Day – 9 (13/11/2024)
Our seventh and eighth day's itinerary: Gopeswar, Vaitarni, Tunganath, Anirudh Temple, Vishwanath Mandir, Maa Kali, Maa Tripura Sundari Lalita Mayi Mandir, Narayan Koti, Mundkatiya, Kalimath, Triyugnarayana, Agastymuni, Rudraprayag.
A recap of the eighth day's places of visit: Katarmal Sun Temple, Jageshwar Dham, Patal Bhuvaneshwar and night halt at Choukri.
Plans for the ninth day: Baghnath, Baijnath, Satyanarayan Temple and night halt at Rudra Prayag.
Come along with us to experience our Day 9 visit.
Like they say in the US of A, 'Another Day - Another Dollar'.
Good morning! We could see the Sun peeking from behind the mountains, as we stole a look at it from our room's balcony. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this lovely sight so, let me start the day by sharing this lovely picture of sunrise.
We started to our next destination on our itinerary, the Baghnath Temple around 60 km from here. It is said that Lord Shiva appeared in front of Sage Markhandeya in the form of a Tiger and hence the name Bagh (Wagh – Tiger). Baghnath Temple is an ancient shrine dedicated to Shiva, situated in Bageshwar City at the confluence of the Sarayu and Gomati rivers. Baghnath Temple is festooned with bells of all sizes and features impressive carvings. It is the most famous Temple in Bageshwar District. This temple was erected by the Kumaun King, Laxmi Chand, about 1450 A.D., but there is an interesting Sanskrit inscription here of a far earlier date. The temple is flooded with devotees on the annual occasion of Shivratri. This place has a cluster of temples. In 1996, the Archeology department of Uttarakhand state took over the temple, following which, several inscriptions and idols from the eighth to the tenth century were sealed inside the temples. These include idols of Shiva, Ganesha, Vishnu, Chaturmukhi Shiva, Teen Mukhi Shiva, Panch Mukhi Shiva, Mahishasura Mardini, Sahasra Shivalinga, Ganesh, Karthikeya, Panchdevapath, Navagraha etc.[1]
We performed abhisheka (as usual with water, milk, ghee and honey), wrapped Vastra and did the Aarati as well.
We could see the confluence of rivers Gomati and Sarayu close by and Anil walked to this place to collect water from here. After that, we walked to the circle in the road that had Lord Shanideva Temple.
Behind this was a sweet and savoury shop that was preparing fresh jalebis. We couldn’t resist the temptation and helped ourselves generously. The crisp sweet jalebi, hot from the kadai, was a real treat to both our eyes and the tastebuds. While others had a treat of Pakodas and Bread Pakodas, due to my persistent cough and Suma Aunty being under the weather we excused ourselves from tasting these.
Our next stop was Baijnath or Baidyanath Temple complex, around 20 km from Baghnath. The famous Baijnath Mandir (Lord Shiva) on the bank of the river Gomati, is said to have been built by the Kumaon Katyuri King in around 1150 A.D. and it was the Capital of the Katyuri dynasty of kings who ruled Uttaranchal during the 12th and 13th century, Baijnath was once known as Kartikyapura. One of the most important places to visit in Baijnath is the historically and religiously significant Baijnath Temple constructed in the twelfth century. The temple holds significance because, according to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva and Parvati were married at the confluence of River Gomati and Garur Ganga. Dedicated to SivaVaidyanatha, the Lord of Physicians, the Baijnath temple is actually a temple complex built by the Katyuri Kings with the idols of Shiva, Ganesh, Parvati, Chandika, Kuber, Surya and Brahma. Also, the town of Baijnath draws its name from the temple. Situated on the left bank of the Gomti River, the main temple houses a beautiful idol of Parvati, chiseled in black stone[2].
I meditated in the sanctum for some time and could feel the powerful positive energy. As in most ASI-managed temples, photography is not allowed inside the sanctum.
A short walk under a km on the opposite side of the road, through the fields, brought us to another set of three temples, said to have been built in a single night by the Katyuri King. We were surprised to see that Satyanarayana Temple had no Gopura.
We had to request at the priest’s house to get the keys to Lord Satyanarayana's Temple to offer pooja (our ritual as in other places). The priest's wife was kind enough to accompany us and open the temple, for our prayers.
We were told that the other two temples (Lakshmi Narayana and Kshetrapal) were complete, but the Gopura of Satyanarayana temple could not be completed before daybreak and hence is incomplete. Only limestone mixed with urad dal paste was used to bind the stones of this temple as has been used in many other temples across Uttarakhand.
The fields were planted with fenugreek, mustard, wheat and radish. It was a feast for the eyes to see the greenery.
We, the menfolk had a late lunch at a roadside dhaba while the womenfolk had uppittu. We reached Rudra Prayag, a distance of around 120 km, by evening 17h30 and Anil scouted again for accommodation for his pravachana tour in 2025. We had tea in the meanwhile and off we went to the 10 Battalion Hotel for our night stay. This would be the last night in the hills for us, as we were to make our way down to the plains in the morning. We had a dinner of rice and saaru, with curds that saw us through.
Plan vs. Actual:
Visited Baghnath, Baijnath and Sathyanarayana Temple as planned for today and the night halt at Rudra Prayag.
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Camp coordinates: Hotel 10 Battalion Address: near Indian oil petrol pump, Raintoli, Uttarakhand 246171 Phone: 089795 55514
https://maps.app.goo.gl/narxg6w2Tx2Le7zb6
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Continued .... in Part 10
[2] From the website https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baijnath,_Uttarakhand
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