Char Dhaam Yatra: At a Glance

With the presence of many sacred temples, places and pilgrimage destinations that find mentions in holy books and legends the state of Uttarakhand in India is also known as ‘Dev Bhoomi ( Land of Gods). There are four very significant and holy shrines in Uttarakhand considered as the most sacred places in India and they are Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri which are collectively called as " Char Dhams" and to do pilgrimage at these places is popularly called as Char Dham Yatra.

The Religious Char Dham Yatra starts from Yamunotri and then covers Gangotri then Kedarnath and finally finishes after completing Badrinath darshan. As per Hindu traditions every year thousands of pilgrims undertake char dham yatra to take blessings at the most sacred places of Devbhumi Uttarakhand. It is considered that every Hindu should Do Char Dham Yatra at least once in lifetime.

Char Dham yatra commences on the opening of these temples during the summer season which is announced in the month of Jan every year according the occasions. In winters these places are not reachable because of heavy snowfall.

Places of Interest in Char Dham

Yamunotri Dham

Yamunotri is one of the holiest centers of Hindu pilgrimage, sacred abode of the Asti muni, the source of Yamuna River and is one of the Himalayan Char Dham. Yamunotri is the westernmost shrine of Uttarakhand and is generally first place to visit on Char Dham yatra.

The source of Yamuna River is Yamunotri Glacier near the Bandarpunch peak. The area is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and thermal springs.

The temple of Yamunotri was constructed by Maharaja Pratap Shah of Tehri Garhwal. Yamuna like Ganga is one of the Holy rivers for Hindus and according to Hindu tradition, Yamuna is the sister of Yama, the god of death and a holy dip in this river secures a peaceful death to the devotee. The temple remain closed during winter and reopens on Akshaya Tritiya falling during April and remains open till Diwali which falls in Oct.

Gangotri Dham

Gangotri is one of the main holy places among the four Himalayan Char Dham pilgrimage areas. Gangotri is closely related to Goddess Ganga and the holy river that we know as Ganges. The river Ganga originates from the Gaumukh glacier and is known as Bhagirathi here.

The name Bhagirathi is associated with King Bhagirath. According to Hindu mythology King Sagara after killing all the demons on earth decided to stage an Ashwamedha Yagya to proclaim his supremacy. The horse of the Yagya was accompanied by the kings 60000 sons born to his first Queen. Indra the supreme ruler of the gods feared that he might be deprived of his celestial throne if the Yagya succeeded, so he took away the horse and tied it to the ashram of a very powerful Sage named Kapil.

In order to relieve their forefathers of the curse King Bhagirath the grandson of King Sagara performed intense tapasya to please Goddess Ganga to come to earth and cleanse the ashes of his ancestors and liberate their souls granting them Moksha. He succeeded to please Goddess Ganga to come to earth but the earth came in danger because the force of Ganga would have destroyed earth, so Lord Shiva gathered Ganga into his locks to reduce the impact and Ganga descended to earth at Gangotri in the form of a River which is called Bhagirathi here as associated with Bhagirath. From Himalaya Ganga followed Bhagirathi on his way back to the planes of Northern India washing the ashes of his ancestors in the path and granting them Moksha. The Hindu tradition of putting ashes of the dead ones for moksha in Ganges started from here.

The Gangotri Temple was built by a Gorkha Commander in the early years of the 18th century and have a natural Shivlinga submerged under water according to mythology this is the place where lord shiva was sitting when he received Ganga in his locks. Daily aarti ceremony is performed by the Pujaris here.The temple remains open from the month of May and get closed on the day of Diwali festival. It remains closed during other time as the place comes under severe winter conditions during winter. From Gangotri Bhagirathi reaches Devprayag and merges into the river Alaknanda and from here the river is called the Ganga.

Kedarnath Dham

Kedarnath finds its mention in Mahabharata as the place where lord Shiva hide himself from Pandavas when they came searching for him to seek forgiveness from their sins committed at the battlefield of Mahabharata by killing near ones.

Badrinath Dham

Badrinath is one of the most holy places to Hindus for pilgrimage. It is situated on the bank of the River Alaknanda. Present In the backdrop of the Neelkanth Peak between the Nar and Narayan mountains Badrinath temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu at an altitude of 3133 mtrs. According to the legend it is the place where Lord Vishnu meditated after being criticized by a sage. During his meditation his wife goddess Laxmi took the form of a berry ( badri ) tree to offer him shade from the harsh climate and sun.

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