Chardam

 The Char Dham, is the four most famous Hindu pilgrimage circuit in India which are believed to be the abodes of Hindu gods. Located in the four directions of India, the circuit consists of four sites - to the north is Badrinath, to the west is Dwarka, to the south is Rameshwaram and to the east is Puri. 

At Badrinath the famous temple is Badrinath Temple and the presiding deity is Shri Badrinath (Vishnu).

 At Rameshwaram the famous temple is Rameshwaram Temple and the presiding deity here is in the form of a Linga with the name Sri Ramanatha Swamy. 

At Puri the temple is known as Lord Jagannath Temple and the presiding deity is Lord Jagannath. He is present together with His elder brother Balabhadra and His sister Subhadra. 

At Dwarka the main temple is The temple of Dwarkadheesh (Lord Krishna), also known as Jagat Mandir.

There are Matt's associated with each of these temples and each of these maths was assigned the task of maintaining and preserving for posterity, one of the four Vedas (the main scriptures of Hinduism). They are:

1. Sharada Math - Sama Veda -  West - Dwaraka

2. Shringeri Math - Yajur Veda - South - Rameshwaram

3. Jyotir Math - Atharva Veda - North - Bhadrinath

4. Govardhan Math - Rig Veda - East - Puri

All the Four Dhamas located at cardinal points of the Indian sub-continent are believed to have been liked by Lord Vishnu intimately. It is said and believed that He takes His bath at Rameswaram, meditates at Badrinath, dines at Puri and retires at Dwarika.

Popular writings of many cites that for National Integrity, Adi Shankaracharya had agreed and insisted that Joshis from Kashi, Kashmir, Nepal or Maharashtra should be the poojaris at Rameshwaram; the Chowbey Brahmins from Orissa should be the Poojaris at Dwaraka and the Poojaris at Jagannath Puri should be the Pandits from Gujarat. Adi Shankaracharya  arranged that the idol at Badrinath be offered chandan {sandalwood}  and silk from the south India also the head priest comes from south India  {namboodiri brahmin from kerala} and the Shivling at rameshwaram be offered Ganga water from north and the priest comes from north India {gharwal brahmin or from Varanasi in north}

The reason why Adi Shankaracharya started the tradition of the char dham yatra and the religious gathering of the Kumbh mela was that he wanted to integrate India spiritually. There was a north / south cultural divide and India was split up.

This was Adi Shankaracharya ‘s vision to have a flow of spiritual energy across India and as a direct result India was firmly integrated.

These yatras are only to connect to the Divine energy that prevails there and that Moksha only comes when one cleans oneself mentally, physically and spiritually....

This had become a big business, until the episode of the June disaster in 2013 which has slowed down people going there, but recently people again have started trickling in large number to seek their GODS for MOKSHA. Religion has become a money making business and the spiritual super market has a lot to offer and trap people

Rameshwaram has Tamil priest though, and Kedarnath has a Karnataka Priest and Pashupathinath has from Butt community of Tulu Nadu. 

Not sure if Shankaracharya did it during his time. 

Tantra over years dwindled in North India with the rise of Smarta tradition. and later for new Vedantha traditions which denounced the concepts of old Vedic rituals and initiated for philosophies mostly in monastic order intended for social spiritual connections. The key concepts of these traditions were to stop all sorts of rituals and complex knowledge-based procedures to connect to the god, rather simply link oneself to the supreme being.

Thus the traditions of Tantra slowly ended as large scale rituals for Yajnas, Homas etc as done in Vedic period started ending to much more simplified easy to link/understand traditions. The Bhakti movement took spiritualism to masses.

So essentially much of North India became a less ritualistic oriented style of worship unlike South where these older traditions continued, especially in Kerala and Tulu coast which still retains old Vedic era concepts without much dilution.

It is part of the recorded history that in the year 1776, Garhwal King sent invitations to priests from South to preside over the temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath.

Hoping, wishing and praying that I am blessed to cover all four this year. It is believed that every Hindu should visit the Char Dhams during one's lifetime, irrespective of the fact if visiting these sites helps achieve moksha (salvation) or not, it help us understand history, and has it's own advantages and should I say disadvantages as well? 

PS - 1

(Review by Sreeram Sundaram in FB)

 "Ponniyin Selvan" by Kalki Krishnamoorthy is unarguably the greatest novel in modern Tamizh literature and first published as early as in the 50's, the novel is liked and discussed even to this date and has been eyed by many great filmmakers and actors for a screen adaptation. 

Mani Ratnam, one of the most celebrated directors of these times, has finally succeeded in adapting it to the screen and the first of the 2 part adaptation is out on our screens from 30 Sep. Starring the who's who of South Indian cinema, the screen adaptation - "PS 1" for short - hits all the right buttons and provides a satisfying experience. 

The movie starts with Adita Karikalan (Cheeyan Vikram) attacking the Rashtrakootas and annexing the kingdom to the Chola empire. He leaves the unarmed king (Babu Antony) free much to the amusement of his second in commands - his maternal grandfather (Lal), his friend Parthibendran (Vikram Prabhu) and Vandhiyadevan (Karthi Sivakumar), the friend who is close enough to be his brother. Immediately following the win, Adita wants Vandhiyan to meet the former's dad - the ailing Sundara Cholan (Prakash Raj) and his smart sister, Kundhavai (Trisha Krishnan) - to inform them about the impending danger to the kingdom. 

The dangers are many - the Pandya rebels (led by Kishore and Riyaz Khan) want to settle scores with Adita since the former murdered their unarmed, wounded king (Nasser); the Pandya king's wife Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), now the wife of Periya Pezhuvettaraiyar (R Sarathkumar), the chancellor of Chola kingdom is also scheming against the kingdom for the same reason; the Chola chieftains are unhappy with Adita being the king- in- waiting since they want Sundara Cholan's cousin Madhurantakan (Rahman) to be the king. Adita is aware of all the plotting but does not want to come to Thanjavur since he doesn't want to face his childhood sweetheart Nandini as the wife of Pezhuvettaraiyar (Sara Arjun plays the young Nandini). 

On his way to Thanjavur, Vandhiyadevan stops at Kadamboor and realizes that the Kadamboor king (Nizhalgal Ravi) is also a part of Pezhuvettaraiyar's scheme. He also meets the loud Vaishnavite Brahman - Azhwarkadiyan Nambi (Jayaram) whose whereabouts are unknown. He is awed by Nandini's beauty but remains faithful to his friend's requests. He exchanges information as is expected but Kundhavai asks him to go to Lanka to meet her younger brother - Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi) and ask him to come to Thanjavur. He takes the help of the boatwoman Poonguzhali (Aishwarya Lakshmi) to get to Lanka but there are surprises waiting for him, Arulmozhi and the viewers in Lanka. The rebel Pandiyan warriors, the Lankan king defeated by Arulmozhi and a team from Thanjavur that is out to capture Arulmozhi at his father's behest are all on the lookout for him. Whether Arulmozhi and Vandhiyadevan are able to survive the onslaught of 3 sets of enemies is what the rest of the movie is all about. 

The novel is peppered with characters and each of them are layered, textured and rooted which is why adapting them to the big screen remained a challenge for close to 70 years. Mani Ratnam along with his co - writers Jeyamohan and Elango Kumaravel - has succeeded in this almost impossible task and Jeyamohan's measured dialogues convey more than what is being spoken. “Nandini was golden-hued in complexion; Kundavai’s colouring was that of the red lotus. Nandini's face was round like the full moon; Kundavai’s was somewhat long and looked as if it had been carved by a skilled sculptor. Nandini's large dark eyes were like the outspread wings of a golden bee, Kundavai’s long blue-black ones almost touched her ears and glistened like the petals of the neelotpala, the blue lotus. Nandini’s nose was a bit flat and as smooth as ivory; Kundavai's was long, like the bud of the panneer flower. Nandini's full lips seemed like a coral cup, overflowing with honey; Kundavai's finer ones were like a pomegranate dripping honey. Nandini wore her hair in a kondai, decorated with an elaborate floral arrangement; Kundavai’s hair, piled up like a crown, proclaimed her a queen of beauty.”

The grand production design is in tune with the tone of the narrative while never popping out unnecessarily - it is this fine balance that is extremely difficult to achieve. Ravi Varman creates magic with his camera and imaginative lighting that highlights the beauty of his leading ladies with the same efficiency as capturing the war sequences and the chases. 

A R Rahman keeps his best for Mani Ratnam and does not disappoint this time either. While the songs may not work in isolation, they work very well with the narrative though none of the songs play for their entire run time. I still thought Rakshasa Mamaney, Chola Chola and Sol were alluring nevertheless. 

The ensemble cast delivers with each and every actor being cast according to the nature of the character and Karthi, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Jayaram and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stand out due to the length of their roles and the complexity of the characters that they portray. 

Waiting for PS2.

Chardam (Chota) Darshan - Part 1 The Beginning

It was the time of Malikapaksham also known as Pitru Paksha - the 15 day holy period  when Hindus perform rituals, including Tarpan, Shradh, and Pind Daan that I was fortunate to take up the journey during to this divine Deva Bhoomi for Chardam (Chota) Darshan. Though often called Chardam,  actual Chardam is Rameshwaram; Dwaraka; Puri and Bhadrinath. Char Dham literally means ‘the four abodes/seats’.

These main 'dhamas' are the shrines of Lord Vishnu and Rameshwaram is a shrine of lord Shiva. All the 'dhamas' are related to four epochs,(1) Dham of Satyuga- Badrinath, Uttarakhand (2) Dham of Tretayuga -Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu (3) Dham of Dwaparayuga - Dvaraka, Gujarat (4) Dham of Kaliyuga - Jagannatha Puri, Odisha.

This year, Pitru Paksha began on September 10 and ended on Sarva Pitru Amavasya on September 25. As per Hindu Panchang, during this 15-day cycle that commences on the full moon, ancestors visit Earth to shower blessings on their children. My trip started the beginning of this auspicious period and ended on the day it finished; auspicious time when the Pandavas descended to heaven and is believed to have done from the present day Uttarakand aka uttaranchal.

During these two weeks, as we pray for the peace of  ancestors, it is believed that if food is offered to animals like cows, dogs, and crows, the deceased ancestors are also being fed in the process. 

Trip started with pooja at Hanuman temple at Aluva and flag hoisting for a safe trip to be removed when we return.

Went to Kudalmanikam temple when some had started the journey in train, we took the flight upto Delhi on Sunday, as leaves were my constraint. 

Reached Delhi Sunday afternoon, all were to meet at Ayyappa Dharma Shasta  temple at Mayur Vihar phase 3. There were co-travellers who were having their first flight, some had Knife in hand bag, power bang in check in, luggage was around helping them. Train was late, and then, there were some issue with the bus. 

We started our journey to Haridwar almost after 7 pm, took a break in between, the moon view was amazing, first orange, turning yellow and white. 

Finally we reached Sri Vyasa Ashram, Kashimatt, Haripur Marg, Sadhubala.(Near Bharathmatha Temple) after 1 am. With room allocation and settling, it was almost three, when we hit the bed. Temperature there was hotter than in Kerala. 

Monday  went around Vyasa ashram, saw amazing Ganga flow both in the morning at the courtyard, serene.

Evening, in a battery Rickshaw went to a place believed to be one where Rakshaprajapathis Dashayagam took place, also the birth place of Sathidevi  where she finally took her life. 

While returning  visited Gita Mandir where we could not only see Gita Ma in splendid colors but also

And the 10 Awatara. Alaypayuthe song was sung there with violin being played by friends. 

Finally saw the Ganga Aarthi in the evening, full crowded. For me it was like finally meeting the soul of my live after years of waiting. Had Ganga Aarthi and took oath to keep Gaga clean Har-ki-Pouri. Ganganadhiyile sandhya. Aarathikalude ozhukk. 

Ganga Aarthi 

Tuesday morning had a dip in the Ganges. It rained heavily as we set out for it at 5.30 am in the morning.  

Haridwar & Ganga Aarthi

Did vehicle pooja with bus called Ganga; Yamuna; Saraswathi and Alaknanda. 

We were in Saraswathi with Mahenderji as our driver, who wanted to be ahead of others. Having 20 years of experience he tried to fly the bus without seat built. So the beginning was with a bang right at the first exit on a traffic jam road with people and cow all in between.  He was strictly instructed and not allowed to overtake the bus Ganga.

We set out towards Bhadrinat with prayers:

സമസ്ത ജഗദാധാരാ 

ശങ്ഗചക്ര ഗദാധര

ദേവദേഹീ മമാനുജ്ഞ

യുഷ്മത്  തീർത്ഥനിഷേവനി 

തപോയുതം പാവനപാപനാശകം 

മുനീന്ദ്രദേവാർച്ചിത സിദ്ധപൂജിതം 

അവ്യക്ത നാരായണ വാസഭൂമിനം 

നമാമി തം ഹൈമവതാഖ്യ ഭൂതലം നമാമി തം ഹൈമവതാഖ്യ ഭൂതലം

 🙏 രാധേ ശ്യാം ..

If Ganges is our beloved mother, the mightly Himalayas is our father and we were on our journey exploring it - never realised that there was much more than expected that was instored way ahead. 

The sight of the mountains were enthralling, initially as we left the plains it was like the way to Malkapara or Munnar as we left the plains but soon the landscape started changing.  

Lunch was very late, but it did not matter, for I was awestuck by the sights around, especially the Devaprayag. Never realised even then, that there was lot of learnings that I would be unfolding in the days to come. 

A separate post on Ganga  and the Prayags. At this point, just realised that this is where River Bhagirathi and River Alaknanda met to form Ganga - But it never striked me the the significance of it or this was where Ganga was born, though was in love with this place for some reasons unknown to the external self. 

Was very late to reach piplekotti where we stayed that night to begin the actual trip. Well we were into fourth day of the Pilgrimage,  but the real uphill task was yet to start.

Next morning the cloud was misty and we saw the sign, welcome to Devabhoomi.

These were the places for us to visit, but the time taken to travel that distance was not confined to the speed and was much more than the normal,  given the condition of cockskrew roads, whether conditions and landslides. 

Mountains were filled with 'Devatharu' trees.

 Am wondering Christmas 🎄would be a version of this

This mountain mesmerized us and we felt something mystic about it, soon to realize that there indeed was. We were soon approaching Joshimat. It is believed that it was here Shankaracharya first halted,  there is his ashram  and beautiful temple just facing this mountain. 

The road being very narrow we had to park ahead and walk behind to an amazing Narasimhamurathi temple with huge clean space around facing this mountain 

and Shankaracharays ancient home and temple adjacent. 

Narsingh Temple is the winter home for Lord Badri who is shifted here when main temple of Badrinath remains closed from the time of Diwali to Akshay Tritiya. The deity of Lord Vishnu in the form of Narsingh (half human and half lion) is revered in this temple.

Shankaracharya Math is believed to be established by the Hindu Guru, Adi Shankaracharya, it is a sacred place housing the temples of Lord Badri and Rajrajeshwari Devi.

From Narasing temple walked few kilometers upward 

Sweet drinks were served to all, and bangles given to ladies.

We also did see the Amar Kalpa Vriksha.

Joshimat

As we continued,  the bus had a huge jump. Was in the back seat that day. Went up and came Ta-Da down with a bang. Tried to get up but could not.

Halted at Vishnuprayag for lunch, I could neither walk nor move. 

Vishnuprayag is one of the sacred prayags of the ‘Panch Prayag’ group, the Vishnuprayag lies at the confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Dhauliganga in Chamoli district . It is believed that sage Narad worshipped Lord Vishnu at this holy confluence. Lots of pilgrims take a holy dip in the waters of the ‘Vishnu Kund’ and visit the ‘Vishnu Temple’ dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

After lunch as a concession I got to sit right in the front in the driver's cabin area.

Finally reached Bhadrinat.  Guess this post is becoming too long. How about the rest being in the next?