The Himalayas, the mind-blowing marvel …!

Rama was believed to have worshipped Lord Siva here for redemption from his sin of killing Ravana

If there’s really a Heaven … if Bhagwan’s abode is Vaikundam … if there’s really a place like it … then it should be Badrinath temple! We came down after lunch. The road was very steep. We rested at Helong for food. The greenery, spread all over the small town was a totally different and refreshing sight. We reached Peepalkodi at 7 p.m., the same town where we had our food on our way to Badrinath. The place was surrounded by Himalayas with Alaknanda flowing alongside. The cooks prepared pulka roti and dhal. We all had more than our normal intake. We resumed our journey the next morning. Peepalkodi is approximately at 4,500 ft. height from the sea level. We climbed down and touched Devaprayag.

Devarayag … beautiful name! Rivers Baghirati and Alaknanda merge here and flow as Ganges. Mandakini which originates at Kedar, merges with Alaknanda at Rudraprayag. Alaknanda and Baghirati can be differentiated due to their colors. We can see with our own eyes how the two merge. Pujas and aarthi are done for Ganges at this spot. Ongaranandha’s school Thiriveni Sangam is situated here. No doubt, spirituality and wisdom will be inculcated in the minds of the students of this school thanks to the ambience.

Raghunath Mandhir, one among the 108 Vaishnaa sthalams is in Devaprayag. Songs about this place can be found in the 7th Thirumozhi. Alwars referred to this town as Kandankadi nagar and had done Mangalasasanam. The history of this sthalam says that Rama worshipped Lord Siva for redemption from his sin of killing Ravana. The spot where Rama was believed to have done penance is called Ramasyavan. The Sivalinga which Rama worshipped is still there. It is said that Adi Sankara and Ramanuja came here to pay respects to Rama. After having seen Devaprayag in all its glory, we left for Rishikesh with the snow hills retreating in the backdrop … Rishikesh is the starting point for Sardam pilgrimage. This beautiful town, being a favorite place for sadhus and sages was frequented by them. The temples and the aarthi performed to River Ganges are famous worldwide. It is one among the very important holy places of Hindus. After the Rishikesh darshan, we visited the spots that had been left out in Hardwar and reached back Delhi.

Mr. Mukundan, the proprietor of Meenakshi Travels, which made all the arrangements for our pilgrimage, saw us off at the New Delhi railway station. Also, many, who were well wishers of Kalyanamalai, had come. After thanking them all, we all were set ready for our return to Chennai. My mind started listing the jobs that had to be attended to on reaching Chennai and that is life!
(The end)