HARIDWAR

HARIDWAR -- Moksha ke dwar

Delhi-Haridwar

Delhi to Haridwar is 230 km (takes about 6 hrs). We left Delhi at 7am and reached Haridwar at 2pm. We stopped for cup of coffee in between. There are lot of food courts in between Delhi and Haridwar. There are plenty of very good hotels and dharmashalas at Haridwar. We stayed at Hotel Godwin. The room was very clean and comfortable. I would highly recommend this hotel.

Day 1- Places of visit:

Haridwar: Ganga snan at Brahma kundam, Chandidevi temple, Mansadevi Temple, Bilwakeshwar temple, Aarti darshan at Har ki Pauri, Maya Devi temple, Kusavarta (Kankhala). Some of the holiest places in Haridwar are Har-Ki-Pauri, Kankhal, Neel Parvat (Chandi Devi temple), Gangadwar, and Bilwas Teerth (Mansa Devi temple).

We started our Uttarakhand Badrinath and Kedarnath Yatra at the most venerated town Haridwar. Haridwar is an important piligrimage place at foothills of Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India. The River Ganges from its source Gaumukh at the edge of Gangotri Glacier enters the Indo-Gangetic plains in India for first time at Haridwar. Its ancient name is Gangadwára. This place is surrounded by Shivalik mountains “HARIDWAR” is Hari ka Dwar or Har Ka Dwar. It is the dwar to Bhakthi and Mukthi. Haridwar is one of the main temple towns of India.

Haridwar is regarded by Hindus as one of the seven holiest places. The following 7 cities are the source for Salvation. Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Haridwar), Kasi (Benares), Kanchipuram, Avantika (Ujjain), Dwarka. Staying even overnight at these places is of great punya.  Garuda purana states:

अयोध्या मधुरा माया काशी कांची अवंितका |

पुरी द्वारवतीचैव सप्तैतान् मोक्शदायकाः ||

Haridwar

स्वर्गद्वारेण तत् तुल्यं गङ्गाद्वारं न संशयः |
तत्राभिषेकं कुर्वीत कोटितीर्थे समाहितः ||
लभते पुण्डरीकं च कुलं चैव समुद्धरेत् |
तत्रैकरात्रिवासेन गोसहस्रफलं लभेत् ||
सप्तगङ्गे त्रिगङ्गे च शक्रावर्ते च तर्पयन् |
देवान् पितृंश्च विधिवत् पुण्ये लोके महीयते ||
ततः कनखले स्नात्वा त्रिरात्रोपोषितो नरः |
अश्वमेधमवाप्नोति स्वर्गलोकं च गच्छति ||

(पद्मपुराण आदिखण्ड २८ | २७-३०; महाभारत वानपर्व, तीर्थयात्रापर्व ८४ | २७-३०)

"Haridwar is equivalent to Swargadwara. There is no doubt about it. One who does snan with intent attention in kotiteerth, will get Pundarika-yagna phalam. He also improves the spiritual status of his vamsha. By staying in Haridwar for one night, one gets phalam of donating a thousand cows. Gangadwara is a sacred spot on earth. The spot where Ganga rusheth past, cleaving the foremost of mountains which is frequented by Gandharvas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Apsaras, and inhabited by hunters, and Kinnaras is called Gangadwara. Lord Vishnu is said to have left his footprint on the stone that is set in the upper wall of Har-ki-Pauri, where the Holy Ganges touches it at all times. This spot is visited by Brahmarshis, as also the Tirtha Kanakhala, is very sacred. One who gives vidhipoorvak devarshi-pitrutarpan at Sapthaganga, Triganga and Shakravart will reside in punya loka later. Then after having bath at Kanakhal and fasting for three nights one will get ashwamedha yagna phalam and abide in swargaloka."

In the scriptures Haridwar is mentioned as Kapilasthan (sage Kapila is said to have an ashram here), Gangadwar and   Mayapuri. Agasthya Rishi also did his penance here, with his wife Lopamudhra (Tirtha-Yatra parva of Mahabharatha). 

Haridwar has the ‘Panch Teerth’ mentioned in the Puranas located within the district mainly known as Gangadwara (Har-ki-Pauri), Kushaavart Ghat, Kankhal, Bilwa Teerth (Mansa Devi) and Neel Parvat (Chandi Devi). Brahma Kund, the spot where the Amrit fell, is located at Har ki Pauri (“footsteps of the lord”) and is considered to be the most sacred ghats in Haridwar.

गङ्गाद्वारे कुशावर्ते बिल्वके नीलपर्वते |

स्नात्वा कनखले तीर्थे पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ||

During Samudra manthanam, Amrit (elixir of immortality) fell at four sites: Haridwar, Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad. 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. The astrological date for Kumbha mela falls when Venus (Sukran) and Jupiter (Guru) coincides with Aquarius (Kumbh) and the Sun and Moon are on the Aries and Sagittarius respectively. Pilgrims congregate in Haridwar to perform ritualistic bathing on the banks of rives Ganges to wash away their sins to attain Moksha.

Pandas of the Haridwar have been known to keep genealogy records of most of the Hindu population. Known as vahis, these records are updated on each visit to the city, and are a repository of the vast family trees of families in India.

In Varaha purana: "Narrating about the Mahatyam of Mayapuri, lord Varaha told to Prithvi (Goddess Earth)- "There lived a brahmin named Somsharma at Mayapuri. He was a great devotee of me and had an impossible desire of witnessing my divine powers by his mortal eyes. I tried to make him understand about the futility of his desire but to no avail. Finally I was left with no option but to fulfil his wish. I asked him to goto Rishikesh and have holy dip in Ganges. By doing so he will get darshan of my Maya.

Somsharma went to take holy dip in the Ganges of Rishikesh. Hardly had he taken a dip then he found himself experiencing the pangs of birth in the womb of a nishad woman. Evidently, Lord Sri Hari had began giving a glimpse of his divine powers to Somsharma. It was a terrible experience for him and he vowed to lead a chaste life as soon as he came out of the womb. Unfortunately, he forgot everything about his vow once he took rebirth as a girl. 

In course of time, the girl grew up and married a young nishad. She had many children from him and did lot of wrong deeds. One day, the nishad girl who in reality was Somsharma, went to take a bath in the holy Ganges. As soon as she entered into the river, she got transformed into a hermit. She was filled with extreme bewilderment but this was not the end, as there were more surprises to come. 

The hermit came out of the river and looked all around in amazement. He then sat down to meditate and very soon he was engrossed in his meditation. In the evening, some sages arrived and said- 'Rishi! How come you are sitting here? You had gone to take a bath. We became anxious and started searching for you when you did not return till evening'. The hermit was amazed by the turn of events as he was aware of every incident that had occurred. He was also well aware that he had spent fifty years as nishad-woman but according to the statements of hermits he had been absent only for few hours. The hermit was totally confused about his real identity. 

I (lord Varaha) felt pity on his miserable condition and decided to lift my magic spell. I asked him whether his wish of witnessing my divine powers had been fulfilled or not. The hermit eulogized me and agreed that it was impossible for any mortal to understand the ways of Almighty. I then blessed him and transformed him into Somsharma once again. He did his pranatyaga at Mayapuri and reached Swethadweepa. Such is the grandeur of Mayapuri and no one can understand the secret of my Maya - the sacrosanct place where lord Sri Hari has manifested his divine powers. A devotee who goes on a pilgrimage to Mayapuri never gets entangled in the worldly illusions. This is a devine story of Maya-Chakra"

The moment one reaches Haridwar, the thought about the material world gets dissolved and we start thinking about Atma, Bhagavan and his glorious past times. And after a holy bath in the Ganges, the spirit in us gets charged with bhakti-ras; all the sins get wiped off. We try to understand Lords creation and start accepting that in the fast moving world one can find solace when we visit these Holy places. There are innumerable ashrams and temples in Haridwar. We can find innumerable saints, pilgrims and Yogis on the street.

Har-Ki-Pauri

King Vikramaditya constructed this sacred ghat in the 1^st Century BC. The most sacred place in Har-ki-Pauri is Brahma Kundam. This is the place where Lord Vishnu’s footsteps are found. Due to the severe penance of Bhagirathan, Ganges was brought down to earth and as the earth could not withstand the pressure, Lord Shiva caught hold of her in his matted lock and allowed it to split into several tributaries, namely, Alakananda, Bhagirathi, Nandakini, Garuda Ganga, Bhyur Ganga, Mandakini etc. All these tributaries traverse through the Himalayas in different routes merge with Alakananda at different places, which are known as “PRAYAGS” and finally join at Devprayag. From here on, she is known as  Ganga and Haridwar is the point at which Ganga enters the plains. We started our journey with Ganga snan at Har-ki-Pauri. 

Har-ki-Pauri

BRAHMA KUNDAM: 

This is the place where Brahma welcomed Ganges to earth and had his first holy dip in Ganges. It is believed that a dip in this Brahmakund brings salvation from all sins and a freedom from the bondages of the world. Therefore, pious people from all over the world come here to have bath in this sacred place. It is believed that any “dhaanam” (sacrifice) done here fetches multifold benefits, especially, pooja and dhaanam done to cows (Gomatha). Raja Swetha had done great penance at this place. Pleased with his penance Brahma gave boon to raja as to this place will be called hence forth with his name as "Brahma kundam" and Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar and all the tirthas always reside at this place. By having holy dip here one becomes adhikari to go to paramapada (Vishnu lok).

Brahma Kundam

There is a pracheen Ganga Devi temple and Lakshmi Narayana temple located here. 

Chandi Devi Temple, Haridwar

Next we proceeded to Chandi Devi temple. It started raining heavily by the time we reached the temple. One can buy combined tickets to travel in Udan-khatola to both Chandi devi and Mansa devi temples for Rs.138. There was a huge rush at this temple as it was Sunday. We had to wait for close to one and a half hour in queue. They do not start the udan-khatola until the waiting room is completely filled.

Play ground for kids near waiting room of Udan-khatola

The temple is dedicated to Goddess Chandi and is situated atop the Neel Parvat on the eastern summit of the Shivalik Hills, the southernmost mountain chain of the Himalayas. The temple, also known as: Neel Parvat Teerth, is one of the panch tirth (Five Pilgrimages) located within Haridwar. Chandi Devi Temple is highly revered by devotees as a Siddh Peetha, which is a place of worship where desires get fulfilled. It is one of three such Peethas located in Haridwar, the other two being Mansa Devi Temple and Maya Devi Temple. It is believed that the Adi Shankaracharya established the main statue in 8th century A.D. The temple is a 3 km trek from Chandi ghat and can also be reached through a ropeway.

Legend: Goddess Chandi also known, as Chandika is the presiding deity of the temple. The story of the origin of Chandika is as follows: Long time ago, the demon kings Shumbha and Nishumbha had captured the kingdom of the god-king of heaven - Indra and thrown the gods from Swarga (heaven). After intense prayers by the gods, Parvati assumed the form of Chandi, an exceptionally beautiful woman and amazed by her beauty, Shumbha desired to marry her. On being refused, Shumbha sent his demon chiefs Chanda and Munda to kill her. Goddess Chamunda who originated out of Chandika’s anger killed them. Shumbha and Nishumbha then collectively tried to kill Chandika but were instead slain by the goddess. Thereafter, Chandika is said to have rested for a short while at the top of Neel Parvat and later a temple was built here to testify the legend. Also, the two peaks located in the mountain range are called Shumbha and Nishumbha.

On the way to Chandi Devi Temple

How to reach: The Temple is located at a distance of 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Har ki Pauri. To reach the temple one has to either follow the three kilometer trekking route from Chandi ghat and reach the shrine by climbing a number of steps or climb the recently introduced rope-way (cable car) service. The ropeway service known as Chandi Devi Udankhatola was introduced for the benefit of the pilgrims and it caters to the pilgrims also to the nearby-located Mansa Devi shrine. The rope-way carries the pilgrims from the lower station located near Gauri Shankar Temple on the Nazibabad Road directly to the Chandi Devi Temple.

Udan-khala, Chandi Devi temple

One has to climb few stairs on top. Beware of monkeys. Do not carry any foods or plastic covers while climbing stairs. One can get pooja samagris, mata-ki-chunri, puffed rice etc at the top close to temple

Devotees tie a red small cloth on bells or on side gates of temple asking for desires. Once it is fulfilled, one has to go back and untie the same or one of the other similar cloths (it is hard to locate exact one if visiting after a long time). Goddess is beautifully adorned in red sari and smeared in turmeric paste. Devotees offer mata-ki-churi (red in color), sindoor items and pooja samagris to goddess. After darshan one meets "sher (lion)", vehicle of chandi devi. Devotees offer puffed rice here also and whisper their desires in its ears. 

Vahanam of Chandi devi

On the way back, devotees also build their parivar, out of rocks available there in the form of Durga and pray for well-being of the entire family. The temple is open between 6.00am to 8.00pm. Morning aarti begins at 5:30am. 

Important detail: Neeleshwar Temple is also situated at the foot of the Neel Parvat. It is said that Mansa and Chandi, the two forms of goddess Parvati always reside close to each other. The temple of Mansa is exactly on the other side of the hilltop on the Bilwa Parvat on the opposite bank of River Ganges. This belief can also be found true in other cases since near the Mata Mansa Devi Mandir in Panchkula, Haryana, there is a Chandi Mandir located nearby in Chandigarh.

Very near (about 1km) to the Chandi devi temple, the temple of Anjana, mother of Hanuman is located and devotees visiting chandi temple also visit this temple. Path is kachacha and gets slippery when it rains. This is the tapostal of Anjana and also there is a Hanuman temple next to it.

Manasa Devi Temple, Haridwar

This Goddess, form of Shakti fulfills the desires of the true and sacred souls. This temple, which is one km away from Haridwar, is situated on top of Bilwa parvat on the Shivalik hills. Usually, pilgrims pray to this Goddess for completing their Yatra successfully. It took approximately 3 hrs to complete the darshan. There was a very big queue. The rush here is more compared to Chandi Devi as the base point for this temple is located in center of bazaar. 

Ropeway to Manasa Devi temple.

Manasa Devi temple.

One should take holy dip in Bilwa Tirth. Mansa Devi, literally meaning the goddess who fulfills desires (Mansa). 

The temple, is holy abode of Manasa, a form of Shakti and is said to have emerged from the mind of sage Kashyapa. Manasa is regarded as the sister of serpent Vasuki.

Devotees who want their wishes to be fulfilled by Mansa tie threads to the branches of a tree located in the temple. Once their wishes are fulfilled, people come back again to the temple to untie the thread from the tree. Devotees also offer mata-ki-chunari, sindoor items, and pooja samagris to goddess. Devotees put sindoor on walls as offering to goddess to get their desires fulfilled.  

Temple offers views of the River Ganges and the plains of Haridwar. The temple is open between 8am and 5pm except for lunch closings of 12pm to 2pm.

View of Ganges from top

Trekking this hill would take about half an hour. There is also a ropeway to this temple. The main temple houses two idols of the Goddess, one with three mouths and five arms, while the other one has eight arms. The temple also known as Bilwa Tirth is one of the Panch Tirth within Haridwar. The ropeway service known as "Mansa Devi Udankhatola" is there for the benefit of the pilgrims

Bilkeshwar Mahadev temple, Haridwar.

We then visited Bilkeshwar Mahadev temple. Devotees offer Bilwa leaves to Mahadev and do abhishekam from Ganges water.

Bilwakeshwar Mahadeva temple katha

Evening aarti at Har-ki-Pauri, Haridwar.

We then went to most enchanting evening aarti at Har-ki-Pauri. The evening prayer (Aarti) at dusk offered to Goddess Ganga at Har-Ki-Pauri is an enchanting experience for any pilgrim. We first did deepa daanam and floated diyas in Ganga. 

Har-ki-Pauri at dusk

A spectacle of sound and color is seen when, after the ceremony, pilgrims float diyas (floral floats with lamps) and incense on the river, commemorating their ancestors. It is very auspicious to do Ganga Aarti at this place. During Ganga Aarti in evening, murthi of Ganga Maa is brought to Ganges with sound of shankh and ghanthi. Close to one lakh  devotees assemble at Har-Ki-Pauri. Pilgrims wait until Ganga Maa is decorated. And with Ganga Aarti song (Om Jai Gange maata), the Aarti begins. The crowds start gathering by 5:30pm. Steps are occupied completely very fast. 

Ganga aarti at Har-ki-Pauri

ॐ जय गङ्गे माता, श्री जय गङ्गे माता | 
जो नर तुमको ध्याता, मनवांिछत फल पाता || ॐ ||
चन्द्र सी ज्योति तुम्हारी, जल निर्मल आता |
 शरण पङेजो तेरी, सो नर तर जाता || ॐ ||
पुत्र सगर के पारे, सब जग को ज्ञाता |
 कृपा दृष्टि तुम्हारी, त्रिभुवन सुखदाता || ॐ ||
एक ही बार जो तेरी शरणागति आता |
 यम की त्रास िमटाकर परम गति पाता || ॐ ||
आरती माता तुम्हारी जो नरनित (जननित) गाता |
 दास वही सहज में मुक्ति को पाता || ॐ ||

Ganga is not only a river. She is truly a Divine Mother. She rushes forth from the Himalayas as the giver of life, carrying purity, bliss and liberation in Her waters. Ganga is not only water; she is nectar - the nectar of life, the nectar of liberation. She is a source of inspiration to all who lay eyes on her ceaseless, boundless, and rushing current. She irrigates not only our farms, but also our hearts, minds and souls. She is the Mother Goddess - giving freely to all with no discrimination, hesitation or expectation. Her waters purify all who bathe in them, all who drink from them. In fact, She is the remover of contamination.

http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/gangAlaharI.pdf

http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/gangaashta.pdf

http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/gangAShTakamValmiki.pdf

http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/gangastotra.pdf

Ganga River and her Religious significance

Sri Vamana avatara one of the avatara of Lord Vishnu. This avatara took place during Tretha yoga. Lord Maha Vishnu took this avatar in order to suppress the arrogance and pride of Emperor Bali Chakravarti and to restore the glory, power and authority of Lord Indra over the Heaven. He had lost his power and kingdom of Swarga to King Bali.

Lord Vamana went to King Bali and asked for three steps of land measured by his foot as charity. Initially Bali hesitated to donate but later he agreed to give such a charity in spite of his guru Shukracharya warning him not to do the daanam. When Maha Bali completed the ritual process of donating the land, Lord Vamana assumed his cosmic form (Trivikrama), measured the entire earth including the nether worlds by his first step. With his second step he measured the entire upper worlds. 

When his foot reached the zenith it reached the Satya loka where Lord Brahma resided. The sacred water emanated from the lotus foot of the Supreme Lord Sri Maha Vishnu, and Lord Brahma washed the Lord's foot with that water and collected it in his Kamandalu. The water that emerged out of Lord Sriman Narayana's foot came to be revered as Goddess Ganga (Vishnu Paadodbhavi) who henceforth started living in the Heaven as Swarga Ganga assuming the form of a river. 

Goddess Ganga took the form of a river to absolve the sins of King Bhagiratha's predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries. “Lord Krishna said in Bhagavat Gita that amongst rivers he is Ganga”. River Ganga is most worshipped and sacred river. Bathing in her waters brings deliverance from sins committed in the present and past births.

According to a legend in Ramayana, King Sagara, after slaying the demons on earth decided to stage an Ashwamedha Yajna as a proclamation of his supremacy. The horse, which was to be taken on an uninterrupted journey around the earth, was to be accompanied by the King's 60,000 sons born to Queen Sumati and one son Asamanja born of the second queen Kesani. Indra, supreme ruler of the gods feared that he might be deprived of his celestial throne if the Yajna (worship with fire) succeeded and then took away the horse and tied it to the ashram of Sage Kapila, who was then in deep meditation. The sons of the King Sagara searched for the horse and finally found it tied near the meditating sage. Sixty thousand angry sons of King Sagara stormed the ashram of sage Kapila. When he opened his eyes, the 60,000 sons had all perished, by the curse of sage Kapil. Bhagiratha, the grandson of King Sagar, is believed to have meditated to please the Goddess Ganga enough to cleanse the ashes of his ancestors, and liberate their souls, granting them salvation or Moksha. Bhagiratha brought river Ganga to earth.

Kankhal, Haridwar

After ganga aarti, we went to Kankhal, 4km from Haridwar. It was shayana aarti time by the time we reached the temple. We did achamana at the river and worshipped the river Ganga. Sati Kund is the place where Sati immolated herself.  Daksheswara Mahadeva temple and Peepal tree in the temple are of importance.

Legend: mythological story as mentioned in the Mahabharata and all the puranas, details the episode when King Daksha Prajapathi, the father of Sati, Lord Shiva's first wife, performed Yagna at this place, he did not invite his son-in-law Lord Shiva, thus Sati felt insulted. Nevertheless she arrived, when she found her husband being spurned by her father, she burnt herself in the Yagna kunda itself. Shiva burned with anger, sent the terrible demi-god Virabhadra, Bhadrakali and also his ganas.

Shiva carrying sati at Kankhal

On the direction of Shiva, Virabhadra appeared with Shiva's ganas in the midst of Daksha's assembly like a storm wind and waged a fierce war on the gods and mortals present culminating in the beheading of Daksha (who was later bestowed the head of a goat, at the behest of Brahma and other gods). Much of the details of the famous Ashwamedha Yagna of Daksha are available in Vayu Purana, Vishnu purana, Ramayana, Srimad Bhagavatham. Adi Varaha purana states:

Daksheshwar Mohave

तथा कनखलं तीर्थंगुह्य तिर्थाश् परम् मम स्नान-मात्रेण तत्रापि
नाकप्र्स्थे स मोदते  

Mahadev and Parvati are always devotedly worshipping Shri Hari at Kankhal Tirth. Just as Mahadev Shankar bestowed mercy upon Prajapathi Daksha and liberated him from material existence, one who bathes here will attain Brahmalok.

"Here, O king, before thee is the Kankhala range, the favorite resort of sages. 'And yonder is the mighty river Ganga. Here, in ancient times, the holy sage Sanatkumara attained ascetic success. O scion of the Ajamidha race, by performing thy ablutions here in this river, thou wilt be freed from all thy sins. The Mahabharatha Vana Parva: Tirtha-Yatra Parva

Bathing in Gangadwara (Haridwar) and Kushavarta...as also in Kankhala, one is sure to become cleansed of all one's sins and then ascend to heaven”. Mahabharatha: Anusasanika Parva.”

Kushwart ghat, Haridwar

Lord Dattatrya had done his penance here for 10000 years standing on one foot. He had kept his kush, cheer, kamandalu and dand on this ghat. When he was doing his tapas, ganga tried to wash away all this. But due to tapa prabhav, they did not get washed away, instead that current of Ganga got circulating as whirlpool there itself. When he finished his penance and saw all his items are circulating in this whirlpool, he intended to reduce Ganga to ashes. At that moment Brahma and other devatas appeared and performed His stutis. Then, Lord Dattatreya was appeased and told the assembled devatas to continue residing at this very place. Since Ganga took Kusha and other items, and made them move in the form of whirlpool (aavarta) this place is called Kushawarta. Giving pindadaana to pitrus at this place will ensure that their rebirth never happens. On Mesha Sankranthi, there are huge crowds which come to offer pinda daanam at this place. 

Maya Devi Temple, Haridwar

Our day at Haridwar concluded with visit to Maya devi temple. This temple is dedicated to Goddess Maya. Goddess Maya is the Adhisthari deity of Haridwar / Mayapuri. She is three-headed and four-armed deity who is believed to be an incarnation of Shakti with Kali on the left, Kamakhya on the right. The temple is a Siddha Peetha, which are the places of worship where desires get fulfilled. 

Maya devi temple.

There is a jhoola with Durga, Krishna and Ganesha in it.

Other places of importance in Haridwar are Gowghat -- (people bathe here to get rid of committed sin to Gowmaata), Ram ghat, Vishnu ghat, Ganesha ghat, Narayani Shila, Neela dhara, Pracheen MahaKali mandir, Bhim goda, Chowbees avatara mandir, Gayatri Devi mandir (Shanti kunj), Saptharishi ashram, Pasupathi Nath temple.

Copyright 2017 by Jayashree Badarinath

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