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Char Dham Yatra

Badrinath


Badrinath is located in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. 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).
Badri refers to a berry that was said to grow abundantly in the area, and nath means Lord. The legend goes that Shankara discovered a black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan made of Saligram stone in the Alaknanda river. He originally enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs. In the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple.

Dwarka


Dwarka located in the West is in the state of Gujarat, India. The city derives its name from word dvar meaning door or gate in the Sanskrit language. It is located close to where the Gomti River merges into the Gulf of Kutch. The city lies in the westernmost part of India.
The legendary city of Dwaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed[who?] that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area.

Jagannath Puri 

Puri located in the East is located in the state of Orissa, India. Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

The main deity is Shri Krishna, celebrated as Lord Jagannatha. It is the only shrine in India, where goddess, Subhadra, sister of Lord Krishna is worshipped along with her brothers, Lord Jagannatha and Lord Balabhadra. The main temple here is about 1000 years old and constructed by Raja ChodaGanga Deva and Raja Tritiya Ananga Bhima Deva. Puri is the site of the Govardhana Matha, one of the four cardinal institutions or Mathas established by Adi Shankaracharya.

Brahma, Vishnu & Maheswara three are together in alltime every place. In Kali yuga Sreemandir as jagannath temple in Puri. Jagannath-Vishnu, Balabhadra-Maheswara & Subhadra-Brahma. This is the plume for Oriya people to celebrate a special day in this Dham which is also known as "Chariot Festival".

History of Puri dates back to the period when the town was inhabited by the Sabaras, a Pre-Dravidian and Pre-Aryan tribe belonging to the Austro-Asiatic family. During the 7th and 8th centuries, Puri had been a provincial outpost that linked eastern India with the South. 

Owing to its religious association with Sankaracharya (a Hindu reformer), Puri became one of the new centers for the practice of reformed Hinduism. In fact, Puri became an important center of pilgrimage by the 12th century. The history in Puri also proves that Sri Ramanuja visited Puri during 1107 and 1117. Sri Ramanuja was followed by Vishnu Swami, who is known to establish the Vishnuswami Matha, near Markandeshwar Tank. 

With the arrival of the Gangas in the 12th century, Puri emerged as one of the centers of Vaishnavism. Anantavarman Chodaganga, one of the powerful rulers of Puri, established the Purusottama temple in 1135. Purusottama Temple later came to be known as the Jagannath Temple in the 15th century. 

Under the Mughals, Orissa was divided into three revenue collection circars. The three circars of Orissa included Bhadrak, Jaleswar and Kataka with Puri being a part of the Kataka circar. 

The history of Puri also reveals that in the 16th century, Puri was captured by the Afghans. The Afghans destroyed the Jagannath temple and reduced it to ruins. The temple was restored by the Marathas, who ruled Orissa for a short time. Under the British, the Jagannath temple was managed by the King of Orissa. The temple is also said to enjoy certain privileges under the British. 

Until 1816, Puri remained the capital of Orissa, as well as the headquarters of the Collector. In 1806, the government rejected the proposal of shifting the headquarters to Jajpur but in 1814, the headquarters were transferred to Cuttack. The headquarters was shifted back to Puri in the month of December, 1814. In 1816, the headquarters was again shifted back to Cuttack. 

Historical facts about Puri reveal that Orissa was culled from Bihar in 1936. In 1948, Puri was integrated with Orissa (1st January, 1948). Until 1995, the province continued to be divided. The territory of Puri was divided into 3 subdivisions in 1995. Presently, the district of Puri comprises of the Puri Sadar division. 

Rameshwaram 

The Ramanathaswamy Temple

Rameswaram located in the South is in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated in the Gulf of Mannar at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. According to legends, this is the place from where Lord Rama, built a bridge Ram Setu to Lanka. The Ramanatha Swamy Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva occupies a major area of Rameshwaram. The temple is believed to have been consecrated by Shri Rama Chandra.

Rameshwaram is significant for the Hindus as a pilgrimage to Benaras is incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. The presiding deity here is in the form of a Linga with the name Sri Ramanatha Swamy, it also is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

Brahma, Vishnu & Maheswara three are together in alltime every place. Rama-Bishnu, Laxman-Brahma & Hanuman-Maheswara

The famous Ramanathaswamy Temple is regarded as one of the most sacred shrines of Hindus in India. It is an honoured pilgrimage destination, which represents the southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India. It is considered as holy as Banaras. This famous Hindu temple situated on the Rameshwaram island is located off the Sethu coast of Tamil Nadu. The temple is noted for its close association with Ramayana and the legendary victory of Rama over the demon king Ravana.

This temple is a pious temple, keeping in mind its association with Lord Rama, a great Hindu legend and its grand structure. This huge temple on the island of Rameswaram can be reached via the Pamban bridge across the sea, it is famous for its long ornate corridors, towers and remarkable 36 Theerthams.

Rameshwaram Temple - Legend Related To The Temple

According to a legend, Rama worshiped Shiva in the form of a Shiva Lingam, while returning to Ayodhya. This lingam was made of earth by Rama's consort, Sita. It is also said that Hanuman was sent to bring an image of Viswanathar from Banares. Rama thought that Hanuman will be late in returning. Therefore, Rama is said to have offered worship at a pre-chosen auspicious moment to the Shivalingam. This lingam is referred to as Ramalingam.

The other Shivlingam brought here by Hanuman from Banaras is known as Viswanathar . This Shivalingam is also called Kasilingam and Hanumalingam. The Viswanathar Shivalingam is worshiped before offering prayers to Ramanathaswamy. It is also believed that Rama worshiped Tilakeswarar at Devipatnam on the route to Sri Lanka.

The History of The Temple

It is said that the ancient shrine was placed in a thatched hut until the 12th century. Parakrama Bahu of Sri Lanka built the first ever masonry structure here. The Setupathy rulers of Ramanathapuram completed the rest of the temple. Some of the temple vimaanams are similar to the Vimaanams of the Pallava period. Much more was added to the temple between the 12th and the 16th centuries. The long corridor (3rd prakaram) dates back only to the 18th century. The Gandhamadhana Parvatam (hill) offers a panoramic view of the temple. Travancore, Ramanathapuram, Mysore and Pudukkottai kingdoms provided royal patronage to this famous Hindu temple.

The Temple Architecture

The temple is sprawled over an area of 15 acres. It has huge gopurams, monolithic walls and a stupendous Nandi. There is a 4000 feet long pillar corridor with over 4000 pillars, considered the longest in the world. A unique feature about this corridor is that the rock used here is not found on the native island, it was brought in from elsewhere in Tamilnadu across the sea. The eastern Rajagopuram has a height of 126 feet and has nine levels whereas the western Rajagopuram is not as tall as the eastern one. The huge image of Nandi is about 18 feet tall and 22 feet in length.

The Gandamadana Parvatham

This hill on the Rameshwaram island, has a small shrine, consisting of imprints of Lord Rama's feet, which is worshiped here.

Theertham(Water Springs)

There almost 36 Theerthams here out of which 22 are in the temple. The water of these Theerthams are said to be therapeutic. A bath in these is regarded significant. The Agni Theertham refers to the ocean while the Koti theertham is located within the temple itself.

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