[Jay Bhardwaj]

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Pilgrimages are the most significant part of every religion in the world. Mecca, Jerusalem, Navdeep Mandal and many more. Pilgrimages are the places where the religion blooms, a place where the most important history of that religion took place. Where the prophets preached the message of God, where people got the solution of their problems and experienced God with them. In Sanatan Dharma we have a wide variety of pilgrimages according to the practices and beliefs of people.

Pilgrimages are the places where the regeneration of the religion happens whenever someone tries to demolish it. They are the places where the Magnificent saints like Adishankaracharya taught people about dharma. These are the places that are purified by the continuous sadhana of the saints that lived there.

These places are able to uplift your consciousness when you visit them with the intention of knowing god. Because today most of the people visit pilgrimages as tourists, and this is not a good way to know about God and pilgrimage, they don’t get any benefit from that visit.

Pilgrimages like Brij mandal are the place where Six Goswamis stayed and rejuvenated the spirit of Vrindavan and Vaishnava sect. To know about God we need the association of his devotees who can tell us about his glory. A visit in a pilgrimage not just makes us feel good but also connects our spirit to that entity of which the pilgrimage we are visiting.

According to the scriptures pilgrimages are not the physical planes like any other city or a town on earth. Like the supreme god who always stays in his abode but when he gets incarnated on this earth, we can see him, feel him and touch him. Same goes for the pilgrimages, the real pilgrimage stays in the spiritual abode and its incarnated form is depicted on earth so we can feel the divinity of that pilgrimage.

• Lord Vishnu
  -Char Dham
  Char Dahm the most popular pilgrimages from the ancient times. Char Dham are the places where Lord Vishnu is worshiped in one way or the other. Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram are the places where Lord Vishnu and his incarnations performed his leelas and spread the message of Dharma.

Badrinath
Badrinath is a place where Lord Vishnu performed penance after getting cursed by the Narada for his ignorance and pride. Lord Vishnu chose this place because it is counted in the panch kedars, the five places related to Lord Shiva.

Goddess Lakshmi Came there and became a tree of Jujube, which is also known as Badri tree. So because Goddess Lakshmi took the form of Badri tree to give Lord Vishnu shade, so he can perform his penance more comfortably, and Vishnu is the Nath (Owner) of her. So, the name originated Badrinath (The Owner of Badri).

Another legend associates the Badrinath Temple with the Mahabharata, the Hindu epic. It is believed that Pandava prince Arjuna, after the Kurukshetra war, meditated at the site to attain spiritual enlightenment.

Dwarka
Dwarka is a place where Lord Krishna performed his Grahastha (Married Life) leela. A part of land that he took from the ocean, he created a mystical, prosperous and all wealthy town named Dwarka. He secured the people of Mathura and placed them here.

Here Lord Krishna expanded his family and married Goddess Rukmini, Satyabhama and Jambvati. He killed Demon Narkasura and secured 16,100 girls and married them on their free will. The place where he met Sudhama, his dear friend.

After the war among the people of the Yadu dynasty this place was abandoned by the people and sank into the ocean. Still you can find the remains of this ancient city underwater. All thanks to S.R. Rao sir who gave his life to find the evidence of the remains of Dwarka underwater.

Puri
The place is related to the most merciful form of the Lord Visnu, Lord Jaggannath, here the lord can be seen with his Brother Balaram and his sister Subhadra. This form of the lord always smiles, this shows the immense pleasure the lord feels after seeing his devotees.

The temple in itself is so wondrous, the height of its shikhar is 65 meters and it is a ritual there to change its flag everyday, not even a single mishappening happened there in this process and the person who changes the flag just climb the shikhar of that temple without any safety measure.

The Rath Yatra is one of the most famous festivals associated with the Jagannath Temple. During this annual event, the deities of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra, and sister Subhadra are placed on elaborately decorated chariots and pulled through the streets by thousands of devotees. It attracts millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rameshwaram
The most popular place from the tales of Ramayana. The place where Lord Rama worshiped his Ishta Lord Shiva before starting and concluding the war with the demon king Ravana.

As most of the people of Sanatan culture know about the connection of Lord Rama and Lord Shiva. Where Lord Shiva worships every original form of Lord Narayana whereas in the form of Lord Rama, Narayana worships Lord Shiva. This pure connection between these also can be seen in the name of this place.

Shaiva devotees say that the name meaning of this name is Ishwara of Rama (God of Rama) and Vaishnava devotees say that the name of this place means, whom Rama is the god. Leaving the meaning, we should remember this place as the memento of hope of Lord Rama before invading Lanka.

Tirumala Tirupati
A sacred place related to Lord Vishnu situated in Andhra Pradesh. On a mountain known as seven hills. There is a story related to this that goes like, when Lord Vishnu visited the earth he wanted something to remind him about Vaikuntha. Then he saw the seven hills and stayed on it. Hence, the formation of Tirumala Thirupathi temple happened.

This is one of the most important pilgrimages related to Lord Vishnu. Here people come for the end of their pride and ignorance, the special feature there is, here not just the men but women also get their heads shaved and bow down in front of Lord as the symbolic representation of the end of their ego.

• Lord Shiva
  Lord Shiva, one of the Gods in the holy trinity. People all around the world worship Lord Shiva, not even Shivites but all the Vaishnavas also look for the Lord Shiva’s blessing for doing Bhakti. He is the one who holds the velocity of Holy Ganges on his head. The most beloved God who gives you strength for self control and gives you teachings about how to be present in material life while doing Sadhana.

So, to please Lord Shiva, people everywhere visit the holy places related to him. Like  Panch Kedar, Amarnath and all 12 famous Jyotirlingas.

-Amarnath
A place found by a shepherd in the mountains. He saw a cave and went inside,and witnessed an ice made Lingam of Lord Shiva. He told it to everyone and then it became a most popular pilgrimage related to Lord Shiva.

-Jyotirlingams
1. Somnath Jyotirlinga: This is the first Jyotirlinga and is believed to be the place where the Moon God, Chandra, worshiped Lord Shiva. It is said to be the place where Lord Shiva’s body fell after Sati’s self-immolation.

2. Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is situated on a mountaintop and is said to be the place where Goddess Parvati resided as Mallika.

3. Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is located in the ancient city of Ujjain and is said to be the place where Lord Shiva performed the cosmic dance of creation and destruction.

4. Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is situated on an island in the Narmada River and is said to be the place where Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Om.

5. Kedarnath Jyotirlinga:This Jyotirlinga is located in the Himalayas and is one of the most difficult Jyotirlingas to reach. It is said to be the place where Lord Shiva saved the Pandavas from a snowstorm.

6. Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga

This Jyotirlinga is situated in the Sahyadri Mountains and is said to be the place where Shiva granted Bhima, the Pandava brother, immense strength.

7. Viswanath Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is located in the ancient city of Varanasi and is considered to be one of the most sacred Jyotirlingas.

8. Triambakeshwar Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is located in the Sahyadri Mountains and is said to be the place where the three Gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, emerged from a pillar of light.

9. Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is located in the state of Jharkhand and is said to be the place where Lord Shiva cured Ravana of his leprosy.

10. Nageshwar Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is located in the city of Dwarka. It is also associated with the story of Krishna, who worshiped Shiva here to obtain the Sudarshana Chakra.

11. Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is located on an island in the Indian Ocean and is said to be the place where Lord Rama worshiped Shiva before his invasion of Lanka.

12. Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga: This Jyotirlinga is located in the Ellora Caves.

These are just a few of the stories and glories associated with the twelve Jyotirlingas

• Kumbha Mela
  The Kumbha Mela, is a major Hindu pilgrimage and festival that holds the title of the largest peaceful gathering of people on Earth. It is believed that when Vishnu took the form of Mohini and was running from the demons, while she was in the sky, the drops of Amrit fell on the ground in places like Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain and Nasik. It’s a remarkable spectacle of faith, devotion, and cultural immersion. Here are some fascinating facts to understand its significance:

-The Cycle
Kumbh Mela is celebrated in a cycle of 12 years, coinciding with the revolution of Jupiter (Brihaspati) around the Sun.

The festival rotates between four holy sites:

Haridwar: On the banks of the Ganges River.

Prayagraj: At the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati rivers.

Ujjain: On the Shipra River.

Nashik: On the Godavari River.

-Significance and Rituals
The Kumbh Mela commemorates the legendary churning of the cosmic ocean (Samudra Manthan), where a pot (Kumbh) containing the elixir of immortality (Amrita) emerged. Taking a holy dip in the sacred rivers during the auspicious days is believed to cleanse sins and liberate one from the cycle of birth and death. The festival is also marked by elaborate processions, religious discourses, chants, and cultural performances.

• Shakti Peethas
  The Shakti Peethas are holy shrines dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga in various forms of Adi Shakti. These 51 sacred sites are believed to have emerged from the fallen body parts of Goddess Sati, wife of Lord Shiva, as he carried her immolated body across the Indian subcontinent. Each Shakti Peetha is associated with a specific body part and a corresponding form of the Goddess.

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