Gardens, which resembles Vrindavana. There is a temple of Lord Jagannatha here.
• Bhakthisiddhanta Swami’s birth place, which is worth visiting.He is the founder of the Gaudiya Math. The Gaudiya Math temple houses the Deities of Lord Jagannath, Bhaktisiddanta Swami as well as that of the Acharyas of the four sampradayas, i.e.,Vishnuswami, Madhvacharya, Nimbarka and Ramanuja.
• Gundicha Temple, where Lord Jagannath stays for a week during the Rath Yatra festival.
• Narasimha Temple, which stands next to the Gundicha Temple and houses two Deities of Lord Narasimha, one called as Santha Narasimha and the other is Rajo Narasimha. It is said that one who has darshan of Santha Narasimha will be able to free themselves from anger, anxiety and frustration.
• Indradymna Sarovara Kunda, from which water is drawn to clean the Gundicha Temple.
• Paramananda Puri’s well whose water is said to be non-different from the waters of river Ganga. It is said that the water of the well was bitter and hence, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prayed to Lord
• Jagannath to allow the water of river Ganga to flow into the well and make it sweet. The prayer was accepted and the water turned sweet.
• Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya’s house contains a hidden tunnel which is said to lead in two directions, i.e., one towards the sea and other towards the Jagannath temple. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath.
• Siddha Bakula is the bhajan kutir of Haridasa Thakura who was agreat devotee of Lord Jagannatha inspite of being born into a Muslim family. He used to chant 300,000 holy names of the Lord everyday. The neem tooth stick of Lord Jagannath was planted here by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which grew into a tree in a moment.
• Kasi Misra’s house which used to be the residence of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. There is a room seen through a small barred window called Sri Gambhira where the Lord lived. Here one can also have darshan of Akhanda Jyoti lit by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and slippers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
• Other Places Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Bhajan Kutir, Haridas Thakur’s Samadhi, Chakra Tirtha Temple and others.

How to reach Jagannath Puri

Puri is well connected to other parts of the country through bus, train and flights.

• By Flight – Bhubaneshwar is the nearest Airport and Puri is 60 kms from here.
• By Train – Puri has a railway station and well connected to major rail heads.
• By Road – Puri is well connected by Road. State Bus Transport Corporation plies from various cities in Odissa to Puri and more frequent services from Bhubaneshwar.

Have a wonderful Darshan of the Moksha Puri. Kamakshi Kamakshi Kamakshi!!

Our Chardham Trail - Oct-2019

Our Chardham Yaathra:

It all started as a casual chat outside the Kapali temple after our daily அர்த்தஜாமம் & பள்ளி அறை. As many of the regulars at Kapali temple have visited Kedharnath we have always wanted to go there once. Ramkumar jii was telling that he is planning to go to Kedhar and Badhri by October after நவராத்ரி and before the Diwali function. Some of us, first timers wanted to join him in his trip. By July, Ram decided on the dates and also booked his tickets. Many of them who initially wanted to join him opted out for various reasons. I was initially unsure because of office uncertainties. Before I could decide to join, Vignesh also booked the tickets to join. By mid-August, I also decided to join and booked my tickets as well.

10-Oct-2019 - Day 0:

As planned, we joined at the Chennai domestic airport by 10 PM on 10-Oct. After reaching Delhi, we had to take another flight to Dehradun. We reached Dehradun in AI flight by 8 AM.

Day 1 - 11-Oct-2019 - Kempty Falls:

After collecting our baggage, we started towards Yamunothri by 8:30 AM. Our cab driver had already arrived by then. After a drive of about 2 hours, we wanted to refresh and had a taken couple of hours break at “Aryana Restaurant and Home Stay” near Bhatta Falls, Mussoorie. I had my first taste of north Indian aaloo paratha, achaar and a cup of curd. But by then, I didn’t have a clue that aalu paratha and achaar would be my primary source of sustenance over the next 10 days. We enjoyed our brunch, had a brief nap and started again by 12:45. On the way, we had a brief stopover at Kempty Falls, Mussoorie. It was late afternoon and the water was
pretty cold even then. We spent about 30 mins there and again started towards Yamunothri.

                  

It was Pradosham that day. So, Ram wanted to make sure we had a darshan of a Shiva temple. It happened all of a sudden by 4:15. We chanced upon a small temple at the riverside. Ram performed his மத்யானிக அனுஷ்டானம் there followed by his Shiva poojai. It was a scenic place with Yamunothri flowing in the valley. We had some shots in camera and started towards Yamunothri again. Ram actually planned for staying at Birla Aashram, near Yamunothri. But then, it was already late when we reached Barkot about 50 KMs before Yamunothri. We checked in Govt guest house, but it wasn’t available. We had to make couple of more stops at Barkot and settled at “Hotel Kanak Palace” for the night. It is at the function where we could take diversions to Yamunothri or Gangothri.

Day 2 – 12-Oct-2019 – Yamunothri Darshan:

We started from our room by 8:30 on 12-Oct towards Yamunothri and we were at Hanuman Chatti by 11 AM. We had to trek for about 7-8 KMs. Half way thru, we thought we are already falling back and so, opted for a horse ride. We had some nervous moment as the horse I was riding struggeled and slipped couple of times dropping me down. I understood that the horse owners sometimes have the habit of using 1 collie for 2 horses. This way they can save on the payment for a coolie. Later when we were travelling in horse back in Kedhar, the horse owner employed the same tactics. But then things were more organized in Kedhar. When the horse wala tried the same tactics in Kedhar, we were stopped by the police and until another horse wals was brought in, we were not allowed to proceed. The horse ride in Yamunothri was more unorganized and was the demand from the coolies wasn’t consistent and had to be directly paid to the coolies themselves. But in Kedhar, we had prepaid counters well before the place we started the ride and it was monitored by the local policemen. Back to the Yamunothri story, by the time we reached the temple, it was about 2 PM. First we had a dip at the तप्त पानी(the hot water pond, I understand it is natural hot water spring due to presence of Sulphur in water). Then we had darshan at the temple, including the main deity and couple of tanks one called Draupati kund. We started back by 3 PM or so from Yamunothri and reached the base at Hanuman Chatti by another horse. We paid Rs. 1000 for the trip back on horse back. We located the parking area and we reached back the hotel at Barkot by 9 PM. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant and closed for the day.

Note: Between Akshya Thrithika in April and Diwali in October or November, the deities reside in Yamunothri. In the winter though, the deity in Yamunothri moves to Kharsali area due to severe snow and cold between November and April. This is the practive in other dhams too.

Day 3 – 13-Oct-2019 – Uttarkashi, Gangothri:

On 13-Oct, by 9 AM we vacated the hotel and started from Barkot towards the second Dham, Gangothri. Ram had planned stopover at Uttarkashi. Between Barkot and Uttarkashi, we had 2 tunnel ways being laid by dredging mountains. The first one is between Barkot and Dharasu on way to Uttarkashi. Detaisl of the National_Highway_134 tunnel at the wiki location. This would reduce the distance between Yamunothri and Gangothri by about 20 Kms and travel time by an hour or more. We drove further and touched the NH 34, had brunch at Bartwal Bhojnalaya, “Dharasu - Barkot - Yamunotri Rd”, Patara, Uttarakhand. Spent 30 mins in there.  By around1:30PM, we were at the Uttarkashi Viswanath temple.

        



To-Do: Ram's video Sthala Mahatmeeyam of Viswanathar temple of Uttarkashi to be added here.

We stared from Uttarkashi by around 2:30 and we headed to Gangothri. It was a scenic drive all along and we were going mostly uphill with Mandagni flowing in the valley. We reached Gangothri by around 5 and we settled down at hotel Manisha closer on way to Gangothri. After refreshing, we immediately started to the temple. The temple was pretty busy on that full-moon night with aarthi going on. We had darshan at the main deity, the homa kund opposite to that and started back to hotel. The night was pretty cold.

Note: Gomuki in Gangothri Glacier is the starting point of Ganges and it is at a distance of 18 KMs from Gangothri. We can trek to Gomuk. Probably should plan for a visit there if I could get to go another time.

Day 4 – 14-Oct-2019 - Gangothri, Travel towards Kedharnath: 

The next day morning, we woke up by 5:30 AM and were at the temple at 7:30 for the Ganga Pooja. The water was almost freezing and cold and it was quite a task collecting water for the Pooja. We caught cold of a purohit, completed the Pooja by around 9 AM. Had a darshan of the main deity and home kund, went around there and went back to hotel. Note: Most of the water containers they sell at the shops around there leak with water filled from Gangothri. So, it would be a good idea to take some leak-proof water bottle or container if you are keen on bringing ganga jal from Gangothri. After finishing the darshan for the day, we started towards the 3rd Dham, the Kedharnath.

Day 5 - 15-Oct-2019 - Gaurikund, Munkh khatiya Ganpathy, Thriyug Narayan Mandhir:

By 8AM on Tuesday, we started from Gupthakashi hotel towards Kedharnath. There was HeliTaxi services provided from 3 or 4 places operated by private players, regulated by Govt. We thought we would take the helicopter ride from one of the 3 or 4 places on the way. One was available in Gupthakashi, just 10 KMs from the hotel, and 1 in Patha another 2-5 Kms further and 1 more in Sirsi, all costing from 3000 to 5000 Rs for a round trip. But due to bad weather, there were many cancellations and many of the pilgrims who had booked rides earlier were also stranded. I understood there are procedures to get refund, but that is complicated. But we were told that we still can get the rides if we are ready to pay a premium. So, if we are sure we want to go only by helicopter, we may have to shell more. By 10 AM we reached Sonprayag, base camp of Kedharnath. We had to take a local jeep to commute to Sonprayag and we had to walk to Gaurikund where the horse ride or Dholi was available. We had darshan at Gaurikund where Parvathi was in thapas for marring lord Shiva. . After completing darshan at Gaurikund, we started walking towards Kedhar. We initially thought we would walk the 16 odd Kms to the Kedharnath temple. As we walked up, it was getting colder and we were also getting tired. So, we ended-up searching for 3 horse walas, but we couldn’t get any going up to the temple. After talking to some staff at “Hotel Shivalik Valley”, we decided to take help on booking for horse and start for Kedharnath only the next day. On way back to hotel, we went to Gaurikund, the place where Parvathi married lord Shiva. After that, we stopped over for darshan at Munkatiya. Here lord Ganesh has his head missing after lord Ganesha tries stopping Shiva from entering Parvathi’s adobe and Shiva cuts off his head. This was a pretty small temple in the hill and probably not much visited as well. 

                            

                    

 

                         

Day 6 – 16-Oct-2019 - Kedharnath Darshan: 
We woke up by 4:30 and were taken to Gaurikund by jeep and we landed up in the prepaid counter. The staff from Shivalik who was accompanying us helped with booking the horse. It was Rs.2350 up and Rs.1500 down, pretty cheap compared to Yamunothri. We started climing by 6 AM and by 10 AM, we were at the dropping point about half a kilometer from the Kedharnath shrine. Apart from horse, we had also dholis which were carried by either 1 or 4 members. Those were allowed much closer to the shrine. . Ram had elaborate plans for Pooja after getting hold of some prohits. We completed the Pooja by 1 PM. There is a bolder behind the temple, which supposedly saved Kedarnath temple from the 2013 cloud burst and floods. We could also see some agoris around in Kedharnath. After coming out, had some snaps around the temple and started back to base by 3 PM by the same horse wala that went up on. By 6PM, we were at Gaurikind the place we started. From three, we had to walk about a KM to Sonprayag and from there we had to take a jeep back to our hotel. It was about 8 PM by the time we were there at hotel and so, we luckily got a room available in Shivalik Valley and decided to stay there that night. Sthala Puranam: After the Kurukshetra war, the Pandavas were very rejected that they killed so many. After consulting Srikrishna, they were at penance at the Himalayas. Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a bull and Bhimasenan was chasing the bull after realizing that it is infact lord Shiva. The hump of the bull is what is considered the Shiva lingam at Kedharnath. Three are other 4 places where the other parts of the bull appeared and they are together called pancha-Kedhar. The limbs of the bull appearing in Tunganath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar, the face showing up at Rudranath and the hair and the head appearing in Kalpeshwar. It is also a practice to visit pancha-Kedhar in one go like done for char-dham. Credit goes to Shri Adhisankaracharya to have discovered this place and established the temple. Note: Hotel Shivalik Valley was one place where we could get South Indian food and had a taste of Andhara meals after 5-6 days of living in roti and aaloo paratha. I understand that the tarrif for the hotel is much higher in May-June-July timeframe when the traffic to chardham is highest.  Kedharnath darshan was the prime objective of our trip. Having done that, we very happily started towards the 4th dham.

    

Day 7 – 17-Oct-2019 – Gupthakashi, Urkhimath, Gopeshwar Darshan:

Sonprayag to Joshimath: https://goo.gl/maps/6LyigLadfK6Tmxra6

We vacated the hotel and started towards Badhrinath by morning. By 11 AM, we were at Gupthakashi Viswanath temple. This is around 30 Kms from Sitapur where we started from. This temple is also connected to Mahabharatha. After spending about an hour here, we started towards Urkhimuth. The Omkareshwarar temple in Urkimutt is the winter adobe of Lord Kedharnath. Also the Madyameshwar deity was would also be in the Urkhimuth temple during the winter and the deity from Madhyameshwar was already in there. We had a sannidhi for Bairavar in Urkhimath and also the 5 kedhar lingams were also in a sannidhi. Gupthakashi or Phata are the 2 of the places well connected by helicopter to Kedharnath. So, if you are planning to go by helicopter, it would be convenient to stay in one of these places.

By 4:30 PM we were at Gopeshwar, another temple town. After driving thru a busy narrow market street, we were in the Mahadev temple, Gopeshwar in Chamoli district. The architecture was different than the other temples we visited till date. On way towards Joshimath, we had a break at Pipalkoti and were at Joshimath by 8:30. We found accommodation at Hotel Malari Inn. There was a restaurant attached to the hotel opposite to that and the meal sumptuous meal night with roti, aaloo paratha, currey, dhal, rice, curd and achar. 

 

Day 8 – 18-Oct-2019 – Badhrinath, Joshimath:


Badhrinath and Back via Vishnuprayag: https://goo.gl/maps/DktnMvtymA4iRtpq5 

By 8 AM as usual, we started towards Badhrinath from Joshimath. It was a scenic 90 mins drive and reached Mana, cicle. At a 3 KM distance from this circle is the village of Mana, which is one of the border villages between India and Tibet. By 10:30, we were at the तप्त पानी कुंड (the hot water pond @ Badhtinath). We had a quick dip at the कुंड. It was a sulphur water sprint, and like in Yamunothri, it is not recommended to keep immerced in it for long. 100 m from that kund is Brahma Kapalam. The legend is that after chopping off Brahma’s fifth head, lord Shiva has the head struck in his hand and to get rid of it, he had go for bikshavandhanam. Lord Vishnu helped lord Shiva get rid of it. It is practice for Hindus to do pithru tharpanam at this place. Ram went for Tharpanam. Myself and Vignesh, roamed around shopping in the place for sometime. We were supposed to meet Ram and together we were to be in the Badhrinath temple. But this was missed in communication and each of us ended up going to the temple alone. Mobile network connectivity was also not good enough and calls hardly went. The crowd was swelling by the time I entered the temple, and I eventually had the darshan at around 11:30. This was again a small temple with the main sannidhi and there was a snnidhi for Naranarayanan(Arjuna and Krishna) and Hanuman in the prakaram. This temple was also established by Shri Adhisankara himself and so, has a mandapan where Shri Sankara himself was in meditation. Badhrinath is one of the divya desams. There is a mountain named Indraneelaparvatham which is 9 KMs behind the Badhrinath temple which is actually one of the 276 celebrated Shiva shrines sung by the naalvars. After the darshan at Badhrinath, I catught-up with Vignesh at the parking area by 1 PM or so. We know it would take time for Ram to complete the darshan and come. So, we went around and in one of the hotels, we sat for lunch. The hotel owner offered if we would like to have south Indian meals and we gladly accepted it. It was sambar rice, vazhakkai kari, papad, tayir sadham and achar. There was a tamil touring parting that was sitting adjutant to our table. We found that the food served in the hotel was actually prepared by them and excess food was given to the hotel owner and he offered that to us for a price. We met one T.S. Vasudevan who was organizing that tour. He said this was his 350th time to Badhrinath. Ram was back from darshan by 2:30 or 3 and we started back to Joshimath. On the way was we took a break at Vishnu Prayag. It is at the confluence of Alaknandha and Dhauli Ganga. Dhauli Ganga is believed to be flowing from padha dhooli of lord Vishnu. We missed the Pandukeshwar temple on the way as it was raining. Back at the hotel at about 4:30, had snack and team and prepared for the evening visit. 

     

 

By 5:00 in evening we started by walk to the Narasimha Mandhir. Just as we entered the temple, aarthi started and we had darshan. Adjacent to the Narasimha temple was navadhurga mandhir. We had darshan at that temple too and proceeded towards Jothir Mutt. This Mutt was the 5 mutts established by Shri Adhisankaracharya. This was actually in Badhrinath, but moved to Joshimath due to severe cold. The other 5 mutts being the Sringeri mutt in the south, Dwaraka mutt in the west and Puri in the east and the Kanchi mutt as well in the south. The sankaracharya of the Dwaraka mutt heads the Jothir mutt as well. We were at the cave where Thodagacharya composed Thodagashtagam on Sankaracharya. Thodagacharyar was amoung the firstline disciple of Sankaracharya and was the first head of Jothir mutt established by this guru. There was 3 spatika lingams in there, 1 of which was established by Ashisankara himself and rest 2 by subsequent acharyas. After darshan at the mutt, we walked back to the hotel. We had already ordered roti, dhal, rice, south-Indian samar and curd. It was an excellent dinner and retired back to the room.

Joshimath Local Visit: https://goo.gl/maps/4faNTmbHEZDGyGReA

     

                      

Note: Like Mana, Maleri is another village bordering China/Tibet. That was also an attraction that we couldn’t go. From Badhrinath, we can go for trek. This was the swargarogan trail, which the pandavas walked till they reached the heavenly aboard. This is supposed to be a 4 day trek with no man-made structure or communication. Youngsters with time and energy can try that trail. Also, we missed the valley of flowers, which again may take half a day and the ropeway in Joshimath(closes by 4:30 every evening).

Day 9 – 19-Oct-2019 – Prayag, Prayag:

 

Day 10 – 20-Oct-2019 – Rishikesh, Home @ Chennai: