Intro to our Kashi Pilgrimage
Our long desired Kashi yatra () is about to materialise. I hope to post pics and information about the places we visit so that all visitors to this blog can enjoy.
For the present and for trial purpose, I have temporarily borrowed a pic from Adobe Stock photos, which I shall delete as soon as we start getting our own pics.
As a first step we're going to Hyderabad today to see our elder daughter who is actually planning the entire program. She is coordinating with several of her friends to get us taxi, accommodation and other logistics
26 sept 2022
Sent Rs. 5000 as advance for rooms at Arya vaishya satram in kashi. Seenu Varanasi.
1 October 2022
Lakshmi has booked room in JRD luxury boutique hotel in Delhi for 10 and 11th October 2022.
6 oct 22
Booked special darshan tickets for Mangal Arti at Sri kashi vishwanath mandir.
Booked the tickets based on last minute information from neighbour sujata. It all looked so easy... Now I am worried whether this is real and if we will really get darshan.
Let's see. Siva should bless us
Vindhyachal/ Mirzapur about 88km from Prayag; 64km from Varanasi.
https://vindhyachalmata.com/
A place called Sita Samhait sthal is about 46km from here.
According to Enugula Veeraswamy the sthala puranamu is:
According to Vindyavasini blog, the sthala puranamu is:
Vindhyachal Temple, or as popularly called Vindhyachal Dham, is located at a small township Vindhyachal in the District Mirzapur of the state Uttar Pradesh in the North India.
- Current Indian Standard Time Line, which decides time zone of whole India, passes through idol of Goddess ‘Vindhyavasini’.
https://vindhyachalmata.com/
The most convenient way to reach Vindhyachal by Road is through National Highway 2 (NH 2), popularly known as Delhi- Kolkata Road. On the National Highway 2 (NH 2) road, which is incidentally part of Asian Highway 1 (AH1), take turn Southward, either at Gopiganj or Aurai, both places between Allahabad and Varanasi. After crossing Holy River Ganga, through Shastri Bridge, via State Highway 5, you will easily reach Vindhyachal. We want to specifically alert you about the pathetic condition of the State Highway 5 road, which connects National Highway 2 (NH 2) to Shastri Bridge. The distance between Aurai and Ma Vindhyavasini Temple, Vindhyachal is only approx 19 Kilometres; and distance between Gopiganj and Ma Vindhyavasini Temple, Vindhyachal is approx 25 Kilometres, but these small distances take approximately one hour due to bad condition of road. The distance between Varanasi and Ma Vindhyavasini Temple, Vindhyachal is approx. 63 Kilometres, and it takes around one and half to two hours of drive. If you want to use Public Transport, sufficient number of Uttar Pradesh State Transport Buses is available from Allahabad and Varanasi, the exact timings of the same may be ascertained from UPSRTC contact numbers.
We hope to visit this temple when in Prayag or Kashi. If we prove fortunate, I shall post my personal pictures & experiences by about 1 Nov 22
Prayag Raj (According to Enugula Veeraswamy)
Ayodhya Hotel (to be booked) map showing important places
Kashi 8 Kalabhairava temples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T5SMXRgQQs&t=11s
- Ruru Bhairava Located Near Hanuman Ghat
- Chanda Bhairava Located In The Premises Of Durgakund Temple
- Asitanga Bhairava Located In The Premises Of Maha Mrityunjay Temple
- Kapal Bhairava or Laat Bhairav Located At Alaipur Varanasi
- Krodha Bhairava Located At Kamaccha
- Unmatta Bhairava Located Near Bhimchandi Sadak Deora Village Pancoshi Road
- Samhara Bhairava Located Near Gai Ghat
- Bhishana Bhairava or Bhoot Bhairav Locted Near Kashipura, Maidagin Varanasi
- Kaal Bhairava Is Locates At Bhaironath Near Bisheshwarganj Varanasi
Notes to Kalabhairava templs
Jyeshta devi and Jyeshteshwar temples near Bheeshan Bhairav
Batuk Bhairav
Rathyatra Kamachha Rd, near Kashirag Apartment, Maharana Pratap Colony, Gurubagh, Bhelupur, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221010
Places to see in Naimisharanyam.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Nimasarnyam+Baba+Temple/@27.349555,80.4435831,14z/data=!4m16!1m9!2m8!1stemples!3m6!1stemples!2sJP+International+Naimisharanya,+Lalita+devi+mandir+road+near+kalipeeth+chauk+Naimisharanya,+Uttar+Pradesh+261402!3s0x399ec3dd2f95b7e3:0xb8bf1c6c2cca8bcb!4m2!1d80.487206!2d27.3531198!3m5!1s0x399ec243ae5cd83d:0xbe3c47205c9ebf01!8m2!3d27.3495961!4d80.4803924!15sCgd0ZW1wbGVzkgEMaGluZHVfdGVtcGxl4AEA
Kashi Articles
https://www.academia.edu/49360432/TEMPLES_IN_KASHI_INDIA
---
10 October 22
We left Bangalore by 9.20 am indigo flight sand reached Delhi by 11.20.
After minor hassles with baggage and taxi reached hotel JRD luxury by 3pm
----
Lodhi Gardens, new Delhi
It was reliving highschool history. Ibrahim Lodi, Sikander Lodhi suddenly became real people, wasI saw their tombs in the Lodhi gardens.
The Shish Gumbad, Bara Gumbad that house the tombs of Liodhis and some of the persons who occupied important positions strike is with their simplicity and elegance and remind us of the sophistication of the world of Sultans.
The Lodhi gardens is huge, sune 90 acres, maintained exquisitely and it's absolutely free.
11 October 22
Continuing our tour of Delhi, Mani and I saw Sri Lakshmi Narayan mandir also called Birla mandir, India gate, kartavya path qutub minar and mehrouli archeological park.
Sri lakshminarayan Mandir: This is simply an amazing edifice. It's not just the grandeur but three Mandir is built with pure bhakti bhava.
The marble etching panels showing stories from mahaabhaarata in pithy firm are very educative; we enjoyed recognising and reliving the episodes. One panel showing vashishta mahamuni discoursing yoga vasishtam to Sri valmiki, yogis, rishis, dasaratha and his queens is so lifelike, we feel the presence of these erudite bhaktas.
We had delicious Puri,aloo sabji, samosa and Jasmun in the jal pan Ghar by the side of the Birla Mandir complex. The food was very yummy more so as we were quite hungry.
I had free homeo consultation in the Mandir.
The doctor says i will be cured of my breathing problem in one month.!!
---++
 |
12 October 2022
We saw jantar mantar, National museum and travelled to Mathura.
Jantar mantar brought back memories of our maths teachers, set squares and astronomical points of interest
National museum has so vast a collection we need at least 2 to 3 days to just have preliminary view.
13 October 2022
Today Mani and I saw Sri Krishna janma sthan, Banke Bihari mandir, yamraj, yamuna, Sani temples, Gita bhavan, vishram Ghat, Vrindavan, nanda Ghar and went on boat ride.
Until today, I thought we should accept masjid built over temples add a fait accompli and live in harmony with the Muslim.
But, today when I read on the board in the Sri Krishna janmasthan, Mathura that the Krishna temple ear destroyed three times over a thousand years by the muslims, Ghazni, Ibrahim Lodi and Aurangzeb, my thoughts transformed. I said to my self, once is a mistake, second time is an error but a thrid time is a crime. Deliberate, wanton and cruel.
I was seeing how the women worship with total bhakti and immersive spirit. The women devotees living at the time of Ghajini, Lodi and Aurangzeb must have suffered deep trauma when they saw their place of worship is so calously destroyed.
Their suffering anguish sand humiliation can't be imagined.
I think it will be justice if the idgah built by Aurangzeb on the Krishna temple area should be demolished and Krishna temple built on that. Crime should not be pardoned.
15 October 22
We are Sri Rangji mandir and Sri Godaharidas mandir in Vrindavan and travelled to Agra. We saw Taj Mahal.
Sri Rangji Mandir is the northern name for Sri Ranganaatha swamy gudi. Here, Sri Ranganaatha is in sayana tirukkolam, ie. He is in lying down avataram.
This Divya Desam was worshipped by alwars.
We saw Sri Goda haridas mandir which is about 500mtrs from Sri Rangji. Sri Goda mandir was so beautiful, I forgot to take pictures.
Then we can to Agra and went to Taj after a lunch of chapatis, mixed veg curry and dahi.
At Taj Mahal, the crowd was huge, huge more because of the security check. They are having just 3 or 4 counters to check hundreds of people. The govt could certainly open a few more counters to ease the Q line.
But, we got a canny guide, who bought the tickets on line and just cajoled the people waiting in the Q to ease us in. I don't like to break Q but I accepted for once. I confess my mistake.
16 October 22
We saw Agra fort, Fatehpur sikri and Mankameshvar Mandir in Agra today.
17 October 2022
We came to Naimishaaranyam, locally called as Neemsar today.
61 Slokam of Sri Lalita Sahasranammam describes Sri Lalita in one particular posture. The vigraham in the smaller temple in Sri Lalita Mandir, Naimisharanya matches this description 100%. It is clear that this vigraham has been created with that sloka in mind.
Just for ready recap, the sloka is
Panchapretasanasina panchabramha svarupini Chinmaei paramananda vigynanaghanarupini
Mani and I had the fortune of seeing the nija roopa darshanam of the Devi and the archaka corelated the
sloka and the shilpam for us.
The photo shows the Devi and Siva only after alankaaram.
18 October 222
We worshipped the following temples/ spots in Naimisharanyam today; chakra teertha, Balaji Mandir, Bhuteshwar nath, bramha (all surrounding the chakra teertha), Sri Vyas Gaddi, Sri Hanuman Gaddi, 5099 year old vata vruksham under which Sri Vyas sat and peached the 18 puranas, 6 shastras, srimad Bhagavad. This is also the first place where Sri Vishnu sahasranama was given to sishyas by Sri Vyas.
We also gomathi river in 2 places; near Vyas Gaddi and again at Sri Rameshwar, Sri Deva Deveshwar mandir.Near this temple, in one ancient Banyan tree, the roots have naturally formed shape of sri ganesh and elephant.
We saw one bhairav mandir near Sri Deveshwar mandir, Mishrik. The archaka said that Aurangzeb cut off the beautiful vigraham of sri kala bhairav and threw it off. Now we can see only the feet of the idol; zoom the picture and see down to the right of the weather ravaged stone idol.
The entire region is full of stories of the Muslims marauding and despoiling or temples. One will start feeling bad and angry .
19 October 22
We came to Ayodhya today at about 7 pm and so we could not see any places. We had some insipid dinner and slept.
On 20th October 2022, we saw Sri Hanuman Gaddi, Sri Ram Janam Bhoomi, kanak Mahal, Dasaratha Mahal, Lav Kush Mahal, Bharat Mahal, Lakshman ghat, Sri Ram paidi, and Guptar ghat.
We went on boating on the Sarayu at Lakshman ghat and Guptar ghat to each 15 minute ride costing Rs.250.
Sarayu was full of water; we could see her beauty in the afternoon as well as dusk.
In the dusk at Guptar ghat, the glowing sarayu on one side and tastefully lit Sri Ram Mandir on one side were magnificent. It made it day.
Sri Ram Janma Bhoomi has come up only to foundation level. The supreme court award in favour of the RJB was received only about 8,9 months ago after which the construction had taken speed.
These are the pics from Ayodhya.
21 October 2022
We reached Prayag Raj, the holiest place where the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Saraswathi unite. Merely walking on the banks of the Triveni Sangam is a thrilling experience.
22 October 22
I performed the Prayag teerth shraddam for all my ancestors and Mani's ancestors. The priest Deepak Kumar explained the significance of the pinda pradanamu and guided us through the karya patiently and according to paddathi.
We first went on a boat for about a km, bathed and came to the shradda place, a bamboo and thatched hall on the Sangam Bank. We performed the ritual and instead of doing the Parana visarjana at the banks where it was not as slushy and dirty, a boatman came and offered to take us a distance where we could do the visarjana in comparatively cleaner waters.
We paid Rs. 600 to the first boatman, Rs 100 for a person maintaining a frame of 4 bamboos so that we could bathe safely. For the second boatman, we paid Rs 250.
Several youngsters claiming to be helping us wanted tips. We have in all about 100 RS.
But the so called bramhana bhojanam was a disappointing affair. I asked the priest whether he can offer us Brahmin meal, the preferred diet after shraddam. He said yes, you can have Brahmin Andhra meal. It turned out to be not so clean hotel pretending to be Andhra bramhana bhojana sala, but in reality a sham. Any way we had rice and some sambar instead of rottelu.
23 October 2022
We suddenly realised that Prayag Raj has come three shakti peethams and we had seen only one, the Sri Alopi sankari mata mandir. So, we set of to worship the Sri Lalita mandir, Meerpur, Prayag Raj and the Sri Akshya Vat.
Sri Lalita Mandir is in the midst of narrow and crowded lanes. It's better to take an auto unless your taxi driver is as expert and patient as our driver was.
But once we enter the temple, the presence of the Mata is actually felt and all our small travails disappear. The pujari have used half a co
conut, lots of flowers as prasadan though we offered only 50 RS.
conut, lots of flowers as prasadan though we offered only 50 RS.
Akshaya vat, Prayag Raj, 23 October 22
Vindhyawasini mandir, Mirzapur, 23 October 2022
24 October 2022
Kashi Vishwanath, sri Swarna may annapurneshvari to, dhundiraj ganesh, another ganesh, kal Bhairav temple, evening Viswanath again
Annakoot, coins, rice, 4 days in a year
25 October 2022
Kashi Vishwanath, sri Swarna may annapurneshvari, vishalakshi, dhundhi Raj ganesh, saakshi ganesh narasimha swamy in vishalakshi, again Swarna Maya annapurna, Sri annapurna also, andhra satram bhojanam
Bhoo, annapoorna, maha lakshmi and siv
The chandanam seen on my forehead is taken from Sri Viswanatha Swami Himself. The archaka palmed the sandal paste from the Linga and smeared it on my face. Same blessing Mani also had today at about 3.30 am.
30 October 2022
Shringar arti from nija swaroopam to Naga aabharana, flower deck and bilva archana nearly 1 and quarter hour darshan.
Chintamani ganesh
Kanchi kamakoti Sankar math temple
Siva sayana
Birla Mandir, BHU
.
1 November2022
We left Varanasi at 9.13 am and reached Gaya at 3.15pm. had lunch at a dhaba on Aurangabad bye pass.
As i passed into Bihar, all that history of jarasandha, nandas, chandragupta, Chanakya, Ashoka flashed through me. Mani and I spent happy hours recapitulating the highschool history lessons.
At Gaya, hotel Sujata is a delightful place; big room with expansive view, clean and comfortable bath etc.
We went to Bhutanese temple first, where three priests were performing evening prayers. The drum beat crescendo and blowing of the long pipe transported us into a happy world. The head priest sprinkled water on the fruit bowls, baskets of food and offered it to Buddha just as Hindus do naivedyadyamu.
There are several frescoes on the walls but as we did not know the Buddhist mythology we could follow but a few.
..
24 October 2022 Varanasi
We worshipped Sri Vishwanath ji and Sri Swarna mayi Mata at Varanasi.
We felt highly blessed.
Sri Swarna Annapoorneshwari temple is opened for darshanam only on for days in a year, Dhanteras, naraka chaturdashi, Deepavali and the next day known as Annakoot. It so happened that our yatra to kashi coincidentally fell on one of these days, the 24th October this year. Despite huge crush of devotees and stoppage of darshanam for about 45 minutes for Bhog, naivedya samarpana, we had darshanam of Sri Swarna Annapoorneshwari that is available only once in a year.
As per the temple custom, they distribute coins from khazana.
https://www.etvbharat.com/hindi/uttar-pradesh/state/varanasi/maa-annapurna-temple-opened-in-kashi-paddy-lava-silver-coins-in-prasad/up20221023101324415415147
a
Comments
Post a Comment