Chardham Yatra of Uttarakhand undertaken by thousands of
pious Hindus every year is one of the holiest pilgrimage journeys that a
devoted religious Hindu longs to embark on at least once in his or her life
time. The CharDhams of Uttarakhand popularly called the Chota Chardhams is
actually a replica circuit of the greater Chardhams on the four corners of our
country, the foundation of which was laid by Adi Guru Shankaracharya. If you
find it difficult to go on a tour of the greater Char Dham Circuit, the
spiritual tour of this Chota Char Dhams of Uttarakhand too is believed to bring
you the same magnitude of soul purification and sin ablution. The Chardhams of
Uttarakhand nestled in the lap of the majestic sky towering Garhwal Himalayas
is often regarded as the ‘Daivya Bhumi’ or ‘Abode
of Gods’ and rightly so because it is seat to four major Dhams, starting
with Yamunotri, then Gangotri, then Kedarnath and finally the Badrinath Dham.
The path to Char Dhams is rugged; there are steep slopes and
often the weather is unsuitable for traveling with it being too cold or breezy.
But still huge crowds gather on all the four Dhams each day to offer their
tribute to the deities. It’s their intense desire to free themselves from the
sins of the mortal world and attend moksha or liberation from the cycle of
birth and rebirth that pulls them to this Abode
of Gods, in spite of all the hardships of the route.
The Yamunotri Dham is the abode of Goddess Yamuna and her
beautiful silver deity is housed gloriously in the temple of Yamunotri.
Yamunotri perched in the midst snow-capped Garhwal hills and surrounded by many
thermal springs is also the originating point of the Sacred Yamuna River. Myths
hold that holy dip into the Yamuna river can free one from the mortal fear of
dying or a painful death because by doing so one pleases Goddess Yamuna and by
that way her brother Yama, who according to Hindu mythology is God of Death.
The Gangotri Dham is the abode of Goddess Ganga who
according to myths descended on Earth in response to Raja Bhagirath’s penance.
If you wish to explore the vast world of spirituality, visiting the Gangotri
dham is a must. Myths also declare that though the Goddess was ready to descend
on earth in response to the king’s prayer, yet the force with which she came
down could have destroyed the earth and thus to save mankind, Lord Shiva held
the Goddess into his locks. Gangotri Temple, Jalmagna Shivling are the chief
religious sites which you should visit to experience the true religious fervor
of Gangotri dham.
The Kedarnath Dham is the Abode of Lord Shiva and myths hold
that the temple of Kedarnath was originally constructed by Pandavas who after
emerging victorious from the Mahabharata battle started suffering from guilt of
having killed own brothers. To ask mercy, they came in quest of Lord Shiva who
took the guise of a bull. At last Bhima recognized the Lord who escaped
shedding his hind portion. The temple falls among the Twelve Jyotirlingas of
Lord Shiva and once you are at Kedarnath Dham, after covering the most
difficult path of your Char Dham Yatra, you can indeed feel a divine peace
within you.
The last and final Dham is the Badrinath Dham and it’s the
Abode of Lord Vishnu also known here by the name of Badrinarayan. According to
myths the lord performed penance here and Goddess Lakshmi, his consort offered
shade to him from the scorching rays of the sun by assuming the form of shady
Badri Plant. At Badrinath Dham, your char Dham Yatra completes and you come to
feel that your soul has united with Almighty. It’s a feeling of inexplicable
eternal bliss and explains why pilgrims
travel to the Chardhams- the true Abode of Gods, ignoring all the
hardships of Yatra.
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