Do Dham Yatra

In the month of June, 2023 four of us (two couples – Radha & Narayan, Lalitha & Vishwanath) undertook a short Do Dham yatra (Only Badri & Kedarnath). We skipped the other two Dhams (Gangotri & Yamnotri) due to paucity of time. The description of our yatra follows. 

On Day 1, we took a direct flight to Dehra Dun where we landed by late afternoon. It was hot in Mumbai when we departed as the monsoon had not yet set in. Dehradun was comparatively cooler being higher in altitude than Mumbai. As the flight landed and I switched on my phone, I received a call from a taxi operator whom I had been in touch with for our drive to Haridwar where we were to stay the night. Although I had not finalized my journey with him or booked his cab, he knew of my flight details and decided to take a chance by coming to the airport. As his charges were reasonable (Rs. 1500 for the 40 km ride), we went ahead with him. It was a well-maintained Sedan and the AC was working fine. The journey to Haridwar was smooth but as we neared the holy town, we were caught in a bad traffic jam. We spent more than an hour extra due to the snarl which was cause entirely due to very slow road construction work going on.

Haridwar was much warmer than Dehra Dun. We were booked at the guest house of a company which was located along the banks of the holy river Ganga. As that place gets crowded with pilgrims, the taxi driver dropped us off at a distance and we had to cover the last mile using electric autorickshaws. It was quite an experience driving through very crowded narrow roads while keeping a careful eye on our luggage. We reached the guest house and were given two decent rooms. The rooms were comfortable & large although the furnishings were old and little rustic. The guest house looked like a typical family home with about 15 rooms. The best part was that there was a bathing ghat as part of the premises and one could directly walk down the stairs to the river to have a quick dip or a leisurely bath.

We finished our evening prayers and decided to have our bath at the holiest spot in Haridwar called the “Har ki Paur”. It is believed that a few drops of Amrit (Elixir) dropped here while being carried in the air by Garuda the carrier of Lord Vishnu. Every day, thousands of people come to this holy spot to have their bath which is supposed to cleanse them of all their sins. This place was about 400 meters from our hotel. After finding a spot to keep our clothes & other personal articles, we had a quick dip by taking turns. The water was cool and refreshing. After that, we walked to a nearby restaurant to have our dinner. After this we walked back to our hotel room for rest and sleep.

The next morning, we woke up early as we had called for our car by 7 a.m. We were packed and ready by that time but the driver got delayed and we left only around 7.45 a.m. The vehicle was an Toyota Innova car which was fairly comfortable for 4 passengers and driver. The car had two separate seats in the middle and hence one of us had to sit in the rear along with some luggage. The rest of our luggage was on the kept secured in the carrier above the car. The driver covered it with a plastic tarpaulin sheet as there were chances of rain in the mountains where we were headed.

The roads were crowded in the morning with many vehicles headed towards the hills for the Chardham yatra. It took as quite some time to cross Rishikesh due to the traffic We left behind the crowds and the traffic by around 11 a.m. and just as expected, it did start raining as soon as we crossed Rishikesh. Immediately, the temperature came down making it a pleasant drive thereafter. Along the way we saw scores of Sikh boys on bikes with flags headed towards the holy shrine of Hemkund Sahib. We also saw many langars where free food was served by Sikh gentlemen for all yatris. They stood on the roads requesting cars and other vehicles to stop and eat their food. While we were tempted, we did not stop as we had a long journey ahead.

Hotel Ashirwad, Chamoli

Along the way, we stopped at a roadside Dhaba for a quick lunch of rice and Kadi and curds. This was filling yet easy on the stomach. The reset of the drive was uneventful till we reached our hotel at Chamoli. Chamoli is a beautiful and picturesque district in Uttrakhand. The hotel (called Ashirwad) was located on the main road as are most hotels in Uttrakhand. It was a new place constructed within previous 12 months or so. When we reached it was dusk and quite cool. The hotel was small but neat. It had the river Dhauliganga flowing nearby which kept the area very fertile and green. Our rooms had nice balcony facing the fields and the river beyond it.

We refreshed ourselves with a bath and said our prayers before heading for dinner in the restaurant attached to our hotel. The food was prepared fresh for us and was quite tasty and filling. After that we retired for the night as we had to leave early next morning towards Badrinath.

The next morning, when we woke up by 6 a.m., it was already bright as the Sun rises early in the mountains. We finished our morning ablutions and left around 7.30 a.m. On the way, we ate some of the snacks we had carried like Theplas & chips. We passed through Joshimath but didn’t wait as we wanted to reach Badri early. Our hotel which was booked through Booking.com called us and told us that the rooms were cancelled. This happened for the second time for the same location – Badrinath. Earlier another hotel had cancelled and we had to make a fresh booking which too got cancelled in the last minute. In the second case, we had even made an advance payment.

We proceeded nevertheless and I made calls to several contacts, one of whom sent me details of another property. I called them and they agreed to accommodate us. When we reached Badrinath, it had started to drizzle and it was very cold due to the height as well as the winds. Fortunately, there was no snow – either on the way or at the top. The roads were all dug up at Badri as some huge development work was in progress. With some difficulty, I located the property which we had booked and paid advance. They tried to give us a lower quality room to accommodate us and even tried to get us to go into another hotel where they had some arrangements. However, after inspecting both the places, we decided to take the refund which they did without further fuss.

Reciting Srimad Bhagavatham

After this we went to Reliance Guest House (RGH), which is the contact I had got through a friend. This was a fantastic property with five star like rooms and lovely area around the property. The price was on the higher side and we had to pay in cash but it was worth it as we got very good luxurious accommodation. We had a quick lunch and left for darshan at about 3 p.m. It was a longish walk and the queue was long. Luckily it had become sunny by then. The RGH manager had given me the contact of a priest whom I spoke with but he could not provide any quick / special entry for us. We stood in the queue which started moving rapidly and we entered the temple premises within 1.5 hours or so.

As crowds were huge, there was a scramble for the darshan from a distance of about 20 feet. We were not allowed to stand in front of the Lord for more than 10 seconds due to the pressure of the crowds. We were happy but not satisfied. As we waited in the premises, the priest whom I had spoken to earlier called me and came over to meet us. He arranged for a special darshan (Golden Thali Aarti) for us at a price. We happily accepted. In the meantime, the ladies found a corner to recite Bhagavad Geeta (15^th Chapter) and Srimad Bhagavatham (Canto 12 Chapter 12 which is the summary of the entire Bhagavatham). After this, we went inside the Sanctum. We got a good seat (along with some 75 other devotees) and witnessed the aarti. It was a very special experience which lasted about 15 minutes. Seems the Lord heard our wish and granted us audience to drink His sight with our eyes and hear the aarti with our ears.

After that we came out, took some pictures and walked down to the exit area where we found a restaurant to have some light snacks. It was getting dark by then and quite cold. So, we called our driver to come and pick us up. He came after some time to a nearby parking area. We walked there and drove back to our hotel. We slept by 9 p.m. as we were tired, and the rooms were so cozy.

The next day was Krishna Chaturthi (Sankashti). We woke up leisurely as we did not plan for another darshan in the morning. Couple of us were fasting (One meal only – dinner) and after the other couple had their breakfast, we left Badrinath. The weather was bright and sunny. Within a short time, we were going down the mountains. It started getting warmer. We stopped for a little while at the Hanuman temple at the foothills and then continued our journey. For lunch, we stopped at the same hotel at Chamoli where we had stayed previously. After lunch, it was a long ride to Gupt Kashi which we reached by the evening time.

Our property was five kilometers away from the town and up some hills. It was called Jyotirlinga Resort. As we rode towards it we felt it was too far away and in the wilderness. We felt we made a mistake and should have selected a property nearer the town. This was a small property with only about a dozen rooms. There was no reception, no lobby and the restaurant looked deserted. The lighting was not much. It was a longish walk to the room from the place where our car was parked. The rooms looked ok but not very luxurious. Basically, there were two long  wooden cottages which had about 6 rooms each.

After settling down and freshening up and doing our evening prayers, we went for early dinner. Dinner was in a buffet format and ok. After that we decided to hit the bed as we were tired from the long drive. The weather was cool (almost cold) and the blankets in the rooms came very handy.

The next morning, we woke up to a glorious sight. In front of our room was a lovely garden and beyond that we had the view of the mountains. There were lovely flowering plants in the garden, and we could hear the birds chirping about. The sky was clear and the morning Sun looked warm and welcoming. After our morning ablutions, we went towards Gupt Kashi where a MahaRudram (MR) was being conducted under the umbrella Kanchi Kamakoti Matham. This was the third and concluding day of the MR. This was also the last of the 12 MR which were held across the country at various Jyotirlingam sites. These 12 MR were conducted on Avittam star days of each month in memory and honour of Late Sri Jayendra Saraswati the 69^th Shankaracharya of Kanch Kamakoti Peetham.

We participated in the chanting along with the priests who had come all the way from across various cities of India. Some of them were from Navi Mumbai and known to us. The venue was an Ashram on the outskirts of the town. The ashram was run by Sadhus and they had a beautiful Shiva temple plus a lovely space for conducting yagnas. One bus load of yatris also joined in the afternoon during the conclusion. They were on a chardham yatra and were also keen to witness the MR. There was also an Adheenam (Head of a no-Brahmin Shaivite Mutt of Tamil Nadu) who was present at the Ashram and we could witness his prayer rituals too.

The Adheenam

After the MR got concluded, we were treated to a simple but sumptuous meal (Annadhanam) by the Sadhus of the Ashram. It comprised of Chappatis, Dal, One sabzi and rice. We loved the meal served so lovingly by the Sadhus. After the meal, we left in our car to visit a famous temple called Triyugi Narayan (TN) temple. This is place where it is believed that Shiva & Parvati got married with Lord Vishnu as the witness and the brother who gave away the bride. The drive towards the temple got stuck with lot of traffic at Sitapur which is the transit point for people heading towards Kedarnath. From here people go to a place called Gaurikund and start their long trek to Kedarnath.

Triyugi Narayan Temple

After we crossed this place, we had to go up about 6 kms towards the TN temple. These were narrow roads along fresh & green paths. Virtually no traffic and very blissful drive. When we arrived at the temple, there was a small drizzle. We walked about 200 meters from the parking spot to the temple in the rain. There were very few people in the temple at this time which was late evening. We had our darshan of the deities after performing a small puja on the compound. Then we fed small sticks to the holy Akhand fire which has been kept alight through the various yugas as per the temple legends. The drive back to our hotel was relatively quick as the traffic had lessened. We reached back in time for a hearty dinner before sleeping early as we had to go to Kedarnath the next day.

After our morning ablutions, we had coffee and took the car and went towards the helipad. We had contacted the CEO of a helicopter company through a friend and were promised to be given tickets after we reached the helipad. All flights were shown as full in the online booking website but for people with connects, exceptions were possible.

There are about 6 different helicopter services operating here. We went to the one where we had some arrangements. After we reached, we were feeling hungry. So, we had a delicious breakfast at a restaurant outside the helipad. After a long wait, we finally were allotted seats and went up to the Kedarnath Shrine helipad. The flight took only 7 minutes. We could see lots of devotees climbing up the long 14 k m path – some were walking, and some were on ponies while some were being carried up by porters. After landing, we started walking straight towards the temple. It was cold but bearable. We should have taken our reservation for the return flight as we were not planning to stay overnight at the top. We had only taken bare minimum articles in our small carry bags.

There was a very long queue for darshan stretching almost half a kilometer. As we had already purchased VIP entrance tickets at Rs. 2500 each, we joined a queue very close to the entrance of the shrine. Within about 30 minutes, we could enter the temple and once inside, it was chaotic as all queues merged at the entrance. There were roughly a few hundred people all pushing and jostling each other to go near the sanctum. No one was allowed inside at that time and all had to be content to have the darshan from the Sanctum door only where one could wait for barely 5-6 seconds. We reached the doorway in about 10 minutes and had a fabulous darshan of the natural Jyotirlingam which was covered on all sides with a golden cover. The sight was memorable and mesmerizing. After we came out, it started drizzling and we took it as a good omen.

We waited for a while at a nearby roadside shop / shelter for the rain to subside before walking back towards the helipad for the return journey. As we were hungry, we brought some snacks (Peanuts & biscuits) and drink (Masti Chaas). When we reached the helipad, we were told that all flights were reserved for the day and we had to stay back at the top. We started panicking as we were ill prepared for a stay in the cold mountain top. I spoke to the local manager who flatly refused and said we should have reserved our seats as soon as we landed. Even when I said I am the guest of the CEO, he did not relent. In desperation, I called the CEO of the helicopter service but he didn’t pick up my call. I then sent him a message explaining our situation. After what seemed an eternity (actually only 45 minutes) he replied saying he will do something.

We waited at the helipad for almost an hour and half after that when someone came up to me and asked whether I am the same guy who knows the CEO. When I confirmed, he asked all four of us to go and stand in one particular part of the helipad. Then, after some time, he came and escorted us to the next helicopter and enabled our return flight down. The relief we got was immense and cannot be explained here.

The flight down was uneventful and lasted the same 7-8 minutes. After we came down we were ravenously hungry. The restaurant had closed by that time. Luckily, the restaurant owner was around, and he re-opened the restaurant for us and managed to give us some fresh hot snacks and coffee. Our driver told us that the flights got delayed and reduced as it had rained heavily all day and only in the evening the skies cleared. Perhaps, the good Lord heard our prayers and decided to change the weather to facilitate our return journey. Overall, it seemed miraculous that we were able to return in such odds. We returned to our hotel to finish our evening prayers and have an early dinner and got a good night sleep.

Gupt Kashi Temple

The next morning, we left around 8 a.m. for the long drive back to Haridwar. We first went to the Gupt Kashi temple. Gupt Kashi is famous because when the Pandavas were searching for Lord Shiva to atone for their sin of killing their Guru (who was also a Brahmin), Lord Shiva was angry with them and went into hiding here in the form of Nandi. When Bhima tried to catch this bull it disappeared into the ground and reappeared in five different places in five different forms. This vanishing act gave the name of Gupt Kashi to this place. In the temple, we have water flowing from two spouts which are revered as Ganga and Yamuna. We wash our hands and feet here before going into the temple for darshan. We also did a small puja with the help of a priest and, as per the tradition here, gave our Dakshina in a gupt (hidden) form but putting it inside a coconut.

After darshan and customary pictures, we got into the car and headed towards Haridwar. On the way, we stopped at a restaurant for breakfast. We had hot parathas and tea. Then it was a long journey towards Haridwar. As we neared Haridwar, it started getting very warm. On the way we stopped at Dev Prayag to witness the confluence of the two rivers – Alak Nanda and Bhagirathi which after merging becomes the Holy river Ganga. We could see the muddy Bhagirathi (which comes from Gangotri) merging with the clean & green Alak Nanda (which comes from Badrinath) joining together. It was a fantastic sight from the top. As it was very hot, we had some lime juice from a roadside shop.

Then it was a long drive through Rishikesh and the traffic jams outside Haridwar back to our hotel which we reached by around 7 p.m. I had a quick dip in the Ganga which was accessible right below our hotel before I did my evening Sandhya prayers. After that we went for dinner to a nearby restaurant (Kesariya Restaurant on Birla Road) which served some delicious vegetarian food. After dinner, we came back to our hotel for sleeping and resting our tired limbs.

Maya Devi Temple

The next morning, I had my bath in the Ganga before doing my prayers. After that, we went to Mansa Devi Temple by around 7 a.m. As it was very crowded, we decided to visit the Chamunda Devi temple which was across the river Ganga and on a small hill nearby. We took an autorickshaw to reach there and then booked tickets in the Winch service to go up to the temple. There were no crowds at this time. Luckily, we could buy tickets that were usable at both Chamunda Devi temple and Mansa Devi temple and was valid for 2 days. After our darshan at Chamunda devi temple, we came down by Winch and then had some snacks at the food court below. When we came out, we saw that lots of people had arrived to have darshan here and there were big queues waiting to go up.

We took another rickshaw and came back to our hotel. In the afternoon, we again had lunch at Kesariya restaurant and took some rest. In the evening we went for some shopping in the nearby crowded lanes of Haridwar. In the night we again had dinner at the same restaurant.

The next morning, which was the last day of our yatra, we again had bath in the Ganga before our morning prayers. Then we went to Mansa Devi temple by using the Winch. We were there early before the crowds came and had a good darshan. Later we went to a relatively unknown Shakti Peeth at Haridwar which is called the Maya Devi temple. After Devi Sati gave up her body unable to bear the insult to her husband Lord Shiva by her father Daksha, Her body was first kept here. Then Lord Shiva carried it with Him when Lord Vishnu cut it into several pieces with his Sudarshan Chakra and the spot where each part fell is called Shakti Peeth. The original name of Haridwar was Mayapur due to this temple and Haridwar is one of the 7 Moskha Puri (place where one gets moksha by dying here). We had a lovely darshan here and would recommend every yatri to visit this temple when you arrive at Haridwar.

After that we had lunch at the same restaurant before heading to the airport and taking a flight back to Mumbai. Thus ended our lovely Do Dham yatra.