Blissful trip to Duuwarika and Somnath

Without any guesses,the possible destination to be covered  during this January vacations was Dwarka and Somnath ,as these were the last dhams pending in our Chardham yatra .So we decided to make Rajkot as our base ,and beginning from Dwarka would cover Porbander, Somnath, Bhuj and White Rann. Extended the journey  till Kutch as it was the time of Rann Utsav. For those who love sea, sun, birds, sand , temples and heritage this is an amazing trip,and indeed it turned to be a cozy, easy,private trip.

The trip started by Boarding 11.50 a.m flight from Mangalore to Rajkot with a change over at Mumbai .The first sight that drew my attention as we touched Rajkot runway were the  scattered colorful kites on the turf , hinting that Rajkot citizens had a vibrant kite flying festival.
Our accommodation was booked at Hotel SS Inn above Sankalp Restaurant located at Race course road. We were allotted a studio room ,Race course garden view  from the window was awesome.      It was a chilly and pleasant evening for any Coastal kannadiga. When we enquired for sight seeing arrangements available at Hotel desk,the Hotel Manager turned to be an introvert ,did not respond to our enquiries. We roamed around the city in an auto catching some sights and sounds.

Sri Swaminarayana Mandir,Rajkot

The temple built in pink stone is decked in intricate stone detailing on arches and columns .No concrete or cement has been used in construction.Central shrine has idol of Lord Swami Narayan , other shrines are Harikrishna Maharaj and Lord Krishna & Radha.

Swami Narayan Mandir Rajkot

Jain temple
Temple architecture is outstanding.

Love temple

Culmination of religious arts inside Love Temple

Love temple is a Syro-Malabar cathedral dedicated to Sacred heart of Jesus.It blends the architectural features of other religions but looks like a temple. There is a mosaic of Jesus seated in a meditation pose above a lotus like an Indian holy man.

Night had crispy Masala dosa at Sankalp restaurant. Quite contented to taste south Indian quality dosa accompanied with 3 chutnies and perfect sambhar in Gujrath. There were wide variety of dosas, idlies,bisibele bat  and other authentic South Indian tiffin items,the waiters were explaining about composition of bisibele bat to guests (I was in all smiles)

We had booked a taxi from Deepak Travels -Rajkot to traverse this figure 8 tracing circuit starting from Rajkot- Bet Dwarka, Somnath, Junagadh, Rajkot, Bhuj, Koteshwar, White Rann and back to Rajkot . The total travelling cost suggested was around Rs 20,000 for the 6 days itinerary, apart from the hotel accommodation .

Early morning , driver MukeshBhai picked us in  Tata A/C Manza  ,briefed us about day’s programme,he spoke fluently in hindi .

Rajkot to Jamnagar  (100 kms)

First  spot in this series turned to be Aradhana Dham after Jamnagar. This is a Jain temple dedicated to Shree Halartheerth , there are galleries depicting Hindu mythology and a garden in the premises.Spent some 30 minutes inside the temple.

Nageshwar Jyotirling

Nageshwar Temple is located on the route between Gomati Dwarka and the Bet Dwarka,the powerful Jyotirlinga symbolizes protection from all poisons.The massive statue of Lord Shiva in meditation posture  could be  spotted from long distance as we approach Nageshwar. We performed abhishek to the lingam, ladies are permitted to enter sanctum ,pooja thali items need to be purchased  at the temple .The silver shivalingam is  Nageshwar accompanied by  Devi Nageshwari faces south.

Kneeling before  85 ft Statue of Lord Shiva seated in Meditation position

at the temple entrance. From Nageshwar left to Dwaraka. The road all through the drive is dotted with wind mills (pavanchakki).

WIND MILLS -SOURCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE

Bet – Dwarka is an island surrounded by sea from all sides. Boat service is available between Okha and Bet-Dwarka, it’s a 15 minute journey but one has to wait till the boat is full, there is no ticket counter, gents are not allowed to sit on the floor of the boat.Feeding the sea gulls can be good time pass. The temple opens at 5.00 p.m due to  construction work of temples going on.One has to deposit camera ,mobiles and luggage at the counter. This temple is considered as residence of Lord Krishna, Sudhama came from Porbandhar to meet his friend here.One can buy prasadam,there is a free meal service for pilgrims.It was almost 6.00p.m when we reached our taxi, so after an hour long drive reached Dwarka .

Jetty ride from Okha to Bet Dwarka

Archway to Lord Krishna temple at Bet Dwarka 

Jamnagar to Dwarkadish temple (100 kms)
Straight away headed to the Dwarkadish temple to witness evening arthi. Liked this aspect of devotees greeting the Lord as their soulful friend by raising both hands. Drum beats and keerthans made the environment divine and serene. There were many Tamilians in the crowd. Women and men are allowed in separate queues, luggage,mobiles & camera are not permitted.

We retired in our room at Hotel Bhansi, this hotel is near to temple has parking facility. Even though I voluntarily wrote my reviews about the hotel, I continue to get calls from other travel sites regarding our stay even after a week .

Dwarka-Porbandar-Somnath (250 kms)

Dwarkadish Temple 

Next morning had another glimpse of Lord, dip in Gomti river.There are shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Balram and Devki in the premises of Dwarkadish temple. Purchased Balgopal and souvenirs from the Adi Shankarcharya Mutt at the temple. After breakfast of Dhokla and Parota left to Rukmini Temple.

Rukmini Matha Temple
Our driver told that us that without visiting Rukmini Temple Chardham circuit is not complete. This temple is said to be some 2500 years old. This is a carved temple, decorated with Sculptures of Gods. The priest gave a commentary on the significance and the history of the place, we donated towards Jaldhan as Dwarka is completely dependent on Potable Water from outside.

Enroute Porbandar visited Harsiddi Mata Mandir, spotted Dhirubhai Ambani’s Ancestral home .

Porbandar turned to be a dusty town due to the ongoing cable laying excavation work throughout the town . Visited the house where our father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi was born in the city of Porbandar. The house is situated in a small road. Though it is renovated at the exterior, the basic house with 22 rooms and 2 storeys is maintained, Photographs of Gandhiji are housed in a museum, library are worth visiting. Purchased a T Shirt from souvenir shop .Also visited Bharath Mandir ,Akash Bhavan (could have been skipped )and Sri Sudama Mandir dedicated to humble friend of Lord Krishna.

Bharath Matha Mandir at Porbandhar

Mahatma Gandhiji's birth place at Porbandar

Mahatma's house ..visitors entry gate

A peekaboo moment inside Gandhiji's house

Dhirubhai Ambani's ancestral home

Sudhama Temple

At Somnath we had booked Maheshwari Bhavan, after dumping the luggage left for Sri Golaknath Dham near Triveni Ghat, Pandu Gufa and Surya Temple.

Lord Krishna breathed his last at Gujarat’s Prabhas Patan. Golok Dham was the place from where Krishna embarked onto his journey to the Nijdham .The footprints of Krishna are present at the place from where he left for the Baikunth Dham. Following in Krishna’s footsteps his elder brother Balram also made his journey to Nijdham via same route.

Golakdham- Bhagwan Shree Krishna took his divine journey to Neejadham

Footprints of Bhagwan ShriKrishna 

Temple of Lord Somnathji

Somnathji temple is a beautiful, cleanest and hi-tech temple complex,  Standing tall on the ocean shore , the temple is an example of recent Indian craftsmanship in Chalukya style built at the site of the old temple which was ransacked by the Moghuls. Security check up is tight at this temple, bags are not permitted inside the campus. Arthi can be viewed from outside on the big LED screens , abhishek can be performed electronically without entering the sanctum. Shehnai music during Arthi for some 30 minutes left us mesmerized .Next part of the post will cover journey from Somnath to Bhuj and back to Rajkot.

Family tour to Jammu & Kashmir (Guest post by Mr. Pradeep Prabhu)

In this part I cover our scintillating and near fatal  experiences  faced during  trek to Maata Vaishnodevi Temple at Jammu . Other temples in and around Srinagar- Ksheer Bhavani Temple ,Martanda temple are presented  in this part .

Dal lake, Srinagar

In July 2012, I visited Kashmir with my wife and family with a hope to see what I visualised, during my childhood days. I had visualised Kashmir as a place of gardens, lakes , valleys ,snowfall and the land where kesar  is grown. But with the passing  years, this picture turned  gloom  and  was  replaced by  militants,  armed  personnel  and  scared  pundits  fleeing  in fear. We booked a tour package conducted by  Nirmala travels,Mangalore 2 months ahead of tour. Our family along with Surekha's aunt Meenakshi & uncle Mohandas ,sister Sujatha, Krishna Prabhu & her kid Aparna were in our group.

  We boarded a train from Mangalore to Delhi and from there to Jammu. The  trains running from Delhi to Jammu were flooded with Amarnath piligrims .Landing at Jammu we experienced warm climate, it was an extended summer, we left for Katra that took 1 hours in a traveller. From January  to  March the  season  is  white  in J&K and  April  to  August  is  green.

 For the next 2 days we were put up at  Hotel Singh International in Katra. Our Tour guide Mr. Raviraj briefed all 40 tourists about this package, an initial exchange of pleasantries with other members gave us an idea to plan our trek for next day.  Food was prepared by Mangalore based cooks. Maa Vaishno Devi temple stands to be the holiest temple and regarded as the most visited pilgrimage centre  in India.

View of Maa Vaishnodevi hill from Katra

 Next day early morning,we started trek at 04 am from BANGANGA check post, with others. This first 6 km of walk is the most steep one,really tough for legs.  The paved trail is very busy with walkers, ponies, palkies and shops. Because of ponies it stinks a lot till Ardhkumari, even though cleaning is done from time to time. Those allergic to dust may experience throat irritation after journey  which may disappear in few days. From there onward last 5 km to Bhawan, there is separate ways for ponies and pilgrims, so much better and fresh air. Drinking water, snacks ,beverages , ice cream, and food is  available all along the way.We availed the service of Pittu to carry our luggage, they also carry kids, massage legs .On the way we ate Rajma chawal and drank cold Nestle Tea.

starting point of trek at Bhangangaa,those sticks are helpful during ascent

Paved way ,pleasant weather 

View of  Katra town from top

this trail is free from passing ponies

Closing down towards the Bhavan

After reaching the Bhawan , we kept our luggage, camera (we did not carry mobile) at the locker ,the queue was a long one,it almost took an hour to get a locker to keep our camera.,by that time others were gone.The Darshan queue was also a long one, ladies and gents were separated in different lines.There is no idol, the cave itself comprises of three natural rock formations or pindies belonging to Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi & Maha Saraswathi which are immersed in water. Finally out happily, could not find my wife,somehow spotted her due to the  dress colour. After this incident, we always plan the spot to meet after the darshan .Very tired after that walk and push ups  at Locker we ate dosas carried  from Hotel. Surekha insisted to visit Bhairo mandir perched on the top still 4-5km uphill further. This time we hired a pony, it turned to be a steep ascent .Balancing the down hill ride on pony is not my world,I almost slipped ,but the pony care -taker held me at the right moment.

This  treacherously long, uphill walk of 12 kms from Katra to  worship  Maa Vaishnodevi at Trikoota mountains  and the return  distressing pony ride of 18 Kms (from Bhairo) downhill almost  gave  me  a  second  life. I surely had Maa Vaishno devi's  blessings. Jai Mata di !!.Finally we reached room at 6.00 p.m , I gulped pain killer tablets because my hands and legs were aching.

Shankaracharya Temple,Srinagar

Overlooking the beautiful town of Srinagar, perched on the Gopadri hill  is the ancient shrine of God Shiva. Ever since Adi Shankaracharya visited this shrine,the temple got the name Shankaracharya Temple.Here at Srinagar, Shankaracharya accepted the predominance of Shakti cult (greatness of Devi) wrote Saundarya Lahari in praise of Devi after yielding to a lady in discussion ,

There is a motor-able road till top,after that a bit of a trek, some 240+ steps, the views of Dal lake from the top are awesome.  There is heavy army presence here, and tourists are not allowed to carry cameras/bags and mobile phones.

Ksheer Bhawani Temple, near Shrinagar
On the way to Sonmarg, 27Km from Srinagar is Ksheer Bhawani Mandir,  set amidst the picturesque surroundings covered with the trees of Chinar. The Goddess Ragnya originally worshipped by Lord Rama is depicted in the form of a natural hexagonal spring that is adored by the devotees..Devotees offer 'Kheer' to the consecrated spring. It is alleged that 'kheer' turns black in color signalling inauspicious period for the inhabitants of the valley. Presently the temple is maintained by Indian army,hence tight security maintained at entrance, it is the most sacred place for Kashmiri Pandits. We ate the Kheer prasadm here,Amarnath Yatrees halt  for food,donations are accepted here . In the premises ,spotted the branches of a Chinar tree  cut and shaped to form the image of India.

Lake circumventing the Ksheer Bhawani Mandir

Chinar trees 

Branches  cut in the shape of Map of India

Details about the temple

Kashmir is blessed with nature's bounties, temples are most impressive.

After Ksheer-Bhavani, next day our destinies took us to Pahalgam . On the way , our driver stopped our vehicle in front of  Avanthipur  temple ruins which was once upon a time capital of  Kashmir. A sardarji Guide  in Punjabi –English  accent explained the history of the temple, but we could not capture his accent.

Avanthipur temple ruins

Avantipur ruins speak about glorius past

Martand Suriya Temple, Mattan

En route to Pahlgaon, at Mattan,there  is a blissful temple dedicated to Lord Surya having a large pond  with fishes. Tourists are often confused with the Majestic National Monument in Martand . Apart from Sun Temple there are temples of Lord Vishnu, Hanuman & Shani in this complex,This is the only place managed by  Kashmir Pandits ,also  sacred to the Sikhs as Guru Nanak Devji came here & stayed for 13 days. A Gurudwara has been built .We interacted with  local temple caretakers,donated some amount and heard the history and relevance of the site from both Hindu and Sikh perspective . From here Pahalgaon is only 34Km.We were not taken to the ancient Martand temple only 2km from Mattan.

Mattan Surya Temple complex

Temple Pond

Odhisha Odyssey (Part 2)

  Around Puri and Konark 

Places covered : Puri Temple, Konark Sun temple and Chilka lake

Kalinga style of architectural form of Odisha found its supreme expression in the form of temples, some of which are among, finest in the country. Of these, three most famous temples are the Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneswar (11th century), the Jagannath Temple at Puri (12th century) and the great Sun Temple at Konark (13th century). 

Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha 

Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha  is one of four dhams for Hindu pilgrimage. Known as the White Pagoda,this temple enshrines deities of Krishna, Subhadra and Balarama. One need to take a special ticket from counter for entering inside .The temple has 4 gates, facing the 4 directions. On the east-facing gate, there are stone images of 2 lions and it is called the Lion Gate. The north, south and west facing gates are called the Elephant Gate, Horse Gate and the Tiger Gate respectively. As we arrive at the vast open area in front of the Lion Gate, we see a ten meter tall monolithic pillar known as Aruna Stambha, this pillar was removed from Konark when the temple was forsaken and fixed in front of Jagannath temple. Immediately after we get into the main gate and go forward, we find a flight of steps. They are locally called Baisi Pahaca, literally meaning, 22 steps. At the end of the stairs, we have to cross another gate that enters a second compound wall and then we have to turn left to go towards the Ganesh temple. There are attractive carvings on the sides of this entrance of the inner compound wall. 

left pic -priest climbing the temple Gopura during Dwaja parivarthana 

We had a quick darshan of the deities inside the temple in the evening at about 4.30pm without any disturbance from any Pandas, in fact one of the Panda bought dry  Prasadm for Rs 200. Here  devotees can go behind the idols(go round the idols)during the Sahana Mela . There are 3 main shrines inside the premises (i) Vimala temple (ii) Ganesh temple at the foot of the Kalpavata (a very old banyan tree) and (iii) Lakshmi temple. The Vimala Temple (Bimala Temple) is considered one of the most important of the Shaktipeeths  where the Goddess Sati's feet fell. It is located near Rohini Kund in the temple complex. Outside the Girbhagriha, pilgrims  were waiting to see the Flag changing ritual by the priest , we too waited for half hour. Our driver (also our Guide) told us a panda climbs up the sheer face of the temple and bring down the old flags and put up the new ones is a sight to be witnessed.Later we came to know that the Dwaja Parivartna ceremony was over when we were inside the temple. We were out within a hour feeling enchanted  to see  Lord Jagannath. That night we stayed in a Hotel located near to Puri Beach. 

Konark Sun Temple

The drive between Bhubaneswar and Konark is lovely with good roads and country side. It takes about an hour to reach Konark from Bhubaneswar. Standing in front of this magnificent  was a dream come true,we immediately engaged a guide to know everything about the temple

The Sun temple of Konark widely known for its fine harmony of design and architecture, its name is a clubbing of Kona (corner) and Arka (Sun), meaning the corner of the Sun.Ancient Sailors had named it as “ Black Pagoda” because of its dark color ,but was dubbed as the cause of ship wrecks that occurred along the coast.There are many speculations regarding the fall of the temple. It is said that a massive magnet  placed at the temple top had created an architectural marvel of Lord Surya’s idol to float  in air .The sailors  took away the magnet which was integral part of the temple thus disturbing the stability of the structure. Other reason held for destruction is earthquake 

Guide narrated this legend as to “ Why the  Sun God does not get worshipped in the epic temple built for him” .The story goes back to 13th century A.D. , when 1200 WORKERS worked for 12 years to build the KONARK TEMPLE  spread across 12 acre on the command of the King Narasimhadeva-1 of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The chief architect Bisu Maharana had a deadline to finish the temple in 12 years, finally failed to host the crown stone His son Dharmpada a 12  years boy whom he never saw since birth because he was busy with temple work visited the spot to see Dad's achievement,overhears the conversation of craftsmen , that they will be beheaded in case they fail to meet the deadline.  Right from his childhood Dharmapada was interested in architecture and mastered all the manuscripts regarding temple construction. The small boy suggests a solution ,by midnight the kalash stone is rolled to the top of the Gopura. Dharmapada hears whispers that king will still not be kind with his father and other hardworking craftsmen,next day at sunrise ,he jumps off the the Temple top into the blue sea waters.

Main attractions of the temple :

1.Natya Mandir is the first part of the temple.Every inch of the mandapa is filled with sculptures of women – dancing, singing, playing instruments, dressing up.

One such pillar at Natya mandap

 2.The Konark Sun Temple takes the form of a huge chariot for the sun god Surya, with 12 pairs of stone-carved wheels and a team of seven galloping horses (only one of which survives intact).

 

3.The wheels have 8 spokes that symbolize the eight ideal stages of a woman's day. One can analyze the exact time of the day by just looking at the shade cast by these spokes.

4.The entrance is guarded by 2 huge lions ,Each lion is crushing an elephant. Beneath every elephant lies the human body. Lion represents pride and elephant represents money. Problems faced by human beings shown in one shot. 

5.Indian architecture depicts the following - Lord, Time, Karma, Living Entities and Nature. There are images of animals, foliage, men, warriors on horses and other interesting patterns. 

Wheel of life or Passage of time

6.Kalinga wanted to promote growth in polpulation. There are erotic sculptures on the second level of the temple.

7.There are three images of the Sun God, positioned to catch the rays of the sun at dawn, noon and sunset. 

The temple is a UNESCO World heritage site  ,restoration work is going on.

Reference: https://highwayonlyway.com/tag/konark-sun-temple/

Chilka lake

Boat boarding point

 Chilika is a very beautiful lagoon about 2 hours drive from Bhubhaneshwar. At the boat boarding point, there is parking facility and one has  to hire a boat. We took the 3 hour speed boat ride  for Rs 2000, ordered food in the restaurant(quite expensive). Now I feel the fares are steep and manipulated by the boat owners. One can enjoy the calm nature  and cool breeze and I advise one should carry drinking  water and biscuits  and cover the  kids . Dolphins and few birds can be spotted on the way to the island. After an hour or so we reached an island,we called our son, BSNL Telecom signals were very clear. Fishermen approach with sea shells claiming that they carry  pearls, gems etc, should not buy them. Return journey seemed to be long because of the headache I got, could not eat anything from the restaurant, our driver sensed it as a gastric problem purchased tablets for me.  Within a hour I was fit for Puri Jaganath Darshan

Kalikamba temple