U.P. Theerth Yatra - Day 2

Through God's grace and help from a contact, we got a special entry pass to have darshan of Ram Lalla at the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple on the morning of Day 3. That gave us the time to spend the entire Day 2 going around important sites in & around Ayodhya. We had told our driver that we will reach the parking lot by 8.30 a.m. to go around.

After finishing our morning prayers etc., we came outside to hire an auto to go to the parking area. After a long search, we finally got a bike to take us to the parking area. We went triple seat on a bike to the parking area. It was quite an experience for both of us as we were riding a bike after more than 30 years. After arriving here, we found that our driver & car were not to be seen anywhere. I called him on the phone, and he said he will come in a couple of minutes as he has gone to the toilet. After more than 10 minutes passed, I called him again and he said he will need another 5 minutes as he has gone to have tea. This went on for more than 30 minutes while we were standing in the windy, cold dust filled area with no shelter.

I then called the car owner and asked him what was going on. He asked me to be patient and said the driver will arrive soon. After another 15 minutes, I called Savaari.com through whom we had booked the vehicle. They immediately spoke to the owner and assured quick resolution. When the car finally arrived, it was nearly 10 a.m. (we were waiting for almost 45 minutes). Out of suspicion, I checked the car speedometer and was surprised to find the car had run up 425 kms since we started the trip. I checked Google Maps and realised that the max. kms for our trip was 340 kms. I again called Saavari.com who checked and confirmed that 425 looks unreasonable. They conferenced my call with the owner who started giving lame excuses and finally he cancelled the trip. 

We were stranded without a car and Savaari.com couldn't give us a replacement. Fortunately, they agreed to refund the advance paid to them. I then used my contact to arrange another car from Day 3 which cost us much more due to lack of supply of cars. I agreed to the higher cost as we had no options. 

From the parking lot, we then hired an electric Auto to go around to a few important places that was in our agenda. We first went to Guptar Ghat - This is the place on Sarayu River from where Bhagawan Ram and the entire family along with countless Ayodhya residents left for Vaikunth. It was about 8 kms from the parking area. The whole place is well developed but the number of visitors were not too many. We took a motorised boat to go inside the Sarayu where we found a secluded place to park the boat. Here, I did Sankalpam and had a good snanam. The river was absolutely clean and flowing freely. The water was cold and fresh, and it was such a pleasure to take a dip here. There was a gusty wind blowing which made the dust / sand fly all around. This caused visibility to deteriorate and made the river look like an ocean with no boundaries. 

Bharat Hanuman meeting spot

After spending some time here and taking a few pictures, we came back to the shore. Here, we did a small puja with the help of a local priest. We then proceeded to Nandigram - the place from where Bharat ruled over Ayodhya for 14 years dressed as a Hermit and living as a Sage. It was a long drive to Nandigram (about 10 kms) through Faizabad. We saw the underground cave where Bharath spent 14 years living frugally and with a spirit of sacrifice undergoing similar hardships as his brother Ram. We also saw the pond from where he got the water supplies (now called Bharat Kund). We also saw the holy tree under which Hanuman met him and broke the good news of Ram's return to Ayodhya. If you notice the picture carefully, there are two tree intertwined as if they are embracing each other. It was a very emotional time to visit this holy place which plays such an important part in Ramayana. Here we saw a group of young boys going through their Upanayana ceremony jointly conducted by a local priest. All their families were there to participate in this holy function.

We then had lunch at a local restaurant consisting of hot chapatis, dal, aloo mutter and rice. The food was tasty and cost just Rs. 70 per plate. Then we returned back to our hotel at Ayodhya. On the way, we took a print out of the ticket for the next day darshan. Luckily, the Auto guy could take us right back to our hotel. After taking some rest, we decided to go to the local temples around our hotel. 

Kanak Bhavan temple

The beauty of Ayodhya (like many temple towns), there are nice old temples in every street. Most of the temple sanctums are facing the road and one can get a good darshan from the street itself. We first went to a temple next to our hotel called Sri Ramashram. As it was evening, they had an aarti going on for which we stayed. Later we walked down to the iconic Kanak Bhavan - which was less than 100 meters away. Kanak Bhavan is a large palace which was purportedly given to Sita on her marriage as a gift by Kaikeyi. There is a beautiful temple within the palace. The temple has 3 pairs of Ram Sita idols. There was a huge crowd gathered here for the darshan and we too immersed ourselves in the lovely devotion filled atmosphere.

After this, we walked to the hugely popular Hanuman Garhi mandir. This temple is situated close to the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and can be seen from a distance as it is a tall striking structure. It is shaped like a four-sided fort with circular ramparts at each corner, housing shrines dedicated to the primary deity Hanuman. There are 76 stairs to reach the main temple, where the Garba Griha (sanctum), adorned with silver carvings, awaits. The central dome has three intricately designed doors leading to the inner chamber. Within, a 6-inch deity of Hanuman, depicted in his youthful (Bal) form, is positioned on the lap of his mother Anjani. A silver tulsi garland, inscribed with the name of Rama is adorned by Hanuman. The verses of the Hanuman Chalisa are inscribed on the temple walls. The temple features a Victory Pillar, known as Vijay Stambh.

Dasharat Palace temple

As it was very crowded we were planning to skip the darshan here. Luckily, we spoke to a group of devotees who were returning after darshan and were told that actual waiting time on the queue will be only 10 minutes as it was fast moving. So, we joined the crowds and, in about 15 minutes has arrived at the Sanctum and had a darshan of Hanuman ji.

After this, we visited the nearby Dasharath palace which is a smaller structure than the Kanak Bhavan but equally impressive. Here too there was a lovely temple inside where a group of devotees were singing kirtans in religious fervour. We too joined the kirtan and enjoyed the devotional moments.

The whole area around these shrines is also full of shops selling religious items like idols, conchs, flowers, curios etc. which gave it a nice ambience. Subsequently, after doing some small shopping, we walked back to our hotel where we had a piping hot dinner cooked by their resident cook. The food was delicious especially because it was first offered to the deity in the small shrine attached to the hotel.

Then, we decided to sleep to absorb the lovely memories of the day as also in anticipation of seeing Ram Lalla at Janmabhoomi temple the next day.

U.P. Teerth Yatra - Day 1

Trishakti Dham Temple

2025 started with almost half of India converging into Uttar Pradesh (UP) to be part of the rarest of rare Maha Kumbh. There was so much hype about this rare event and, as we had a fear of missing out, that we also decided to go. However, as we didn't want to go to one place alone, we decided to cover nearby places of pilgrimage also.

After seeing the airfares to Prayagraj shooting up on a daily basis with no respite, we felt it would be better to go via some other nearby city / town. We decided to fly down to Lucknow and return from the same city which was a round trip covering 5 important pilgrim spots.

On Day 1, we took an early morning flight which landed by 7.30 a.m. We had booked a car through Saavari.com based on a good reference from a friend. The car driver, who was scheduled to pick us at 8 a.m., arrived only at 9.30. As usual, the common excuse was shared for the delay - the allotted car met with an accident and we have given you a spare car. The driver, a young Sardar, informed us that it was his first day on this job.

From the airport, we left for Naimisharanya which was about 2 hours away. On the way, we halted for breakfast at a roadside restaurant. The hot Aloor Parathas we had with pickles was heavenly and so was the ginger (masala) tea.

Naimisharanya finds mention in the Ramayana and Mahabharata as well as in many Puranas / Kathas. Ved Vyas had His Ashram here and it is here where the Puranas were first narrated to a gathering of sages. It is a revered place in Hinduism and a cornerstone of spiritual enlightenment. The confluence of the Gomati, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sarayu, and Payaswini rivers in Naimisharanya is also considered a very holy place. 

We reached Naimisharanya by around 11.45 p.m. Some of the temples there close by 12 noon and we couldn't visit them. We took a local electric Auto and went around some temples as enumerated below.

Balaji Temple

The first place we went was to the Gomti River ghat, where I had a traditional dip after doing Sankalpam. It was quite breezy here and there were few others also having their bath here. The water was clear and flowing gently. I also did my afternoon prayers at the ghat itself.

After this, we went to a newly constructed temple called Trishakti Dham where there was a huge idol of Bhagavan Vishnu outside and the idols of Narasimha, Durga & Shiva inside. We didn't spend much time here as it is a modern temple.

We next went to the nearby Balaji Temple which is a traditional South Indian temple with a beautiful idol of Balaji. There was a group of devotees from Andhra who were sitting inside the temple and conducting an elaborate pooja. After a satisfying darshan here, we proceeded onwards.

Our next halt was Hanumanghari. This temple, also known as Bade Hanuman, has a huge 12 foot Hanuman idol. There is a mythological story about Hanuman emerging from the Patal Lok (nether world) after defeating Ahiravana and rescuing Lord Rama and Lakshman. The priests running this temple aggressively demand donations for Annadan - one needs to be aware & careful.

We also had a brief look at Pandav Qila (Fort) which is a place where the Pandavas stayed during their exile. There is a deep well nearby believed to have been dug out by the Pandavas. We did not go inside the fort which was re-constructed by a Hindu minister of Allaudin Khilji in 1305. Outside is a small shrine where one can see the idols of the five Pandavas along with Bhagavan Krishna/

We then visited Vyas Gaddhi (seat), the place where Ved Vyas composed all the Puranas. The Satyanarayan Temple is also near this. It was truly a special moment to come here and have a darshan of the holy place where He resided and wrote all the scriptures which forms a backbone for Sanatana Dharma. We also saw the nearby Havan Kund where all the sages used to conduct their religious activities.

Chakratirth

We then went to Chakratirth which is one of the most popular Hindu pilgrimage sites in Uttar Pradesh. It is believed to be the place where 8000 sages worshipped God and performed penance at the same time. According to a mythological tale, it is the same place where the wheel (chakra) of Lord Brahma made an opening in the earth, thereby resulting in the creation of an enormous body of water. A holy dip in the water of this pond is believed to sanctify one’s mind, body and soul. We contended ourselves by washing our hands & feet here and sprinkling some water on our heads. We also visited the small temples around this pond.

We finally went to Lalitha Devi temple which is a Shakti Peeth where the heart of Devi Sati fell. The temple was small and seemed crowded with devotees. The idol was decorated in the form of a heart and we felt thrilled to have this darshan on the first day of our yatra.

We then proceeded in our car towards Ayodhya after having lunch in a restaurant called 'Treat' located just outside Naimisharanya. The food was tolerable. We took a long time to reach Ayodhya because we spent quite some time locating a CNG gas station to fill up the gas tank of the car. At the gas station, I quickly managed to finish my evening Sandhya prayers. Along the way, we stopped at a roadside dhaba for a quick dinner. The food was served piping hot and was quite tasty. It has grown quite cold by this time.

When we reached Ayodhya, we were told to leave the car at a parking on the outskirts of the city. From here, we took an electric Auto to go to our hotel which was about 4 k.m.s away. It was very cold by this time and we were ill equipped in terms of warm clothing. By the time we reached near our hotel, it was nearly 10 p.m. and we were shivering and keen to get indoors.

The auto dropped us about 100 meters from our hotel as the roads were blocked by the police. Luckily, we were escorted and helped by a policeman to reach out hotel which was an uphill walk from the road.

After we checked into the hotel, we straightaway crashed to bed as we were dead tired & sleepy. It took us some time to get sleep thanks to some loud talking happening in the corridor outside. A group of yatris were moving around talking / arguing loudly and I had to open the door to request them to cool down. 

Thus ended a very long day 1 of our yatra.