Char Dham Yatra
Devotees are always welcome in Uttarakhand, also known as Devbhoomi or the Land of Gods, which is home to innumerable temples. The Char Dham Yatra is one of the most well-known of the several holy sites and circuits that pilgrims travel through Uttarakhand. This Yatra, or pilgrimage, takes place in the Himalayas and visits the four holy places of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.
It’s thought that going to these places can help one find moksha (salvation). Lord Vishnu is worshipped in these primary “dhams,” and Lord Shiva is worshipped at Rameshwaram. Badrinath, Uttarakhand, is the Dham of Satyuga, one of four “dhams” that are connected to different eras. (2) Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, is the Dham of the Tretayuga. Dvaraka, Gujarat, is home to the Dham of Dwaparayuga. Jagannatha Puri in Odisha is the fourth Dham of the Kaliyuga.
Why should one participate in sacred pilgrimage journeys?
A pilgrimage is an exercise in perseverance, humility, and faith when the devotee goes to frequently challenging regions, laying his worries at the feet of the Deity, and forgetting everything but God.
A pilgrimage is a private encounter that puts the seeker in close contact with the sacred. A devotee makes a pilgrimage to meet holy people, to pray at sacred shrines, and to get divine vision from Deities residing in historic sanctuaries. In order to experience a life-altering, bliss-inducing, karma-eradicating encounter with the Divine, a pilgrim travels to see God.
Opening and closing dates for Char Dham in 2022
- The Badrinath Temple, a shrine to Lord Vishnu, is a part of both the Chota Char Dham and the Four Dhams of India.
- Date of Badrinath Opening: May 8, 2022, at 6.15
- Close Date for Badrinath: November 19, 2022, at 03:35
- Kedarnath Dham: The Lord Shiva-dedicated Kedarnath Temple is a well-known Hindu shrine and place of pilgrimage that draws visitors from all over the world.
- Date of Kedarnath Opening: May 6, 2022
- Kedarnath Closing Date: October 27, 2022
- Gangotri Dham: The Gangotri Temple is devoted to the Goddess Ganga. Holy River Ganga originates in Gangotri.
- Gangotri Open Date: 3 May 2022
- Date of Gangotri Closure: October 26, 2022, at 12:01
- Yamunotri Dham: Dedicated to Goddess Yamuna, the Yamunotri Temple. Because Devi Yamuna is the sister of Yama, the God of Death, Yamunotri is a site where people can seek Yamuna’s blessings and be spared the misery of death.
- The Yamunotri Open Date is May 3, 2022.
- Yamunotri Closing Date: 27 October 2022 at 12:09 p.m. Yamunotri
Path of the Chardham Yatra
The Chardham yatra is customarily performed from west to east; as a result, the journey begins in Yamunotri and continues through Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. The holy waters from the Yamuna and Ganga river sources are brought by pilgrims to Yamunotri and Gangotri first, where they perform abhishekams to Kedareshwara. Chota Char Dham of India is another name for the Char Dhams of Uttarakhand.
A well-known route includes
- Haridwar,
- Rishikesh,
- Deo Prayag,
- Tehri,
- Dharasu,
- Yamunotri,
- Uttarkashi,
- Gangotri,
- Gaurikund,
- Kedarnath,
- Joshimath, and
- Badrinath.
Puri
India’s state of Odisha includes Puri, which is situated in the east. In the country’s east, Puri is one of the oldest cities. On the Bay of Bengal shore, it is located. Lord Jagannatha, also known as Shri Krishna, is the major deity. The goddess Subhadra, the sister of Lord Krishna, and her brothers, Lord Jagannatha and Lord Balabhadra, are worshipped there; it is the only shrine in all of India where they do so. About a thousand years ago, Raja Choda Ganga Deva and Raja Tritiya Ananga Bhima Deva built the major temple in this area. The Govardhana Matha, one of Adi Shankaracharya’s four cardinal institutions or Mathas, is located in Puri.
Rameswaram
Peninsula of India. According to tradition, Lord Ram, his brother Laxman, and the devotee Hanuman constructed the Rama Setu bridge here in order to cross across to Sri Lanka and rescue his wife Sita, who had been taken hostage by Ravan, the monarch of Sri Lanka, earlier. A significant portion of Rameswaram is taken up by the Lord Shiva-dedicated Ramanatha Swamy Temple. Shri Rama Chandra is thought to have dedicated the shrine. For Hindus, Rameswaram is important since a trip to Benaras wouldn’t be complete without stopping in Rameswaram. One of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Sri Ramanatha Swamy is the name of the ruling god here, who is represented by a Linga.
Dwarka
Gujarat, a state in India, is home to the western city of Dwarka. The Sanskrit word “dvar,” which means door or gate, is where the city gets its name. It is situated at the confluence of the Gomti River and the Arabian Sea. Although it is a tributary of the Ganga River, this river Gomti is not the same as that river. The city is located in India’s most western region. The abode of Lord Krishna was the fabled city of Dvrak. The current Dwarka is the seventh such city to be founded in the region, and it is commonly accepted that Dvrak had flooded six times owing to devastation and destruction by the sea.
Badrinath
The state of Uttarakhand is where Badrinath is situated. On the Alaknanda River’s banks, in the Garhwal Hills. The community can be found in the shadow of Nilkantha peak and between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges (6,560 m). Within three kilometres of Badrinathjee are other fascinating tourist attractions, including Mana, Vyas Gufa, Maatamoorti, Charanpaduka, Bhimkund, and the Mukh of the Saraswati River. Joshimath is positioned on the hillsides above the meeting of the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers. Joshimath is the winter residence of Chardham, one of the four Maths established by Adi Shankaracharya.
Unlike the other three Dhams, which are open all year round, Badrinath Dham is only accessible to pilgrims for darshan from April to October each year.
