Char Dham Yatra
A few Thoughts on Char Dham
This post is about a tour of the Char Dham a very Popular pilgrimage itinerary with the tourists and a clichéd circuit with the travel agents. The concept of Char Dham is attributed to Adi Shankara the 8th century reformer, spiritual powerhouse and a great revivalist. The origin of Char Dham is not very clear perhaps Adi Shankara pointing to the 4 geographical directions clubbed the 4 places as the most revered spots for Hindus.
Puri, Dwarka, Badrinath and Rameshwaram all have important temples and out of these Puri, Dwarka and Badrinath are also the places where Shankara established Mutts or the cardinal institutes. The fourth Mutt is located at Sringeri in Karnataka.
Interestingly, there is another significant Char Dham circuit that also exists partallely, but the origin of which is not very clear. In popular parlance it is called as Chota Char Dham. The circuit comprises Badrinath as cornerstone followed by Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. Infact geographical proximity of the spots( all are located on the Garhwal Himalayas) and the cost has made sure that there are more buyers for the Chota Char Dham Yatra than to undertake the original long circuit at one stretch.
However during October to April the Badrinath Temple remain out of bounds as also Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamyunotri from November to April. So those planning to undertake original as well the shorter one must time it well to beat on the seasons. Perhaps a Yatra to the 3 of the original Char Dham(Puri, Dwarka, Rameshwaram) would be easy on the body during winters.
IHR Blog RSS
Latest Comment
Varun