The misconception about Char Dham in India.
It is believed that once in life people must visit Char Dham Yatra.' Char' means four and' Dham' means religious destination specially in Hindu religion. This is the four Holy sites where Hindu go and worship. This Yatra or pilgrimage is the tour of four Holy sites. Most of the people think that the Char Dham is or four holy sites- Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. But this four Char Dham Yatra or four holy sites is considered as Chota Char Dham.
Chota Char Dham Yatra.
According to Hindu Religious Granth- The four holy sites or Char Dham are Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. It is believed that visiting these sites helps in achieving Moksha (Salvation). After completing Char Dham people have atmost peace in their life It is believed that every Hindu should visit the Char Dham during one's life. The formation of original Char Dham is credited to the great 8th century reformer and philosopher Shankacharya (Adi Sankara).
These four holy shrines of Hinduism are located at four cardinal points. In north Badrinath, In east Jagannath Puri, In south Rameswaram and in west Dwarka are located. It is believed that Lord Vishnu takes bath in Rameswaram, meal in Jagannath, meditate in Badrinath and rest in Dwarka.
Four Cardinal points.
These main 'Dhama's' are the shrines of Lord Vishnu and Rameswaram is the shrines of Lord Shiva. All the Dham are related to four epochs-
1. Dham of Sat yuga- Badrinath, Uttarakhand.
2. Dham of Treta Yuga- Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
3. Dham of Dvapara yuga- Dwarka, Gujarat.
4. Dham of Kali yuga- Jagannatha Puri, Odissa.
These Char Dham is located in India- Badrinath in north, Jagannath Puri in East, Rameswaram in south and Dwarka in west. Temples are used to worship and prayer but barely a few people know true significance of these temples. It is important that before prayer we should know about belief , tales and mythology about the temples.
So, now I'm describing these temples or Char Dham one by one.
1. Badrinath, Uttarakhand.
It is located in Uttarakhand at the corner of Alaknanda River. This temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is located between two mountains named Nar and Narayan. It is 15m tall and divided into three parts- the Garbhagriha (sanctum), the Darshan Mandapa (worship hall) and the Sabha Mandapa (convention hall).
Darshan Mandap.
There are 15 idols in these temples especially attractive is the one-metre high image of Lord Vishnu, finely carved in black stone. According to Shankara, the black stone image is made of Saligram stone in the Alaknanda River. This temple is called Vaikunth on Earth. That's why many people visit here for worship.
There are many stories about the establishment of temple, one of these are, according to history, this land belongs to Lord Shiva, but Lord Vishu wants a place for meditation that's why he takes avatar of small child and start crying so, Lord shiva and Mata Parvati asked what you want then Lord Vishnu asked for the Kedar Bhumi (Land). The second story is that Mata Lakshmi got sad. So, to convince Mata Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu started Tapasya (Meditation). During Meditation Lord Vishnu is not aware about the bad weather then Mata Lakshmi take the avatar of Badri tree (berry tree) to protect her husband Lord Vishnu from bad weather. That's how this place names Badrinath. After Tapasya, Narayan said, people will always take her name before his name, hence Hindu always refer "Lakshmi Narayan". This all incident happened in Satya Yuga. So, Badrinath came to be known as first Dhama.
Brahma Kapal.
It is also called that in Badrinath Lord Shiva get rid from killing of Brahma. It is situated just 100 meters north of Badrinath Temple which is called Brahma Kapal. It is also believed that Brahma head had fallen off from Shiva's trident here at Brahma Kapal.
Brahma Kapal
Legend believes that the mother of Lord Badrinath had divided Ganges in 12 channels for the welfare of people. A scared 'Akhand Jyoti' is kept lit for all the time inside the temple.
Other interesting things in Badrinath.
There are other interesting sightseeing spots like Mana, Vyas Gufa, Charanpaduka, Bhimkund and Mukh of the Saraswati River within 3 km of Badrinath.
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Vyas Gufa.
While the other three Dham is remain open throughout the year, Badrinath Dham is only open for pilgrims darshan from April to October each year.
2. Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
The second Dham is Rameswaram which is located in Tamil Nadu. It got its importance in Treta Yuga when Lord Rama built a Shiva-Lingam here and worshipped it to get blessings of Lord Shiva.
According to Ramayana, the seventh avatar of God Vishnu, prayed to shiva here to absolve any sins that he might committed during the war against demon Ravana.
Rameswaram temple gallery is also known for India's longest gallery among Hindu temples.
The temple was expanded during the 12th century by the Pandya Dynasty, and its principal shrine's sanctum was renovated.
Rameswaram Temple.
The temple is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites and have several historical references about it. The Maratha king who ruled Thanjavur established chatrams or rest houses throughout Mayiladuthurai and Rameswaram between 1745 and 1837 CE and donated them to Temple.
Legend is that the temple was built by Lord Rama before invading Ravana's Empire and Ram Setu. It is also known for its ancient sculpture, architect and design. And for a long time, many rulers. did a construction work. 22 holy wells are situated inside the temple compound which is called Kund. This Kund is filled with pure water and believed that people came here to redress their guilt. Devotees gather here for the worship of Lord Rama and Lord shiva and take bath in sacred water.
The name Rameswaram means "God of Rama". It is also believed that Lord Rama footprints are imprinted here. As this temple was established in Treta Yuga, this temple is considered as second Dham.
Architecture.
In this temple there are two lingams inside the sanctum. Among these, one of was built by Rama from sand, residing as the main deity, called Ramalingam and the other one was brought by Hanuman from Kailash called Vishva lingam.
There is a high compound wall on all four sides of the temple premises measuring about 865 feet furlong from east to west and one furlong of 657 feet from north to south with huge towers.
Jyotirlinga.
It is also considered one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. As per the Shiva Purana, once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument in terms of their supremacy in creation. So, to solve this problem, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge and endless pillar of light called Jyotirlinga. So, Lord Brahma and Vishnu separated his way to find the pierce. Brahma lied that he discovered the end of pillar in his direction while Vishnu accepted his defeat. Shiva cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies while the Vishnu would be worshipped till end of the world.
The Jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appear.
Jyotirlingas.
Ram Setu.
According to legend, it was believed that Lord Rama with his devotee-built bridge called Ram Setu to reach Sri Lanka to rescue his wife Sita who was captured by Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. Rameswaram is significant for the Hindus as a pilgrimage to Benaras is incomplete without a pilgrimage of Rameswaram.
3. Dwarka Gujarat.
Dwarka is located in the west at the edge of Arabian sea in Gujarat. It is the home of Lord Krishna. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage sites for Vaishnavites, especially the devotees of Lord Krishna. Dwarkadhish temple is one of the Char Dham. It is also known as Jagat Mandir or Trilok Sundar.
The temple is prime divine of Lord Krishna, who is the king of Dwarka, also called Dwarkadhish. Lord Krishna is believed to have an eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu according to religious belief. Devotees also believed that Lord Krishna is the supreme among all the other gods. That's why this temple is also called Jagat Mandir (temple). The flag above temple can be seen from 10 km away. This flag is changed 3 times in a day.
History of Dwarka Mandir.
The city of Dwarka is surrounded by many Folklores. According to Mahabharata, Lord Krishna established his Kingdom in Dwarka between 3,500 and 5,000 years ago. It was because when Lord Krishna killed his Mama Kansh, then Kansh's father-in-law Jarasandha want to take revenge from Krishna. He attacked many time on Mathura. Killed many of people. So, Krishna established their nagari in Dwarka. According to local beliefs, the Dwarkadhish temple had been originally built by Krishna's great grandson Vajranabha in honour of Lord. Therefore, the temple faced a major destruction in 1470s. The present structure seen in Dwarka was rebuilt in in the 16th century in the Chalukya style of architecture and it is quite different from the original ones.
It was believed that when Lord Krishna leave Dwarka, then the city has been submerged under sea.
The Architecture of Dwarka.
The main attraction of temple is that the structure seems to arise from the waters of the Arabian sea, which is likely the representation of the legend of Lord Krishna reclaiming land for establishment of Dwarka from waters.
It stands on a small hill. The main shrines have 72 pillars to support it and the thick walls are heavily sculptured. The wall of temple contains carvings of mythical creatures as well as popular legends. It is made from limestone which still stand in pristine condition.
The temple has two gates- swarg dwar in south and moksha dwar in north. Moksha Dwar means the door to salvation. Salvation is the key phenomenon linked to Lord Krishna because it is central point of his message to Arjun in the Bhagavad Gita before the war of Mahabharata ensued.
4. Jagannath Puri, Odissa.
Jagannath Puri is located in the state of Odissa. It is one of the important temples of Hindu dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu. In this temple, statues of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are located. People make statue from neem and daru tree every year (Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra).
The blessing food of Lord Jagannath at this temple called 'Chappan Bhog'. It is of two types Sankudi Maha prasad and Sukhila Maha prasad. To make Bhog, 250 earthen oven and 32 room are used where 600 cooks and 400 assistant work to serve.
The temple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra in which three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple Rath. The chariot or Rath is called Nandighosh, and it has 18 wheels and approximately 45.6 feet height.
The Puri temple is also famous because many legends believe that Lord Krishna's heart was placed here. The temple is sacred to all Hindus, especially in those of the Vaishnava traditions. Many great Vaishnava saint were closely associated with temple.
The temple was rebuilt by Ganga Dynasty in the 10th century CE
Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are the trios of deities worshipped at the temple. According to legend, the construction of the first Jagannath temple was commissioned by king Indradyumn, son of Bharata and Sunada and a Malava king, mentioned in the Mahabharata and the puranas.
Non-Hindu are not permitted to enter the temple. Visitors not allowed to enter the temple, may view from the roof of the nearby Raghunandan Library and pay their respect to the image of God.
Structure.
The huge temple covers an area of over 400,000 square feet. It is surrounded by high fortified wall. This 20 feet high wall is known as Meghanand Pacheri. Another wall is known as Kurma bedha surround the main temple. It contains approximately 120 temples and shrines. This temple has four distinct sectional structures.
Nila Chakra.
It is the discussed mounted on the top of the Jagannath temple. As per custom, everyday a different flag is waved on the Nila Chakra. The Flah hosted on the Nila Chakra is called Patita Pavana (Purifier of the fallen). Thee Nila Chakra is distinct from the Sudarshana chakra which has been placed with the deities in the inner sanctorum
So, i think everyone should visit Char Dham one's in life as it is believed that it washes away all sins and open doors for "Moksha". Millions of devotees visit this auspicious holy Yatra and pay homage to temple every year.
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