Jammu - Himachal (Part 9)

It was Amavasya on 30/05/22 the 9th day of our trip. Most of us did our tarpanam at our hotel property in which our group was the only guests. It was quite a sight to see dhoti clad brahmins doing tarpanam in the morning hours. It almost seemed like a Agraharam at Sri Anandpur Sahib. That day the hotel chef was instructed that all meals should be "Jain" meals only. So, we had nice upma and Puri bhaji for breakfast along with usual accompaniments like cut fruits, porridge and tea / coffee. 

In the morning we discovered that our two vehicle drivers had left in the night along with the vehicles without informing any of us. Apparently, they were unhappy with the property staff not treating them well or that the quarters given to them was not good enough. So, our co-yatri who had made the arrangements for transportation for the yatra, Narayan, called the people concerned. They were apologetic and substituted with 2 Innovas & a sedan car at the same price. We were happy to get better & more comfortable vehicles. We made groups of 4,5 & 6 yatris to occupy the vehicles.

We first went to Naina Devi temple. This is another Shakti Peetham at Himachal which is about 25 kms away from Sri Anandpur Sahib. The eyes of Goddess Sati are believed to have fallen at this spot. There are a few other stories associated with this sthal (place). One of them is that a Gujjar boy who was grazing his cattle at this spot saw that a white cow was showering milk from her udders on a stone. He observed this for several days and one day the Goddess appeared in his dream and told him that the stone is actually Her pindi. He informed about this to the local king Raja Bir Chand who built a temple here. Yet another story goes that the demon Mahishasur who was killed by the Devi at this spot and his eyes were gouged out. The happy Gods exclaimed "Jai Naina'' and hence this name got associated with this spot. 

The road to the temple was winding and uphill. We reached within an hour at the place where vehicles are parked. We were happy to note that there were very few vehicles which meant that there was not much of a crowd. There are about 130 steps to go up the temple. One of our co-yatris took a Doli to go up while the rest of us walked. Along the walkway, there were several shops selling prasad offerings, some selling eatables, juices etc. like it is in every typical temple area. We bought some prasad articles as well as a small silver pair of eyes which are offered to the Devi. 

Once we reached the temple, we could see that there was a small number of devotees. The queue was not more than 10 minutes long. Once inside, we could make our offerings to the Devi through the priest and collect the prasad. After we came out we went to a nearby small Shiv temple and offered water to the Lingam. We then took our pictures for remembrance of our visit. On the way back, I saw a langar (free meals) and had a token meal there. It was very simple yet very tasty. 

After returning to the parking area, we took the vehicles back to Sri Anandpur Sahib and visited the famous Gurudwara there. This is one of the most sacred places for the Sikh religion as this is where the last two Gurus (Guru Tej Bahadur Singh and Guru Gobind Singh) lived. This is also the place where Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699. The city is home to Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Third of the five Takhts in Sikhism.

It was extremely hot when we reached the Gurudwara. The vehicles dropped us at a place close to the entry point. By walking a couple of hundred meters, we were inside the Gurudwara. It is a lovely pure white structure. Looks striking from a distance. The air was sombre and devout. All of us had to cover our heads with some cloth while going inside. We could purchase and carry some halwa as an offering which is collected by the authorities near the entrance and this is distributed to all devotees who come on their way out. Inside, there is a continuous chanting of the hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib. It was pleasing and melodious. 

Basically, they propound the philosophy of the Gurus in the form of songs which devotees can reflect, introspect and imbibe in their lives. After spending some time inside, and witnessing a change of the people who sing the hymns, we came out. We took some pictures of the stunning place. A few of us went and partook in the langar which consisted of a simple meal of rotis, dal, rice and a sweet. Rest of us had refreshing sweet water outside. 

A view of "Anand at the Sutlej" at dusk time

Then we came back to our vehicles and returned back to our hotel. On the way, we asked the hotel to keep a simple jain lunch for those who had not eaten at the langar. We stayed in our air conditioned rooms during the afternoon venturing out only after the Sun had come down and was no longer blazing. The evening was spent exploring the place. They have a farm, as mentioned in a previous blog, and also a Gaushala. The hotel keeps on playing the Gurubani over the p.a. system throughout the day. We also took some nice pictures of the place. The evening ended with a nice dinner.