‘Char Dham’, additionally written as ‘Chardham’ is a pilgrimage circuit, consisting of 4 websites, (‘Char’ is Hindi for 4) essential to the Hindu neighborhood. The 4 websites are, particularly, Badrinath in Uttarakhand, Puri in Odisha (Previously Orissa), Dwarka in Gujarat and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. There may be additionally a smaller circuit of Char Dham websites, generally known as ‘Chota Char Dham’, with ‘Chota’ which means small. All these 4 websites of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath (Badrinath is frequent to each the circuits) are positioned within the state of Uttarakhand alone. On this article, allow us to go to every certainly one of them.Yamunotri: This village marks the supply of the Yamuna river. To the Hindus, it’s the seat of Yamuna, the Hindu Goddess, who’s depicted as having black complexion, and over a tortoise, having a pot of water in her hand. (As described within the Sanskrit Agni Purana, one of many eighteen main Puranas of Hinduism)
The temple right here, housing a shrine to the Goddess, opens within the month of Could and closes the second day after Diwali.Gangotri: Whereas Yamunotri is the origin of the Yamuna river, Gangotri that of the Holy Ganges. For readers who’re unaware, Ganges, or Ganga in Hindi, is taken into account very sacred in Hinduism, and bathing in its waters is believed to facilitate ‘Moksha’, i.e. one’s launch from the circle of life & loss of life. She can be worshipped as Maa Ganga. (‘Maa’ means mom) She is depicted sitting on a ‘Makara’, a legendary creature that has the pinnacle of an elephant, and the physique of a fish.The temple right here dates again to the 18th century.Kedarnath: The historical past of the city of Kedarnath dates again to the Mahabharata period. (The Mahabharata is without doubt one of the two main Sanskrit Hindu epics, with its origins courting again to Eight-Ninth century BC.) The temple is devoted to Lord Shiva, certainly one of Hinduism’s three main deities, the God of destruction. He’s worshipped as ‘Kedarnath’ right here, which suggests the Lord of Kedar Khand. (Historic title of the area)
On account of extreme climate in winters, the temple is simply open from the top of April to the autumn full moon.Badrinath: Badrinath is crucial of the 4 pilgrimage websites of the Char Dham. The temple right here is devoted to Lord Vishnu, one of many three main deities of Hinduism (The third one is Lord Brahma, the creator), the God who’s the preserver and protector. He’s worshipped as ‘Badrinath’ right here.As soon as once more, as a consequence of excessive climate circumstances, the temple is open between the top of April and starting of November.
