Char Dham of Uttarakhand or Chota Char Dham (small four abodes) is one amongst the foremost important Hindu Pilgrimages in India. It includes of 4 most holy sites of Uttarakhand, particularly – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. once and the way these places got joined during a pilgrimage circuit together is not known. every of the places has its own individual and legendary history. however perhaps it’s the greatness and mysticism of every site that has qualified them to make a sacred pilgrimage tour.
Till 1950s visiting the four most sacred sites of Uttarakhand meant embarking on a strenuous journey on foot through the hilly trails. People, like wandering sadhus, and people who may afford to travel with an entourage, were the foremost likely and regular pilgrims of Chota Char Dham. when the 1962 Indo – China war, India place massive efforts in building suggests that of higher connectivity to and infrastructure at border areas. currently the roads may take one until the nearest points of the holy abodes. This inspired people from alternative backgrounds (economic or social) to initiate a tour of Char Dham circuit in chain.
1. HISTORY OF YAMUNOTRI
Yamunotri is where the second most holy of stream of India, the stream Yamuna, takes birth. placed within the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, Yamunotri Dham is that the initial stop within the pilgrimage. it’s believed that bathing in its water cleanses all sins and protects from untimely and painful death. The shrine of Yamunotri is believed to be built in 1839 by the king of Tehri, Naresh Sudarshan shah. Besides the Yamuna Devi (goddess), the idol of Ganga Devi too is housed within the revered temple. There are several hot water springs close to the temple; Surya Kund is that the most significant among them. Devotees boil rice and potatoes within the kund and accept it as a Prasad of the Devi.
LEGEND
Yamuna god is believed to be Sun’s daughter and twin sister of Yama (the god of death). it’s same that sage Asit Muni lived here and bathed in each Ganga and Yamuna. In his old age, once he was unable to go to Gangotri, a stream of Ganga started to flow across the steam of Yamuna.
2. HISTORY OF GANGOTRI
Gangotri Dham is devoted to goddess Ganga, who is claimed to own descended on earth to absolve the sins of human kind. The stream originates at Gaumukh from the Gangotri glacier that is a few 18 kilometre from the city of Gangotri. placed in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, the first temple of Gangotri was built by by Amar Singh Thapa, a Gurkha general, within the early 19th century.
LEGEND
King Sagar undertook an Ashwamedha Yagna and sent his 60,000 sons along with the horse. The horse was lost; tracing the horse to the Sage Kapila’s ashram, the 60,000 sons stormed the ashram and disturbed sage who was in deep meditation. angry Kapila opened his fiery eyes that turned all sixty,000 sons into ashes. Later, on Kapila’s advice, Anshuman (Sagar’s grandson) started praying to god Ganga, requesting her to return right down to earth to cleanse the ashes of his relatives and grant salvation to them. Anshuman unsuccessful in his aim; it was his grandchild Bhagirath whose rigorous meditation created Ganga to return right down to earth. Lord Shiva tied Ganga and distributed its water during a variety of streams to save the earth from its mighty force.
3. HISTORY OF KEDARNATH
Situated in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, Kedarnath is that the most remote journeying spot within the yatra. it’s believed that originally the temple of Kedarnath was designed by Pandavas. And Adi Shankaracharya got this structure constructed within the 8th century adjacent to the previous temple site. The gray stone structure is associate branch of knowledge marvel due to its imposing style and its ability to survive for thus several centuries in such a harsh terrain.
LEGEND
Pandavas were searching for Lord Shiva to absolve themselves from their sins committed at the battlefield of sacred writing. Lord Shiva was in no mood to forgive them therefore simply, therefore he reborn himself into a bull and went to Garhwal aspect of Uttarakhand. On being found by the Pandavas, he dived into the bottom. different|completely different} components of the Lord came up at different components – hump at Kedarnath, arms at Tunganath, navel at Madhya-Maheshwar, face at Rudranath and hair emerged at Kalpeshwar. Taken along, these 5 sites are known as Panch-kedar. Pandavas got temples created at every of the 5 places.
4. HISTORY OF BADRINATH
Badrinath is considered one of the foremost holy places in Hindu religion. one amongst the 108 Divya Desams, Badrinath temple is part of each Char Dham and Chota Char Dham. Adi Shankaracharya found the idol of Lord Badri in Alaknanda stream and place it up during a cave close to the Tapt Kund. In 16th century, a Garhwal King got the temple erected, that has been restored repeatedly as a results of natural calamities. Sandwiched between Nar and Narayan peaks, the beauty of Badrinath Dham is more enhanced with the fantastic background of Neelkanth peak.
LEGEND
As per one of the legends, the indulgent lifestyle of Lord Vishnu was criticised by a sage, when that Vishnu went to meditate as associate act of penance, over here. god Laxmi (his wife) became a berry tree to shade him from the sun and other harsh components of nature. Another divine tale states that Badrinath wont to be the realm of Shiva. Vishnu tricked Shiva into leaving the location and established himself instead.