In the Land of Mahabharath – Temples of Uttarakhand
Temples Stories of Uttarakhand
Those sparkling snow peaks swirling diamond dust in the bluest of the
skies, those majestic tall divine devdar trees and their crowd preserving the
age old silence and those green blue ribbons of water, flowing down the
mountain slopes with noise and gust, full of inner joy !
Himalaya from ancient times has been revered as sacred land of
spirituality. Though it forms the northern boundary with China and central
Asia, it was never a route of invasion and assault because of difficulty in
access. The traditional protector of Indian landmass stood tall and wide
exuding purity and silence.
Himalaya mountain range starts from Kashmir valley and ends in the Meghalayan
foothills, landing just short distance from Bay of Bengal. Spanning for 2400 kilometres from North-West
to South-East of Indian subcontinent, Himalaya has a very special and very
unique position in geography and in people’s mind both. Geographically it
segregates India from rest of the North Asian landscape.
Culturally it is the sacred abode of Gods for millions of Indians for
thousands of years. Himalaya is known as Devatatma which literally means
someone with a divine soul. True to the meaning., there are several places of
worship, several gods and goddesses, several forms of worships and not to
forget several structures of worship adorning this huge mountain range.
Uttarakhand , the part of middle Himalaya is nestled between Himachal
Pradesh and Nepal with its foot hills touching the north Indian planes in Uttar
Pradesh. The western part is Garhwal and eastern part is known as Kumaun. In Uttarakhand we find several places which
have close association to the story of Mahabharata and people in the legend. For
example, Lakhamandal is where the infamous sabotage of burning the Pandavas
happened. Swargarohini is the peak from where Pandav ultimately embarked on
their heavenly journey. Not surprisingly a horizontal section of Himalayan
ranges is also known as
Mahabharat range
Our tradition tells us that Mahabharat is the fifth Veda and by itself
an Itihas meaning the story as it happened. These villages, temples and rivers
all take us to that era, just a little more closer to our ancestors and to our
roots.
The western part of Uttarakhand bordering Himachal is nourished by
waters of Tons and Yamuna. Rupin and Supin rivers come together from lofty
valleys to form the Tons or Tamsa. The Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand and
the villages of Netavar, Osla and Jakholi have interesting legends to tell. As
the people of this region believe, this is the land of Kaurava, the Kuru race
from Mahabharat times. Mind you, Pandava brothers although technically Kauravs,
are not celebrated here but it is their defeated cousins, the sons of
Dhritarashtra who are worshipped in this land. And that is more than supported
by several temples which are dedicated to Duryodhana and sometimes Karna too
! The victorious Pandav being ’other’
party are not treated as Gods, but it is their able opponent, the prince of
Kuru kingdom, the eldest of the Kaurava, Duryodhana is their object of prayers!
Duryodhan temples are found at Jakholi, Osla, Gangar and some other places. Devra,Netawar
in the same valley has a temple of Karna, Duryodhana’s best friend and eldest
son of Kunti, also a celebrated Daan- Veer. There is a Karna temple at
Karnaprayag too.
It will be interesting to note that polyandry, famously followed by
queen Draupadi in Mahabharat is also somewhat common in this region. At times, the
locals insist that these temples belong to Someshwar, a form of Shiv. However
this is done sometimes to shield the real deity as it is bit against the popular
legend.
The beautiful stone and wood Himalayan architecture of these temples is
breathtaking. These temples are generally built in multiple chambers placed in
sequence. The temple pinnacles are
inverted metallic cones and sloping four sided roofs balanced on top of each
other. The beautiful wooden carvings give a very ornate looks to the entire
structure.
Many of the villages in the region are away from roadways and can be
reached only by foot. This difficulty in approach has worked in their favour as
the cultural belief and legends have been preserved for several centuries.
Waters of Tons river are thought to be the tears of the residents when
they mourned the loss of Kauravas in Mahabharat war. As everywhere in India the legends and
traditions have traversed across centuries and even today Tons river water is
not used for drinking. Yamuna forms the eastern boundary of this land of
Karurava.
The central Garhwal is the spiritually important region of Char Dham
Yatra. Yamanotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath
and Badrinath are the four places of utmost importance in Hindu pilgrimage.
Yamunotri is the temple site marking the origin of Yamuna River higher
up in the mountains. This temple has been reconstructed several times because
of the geological instability in the region. Gangotri Temple is the 19’the century addition by a
Nepali commander. Ganga River originates farther up at Gaumukh which is a snout
of the mighty glaciar.
The five holy confluences of Mountain Rivers with Alaknanda are also
important landmarks of this divine region.
Needless to say there is temple at each of the confluences either for
the river or the Divine destroyer Shiva !
Kedareshwar, one of the 12 Jyotirlings is
not a shivlinga but a conical round shaped stone jutting from earth. It is
supposed to be the hump of the bull whose body has sunk in the ground. Lord
Shankar has taken a form of a bull to run away from Pandav brothers who were
seeking his blessings after the war. The other parts of the body appeared at 4
more places close by, namely Tunganath, Rudranath, Madh-Maheshwar and
Kalpanath. These are the famous Panch Kedar in the Himalayas.
The Kedarnath temple has stood the test of time for last 1200 years.
Built at the height of 3300 meters, overlooking the lush green Mandakini valley
and being guarded by Kedar Mountains, the temple is the rugged example of Nagar
style stone architecture. With minimalist ornamental carvings, the temple is an
impressive ‘tree-rath’ black stone structure. The 2013 deluge in the rainy
month of June washed away the entire Kedarnath town but the temple stood still.
Badrinath or Badri Vishal is the supreme place of Vishnu worship. The
temple of Badrinath, with a boisterous flow of Alaknanda in the vicinity is
riot of colours. Badrinath is also one
of the Sapta Badri, seven places of Vishnu worship in the region, the other
being Bhavishya Badri, Yoga Badri, Dhyan Badri, Narsimha Badri, Vriddha Badri
and Adi Badri. All 4 major ‘Dhams’ literally
close their doors for icy winters in Himalayas after Divali in the month of
Kartik. The temples reopen at the start of spring mostly on Akshay Tritiya in
the month of Vaishakh , generally sometime in May. The essence of the deity is
carried to the lower hills at designated places during this hibernation.
However it is not uncommon to find some holy monks still keeping company to
Kedarnath , all surrounded in large mounds of snow during the ‘Shishir’winter !
Yamuna is closely associated with Krishna’s childhood and Krishna is one of the Vishnu’s Avatar. Ganga
is closely linked with Kedar or Shiv as she descends on earth through his
knotted hair. And Uttarakhand is blessed to be home to these symbols of
traditions carried forward for thousands of years.
Moving further to east, Kumaun region of Uttarakhand takes its name from
Kurma – the first incarnation of Vishnu, the turtle. The green landscape with
rolling gentle slopes and sapphire lakes, the pretty valleys of Binsar or
Ranmgarh, the chirping jungle lore of Pangot and marvellous locations of some
of the most enchanting temples, Kumaun is soothing to eyes and senses.
Jageshwar is tiny temple town. You travel through lovely green hills and
through dense Pine forests, high and mighty, reaching for the sky, just right
to form the most naturally majestic courtyard for the supreme deity Shiv, the
divine destroyer, the Sage of the Sages, the creator of letters and god of
performing arts.
In ancient times, this was the starting point for pilgrims who would travel
to Kailash, the ultimate abode of Shiva.
Crossing the high mountain pass, reaching to the land of Tibet and traversing
the dry cold valleys of higher Himalaya to attain and see the majestic site of
Holy Kalash mountain and touch the heavenly blue waters of Man Sarovar. What a
journey!
Jageshwar is a group of
temples. Dandeshwar temple is like catchy opening chords of an even enchanting
melody. The temple stands erect without any Rath formation on its outer walls.
There are other small shrines of Kuber and Varoon in the same premise. A little ahead is Jageshwar temple complex.
Some texts treat it as part of 12 Jyotirlinga and some don’t. The crowded campus of Jageshwar has several
small and large temples. There are
several open Shiv lings and ritualistic tanks within the premise.
Apart from Shiv and Vishnu, Uttarakhand is also home to an exquisite sun
temple at Katarmal in Kumaun. The Kosi River flows nearby and this beautiful
piece of architecture stands erect on the slope of a high mountain.
The goddesses have also left their mark in this land of pines. Kalimath,
an important pilgrimage is home to Kali worship. Nanda Devi, the charming
princess of the region has temples at Almora, Koti and many other places. Nanda
Devi Jat Raj is an important pilgrimage for whole of Garhwal and Kumaun
organized every 12 years.Nanda Devi peak in Kumaun Himalaya stands erect blessing
the valley and beyond. Naina Devi temple at Nainitaal is a Shakti Peeth, where
Sati’s eyes fell down on earth while
Shiv fiercely danced to a Tandav, holding dead Sati in his arms, in eternal
agony and grief of losing her.
Apart from these mainstream deities and river goddesses, Uttarakhand has
not forgotten its local and native divinities. Travelling through Kumaun , you
do come across temple of Golu. The temple structures are simple , sometimes
newly constructed and painted ugly cement creations too. But the vibe at these
places is nothing short of divine. Garhwal region has a powerful local deity
called Mahasu devata. Beautiful three chamber temple of Pagoda roofs at Hanol
signify the importance of Mahasu Devata in local mind.
Himalyan stone temples follow same style of architectural elements almost everywhere. Right from
the three faced central carving on shikhar to line of semi circular carvings at
adjoining walls of shikhar, one can find similarities throughout. Almost all
have compact niches on the outer walls of temple for sculptures.
Another important aspect of Himalayan temples is the cluster in which
they appear. From Laxminarayan Temple complex in Chamba to Jageshwar in Kumaun,
From Adibadri in Garhwal to Lakhamandal in Western Uttarakhand, all of them can
be classified as temple clusters. There are a few bigger ones and then there
are several small temples strewn all around the premise. Several deities give
company to each other in these temple clusters. However we don’t see any imposing enclosures
visible in big temple premises in rest of the India.
The Land of Gods, deserves this name with temples all around and several
forms of worship thriving.
But if you ask me, the green meadows, the land locked sapphire pools of
water, the tall and taller peaks turning golden in setting sun, the fresh pine
scented air and the silence of the woods giving solace to your mind. The real
and ultimate place of worship is this temple of Himalaya itself !
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