The Char Dham is also known as the Dev Bhumi; which literally means the dwelling of the gods. Hindus take the char dham yatra to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri for tranquility of mind, body and spirit. These places provide the perfect environment where the god & the transcendent seem to coexist. The char dham yatra has been practiced since ancient times and even today around three lakh visitors take this trip during the annual pilgrim season. Such is the importance of this yatra that all Hindus try to take a char dham pilgrimage tour at least once in their lifetime. Many even believe that taking a trip to these dham sites will wash away their lifetime sins!
So how did this char dham yatra become so popular? Why are these places considered to be so sacred? Well if you want to know all about the char dham yatra, you must firstly know a little bit of Indian history.
In the 8th century there lived a great Hindu reformer named Adi Shankaracharya who in a bid to revive the Hindu religion initiated the char dham yarta. He coined the term ‘Char Dham’ (Char means four and Dham means sites) and encouraged every Hindu to take a chardham pilgrimage tour to attain salvation in life. Since then Hindus have been taking this holy trip to the four abodes of God in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, all located in the Himalayan region of Garhwal.
Moving on, the annual pilgrim season of char dham begins in India from April and continues till October/November. Amongst the four dham sites, Badrinath is considered to be the most auspicious of the four sites because Hindus believe that it was here that great Shankaracharya attained freedom from incarnation. In case you do not want to take the entire char dham yatra at one go you may even choose to divide your trip into two parts, Badrinath Kedarnath tour and Gangotri Yamunotri tour.
However, in case you want to take the entire char dham yatra all in one go, it is better that you take the trip in the following order which was traditionally initiated by the Shankracharya.
Start your journey from Yamunotri. This is the place from where the sacred Yamuna River starts flowing and is believed to be the seat of goddess Yamuna. The temple in Yamunotri is at a distance of 6 Km from Hanuman Chatti town. This temple was recently renovated after being destroyed by the local weather conditions. There are a few small ashrams and guesthouses where you can take shelter while you are in Yamunotri. Enjoy watching the temple pujaris offer prayer to goddess Yamuna every day. The prasad offered during these prayers is made traditionally from raw rice that is cooked over hot spring.
Your next stop should be Gangotri. It is from here that the Ganga River originates. It is also the seat of Hindu goddess Ganga. You will simply love the evening aarti ceremony that is held in this temple because it is performed beside the flowing river. You may opt to stay in the guesthouses and restaurants of this region if you want to take rest or relax.
Then comes your third spot of char dham yatra i.e. Kedarnath. This place is where Hindu god Shiva is believed to reside. Apart from this, Kedarnath is also believed to be the place of Shankaracharya’s shrine, hence it is very sacred. You will find that the main temple looks extremely beautiful though it is made up of simple stone structures. The best aspect of Kedarnath is that it is surrounded by breathtaking Himalayan snowcapped peaks. Daily puja is performed around a stone lingam that lies in the inner sanctum of the Kedarnath temple.
Your last stoppage will be Badrinath which is the seat of the Hindu god Vishnu. The wall of this temple has bright and beautiful paintings of Buddhist ghompas.
So, while you are visiting India, you must surely plan a Char Dham yatra in case you want to explore the Hindu religion and its various customs and traditions. The entire trip will be a great learning experience for you and you will surely fell peace at mind.
Source: Ezine
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