The Himalayas are the largest mountain ranges in the world. But for Indians, especially the Hind us, they symbolise a spiritual ete rnity, a precious link wit h bygone ages and much more. For me, the Himalayas constitute the ultimate destination, a repository of ones religious faith. And it is from the Himalayan glaciers that the river Ganga, the holiest of all rivers in India, rises and cuts its path through valleys of stunning beauty an d marvellously chiselled gorges before it enters the plains. The Gangotri and Gomukh, the source of the Ganga, along with Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath form the four most important pilgrimage centres in the Garhwal Himalaya. Hundreds of other temples are also located elsewhere in the Himalayas. In many ways, the Himalayas represent the soul and spirit of Hindu Dharma. The journey of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath and places of major interest begins in the foothill town of Haridwar or Hardwar {the gateway to Hari (Vishnu) or Har (Shiva)}. This busy town on the ban ks of the Ganga is also the gateway to th e Garhwal Himalaya. While some seek salvation thousands wait to wash-away their sins in Har-ki- pauri a famous ghat in the banks of the Ganga. Har-ki-pauri is literall y, "Har" means "Lord Shiva", "ki" means "of" and "pauri" means "steps". Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are believed to have visited the Brahma kund in Har ki Pauri in the Vedic times. There is a large footprint said to belong to Lord Vishnu on a stone wall. Haridwar along with Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad is one of four sites where d rops of Amrit , the elixir of immortalit y, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher while being carried by the celestial bird Garuda. This is manifested in the Kumbha Mela being celebrated every 3 years in one of the 4 places, and thus every 12 y ears in Haridwar. Brahma Kund, the spot where the Amrit fell, is locat ed at Har ki Pauri (literally, "foot steps of the Lord ") and is considered to be th e most sacred ghat of Haridwar. Figure 1: Har-ki-Pauri (Evening Arti)
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The Himalayas are the largest mountain ranges in the world. But for Indians, especially the Hindus,
they symbolise a spiritual eternity, a precious link with bygone ages and much more. For me, the
Himalayas constitute the ultimate destination, a repository of ones religious faith. And it is from
the Himalayan glaciers that the river Ganga, the holiest of all rivers in India, rises and cuts its path
through valleys of stunning beauty and marvellously chiselled gorges before it enters the plains. The
Gangotri and Gomukh, the source of the Ganga, along with Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinathform the four most important pilgrimage centres in the Garhwal Himalaya. Hundreds of other
temples are also located elsewhere in the Himalayas. In many ways, the Himalayas represent the
soul and spirit of Hindu Dharma.
The journey of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath and places of major interest begins in the
foothill town of Haridwar or Hardwar {the gateway to Hari (Vishnu) or Har (Shiva)}. This busy town
on the banks of the Ganga is also the gateway to the Garhwal Himalaya. While some seek salvation
thousands wait to wash-away their sins in Har-ki-pauri a famous ghat in the banks of the Ganga.
Har-ki-pauri is literally, "Har" means "Lord Shiva", "ki" means "of" and "pauri" means "steps". Lord
Shiva and Lord Vishnu are believed to have visited the Brahma kund in Har ki Pauri in the Vedic
times. There is a large footprint said to belong to Lord Vishnu on a stone wall.
Haridwar along with Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad is one of four sites where drops of Amrit, the elixir
of immortality, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher while being carried by the celestial bird
Garuda. This is manifested in the Kumbha Mela being celebrated every 3 years in one of the 4 places,
and thus every 12 years in Haridwar.Brahma Kund , the spot where the Amrit fell, is located at Har ki
Pauri (literally, "footsteps of the Lord") and is considered to be the most sacred ghat of Haridwar.
We were sent in batches of five and unfortunately for us the family got split into two batches. I
boarded the earlier flight and landed in Kedarnath first. Just as I landed the heptor services were
halted due to weather conditions. I just did not expect this. And you can well imagine the panick.
The weather conditions change so frequently that you have no choice but to patiently accept the
ways in which Nature behaves. On the other side of Kedarnath is the beautiful snow clad ranges of
the Himalayas. It is a visual treatI just closed my eyes and prayed for a change of weather sothat the rest of the members could join me. As luck would have it after half an hour I could see the
heptor fly again. We then offered our prayers at the shrine. The idol of Lord Shiva is more like a
piece of rock stuck inside the earth. The story goes that Shiva tried to elude the Pandavas and
Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers found Lord Shiva in the form of a Bull. While he tried to hold the
tail Shiva plunged into the earth to escape. But Bhimas strength enabled him to hold on to the bulls
rear end (leaving a rock kind of a figure stuck to the earth).
The nice thing about Kedarnath is you are permitted to do the pooja to the idol there. Shiva seems
to be simple in His approach to devotees and there is no glamour. People can just walk-in and meet
Him at any point of time. Our wait in the evening to get back to Gupt Kashi by heptor failed. The
weather worsened and the services closed. We had an unexpected night halt at Kedarnath. Itwas
freezing and we struggled through the night due to lack of oxygen. A hot serving of kichidi with lots
The work of Adi shankaracharya is felt when you see a Namboodri (of Kerala origin) doing the rituals
and puja in Badrinath the way it would be in one of the temples in Kerala. This is proof enough to
understand that such a man existed and his work be followed even today. It is believed that Adi
Shankara attained Samadhi behind the kedarnath mandir. He had merged into the rock structure of
the Kedarnath temple and the danda (that he carried along) is proof of his attaining samadhi there.
It is a four hour drive from Joshimath to Badrinath. The scenery is eye captivatingand the drive
blissful. Badrinath is located at elevation of 3,415 metres (11,204 feet). It is in the Garhwal hills, on
the banks of the Alaknanda River. The town lies between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges
and in the shadow of Nilkantha peak (6,560m). Hemkund Sahib, an important Sikh pilgrimage site, is
on the way to Badrinath, so the road is especially crowded during the summer pilgrimage season.
This is the place where Guru Gobind Singh attained Nirvana (Samadhi).
DAY 6
We reach Badrinath.Badrinarayan temple, is situated along the Alaknanda river, in the hill town of
Badrinath in Uttarakhand state in India. It is widely considered to be one of the holiest Hindu
temples, and is dedicated to god Vishnu. The temple and town are one of the four Char Dham andChota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for
Vaishnavites. The temple is open only six months every year (between the end of April and the
beginning of November), due to extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region.
Several murtis are worshipped in the temple. The most important is a one meter tall statue of
Vishnu as Lord Badrinarayan, made of black Saligram stone. The statue is considered by many Hindus
to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu. The murti depicts
Vishnu sitting in meditative posture, rather than His far more typical reclining pose. In November
each year, when the town of Badrinath is closed, the image is moved to nearby Joshimath.