Braj Yaatra-I

My trip to Braj Bhoomi,the land of lord Krishna, was over due since long time.My younger son showed deep interest in Govardhan hill since he watches on krishna leela on tv.  Since the city was new to me so i decided to go by  hiring a car rather self driving. My journey began on 30 oct 2011.

5.00 am Left for Govardhan. It is lying in the south direction(approx 140 km). One has to follow national highway NH2 which passes through Faridabad.

Make sure you follow the route which passes through Mathura. There is another bypass which is shorter but the roads are pathetic and unsafe.

8.30 am after reaching Govardhan, the first aim was the breakfast. Brijwasi sweets at the entrance of the town is the best option. But do not expect much at eat at this early hours. We satisfied with poori sabzi and Dhokla.

9.30 am Offer prayer at Daan Ghati temple(few meters away) which is the starting point of parikrama(circumambulation of 21 km.). Offering milk to the deity here is a custom before the start of journey.

The Map of Parikrama: I began the Parikrama from Point number 26 

.Daan Ghaati Temple

There are 2 modes of Parikrama. Either on foot or by car. To explore the town better i hired a van from the begining of Parikrama Marg. The driver's name was Kishan Murari(tel no-09720130614). I strike the deal at Rs 350 including the parikrama of Radha kund. Donot forget to include the parikrama of Radha Kund also(called chotti Parikrama)

The Parikrama Marg

Duration of Parikrama lasts for 2 hrs and one has to stop at the important points to offer the milk to the deity.Donot leave valuables in the car .

Offering of milk to the deity

The narrow lanes of Govardhan

The fascinating way of doing Parikrama

The height of faith:Dandvat Parikrama(full prostration)

Cows are the life of Braj Bhoomi: Spending time with them is a must do!

At 1 pm : Parikrama finished and headed towards the Brijwaasi sweet again for the lunch. Again limited choice of food was available . 

1.30 pm we headed towards Mathura, one of the 7 most sacred cities of India.

2.00 pm reached Krishna Janm bhoom temple(the birth place of Lord Krishna). I came to know that the temple is schedule to open at 4 pm . so we had 2 hrs spare. I dont know from where I got an idea that we should explore the Yamuna river bank. We drove our car to the old part of city. To reach the bank of Yamuna river one has to pass through the narrow lanes and hiring a rickshaw is advisable.

2.30 hired a boat @ Rs 20 per passenger. The boatman showed the fort of King Kansa,who was killed by Krishna and Vishraam Ghaat, where Krishna took rest after killing Kansa. 

Getting ready for the boat ride :) I had to convince my family members with mythological stories to overcome the ill maintainance of these sites.

The Fort of King Kansa

Vishraam Ghaat

The pollution level of Yamuna was at its height and its colour was as dark as colour of petrol .Still if you keep the mythological importance of Vishraam Ghaat and this place in mind, these conditions will not bother you :)

3.30 Dwarkadheesh temple . we had to wait for half an hour as the temple open at 4 pm.

DwarkaDheesh Temple: On Janmastmi from here you see the live coverage of celebrations.

5 pm to 6 pm                                Enjoyed the famous Mathura Chaat :)

  m'loving it...yummy

6 pm Time to witness the most holiest spot of Mathura, the Krishna janam Bhoomi.

The Glorious Krishna Janam Bhoomi

.Since i was running out of time so hiring a guide was the only choice to explore the birth place of Lord Krishna. Guide can be available easily and their charges are negotiable tp Rs 100 which is value for money. Make sure that no camera and cell phones are allowed in the campus and that has to deposited at the cloak room.At first i witnessed Lord Krishna as Keshav roop ( a boy 0f 12 years).With in 10 meters from here there was a stone from Govardhan Parvat called Govardhan shilla was placed. It is believe that circumambulation(parikrama) of this shila is equivalent to Govardhan Parikrama. Though I found this information by my guide a bit suspicious. Moving towards right, in the same campus there is a small temple of Yogmaya. Then came the most interesting point, the entry of the cellar where Lord Krishna was born.In the cellar there is slab where Lord Krishna was born.At the exit the wall of krishna Janm Bhoom and the adjoining mosque is clearly visible.Adjoining it there is a hall called Bhagwad Bhawan which was recently built around eighties. Overall the whole journey in Janm Bhoomi last for 45 minutes and it was so thrilling because the guide was constantly firing information(though some were totally contradictory) .

@ 7.30 Adios to Mathura .....

I completed the first leg of my Braj Yaatra with thrilling experience. My next trip will be to Gokul, the land which witnessed the childhood miracles of Lord Krishna!!!

Panchvati and Around

According to Valmiki Ramayana, its Sage Agastya advised Lord Rama to proceed to Panchwati. It is from here the story of Ramayana took a decisive turn. This place was situated in Dandakaranya. In modern era , it is a place in Nashik. The word “Panchwati” means 5 banyan trees which are still present.

How i went

I hired a guide at Ram Ghat which charged Rs 100 to show important places of Panchvati. It included

1)Shri Sunder Narayan temple

Here Lord Vishnu regain His complexion from dark to fair.

2) Ram Ghaat

A very auspicious place where river Aruna,Varuna and Godavari meet. Donot forget to collect the holy water from here.Bathing here is a must do.

3) Godavri Temple- This is the temple which opens only once in 12 years at the time of kumbh mela and on Ganga Dusherra.Luckily when i visited there , the temple was open.I had a magnificent darshan of goddess Godavri.

4)Goreram Mandir

5) Kalaram Mandir

A rare temple around the world where all the deities along with Lord Hanuman is Black Stone. One may come across huge crowd here as this is one of the most famous temple of Nashik

6) Sita Gufa- A narrow cave where it is believe that Sita was abducted from Ravana. The entrance to the cave is too narrow.

7)Kapaleshwar Temple

Where Lord Shiva treated Nandiji as His Guru. It is situated just few meters away from the Ram ghaat.

I started the trip at 10.30 am and finished it by 12.15 pm.Except KalaRam temple and Sita Gufa each site could be covered quickly . It is worth to explore KalaRam temple. As far as Sita gufa is concern, if you are travelling with kids, its not advisable to enter the cave together as there are chances of stampede in case of power failure and the local authorities told us that there is frequent power cuts here. Opposite to Sita Gufa there is a museum. I was temped by its entrance fare which was just Re 1. But when i entered i found that I found that even Re 1 was too much to see that museum as it can be seen in 2 minutes with nothing to be seen :)

Last but not least do not forget to see the 5 Banyan trees just outside the Sita Gufa as these trees which formed the basis of the name of this region "Panchvati". If you have time , hire an auto from here to explore "Tapovan" region. They charge Rs 40 per person and in an hours time they could drop at the Ram ghat.

The Holy Pond - Kushavrat

The word 'Sarovar' means a pond or a water body. The water is one of the most important subtle element in hinduism. Bathing in a pond in a pilgrimage is one of the important ritual which includes tarpan(offering water to the departed souls) also. In Triambak town, there is such holy pond where bathing is considered as one the dream of hindu due to its holiness. This is "Kushavrat sarovar" or "Kushavrat teerth". As per legend after the boon given by Lord Shiva to Sage Gautam, the river Godavri appeared at Brahmgiri hills(in Triambak town near Nashik) for the first time. But after a short while it again disappears as she was not willing to stay on earth.. Sage Gautam couldn’t able to bath in it, which was necessary for removing his sin accrued to him because of killing of a cow accidentally. Now it was a great cause of concern for Sage Gautam to prevent river Godavri from disappearing. He took 4 blades of kusha-grass and energized it with his divine power and threw at the 4 corners. This worked like a trap for river Godavari. Since then it is believe that this pond where sage Gautam placed 4 kusha (a kind of grass) at the four corners is the source of river Godavri. After that this pond was named as “Kushavrat” means surrounded by kusha(a grass)

Triambakeshwar Jyotlirlingam Tour

The Triambakeshwar is one of the most sacred place on earth. Even our classics says that there is no sacred place like Triambakeshwar, no river like Godavri and no mountain sacred than Brahmgiri. It is in Triambakeshwar where Lord Shiva resides in the form of jyotirlingam.It is the birth place of river Godavri.

The first view

Legend associated with Triambakeshwar

Sage Gautam was a very pious sage. He attained many divine powers with his meditation. Once there was a drought in his region called as Brahmgiri hills(Triambak) . He worshipped Lord Varun(the god of water). Pleased with the prayers of sage Gautam, Lord Varun blessed the area with plenty of water. The created jealousy among other sages. The deliberately send a cow at the hermitage of sage Gautam. While sage Gautam was trying to drive the cow away from his ashram, she died. It was considered as one of the greatest sin to kill a cow. The sage felt guilty for the sin which was done unintentionally. The only option was left to get rid of the sin was to perform the parikrama(circumambulation) of Brahmgiri hill for 101 times and bring the river Ganga here and worship the shivling . Sage Gautam performed this tough ritual. Later Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati appeared and granted the boon of appearing the river Ganga in this region. River Ganga appeared instantly on the order of Lord Shiva, but she requested Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati to stay along with here. Lord accepted the demand and decided to reside in the form of Triambakeshwar. From then the river got its name Godavri(Gautami-ganga). On seeing this divine occasion all other gods appear and promised to visit here once in twelve years when the planet Jupiter transits through the Leo sign. Since then when this planetary combination repeats ,the huge “Kumbh-mela” (festival) is held at the bank of Godavri. It is believe that to keep their promise all the gods present at the spot during that period and bathing in river Godavri considered as auspicious.

Where I stayed

I stayed at hotel Padma in nashik , opposite old CBS. The tariff was 600. they dont offer a/c room. the manager was very helpful. The hotel has inhouse restaurant offering food at reasonable price. Telephone number0253-2318095,2576837

Route

40km in SW direction from the Nasik Road railway station. The jyotirlingam temple is situated at the foothill of Brahmgiri hills in the Sahyadri range

Road to Triambak

How I went

My first step in Nashik

I boarded the train Mangla Lakshdweep from Hazrat Nizamuddin which departed at 9.20 am. The next day I reached Nashik Road at 6.15 am I hired a car Innova ac @ 8.5/km upto 300 km average per day. The name of the driver was Hari (tel no.09822315789). My plan was to explore the area around Triambak town. I check in the hotel which was in opposite direction of Triambak town. I choose nashik as a hub to travel further. I started at 8 am. The distance to be covered was 30 km. I reached the Triambak town in at 8.40. Immidiately after depositing shoes at the shop adjoining the main dwar(door) of temple , i manage to find one pandit for the abhishekam. After negotiation he asked Rs 400 for performing pooja. He instructed that I have to wait till 9.30 because at that time sanctum sanctorum was under the supervision of other pandits , may be appointed by trust, i guess. At 9.30 he reappear with dhoti for me which was the dress code for gents to wear for abhishekam. he statrted the pooja in the mandapam at 9.15. after the sankalp and other ritual he orderd me to prepare to go to sanctum sanctorum. After a bit struggle I was in front of Lord Triambakeshwar. Pandit removed all the the flowers above the deity. i witnessed the rare appearance of The TRINITY (Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh) in the form of three pinds. That was really the moment of my life time. I stayed in the sanctum for 5 minutes.
My pandit's name was Shri. Padmakar B Pingale(Phone-9922144835/9322831290)

Go sewa

souvenir shops around temple

one can fine ek mukhi Rudraksh at the roadside vendors for mere few rupees:Amazing Deal

1) Make sure about the pooja timings from the localites because during that period no abhishek is performed. Start as early as possible so that you are left with enough time to cover other places of mythological importance.

2) The sangam of Godavri and river Ahilya is just outside the temple. Dont miss it.

3) A tour to Neel Parbat, Anjeri Hills and Brahmgiri is must do. Local autos is the best bet to move around.
4) just 200 m away from the temple is Kushavrat pond,one of the holiest in universe. Do explore it as there are numerous temples around it at a walking distance.

5) outside the temple , do feed the cows as it is considered as auspicious.

6) Do at least one pradakshina of the temple

7) A special golden crown of the lord is shown to public every monday around 4 pm

Saptashringi-The goddess of seven hills

Whenever I move to any city I make sure that if there any “Shaktipeeth(a place for worshipp associated with goddess)” nearby. In june 2011 I got a chance to visit Nashik. After extensive research I came to know that approximate 60 km North of Nashik, there is a shaktipeeth of Devi named as “ Sapta-shrungi”

The Legend associated with this place


Once the demon Mahishasur acquired all the destructive powers and created havoc on the earth as well as heaven. Due to involvement of a boon it was not possible even for gods to kill him. As a result Lord Brahma.Vishnu and Mahesh combine their energies to manifest into goddess Amba. A fierce battle broke between Amba and Mahishasur.the demon transformed himself into a buffalo but finally Amba killed the demon at the place called Saptashrungi(means mountain of seven peaks). After that the goddess decided to resides on saptashrungi. At the foothills of saptashrungi hills there is idol of buffalo head signifies , the demon Mahishasur. The idol of goddess is more than 10 feet tall having 18 hands. The signification of 18 hands signifies the “Maha Shakti”, the divine power. The idol is fully covered with sindoor. My guide told me that there is a cave behind this idol where the goddess the present in the divine form that human eyes cant bear the glow.
It is also believe that the sacred book of hindus “DeviMahatmayam” was written by Sage Markandey here. Since Sage Markandey is chiranjeevi(Long lived), still it is believe that he resides on the opposite hill where the goddess resides.

Route
From Nashik it is 60 km North.Follow the Dindori road (NH 17) from Nashik. After crossing the Nanduri village the landscaping changes into very beautiful hilly area.


Orientation

Situated in a village vani at the height of 1250m above sea level. There is a motorable road upto an altitude of 1140 m. From here there is a steep climb of 500 steps which could be cover easily in forty minutes. The offerings has to be purchases before the climb. It is custom to burn the camphor (in multiples of 9 ) at the huge entrance. It is believe that there are numerous kunds(holy ponds) in this area. Also this area is enriched with plants and herbs which has a lot of medicinal value.

How I went

I boarded the train Mangla Lakshdweep from Hazrat Nizamuddin which departed at 9.20 am. The next day I reached Nashik Road at 6.15 am and immediately I searched for a hotel . After extra effort I choose hotel Padma opposite old CBS (Bus stand). The tariff was Rs 600 per day. The hotel was a bit old fashioned. But I didn’t mind as luxuries looses its importance in pilgrimage. I hired a car from travel agency. The name of driver was Hari ( telephone number-09822315789 ). He was a fine driver but a bit slow.I begin the journey about 10 am. The route to Saptashrungi was scenic. I reached at the foothill around noon. it took almost 40 minutes to climb 500 steps. Inside the temple it was a divine roop of goddess. But I was closely looking on the walls for something special to worship goddess.

The scenic beauty of the Saptashringi

The MahaDwar

Climbing the 500 stairs

The Markandey hill