JAI SRI RAMSRI LAKSHMANA BHARATHA SHATRUGUNA HANUMATH SAMETHEY SRI SEETHA RAMAR THIRUVADIGALEY SARANAMSRIMAN NARAYANAYA CHARANAU SARANAM PRAPATHEY!!SRIMATHEY NARAYANAYA NAMAH!!SRIMATHEY RAMANUJAYA NAMAH!!SRI MUDALIAANDAN SWAMI DIVYA THIRUVADIGALEY SARANAM

Prostrating at the feet of acharyars, azhwars and Divya Dampadhigal, Adiyen is penning down my recent “SRI RAMA ANU YAATIRAI” experiences to share the same with the bhagavatas requesting to forgive my shortcomings and enlighten me with more facts and information.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:-

I sincerely prostrate at the feet of Sri Velukudi Swami who had sown the seed of desire to visit these places. It is well known that Swami had conducted the first Rama Anu Yaatirai in mid-September 2006, mostly traveling by bus, in which around 350 bhagavatas had participated and their travelogues and experiences boosted my spirits. Adiyen did not have the bhaagyam to participate in Swami’s yaatirai conducted during September as adiyen visited Salagramam(Muktinath) during that time. (I wish and pray that I get an opportunity to participate in Swami’s yaatirai along with my family in the near future because getting associated with such an exalted bhagavata like Velukudi Swami is considered as the greatest punyam by me. To say that he has created a spiritual revolution in the present days may not be an exaggeration. I feel that our acharyars have sent him as their representative for my upliftment .

I could get fair idea about the location of these holy places by going thru their travelogues , but was apprehensive whether I would be able to visit the places . As the bhagavatas had gone in a conducted tour, their knowledge about how to reach the place was limited and was not sure whether local people would be able to identify the places . Adiyen surrendered to the feet of Hanuman and booked tickets 3 months in advance but was apprehensive about the holy places and the present names. But Lord had HIS own plans. I happened to meet a devotee in Hyderabad , Sri Raghunathan Swamy, who participated in the yaatirai , shared his experiences and showed the photographs he had taken. These photographs helped us in identifying some temples. I profusely thank him and other devotees who made this possible and shall remain deeply indebted to them forever.

Due to Sriyapathi’s grace and Hanuman’s mercy, we visited all the places and how the Lord helped us in difficulties cannot be described in words. There were some thrilling experiences but Lord was ever-protective and saw that we didn’t face any adverse situation.

FOREWORD:-

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Due to the abundant mercy of Sriyapathi , my desire to visit the places connected with Srirama during HIS avatar in this punya bhoomi , SRI RAMA ANU YAATIRAI was fulfilled this year. Adiyen undertook this yaatirai of having “Rama anubhavam” and sharing the bliss with many advanced devotees. In this yatra, adiyen had the bhagyam to be associated with many saints and devotees who shared their nectarian knowledge thus enhancing my spiritual saadhana. Sri Rama is “Maryadha Purushothaman” full of virtuous qualities. Adiyen made an attempt in visiting the various places sanctified by Sri Rama by association of which Adiyen attempts to follow Sri Rama atleast to some extent in this laukik world.

Keeping in view children’s academic coaching and due to time constraint, we decided to split Rama Anu Yaatirai into two phases- first phase covering North and Central India(Bala kandam, Ayodhya kandam, Aranya kandam, Uttara kandam) during summer and second phase covering South India (Kishkinda kandam, part of Yudha kandam) during Dasera holidays.

We planned our journey by booking circular ticket with maximum 8 break journeys three months in advance. Our long distance journeys were by train. WE stayed at the nearest town and hired car for visiting the holy places.

Our Train Route:- Secunderabad-Kanpur-Ayodhya-Buxar-Hajipur-Sitamarhi-allahabad-Satna-Nagpur-Nasik-Secunderabad

Keeping the above towns/cities as base, we covered the following places visited by Sri Rama though not in the same chronological order .

ABOUT SRI RAMA’S JOURNEY:- SRI RAMA ANU YATIRAI:- Following the path of Sri Rama’s journey.

Lord Vishnu manifested HIMSELF as Sri Rama,eldest son of Dasaratha, in human form to annihilate the rakshasa race headed by Ravana and decrease the earth’s burden.

Sri Rama spent first 12 years in Ayodhya, then went to forest to protect Sage Viswamitra’s yaagam and married Sitadevi, spent 12 years in Ayodhya after marriage, went to Vana vaasam for 14 years and came back to Ayodhya and ruled the Universe for 11000 years. Sri Rama sanctified entire Bharata varsha(India) by walking through the punya bhoomi. It is mentioned that movable and immovable things like trees etc. also attained moksham when they came in contact with Sri Rama’s Thiruvadigal. Also, when Sri Rama left for Vaikuntam, the Lord took with HIM all the animate and inanimate things to Vaikuntam.

The Lord’s vana vaasam(Forest life) can be spilt into two:

First one was for about 15 days when HE went along with Lakshmana and Viswamitra. During this short trip, Lord Rama traversed towards North and Northeast through the present states of U.P., Bihar and our neighbour , Nepal. Following the enlightened sage

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Viswamitra, Rama and Lakshmana camped at various places, a brief note is given below:-

Sage Viswamitra, Rama and Lakshmana left Ayodhya in the afternoon and stayed on the banks of River Saruyu on their first night out of Ayodhya.This place is in Ghazipur (U.P.)

Second day , they stayed at Kamasram located in Ayodhya-Buxar route in Karon village in Balliya district of U.P.

Third day at Tataka vanam., in Buxar Fourth day to tenth day, Sri Rama protected Viswamitra’s yagam at Siddhasram

in Buxar Eleventh day on the banks of River Sona at Sonepur Twelfth day on the banks of River Ganges near Patna Thirteenth day at Visalanagari(Hajipur) near Patna Fourteenth day they started from Visalanagari and reach Janakpur on the fifteenth

day

Second one was the longest for 14 years in the dreadful Dhandakaaranya forest towards south. In this journey, the Lord traversed through the present states of U.P., M.P., Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and our southern neighbour Sri Lanka.Some important places where the Lord stayed are :-

Purva Chakiya on the banks of River Tamasa on the first night. This is near Nandigram.

Srungaberipuram on the way to Allahabad from Ayodhya at Guha’s place Bharadwaja Ashram at Allhabad for a day at the beginning of Vana vaasam and

ended his vana vaasam by spending the last day of 14 years of exile. Chitrakoot in M.P. for few months Sarabhanga Ashram for a day on the way to Satna from Chitrakoot Suteekshana muni ashram for a day near Satna Agastya Muni ashram for few months near Nagpur Nasik Panchavati for 11 years Kishkindha in Hampi for few months during monsoon Lakshmana Theertha near Mysore while marching towards the sea Thirukurungudi near Tirunelveli from where Rama spotted the ocean Thirupullani where Rama fasted for 3 days to please the Sea God Sethu karai from where bridge was built Sri Lanka –where HE fought with Ravana and rescued Sita.

Places visited by Sri Rama and followed by us in our first phase of Sri Rama Anubhavam).

BITTOOR (near Kanpur) – where Ramayanam was written, birth place of Lava,Kusha, disappearance of Sitadevi . Sri Rama visited Valmiki ashram when

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the aswamedha horse and HIS brothers were arrested by Luva and Kusha. (Uttara kandam).

AYODHYA (in U.P.)- Rama’s birth place, HIS kingdom, Lord’s disappearance. ( Bala Kandam, Ayodhya Kandam, Yudha Kandam, Uttara Kandam)

NANDIGRAMAM (near Ayodhya)- Bharata ruled Ayodhya for 14 years from here. (Yuddha kandam, reference of this place given in Aranya Kaandam )

The following places are related to Bala Kaandam:-

GAJIPUR:- Sri Rama stayed with Lakshmana and Viswamitra on the banks of Saruyu on their first night out of Ayodhya. The place where Viswamitra woke up by praising Ram as “KAUSALYA SUPRAJA RAMA…” the first slokam in our present Venkateswara Suprabhatam. (we didn’t visit this place as we did not know its exact location….)

KAAMASRAMAM ( in Kaaron village near Chitapada gaon, Balliya dist.)- Sri Rama and Lakshmana spent second night with Viswamitra here.

TATAKA VANAM now known as “TADAK” (in Buxar,Bihar)- where Sri Rama killed Tataka, the demoness

SIDDHASRAMAM also known as VAMANASRAMAM(3 kms from Buxar)-Sri Rama protected Viswamitra’s yaagam at this place .

AHALYA SAAPAVIMOCHANAM/AHROLI/AHALYA UDHAAR (5 kms from Buxar)- where Ahalya was redeemed from curse. There is another place near Janakpur called Ahiyari which is believed to be Ahalya’s hermitage. As per Ramayanam, before Sri Rama entered Janakpur, he redeemed Ahalya from curse. So, Kamtaul in Darbhanga district must be the place of saapa vimochanam.

GAUTAMASTHAN:- (near Chapra)- Gautama Muni’s ashram.

CHAPRA:- Confluence of Ganga and Saruyu at Rewalgunj near Chapra

SONEPUR:- (on the way to Hajipur from Buxa)- confluence of Ganga and Gandaki referred by Viswamitrar to Sri Ramar

VISALANAGARI (HAJIPUR) near Patna- Sri Rama was welcomed by King Sumathi and HIS imprints are at “RAM CHOUDA”.

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SITAMARHI( near Indo- Nepal border):- the birth place of Goddess Sita.

DHANUSHA:- (30 kms from Janakpur)- the place where Sri Rama broke the

bow.

JANAKPUR(in Nepal):- the palace of King Janaka, the wedding venue of Sita-Ramar.

Places covered by Sri Rama’s during HIS second vana vaasam (second journey to the forest )The following places are mentioned in Ayodhya Kaandam:-

PURVA CHAKIYA:- When Sri Rama left with Sita devi and Lakshmana for forest, Sumantara drove his chariot while the citizens of Ayodhya followed him . Sri Rama stayed at the banks of River Tamasa accompanied by the citizens and Sumantara. From here, Sri Rama advised Sumantara to mislead the citizens and HE proceeded southwards

SRUNGABERIPURAM:- near Allahabad – Sri Rama along with Sita ,Lakshmana and Sumantara spent their second night during exile on the banks of Ganges at Guha’s place.

PRAYAG:- Sri Rama crossed Ganges at Allahabad and had bath in Triveni Sangamam. Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:-

BHARADWAJA ASHRAM:- in Allahabad- Sri Rama spent one night hereat the beginning of Vana vaasam and ended his vana vaasam by staying one night at this place on the way to Ayodhya. Bharata also stayed with his retinue at this place . Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:-

CHITRAKOOT:- On the advise of Bharadwaja muni, Sri Rama stayed happily at Chitrakoot with Sita and Lakshmana until Bharata arrived. Lord gave HIS padukas(sandals) to Bharata. Dhandakaaranyam (Dandaka forest where Sri Rama spent most of his exile is located in present day M.P., Chattisgarh,Maharashtra states, important places being Chitrakoot, Satna, Nagpur,Nasik Panchavati. Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:-

The following places are mentioned in Aranya Kaandam:-

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SARABHANGA ASHRAM :- on the way to Satna from Chitrakoot- takes about one day to visit this ashram and Suteekshana muni ashram as they are in forest. Auto charge for visiting this alone is Rs.2000/-.

SUTEEKSHANA MUNI ASHRAM:- present Satna. Difficult to locate. Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:-

AGASTYA MUNI ASHRAM/ RAM TEK:- 30 kms from Nagpur.- Sri Rama stayed here for sometime and took an oath to annihilate rakshasas and protect the rishis. Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:-

NASIK,PANCHAVATI:- in Maharashtra- the place where Sri Rama spent nearly 11 years of HIS exile, the place where he killed 14000 rakshasas headed by Kara,Dhooshana-the place where Surpanaka was disfigured and Sita was abducted by Ravana from this place.

TAKET(JATAYU MOKSHAM):- 60 kms from Nasik where Jatayu fought with Ravana and lost its life. Sri Rama performed last rites to the vulture for 10 days. Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:-

(To be visited by us in our second phase during Dassera holidays in Oct,2010)

The following places are mentioned in Kishkindha Kaandam:-

KISHKINDHA / HAMPI:- in Karnataka.-where Rama met Sugreeva, entered into friendship, killed Vali, crowned Sugreeva as king of Vaanaras, where Rama stayed with Lakshmana for four months during monsoon. Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:- Kishkinda Kandam

The following places are mentioned in Yuddha Kaandam:-

LAKSHMANA THEERTHA 120 kms from Mysore- where Lakshmana quenched the thirst of the vaanaras by bringing forth a waterfall by his arrow.

MAHENDRA GIRI / THIRUKURUNGUDI:- 40 kms from Tirunelveli- the place from where Hanuman leapt to go to Srilanka in search of Sitadevi.-the place from where Rama saw Srilanka. (Sundara Kaandam also refers to this place)

SETHUKARAI/THIRUPULLANI/RAMESWARAM:- Thirupullani is the place where Rama did saranagathi to the ocean to give way, where HE fasted for three days ; Sethukarai is the place from where a bridge was built across the

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ocean for the army to march towards Lanka, Nava paasham is the place where Rama performed puja to Navagrahas at Navapaasham and to Shiva at Rameswaram.

SRIRANGAM:- to worship Peria Perumal who took avatar as Sri Rama. This Perumal was the kula deivam of Ishvaku kings and was gifted to Vibhishana during Sri Ramapattabhishekam.

TIRUMALA:- It is our practice to end our trip at Tirumala and thank the Lord for making this trip happen.

SRI LANKA:- places referred in Sundara kandam to be visited during next summer. Relevant kaandam in Ramayanam:- Sundara Kandam, Yuddha Kandam

OUR TRAVELOGUE:-

INTRODUCTION:-Compared to our Krishna Anu Yaatirai , this one was more challenging because the places are scattered all over India and Nepal. We surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord and HIS foremost devotee, Sri Hanuman to make this trip successful. Undertook to recite 41st and 67th sargams from Sundarakandam daily and recited Valmiki Ramayanam starting on Sri Rama Navami and finishing it off with Sri Rama Pattabhishekam before we left. Sri Seetha ,Lakshmana, Hanumath sametha Sri Ramar graced us by entering our altar on the most auspicious day, SRI RAMA NAVAMI. We carried this Perumal to all the temples during our yaatirai, placed them in all the sannidhis, offered dry fruits as prasadam to the presiding dieties and shared with devotees back home. It is a coincidence that I have started writing this travelogue on SRI SEETHA NAVAMI i.e. 22nd May. May Jaganmatha bestow knowledge on me for writing my experiences.

After taking the blessings of our Thirumaligai Perumal and elders, we started our journey on 7th May,2010. Boarded Secunderabad-Gorakhpur Express at 0720 A.M. and the whole day was spent in the train listening to kirtans/ Velukudi Swamin’s discourse on Kamba Ramayanam/ reading Ramayanam and other spiritual books. The train was scheduled to reach Kanpur at 0815 the next day but was late by 90 minutes . We reached Kanpur at 1030 A.M. In the train, we happened to meet some devotees from Hyderabad who were going to Muktinath based on our travelogue on Salagramam. When they shared their experience of reading our travelogue, tears welled up my eyes as I was grateful to the Lord who made this happen .

The pictures along with captions related to this trip can be viewed from Picasa.

Details of our train journey:-

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Date Train Name From To Base Places visited07/05/10 Gorakhpur Exp Secunderabad Kanpur Kanpur Bittoor 08/05/10 Sabarmati Exp Kanpur Ayodhya Ayodhya Ayodhya10/05/10 Mathura Patna

ExpAyodhya Buxar Buxar In Buxar -Tataka

van, Siddhasram, Kamasram at Balliya, Ahalya ashram at Ahroli, Gautamasthan near Chapra, Gajendra moksham at Sonepur, Ram chouda at Hajipur (Sonepur and Hajipur can be accessed from Patna also)

12/05/10 Lichhavi exp Hajipur Sitamarhi Sitamarhi Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Dhanusha,Kamtaul

13/05/10 Lichavi exp Sitamarhi Allahabad Allahabad Prayag, Srungaberipuram, Chitrakut

16/05/10 SC Patna exp Satna Nagpur Nagpur Ramtek17/05/10 Sewagram exp Nagpur Nasik Nasik Nasik,Panchavati,

Taket19/05/10 Manmad exp Manmad Sec Tour ends

By Lord’s grace, we we could finish the first phase of the yaatirai covering Northern, North Eastern and Central India successfully and pray Almighty for completion of the remaining two phases at the earliest.

BITTOOR/ KANPUR:-

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Date 08th May,2010Places visited Bittoor – 30 kms from Kanpur Central on Kannauj RoadBase KanpurWhere to stay At any decent hotel in Kanpur/ ISKCON, Kanpur

In case u r leaving on the same day, no accommodation is required. U can proceed to Bittoor for having bath in Ganges and visit the temples.(Mimimum facility for change over is available)

Temple details Valmiki Ashram, Luv-Kusha, Sita-Rama temples, place where the Aswamdesh horse was tied, Sita Rasoi, Sita Paathal Pravesh sthal, Dhruva Teela, Brahmavrat theertham –All these temples are within a radius of max.4 kms.

Holy theertham Brahmavrat theertham in River GangesTime Required max.4 hoursHow to reach Autos and cars are available from Kanpur Central. Auto charge

Rs.300-400/-; cars: Rs.800/- (in UP and Bihar, the drivers quote their charges, petrol/diesel charges, permit charges etc separately. So, while fixing, one needs to be very specific that the charges are inclusive of everything. )

Importance of this place connected with Ramayana

The great epic”Ramayana” was written by Valmiki Maharishi at this place.

The twin sons of SriRama-Lava and Kusha were born here. Mahalakshmi Thayar who manifested as “Sitadevi”

ascended to Vaikuntam from this place after handing over HER sons Lava and Kusha to Sri Rama

Brahma who emerged from the lotus navel of the Lord meditated upon the Lord, undertook the assigned job of creation starting from Swayambhu Manu from this place. This is the first created place by Brahma. Hence this place is known as “Brahmavrat kshetram” , the reference of this place can be found at many places in Srimad Bhagavatam.

Dhruva did penance for 6 months at the tender age of 5 and had Perumal’s darshan at this place. (The same incident is referred at Mathura too )

BITTOOR :- DETAILS OF TEMPLES AND HOLY PLACES

BRAHMAVRAT THEERTH/TEMPLE:-

Brahma, the first created Being, who emerged from the lotus navel of Perumal was assigned the task of creating the world as per Lord’s instructions.

Brahma with his powers summoned Ganges to appear at this place before starting his job of creation. Hence it is known as Brahmavrat theerth and is considered to be the holiest .

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There are only two temples dedicated to Brahma-one is at Pushkar –(the place where lotus fell from Brahma’s hand which we happened to visit last year where the four-faced Brahma is worshipped in idol form )and the other place is at Bittoor.

Brahma started creation starting from Swayambhu Manu whose descendant was Dhruva(grandson of Swayambhu manu and son of Utttanapada)

This place is considered to be the center of the world. Regular puja is offered to Brahma’s Thiruvadi at this place. There is no separate idol for Brahma. These details are displayed on a board near the sannidhi.

DHRUVA TEELA:- There is a temple dedicated to Dhruva known as “Dhruva Teela” approximately 2

kms from Brahmavrath theerth. Dhruva, the son of Uttanapada and grandson of Swayambhu Manu was a great

child devotee who was blessed with Perumal’s vision at the tender age of five. The intensity of his penance is vividly described in the fourth Canto of Srimad

Bhagavatam. He did penance for six months and intensified to such an extent that he withheld his breath which made the world suffocate. He was so much engrossed in meditating the Lord’s form as described by Narada rishi that he was not even aware of Perumal’s appearance. Dhruva ‘s joy knew no bounds when he saw the Lord of all worlds standing in front of him as Sankhu Chakra Gadha dhaari(holding Sanchku,Chakram, Gadham and padmam ) and fell prostrated at the Lotus feet of the Lord. He became speechless beholding the wonderful roopam of the Lord and when the Lord touched his chin with Panchajanyam, the holy conch, he was englightened. Dhruva glorified the Lord known as “Dhruva Sthuthi”. He was blessed by Perumal to rule over the world and then occupy a prominent place in Surya Mandalam as “Dhruva Nakshatiram”- a position which was not given to anyone. Dhruva repented that he didn’t ask for liberation. As instructed by the Lord, he ruled the kingdom for thousands of years and finally attained the topmost position allotted by the Lord. Even today, he is seen as a bright star. There is a sannidhi for this ardent devotee of the Lord . Prayed to him for bestowing Hari bhakti on us .

In the temple premises, there is a jeeva 10samadhi of a renowned North Indian Saint.

LAVA-KUSHA MANDIR:- The birth place of Lava and Kusha, the heroic twin sons of Sri Rama is about 1 km from Dhruva Teela. This temple complex houses all the important temples related to Ramayana. –Lava Kusha temple, Sita-Ram mandir, Hanuman mandir, Valmiki rishi ashram, Sita Rasoi, Sita Paatal Pravesh.

The main sannidhi houses the vigrahams of Sita Piratti with Luva and Kusha on either sides. On the right side, there is a sannidhi for Ram,Sita,Lakshman and Hanuman. Opposite to this sannidhi is the shrine for “Bandhey Hanuman” facing south. Hanuman is named so because he was tied by Luva and Kusha.

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VALMIKI ASHRAM:- There is a small shrine for Valmiki rishi who had written the Ramayanam. A small Shivalinga is placed in front of the rishi. STORY OF VALMIKI RISHI:- Prior to his transformation, he was an illiterate hunter who committed innumerable sins by waylaying travelers and looting their wealth. It so happened that saptarishis were passing through that way and were stopped by this hunter. When he threatened them to part with whatever they had, they parted with the imperishable knowledge and advised him to abstain from these activities as he was accumulating innumerable sins. He was justifying his act that he was taking care of his family. When the rishis asked him to find out from his family whether they would share his sins, he bound the saptarishis to a tree and left the place to find out his family ‘s intentions in sharing sins.

Wisdom dawned on him when they replied negatively saying that it was his duty to take care of them and were not prepared to get bound by his sins. He immediately rushed back to the saptarishis repenting for all his misdeeds and asked for forgiveness. As he could not even pronounce properly, the compassionate rishis pointed towards a tree and instructed him to keep on uttering “MA RA” (which means tree) till they returned. Thus unknowingly, he was uttering “RA MA” , the most auspicious name as proclaimed by Shiva in Vishnu Sahasranamam and gained enlightenment.

In due course of time, an ant hill had grown over him . The saptarishis sprinkled holy water and there emerged an effulgent enlightened person from the ant hill who was none other than Valmiki rishi. Thus the worst sinner was turned into a great devotee by the grace of “RAMA “ naamam.

When Sage Narada visited Valmiki ashram, the rishi listed 16 qualities and was inquisitive to know whether any person existed with all these qualities and Narada replied in the affirmative citing Rama, the Emperor of Ayodhya who was presently ruling the world. Sage Narada conceded the rishi’s request and narrated the life history of Sri Rama and left the place. The rishi kept pondering over Sri Rama’s Kalyana gunam and was thus delayed for doing his afternoon sandhyavandanam. As he was getting late, he hastily went to Tamasa River which was flowing near his hermitage along with his disciple, Bharadwaja rishi to perform his duties. At that time, he saw two krounja birds sitting on a tree merrily . At that time , a hunter shot an arrow which killed the male bird instantaneously and left the female bird in inconsolable deep sorrow. Valmiki rishi cursed the hunter for this deed and left the place . He however could not reconcile with himself as to why he lost his cool for such a small incident and was regretting for the curse. At that time, Brahma appeared and said that it was not a curse but indeed a mangala slokam. He split the words and highlighted the meaning to the rishi and pacified him. He blessed the rishi that due to God’s grace, the rishi would be able to watch all the incidents in Sri Rama’s life and write down Ramayana in the same meter which would be glorified until the rivers flow and Himalayas existed. Thus the great epic Ramayana was born.

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LAVA KUSHA JANMASTHAL:- The main garbagriham contains Sita Devi accompanied by Lava and Kusha in standing posture. On the right side , is Sita-Ramar sannidhi which is denoted as the birth place of Lava and Kusha.

STORY OF LAVA-KUSHA BIRTH:- After returning from exile, Sri Ramachandra ruled over the kingdom justly for many thousands of years. When Sita Maatha was pregnant, she expressed her deep desire to reside in the forest to be associated with the rishis. Sri Rama was waiting for an opportunity as HE could not send the queen without proper reason. Providence had its own plans. A loose comment by a dhobi about Sita Devi’s chastity made Sri Rama abandon Sita even though HE knew about HER chastity. The kings in those days gave value to even fools’ words. Lakshmana was ordered to leave pregnant Sita in a forest on the banks of Ganges. Valmiki rishi who saw the Jaganmatha’s plight with his vision approached Sita Devi and requested HER to stay in his hermitage. In due course of time, Sita Devi gave birth to twins-Lava and Kusha and continued to stay in this hermitage till SHE departed.

Lava and Kusha were brought up by Valmiki rishi without mentioning the details of their parents including their mother’s name. He taught them all arts and also Ramayana which he had composed. The children spread the fame of Rama worldwide by reciting this composition which was applauded everywhere. In the course of their tour, they visited Ayodhya and had the opportunity to sing Ramayanam in the presence of Sri Rama who appreciated them .

During Sri Rama’s Aswamedha yaagam, the sacrifical horse was let loose to roam about freely. When it reached this place, Lava and Kusha tied the horse and challenged all the warriors including Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatruguna, Hanuman and defeated them till Sri Rama intervened. Valmiki rishi intervened and introduced the boys to SriRama as HIS sons and stopped the fight. Today there are sannidhis for Sita Devi along with HER sons, Sita-Ram sannidhi and Bandhey Hanuman sannidhi. (As Hanuman was bound by rope, he is known as “BANDHEY HANUMAN”.

SITA PAATAL PRAVESH:- As Sitadevi had handed over the sons to Sri Rama, she felt that all her duties were completed and decided to end HER incarnation. Sita Devi prayed the earth to accept HER back (as SHE was born as an ayonija from the birth). The earth quaked and Sitadevi disappeared into the bowels of the earth. This place is located in the temple premises by a 1 X 1 pit named as “SITA PAATAL PRAVESH”. At that time, Sri Rama tried to stop HER by pulling HER hair which has now grown as Kusa grass near “Sita Paatal Pravesh”.

RAM STUPA:- Near “Sita Paathal Pravesh”, we find “Ram Stoopa” which was built by Chinna Jeeyar Swamy on which 100 important slokas from Valmiki Ramayana are inscribed in Hindi.

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“SITA RASOI” is a small room which was used as kitchen by Sita Devi. This is located opposite to Valmiki rishi sannidhi.

OUR EXPERIENCE AT BITTOOR

We reached Kanpur at 1030 hours . Went to check the status of our onward journey ticket from Kanpur to Ayodhya which was waitlisted since 3 months. Luckily all the tickets had got confirmed. Hired Wagon R for Rs.800/- (including petrol charges) to visit Bittoor. We decided to have bath in Tamasa River as it was where Valmiki rishi cursed the hunter which became the introductory sloka of Ramayana. We were informed that presently there is no separate Tamasa river as it has merged with Ganges in course of time. Hence we went to Brahmavrat theerth, the most important place in Bittoor.

After parking the car, we went past small shops selling various items like water cans, bangles, pooja items and reached the archway entrance to the theerth. We could see pilgrims offering special puja amidst recitation of some mantras by the local pundas (priests) . As the banks of Ganges was crowded, we decided to take a boat for Rs.20/- to cross over and go to the other bank which was less crowded. Ganges was in full flow at Brahmavrat theerth.

Returned to offer prayers to Brahma in his temple which is located on the main bank. A pujari made us do sankalpem , uttered some mantras, pointing to Brahma’s toe (looks like 2 inch nail like projection) narrated the importance of this place which is briefly mentioned below:- After offering the necessary dakshinai to the priest, we left the place after taking few photographs.took some photographs and left the place..

Driving past narrow and steep road for about 2 kms, we reached Dhruva Teela – the place where Dhruva meditated on the Lord by uttering the mantra”OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYAH” as instructed by Sage Narada. We visited the Jeeva Samadhi of the North Indian saint.

Next we went to Lava-Kusha Mandir. There are three sannidhis . In the centre is the sannidhi for Sita, Lava and Kusha,; to its right is Lava-Kusha Janmasthal where the idols of Sita, Ramar,Lakshmana and Hanuman along with Lava and Kusha are being worshipped. Opposite to this sannidhi, is Bandhey Hanuman’s sannidi. Recited the introductory chapter in Ramayanam describing the origin of Valmiki Ramayanam and did kirtan of 108 Nama Ramayanam. The Hanuman temple priest gave us kankanams which we tied around our wrists praying for successful completion of the yaatirai.

We then went to Valmiki ashram which is on the right side. The priest narrated Valmiki rishi’s story. With a prayer to make us understand the deeper meanings of the great epic as expounded by our Azhwars and Purvacharyars, we left the place. Opposite to this sannidhi is Sita Rasoi and nearby is Sita Paatal Pravesh and Ram Stupa.

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To recapitulate the incident showing Lava-Kusha’s prowess, the temple management have constructed a beautiful fountain , in the centre we can see replica of horse tied, Hanuman tied at one place while Lava and kusha stand there. This is in the garden adjoining the temple.

Having visited all the important places in Bittoor, we left the place around 1400 hours. On the way, the driver took us to a Sai Baba Temple which is very famous in Bittoor. Considering SaiBaba as one of the Lord’s messengers in Kaliyuga, we visited the temple.

It was Lord Krishna’s will that made us look at a signboard pointing towards ISKCON, Kanpur. This is located on Bittoor road and is exactly in the midway from Kanpur to Bittoor. Construction work is going on in a grand way. The temple is situated in a vast area of land. We introduced ourselves as Life Members of ISKCON, Secunderabad and were waiting for darshan. Meantime, the temple authorities offered us “Raj Bhog” prasadam –the one that is offered to the Lord-a variety of dishes and sweets. After partaking the prashad, the chief priest took us to “GOSHAALA”(cow shed). We were surprised to find the priest addressing each cow by its name and enquiring affectionately. He demonstrated that only Krishna Conscious people can extend the same affection towards humans and animals. Remarkable indeed!!! Donated some money for the purpose and were waiting for the curtains to be drawn when another miracle happened. H.H.Sarvabhauma Swami entered the temple and was about to start his discourse on Srimad Bhagavatam. We used to watch him on Star TV delivering discourses few years back and today we got the opportunity to see him directly. We felt ourselves to be blessed . We offered our pranaams and introduced ourselves. He was excited to know about our yatra and blessed us.

When the temple curtains were drawn open ,we had darshan of the enchanting form of the presiding diety RADHA-MADHAV . Added to our surprise was the utsava murthis of Sri Rama,Sita,Lakshmana and Hanuman along with other regular utsava murthis.. We felt that Lord was giving darshan in both the forms as Rama and Krishna. This aarthi and kirtan was followed by Sarvabhauma Prabh’s lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam. After having darshan of the Lordships to our heart’s content, we left the place with a prayer to revisit Bittoor by staying at ISKCON guest house.

Reached Kanpur by 1800 hours and waiting for our connecting train to Ayodhya. Boarded Sabarmati Exprss at 0015 hours (the train was late by 45 minutes. Reached Ayodhya at 0500 hours on 09/05/10.

JAI SITA RAM

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AYODHYA, NANDIGRAMAM, PURVACHAKIYA:-

Date 09th May,2010Places to be visited Temples in and around Ayodhya, Nandigram, Gupthar Ghat,

Srungaberipuram(this can be accessed from Allahabad)

Base Ayodhya

Where to stay Hotel Saket run by UP Tourism/ Birla Dharmashala/ Manas Bhavan/ any other dharmashala/ Railway retiring rooms - (Power cut is very common in UP and Bihar. To check with the hotel for inverter/generator)

Temple details In Ayodhya:- Ram Janma bhoomi, Kanak Bhavan, Hanuman Gaddi, Dasaratha palace, Kausalya palace, Ram ghat, Lakshman ghat Surya Kund, Treta ka Thakur and various other temples

Outskirts of Ayodhya:- Gupthar Ghat in Faizabad (30 mts .drive), Valmiki Bhavan near Guptar Ghat Nandigram 20 kms south east of Ayodhya- Bharat temple, Bharat kund, (old and new) Purva Chakiya 4 kms from Nandigram

Holy theertham River Saruyu, Gupthar Ghat, Ram ghat

Time Required 1 day to visit important places, 2 days to visit leisurely all the temples

How to reach Faizabad trains stop at Ayodhya

Importance of this place connected with Ramayana

This is the birth place of Sri Rama. It was from here that SriRama ruled the earth for 11000 years and left for Vaikuntam from here. Ayodhya is considered as the foremost of the seven mukthi tharum kshetrams(Mukti kshetrams).

A bath at Gupthar Ghat ensures moksham as Sri Rama gave Vaikuntam to all the animate and inanimate things in Ayodhya

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Places visited by us

Guptar Ghat, Sri Ram mandir near Gupthar Ghat, Nandigram(Bharat temples-old and new), Bharat Kund, Bharat Ram milap, Purva Chakiya on the banks of River Tamasa, Surya Kund, Ram Janma bhoomi, Hanuman Gaddi, Kanak Bhavan, Ammaji mandir, Manas Bhavan

DETAILS OF TEMPLES AND HOLY PLACES IN AND AROUND AYODHYA

DASARATHA PALACE,PUTRAKAMESHTI YAGAM : This is near Ram Janma Bhoomi. There is a shrine for Dasaratha’s family and a homa kunda shown as the place where yaaga was conducted.

RAM JANMA BHOOMI MANDIR :- This mandir closes by 6 P.M. The vehicle stopped near Birla Dharamashala and we have to walk about 2 kms to reach this place. This is the birth place of Sri Rama. For centuries, Perumal was worshipped at this place. Later , due to Kali pravaham, Babri Masjid was built in this place in the 16th century and was demolished about 20 years ago which led to communal unrest across the country.

KANAK BHAVAN :- This is about half a kilometer from Janma Bhoomi. This is Sita-Ramar’s palace. As the sanctum was decorated with gold, it is known as “Kanak” Bhavan. There are 3 murthis of Sita-Ramar. Bharata along with his wife, Mandavi and Lakshmana , Shatruguna( without their wives)are placed in the second row of Sita-Ramar’s vigraham. In the outer prakaram of the temple, there is a stone with Sri Rama’s thiruvadi carved on it. This is supposed to be the place from where Sri Ramar left for forest. Circumbulated around it and left the place.

RAM GHAT :- This is about 2 kms from Janma bhoomi. Sri Rama used to bathe in Rive Saruyu at this place. Hence known as Ram ghat.

LAKSHMAN GHAT :- Lakshman is supposed to have bath daily and a temple for him nearby. This is near Ram Ghat

HANUMAN GHADDI :- A famous temple for Lord Hanuman on a hillock. There are about 76 steps to reach the main shrine. Hanuman is seen with anjana devi , his mother. Hanuman stayed at this place when he visited Ayodhya. Even today it is believed that Hanuman resolves the devotee’s problems at this shrine.

OTHER TEMPLES :- There are also temples dedicated to Sugreeva and others marking their visit to Ayodhya. There are hundreds of temples in Ayodhya which can be visited if the stay is prolonged for a week.

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SURYA KUND :- As Surya, the Sun God who is the presiding diety of Ishvakus, did penance at this place , this kund /pond is known by this name. This kund looks similar to the Surya kund at Kurukshetra. Having bath during eclipse is considered to be very beneficial. Nearby there is SuryaNarayana temple. This is in Ayodhya.

MANI PARBAT :- Mani Parbat”is a famous temple for Sita-Ram in Ayodhya . Heaps of jewellery given by King Janaka during Sita Devi’s wedding were kept at this place. Hence known as “Mani Parbat”. (In Janakpur, it was kept at “Ratna Sagar” and in Ayodhya at “Mani Parbat”.

MANAS BHAVAN :- This is one of the famous dharmashaalas in Ayodhya.

PLACES AROUND AYODHYA:-

GUPTHAR GHAT :- This is located 20 kms from Ayodhya in Faizabad. “Gupthar” means disappearance. When Lord Rama decided to finish HIS incarnation, all animate and inanimate beings in Ayodhya followed Perumal and were granted moksham. As Perumal walked into River Saruyu at this place and disappeared,it is known as Gupthar ghat. Lakshmana, who was an avatar of Adisesha left before Perumal by walking into Saruyu river at Lakshmana Ghat. Having bath at this spot is considered to be very auspicious as it grants Vaikuntam. There is a sannidhi for Sita-Ramar on the banks of Gupthar Ghat . There is a temple dedicated to Sita-Ramar at this place. The Ghat is well constructed with provisions for changing clothes.

OTHER TEMPLES :- Hariji,Chakraji , Valmiki Mandir which are near Gupthar Ghat are other important temples.

TEMPLES IN AND AROUND NANDIGRAM:-

Nandigram is situated 20 kms south east of Ayodhya and 16 kms from Guptar Ghat. It was from here that Bharata ruled the kingdom for 14 years on behalf of Sri Rama . Important temples in Nandigram are Bharat Milap Mandir(old an new), Bharat-Ram Milap mandir, Bharat Gufa, Bharat Kund, 27 theerthas, Purva Chakiya near Nandigram.

Bharata was an embodiment of virtue. Velukudi Swami explains Rama bhakti of all the 3 brothers in his discourse on Kamba Ramayana. He says Lakshmana was an embodiment of “Dasa bhakti” as he was always serving Rama , Bharata did saranagathi demonstrating how a surrendered soul should behave with the Lord having utmost faith on the Lord, and Shatruguna demonstrated “Bhagavata bhakti” as he was constantly serving Bharata, the greatest Bhagavatha(devotee) of the Lord.

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Bharata was adept in Dharma like Sri Rama. He could have ruled the world if he wanted to but he preferred to be “Rama Daasa”- servant of Rama. The priest referred to Kaikeyi’s efforts in getting the kingdom for Bharata . He rejected the fortune bestowed on him of ruling the kingdom and preferred to be servant of Rama . Even when the ministers and elders including his preceptor,Sage Vasishta persuaded him , he didn’t accept the throne and decided to bring Sri Rama back to Ayodhya.

He convinced Kausalya that he was innocent and was not aware of his mother’s plans by pronouncing that he would suffer from various types of hellish punishments if he was part of Kaikeyi’s plan. Because of Kaikeyi’s character, Bharata was doubted by everyone including Guha and Bharadwaja rishi. When he learnt from Guha that Sri Rama had tied jada mudi (like ascetics), he immediately tied the jada mudi and Shatruguna followed suit. When Guha showed him the place where Sri Rama rested, he fell on the ground and cried inconsolably blaming himself for Sri Rama’s fate. He neither ate nor slept during Rama’s exile. He self-imposed punishment on him and during the 14 years, he didn’t enter Ayodya. Such was the bhakti of Bharata. He demonstrated how a saranagathan(one who has taken shelter at Lord’s feet) should behave. He did what was instructed by Sri Rama and never disobeyed or back-answered him. Aidyen is incompetent to describe Bharata’s qualities…..

IMPORTANCE OF THIS PLACE:- It is well known that Bharata approached SriRama at Chitrakoot accompanied by rishis, priests, queens and citizens of Ayodhya and pleaded Sri Rama to accept the throne. As Sri Rama was very firm in fulfilling HIS father’s promise, HE refused to return to Ayodhya. Bharata decided to end his life by fasting unto death by lying on a kusa grass in front of Rama with a vow to fast unto death but was stopped by Sri Rama. Bharata did saranagathi to Sri Rama and prayed the Lord to give HIS padukas(sandals) to be kept on the throne and declared that he would act as Lord’s representative for 14 years . He also took a vow to end his life on the first day of the beginning of the 15th year in case Sri Rama failed to return. Such was his bhakti. Though the kingdom was given to him, he simply discarded it and preferred to be Lord’s servant. He ruled Ayodhya on behalf of Sri Rama from Nandigramam efficiently adding enough wealth to the Treasury

All glories to Bharata!!!!. This incident moves even a stone-hearted person like me with Rama bhakti.

BHARAT MILAP MANDIR :- There are two temples for Bharata at Nandigram- old temple and new temple in different premises. Both the temples have sannidhi for Bharata with Rama paduka , Bharat gufa(where he stayed), Hanuman sannidhis.

OLD BHARAT MILAP MANDIR:- The temple complex of Old Bharat Milap Mandir houses Bharat Gufa on the left, Hanuman sannidhi on the right and in the main shrine, a small vigraham of Bharata in meditative posture is seen. In front of this idol is the Rama

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Paaduka. Here Ram charitra Manas is chanted throughout the day. There is a photograph of Bharat and Hanuman hugging each other.

BHARATA’S SANNIDHI IN NEW BHARAT MILAP MANDIR :- This is located near the old temple itself.Bharat Gufa, Hanuman sannidhi and Bharata’s sannidhi are in the basement while Bharat-Hanuman Milap mandir is on the ground floor. A narrow staircase to the basement led us to the three shrines. There is a big idol of Bharata in meditative posture. When lights are put off, we can observe chandran(crescent moon on Bharata’s forehead ) thus resembling Shiva. Opposite to this sannidhi, the padukas of Sri Rama are placed along with few saalagramams with a photo of Sri Rama pattabhishekam. These salagramam murthis are of very rare kind and can be found in only 4 places, one among them is Tirumala.

GIREY HANUMAN MANDIR: IN NEW TEMPLE- On the left side is “Girey Hanuman” sannidhi. “Girey” means hurt. As Hanuman was hurt by an arrow shot by Bharata while he was carrying Sanjeevini mountain to Srilanka to rescue Lakshmana, he is known thus. Bharata mistook his huge figure to be some rakshasa and shot an arrow . Hanuman was hurt in his left knee as a result of which his speed reduced and was falling down uttering “JAI SITA RAM”. Hearing this, Bharata reiterated , the rishis intervened and saw that there was no fight between two Rama bhaktas. They blessed Hanuman to continue with his flight . This incident is mentioned in RamCharitra Manas and also Valmiki Ramayana. Another interesting feature is when lights are on, Hanuman is in calm mood and when lights are put off, he looks ferocious in dark.

BHARAT MILAP MANDIR (NEW) :-The idol of Bharata and Hanuman , the two great devotees of Rama, hugging each other looks full of life. After defeating Ravana and rescuing Sita Devi, SriRama along with Vibhishana, Sugreeva and other vanaras started HIS journey on Pushpaka Vimanam to Ayodhya. The Lord stopped at Bharadwaja ashram to pay respects to the muni. The rishi requested Sri Rama to stay there for a night and proceed in the morning and Sri Rama was compelled to stay back but was worried about Bharata. Bharata had earlier vowed that in case he doesn’t have Sri Rama’s darshan on the 1st day of the beginning of 15th year, he would end his life. The Lord summoned Hanuman , who is “Prana dhaata” to go to Nandigram and convey the message of HIS arrival to Bharata who would be eagerly awaiting to receive HIM.

As predicted, Bharata had lit the pyre and was circumbulating it before jumping into it. Hanuman who saw this from sky started glorifying Sri Rama and thus stopped Bharata from the dreadful act. He alighted on the ground, introduced himself to Bharata and both of them hugged each other. This incident is beautifully depicted in this temple.

PURVA CHAKIYA :- This is the place where Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana along with Sumantara spent their first night of exile on the banks of River Tamasa. They were followed by the citizens of Ayodhya. The citizens of ayodhya were persuading Sri Rama

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to return to Ayodhya but Sri Rama was keen in fulfilling HIS father’s promise. While the citizens were asleep, Sri Rama instructed Sumantara to leave the chariot imprints towards ayodhya so that the people would believe that Sri Rama had gone back. After fulfilling Sri Rama’s commands, Sumantara drove Sri Rama towards south . The citizens saw the chariot marks and thought that Sri Rama might have returned to Ayodhya and returned back.

This is approximately 3 kms from Bharat Mandir in a very narrow lane in a field. One has to walk across the fields over a single foot narrow path for about 10 minutes and reach the spot . A stone is laid as a mark of River Tamasa where Sita Rama rested. Tamasa river flows nearby but the water has almost dried up. Earlier that place used to be full of water but in course of time, the river has almost completely dried up. There is no temple. Buses cannot go there. One has to go by foot to find the stone marked about Sri Rama’s stay.

BHARATH KUND::-This is about half a kilometer from Bharat Mandir. This kund is full of lotus flowers. During his stay at Nandigramam, Bharat used to have bath in River Saruyu at this place before sunrise.

SRIRAM-BHARAT MILAP MANDIR:- This temple is near Bharat Kund and was closed. As the name suggests, Sri Rama met Bharata at this place. It was here that Sri Rama and his brothers shaved off their jadaimudis . It is mentioned in the Pattabhishekam sargam in Yuddha kaandam, that Shatruguna summoned efficient barbers to shave off the jadamudis of all the 4 brothers, had mangala snaanam and were decorated with royal costumes at this place. Kausalya decorated Sita devi with the best of ornaments and clothes and all of them proceeded to Ayodhya from this place. Sri Rama and Sita were seated in the chariot, Bharata seated beside Sumantara was holding the reins of the chariot, Lakshmana and Vibishana were fanning the Lord while Shatruguna was holding the royal white umbrella and the vaanaras were following them. Brahmins reciting Swasthi vachanams were going in the front , mangala vaadiyam accompanied by songs and dance were displayed, the streets and houses all through the way were decorated with flowers and lamp welcoming Sri Rama.

27 THEERTHAS:- Near Bharat mandir, there is another place where Bharata used to meditate sitting under a banyan tree. The speciality of this tree is that the roots do not touch the ground, they get absorbed into the tree. There is a small well near the tree which contains 27 punya theerthas. Persons who have malefic stars like moolam etc., get relief by taking bath from this theertham.

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OUR EXPERIENCE IN AYODHYA:- We reached Ayodhya at 0500 hours on 09th

May,2010. Checked in one of the AC rooms at Hotel Saket run by U.P.Tourism for Rs.650/-which is very near station.(Tariff –for AC rooms-Rs.650/-; For air cooled rooms –Rs.350/-; for ordinary triple bed rooms-Rs.300/-- As only AC rooms have inverter provision, it is preferable to go for the same due to the frequent power cuts. With the help of the receptionist, finalised a seven seater auto to visit all the holy places in and around Ayodhya for Rs.1,200/- .

Left at 0630 to Gupthar Ghat. Adiyen wanted to start the yatra from Ram Janma bhoomi, the birth place of Sri Rama . But the auto driver opined that it would be crowded during morning hours and would take minimum 2 hours to have darshan. As we had to cover distant places within our time frame, he suggested us to visit Guptar Ghat, Nandigram, Purva Chakiya so that the remaining local temples can be visited in the evening till late in the night. Adiyen had to compromise on this. Instead of visiting the birth place, Adiyen started with the place of disappearance . Maybe it was Lord’s will to start from here as Gomadam Swami pointed out that only few lucky devotees who know the importance of Guptar Ghat come here to have bath whereas most of them have bath in Ayodhya and was thus convinced.

Driving past the military areas in Faizabad, we reached Gupthar Ghat in half an hour’s time. River Saruyu also known as River Gargha was in full flow. All of us had holy dip in Saruyu and offered oblations . Nearby there is a Ramar temple where we installed our dieties and offered dry fruits as neivedyam. We recited our daily parayanam of Sundara kaandam. We happened to meet Sri Gomadam Swami , a descendant of Manavala Maamunigal, along with 100 devotees at the ghat. Swami was praising us for having chosen this place though we did it unknowingly. They were on a pilgrimage to Muktinath and halted at Ayodhya for a day . Swami highlighted the sanctity of this place by citing Nammazhwar’s pasuram,”Karpaar Ramapiraaan…..”(Thiruvaimozhi 7-5-1). Few devotees from the group joined us in singing ‘”108 Nama Ramayanam” and it was a memorable experience. We were invited to listen to Swami’s discourse on Ramayana in the evening. As we had to visit far off places, we missed Gupt Harji and Chakra Harji temples near the ghat.

On the way, had breakfast and proceeded to Nandigram, the place from where Bharata ruled the kingdom on Sri Rama’s behalf. Visited old temple and new temple. In the old temple, there are shrines for Hanuman and Bharata, Bharat Gufa , When we visited the old temple, Bharata was being glorified by recitation of verses from Ram Charitra Manas. The priest placed our Perumal in the altar and offered prashad to the deities . We then entered a small cave , known as “Bharat Gufa” in the old temple premises. we climbed down about 5 steps and found a small vigraham of Bharata beside which Rama’s padukas were placed.

From there we went to the new Bharat temple located nearby. Abhishekam (Thirumanjanam-holy bath) was being performed for Bharata. This idol is bigger than the one in the old temple. An old priest was performing abhishekam while adiyen had the opportunity to recite Pancha Sukthams. The priest showed us Rama paduka,

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salagrama murthis and Hanuman. After having theertha prasadam, the priest took us to the ground floor in which “Bharat Milap mandir” is constructed. The vigrahams of Bharata and Hanuman hugging each other was mind blowing. After having thirumanjana theertham (5 types) of all the deities, we took few photographs with the priest who looks ever jubilant and is in bliss. He blessed us and gave me some “poonals” . We wondered at the dedication of the old priest in performing elaborate thirumanjanam to all the deities daily. He requested us to print some pamphlets in Telugu to be given to the visiting devotees . ( Adiyen took it as an opportunity to do Rama kainkaryam and got around 2000 pamphlets printed and sent the same to Nandigram). We then visited Purva Chakiya.

While browsing Adiyen came across an information about Sri Rama’s first night stay during exile known as “Purva Chakiya”. This is located 20 kms south of Ayodhya . From Nandigram, there is a short cut to this place. Adiyen could not gather any other info because this place was not visited by Rama anu yathirai Bhagavatas earlier. No one in Ayodhya from whom we enquired were able to tell the exact location. The auto driver played his part in helping us . Luckily, outside the temple, a person whom he introduced himself as watch-man said that he knew the location and agreed to show us the location.

Crossing fields through a narrow pathway, we reached the spot. A stone is laid in remembrance of Sri Rama’s stay on the banks of Tamasa. There is no temple. Tamasa has almost dried up . it is only like a stream. Vehicles cannot go to that place. Anyway, the adventure was worth it. The auto driver was surprised to know about this place as he was not aware of it. We dropped back our guide, thanked him profusely, bought 2 Vyjayanthi maalas which he was selling and left the place with the contentment that it was Hanuman who guided us. We visited Bharat Kund, the place where Bharata used to have bath and visited the nearby Bharat Ram milap mandir. The temple was closed. Sri Rama, Lakshmana,Bharata and Shatruguna shaved off their jada-mudi after 14 years at this place, removed their ascetic costumes and dressed like princes at this place and reached Ayodhya for Sri Rama’s coronation along with their mothers, Vibishana, Sugreeva and other vaanaras followed by the citizens of Ayodhya.

The driver took us to a garden nearby saying that Bharata used to do meditate at this place. Nearby there is a well where 27 kinds of theerthas from holy rivers are present. The priest who was present there, drew some water and asked us to drink it citing its significance (it removes malefic effects). Collected the water in a bottle to share it with everyone.

As it was past 2 P.M., we drove back to hotel to have lunch. After relaxing for about 2 hours, we resumed our journey at 4 P.M. The driver took us to Ram Janma bhoomi. Due to security reasons, the auto stopped near Birla Dharmashaala , about 2 kms to Ram Janma bhoomi. The entire area of 2 kms is surrounded by security and fencing all around. On the way, we visited the site of Putra Kameshti yaagam . As we had visited this place during our previous trip, we gave a skip .

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Ram Janma Bhoomi area is still in ruins and is highly protected. Compared to our last visit, we found that security has been tightened manifold due to increase in terrorism. We were informed that 3 years ago, few anti-social elements entered the city with grenades but the monkeys who are ever alert in Ayodhya spoiled their attempts. We were frisked at 6 places. We cannot carry anything except money purse which is also checked. Mobiles and camera are strictly prohibited. Not even offerings!!! The only offering that we can take along is “OUR HEART”. Monkeys don’t allow you to carry anything. Adiyen was stopped by security for carrying my japa maala bag with me. After convincing the security, I entered with the bag but the Thiruchanur (tirumala)kumkum packet which was in the bag, was removed. I prayed to Lord that I wanted to have HIS darshan with the bead bag as I had placed the idols also in the bag.( I put a self-test that if I was allowed to carry the bag, then grace would definitely flow on me and passed the test successfully). Seeing my attire and continuous chanting, I was let in. The monkeys were staring at my bead bag ,probably they mistook it to be some eatable. Passing through the strong fencing, we finally reached the place. We could have darshan of the small vigrahams of Sita , Rama along with Lakshmana and Hanuman from about 100 metres and not even supposed to stand for long. After having theertha prasadam, we left the place immediately. It was pathetic to see the birth place of the Supreme Lord in that condition.

On our way to darshan, we saw a cow doing pradakshinam (going about in circular path), lifting its head facing the temple and continuing to do the rounds. One of the security persons pointed towards the cow and informed that every day the cow does 108 parikramas , lifts its head when it faces the shrine of the Lord and continues with the rounds. It has been doing this daily thrice for the past 8 years. This person keeps track of the parikramas and how the cow stops after 108 is amazing. Prayed Lord Rama to bestow such grace on me too. (While referring to this incident in Chitrakoot, our guide informed that in Chitrakut too, there is a cow which does parikrama round Kamadgiri hill continuously for 22 hours daily for the past 10 years).

It took more than one hour for us to return. We drove to Ram Ghat which is about 1 km from RamJanma bhoomi. This was Sri Rama’s bathing spot. After doing prokshanam, offered lamp and flowers to Saruyu as evening aarthi was going on and left the place. As it was getting late for attending kalakshepam, we didn’t visit Lakshman Ghat.

After taking us to Kanak Bhavan and Hanuman Gaddi, the driver dropped us at Manas Bhavan where Sri Gomadam Swami( whom we met in the morning at Gupthar Ghat was giving kalakshepam on Ramayanam. The discourse lasted for about 2 hours after which we left at 10 P.M. Returned to Hotel Saket and after finishing dinner retired for the night.

Next day we checked out at 08.30 A.M. to board Mathura-Patna Express to go to Buxar. The scheduled arrival of the train ws 0912 hours but as usual late by more than one hour. Had breakfast in the station itself. Reached Buxar at 1800 hours.

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TATAKAVAN, SIDDHASRAM, KAMASRAM, AHROLI, GAUTAMASTHAN (IN AND AROUND BUXAR):-

SONEPUR, HAJIPUR (NEAR PATNA)

On 10/05/10, boarded T.No. 3238 to go to Buxar at 1020 hours (90 mts late) and reached Buxar at 1800 hours (2 hrs late). Checked in at Hotel Gitanjali located near station.

DATE: 11/05/10 :-

Buxar is a typical small under developed town in Bihar . The moment “Buxar” is mentioned, we remember “Battle of Buxar” but even prior to this , it had historical importance as this was known as “Tataka Vanam”.

Date 10th May,2010Places to be visited In Buxar- Ram Ghat, Tataka Vanam,

Siddhasramam /VamanasramamOutskirts of Buxar:-

Kamasram on the way to Balliya Ahroli on the way to Chapra Gautamasthan at Chapra Gajendra moksha sthalam at Sonepur (near Hajipur) Ram Chouda in Hajipur

Base BuxarWhere to stay Very few hotels with minimum facility available. No AC

rooms. Hotel Gitanjali is the nearest one to station. Other hotels are a bit away from the railway station. In Bihar, there will be power for hardly 5 hours in a day. To ensure the hotel has generator.

Can stay at Vedashira Ashram Can contact Vaikuntanathar Perumal kovil for making stay

arrangements

Temple details Ram Rekha Ghat- Sri Rama reached this place from Kamashram after crossing Ganges

Ram Charan Paduka- Sri Rama’s thiruvadi on the banks of Ganges near Ram Rekha Ghat

Rameshwar Mandir-temple of Rama offering puja to Shivalinga

Tataka vanam- huge figure of Tataka -1 km from Ram Rekha Ghat

Maharishi Vedasira Ashram Siddhasram/ Vamanasram-located about 3 kms from Buxar

railway station in Central Jail premises

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Vaikuntanathar temple(famous as Nuv laka temple)-30 year old South Indian temple

Lakshmi Narayana mandir Tridandi Jeeyar Jeeva samadhi

OUTSIDE BUXAR:- Kamasram- 36 kms from Buxar on the way to Balliya

district. Located in Kaaron village near Chitpada gaon Ahiroli:- Ahalya saapa vimochanam- 5 kms from Buxar Gautamasthan- AT Rewalkunj in Chapra dist. -110 kms

from Buxar

Holy theertham River GangesTime Required One day to visit all places in Buxar, proceed to patna via Ahroli,

Gautamasthan,Sonepur, HajipurHow to reach It is advisable to take a car from Buxar to cover these places.Importance of this place connected with Ramayana

Tataka van- Sri Rama killed TatakaSiddhasram- Viswamitra’s yagam was protected by Sri rAmaAhroli-Ahalya who was in the form of stone was redeemed from her curse by Sri RamaGautamashtan:- Gautama rishi’s hermitage(husband of Ahalya)Chapra:- confluence of Ganges and SaruyuSonepur:- Viswamitra narrates incidents from his life to Sri Rama. Visalanagari now known as Hajipur:- King Sumathi welcomed Sri Rama who stayed there for a night before going to Janakpur

Places visited by us

Ram Rekha ghat, Rameshwar temple, Ahroli, Siddhasram, Vaikuntanathar temple, Lakshmi Narayanan temple, Tridandi Jeeyar Samadhi, Ahroli, Gautamasthan, Gajendra moksham temple at Sonepur

TEMPLES AND IMPORTANT PLACES IN BUXAR

MAHARISHI VEDASHIRA ASHRAM:- This is located about 1.5 kms from Buxar railway station near Karmanasha river. Maharishi Vedashira was one of the saptarishis in one of the Manus as described in Srimad Bhagavatam.

Sage Vedashira used to frighten visitors with an ugly face and was once cursed by Sage Durvasa to have an ugly face. When Vedashira repented for his misdeed, the sage said that he would be redeemed from this curse if he did penance on the banks of Karmanasha river which was full of lotuses. So Vedashira reached this place and by doing penance, was relieved from the curse. (I wonder whether it was the same Vedashira described in the Bhagavatam!! ) The original name for Buxar is ‘BYAAGR SAR” meaning lotus tank.

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As this place was full with lotus flowers, it came to be thus known which later got corrupted as Buxar.

Sri Rama and Lakshmana who were brought by Sage Viswamitra to protect his yaagam, were on constant guard. Stationing Lakshmana near the yaaga bhoomi, Sri Rama used to walk around five yojanas on all sides. Sri Velukudi Swami describes it as “Lakshmana was the lower eye lid whereas Rama was like the upper eye lid. Lakshmana remained stationed at one place like the lower part of the while Sri Rama was moving about like the upper eyelid which constantly keeps flickering ensuring protection of the eyes.

RAM REKHA GHAT:- On the way to Siddhasramam from Kamasram, Sri Rama crossed Ganges at this place. There is a small temple dedicated to the footprints of Sri Rama on the banks of Ganges. This is about 2 kms from Buxar railway station on the banks of Ganges. Opposite to this, is Rameshwar mandir which houses various sizes of Shiva lingam .

TATAKAVANAM :- Presently , this place is known as “TADAK” is in Buxar, about one kilometer from Ram Rekha Ghat. There is a statue of the notorious Rakshasi, Tataka in this place . Tataka was killed by Rama and was redeemed from her curse. In Kamba Ramayanam, Viswamitra praises Rama (“I saw the power of your hands when you redeemed Tataka from her curse and the power of your feet when you redeemed Ahalya from her curse.)”.

SIDDHASRAMAM:- This is located about 3 kms from Buxar staion in the premises of Central Jail.

It is known by this name because one attains Siddhi due to its sanctity. It is also known as Vamanasramam because Perumal took birth as Vamanan, 12 th son of Sage Kasyapa and Aditi with the purpose of bestowing wealth on Indra which was snatched away by Bali Chakravarthy. Located in the serene surroundings in the forest, this was the perfect place for meditation.

Later on , Viswamitra made this as his hermitage. Sage Viswamitra along with other rishis was conducting a yaagam for loka kalyanam at this place which was being disturbed by the rakshasas. Hence, Viswamitra approached Dasaratha to send his two sons, Rama and Lakshmana for protecting the yaaga. After much resentment, Dasaratha sent his sons along with the rishi who imparted various mantras to Rama, taught astra-sastras and narrated stories to them and finally played a vital role in the Lord’s wedding. Sri Rama and Lakshmana guarded the sacrifice for seven days by covering the place above the yagna kunda with arrows thus avoiding sacrilege in the yagnam. Sri Rama killed Subahu with an arrow and aimed another arrow at Maricha which kept chasing him upto the ocean. Just imagine!!!! The arrow aimed at Maricha in some remote part of Bihar chased him upto Indian Ocean!!! Such was Sri Rama’s prowess. Had the Lord

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wished, HE could have finished Maricha but as the asura had to play an important role in future, the Lord spared his life.

All the sages headed by Viswamitra completed the yaagam successfully and praised Sri Rama. At that time, Viswamitra got an invitation from King Janaka about a yaagam to be conducted by Janaka and Sita’s swayamvaram and hence decided to visit Mithila. When he offered Rama to join him, Sri Rama did so unhesitatingly because his father had instructed him to obey Sage Viswamitra. Smt.Visakha Hari in her discourse on Seetha Kalyanam refers to this incident. She says that when Viswamitra left his hermitage, birds and trees shed tears because he was “VISHWA-MITRA” – a friend to the world.

As far as Ramayanam is concerned, these are the three places to be visited in Buxar. There are few more interesting places which we visited in Buxar.

VAIKUNTANATHAR KOVIL (NAV LUKHA MANDIR):- This temple built in South Indian style by Marwadis is a 30 year old Vaishnavite temple in Buxar. It is more famously known as “NAV LAKHA MANDIR” because the construction cost at that time was 9 lakhs. This is the biggest temple in Buxar. A beautiful temple housing the deities of Vaikuntanathar with Azhwar and Acharyar sannidhis. (Namaazhwar,Andal and Thirumangai Azhwar along with Sri Ramanujar, Manavala maamungial). This temple is looked after by a Tamilian priest who is serving for more than 28 years. TRIDANDI JEEYAR JEEVA SAMADHI:- This is at a walkable distance from Vaikuntanathar temple. A Vaishnavite who was a great Rama bhakta, took jeeva Samadhi at this place.

LAKSHMI NARAYANAN TEMPLE:- This is in the vicinity of jeeyar Samadhi. Lord Narayanan along with Mahalakshmi Thayar and few salagrama shilas are worshipped here.

OUR EXPERIENCE AT BUXAR

Staying in Bihar and visiting the temples was the challenging part of our journey as we didn’t have any information about these places. We were not even sure whether the locals would be able to help us out. As we had to spend nearly three days in Bihar, we were totally perplexed about the stay facilities. We were tensed because of the wayside robberies, and worst roads which is common. We remembered traveling through worst roads in 2006. Even Velukudi Swamin’s tour operator could not give enough info to us on phone regarding these places because they didn’t stay at Buxar. Lord had his own plans. While working on my program, I gathered information that Hajipur is near Patna and thought it was safe to stay in the State capital and access the holy places. So, Adiyen contacted ISKCON Patna for booking an accommodation for us for 12 th May and during my conversation, I informed him about our tour requesting him to provide me some info about Buxar. That Prabhu referred a devotee’s name in Buxar who contacted me immediately. I was taken aback when I got a call from Buxar. The person introduced himself as Anil Kumar, an ISKCON devotee and was referring to his close association

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with our Hyderabad DGP and PRP leader,Chiranjeevi. He assured that he would take care of all arrangements like accommodation and arranging vehicle and asked us to contact him as soon as we reach Buxar. Thanked him profusely . This incident renewed our tremendous faith in the Lord who is ever protective. Elders say that if we put one foot towards Lord, HE puts forth 100 steps to rescue us. This has been proved in our case many times. Also, our experience at Sitamarhi is the most memorable one which Adiyen would like to share . The same is mentioned later in this travelogue.

We reached Buxar at 1800 hours- the train was about 2 hours late which is very common. Mr.Anil Kumar had booked an accommodation at Hotel Gitanjali which is located behind Platform no. 1 . There is a way out from the place where we got down. But as we didn’t know, we came out of the station and went walking thru the narrow lane to the hotel. The hotel owner greeted us warmly when we referred Sri.Anil kumar’s name and provided us with a double bedded non-AC room for Rs.200/-. This was supposed to be the best room in the hotel. On enquiry, we learnt that none of the hotels have either AC or air cooler as there is no power for atleast 20 hours a day. Luckily, the hotel had generator and inverter which didn’t make much of a difference. It was the worst part of our journey with mosquitoes biting, no power, fan running at the lowest speed , sweltering heat and added to this was the noise from railway station. The day’s temperature was recorded at 48˚ We wanted to get out of the hotel at the earliest. When we enquired about Kamasram, no one knew about the place. Hence , Adiyen had to mention Balliya(I learnt that Kamasram is in Balliya district). They informed me that share autos would be available to go to Balliya and it would take about an hour to reach. As there are no street lights and as it was getting dark, they suggested me to avoid going there in the evening and was thankful for not adventuring at that time.

Adiyen and family took 2 rickshaws to go to the banks of Ganges and spend the evening leisurely. We paid Rs.20/- for each rickshaw . Ganges is about 1.5 kms from station. When we went there, evening aarthi was going on. The place was not clean enough to have bath. So we just sprinkled some water and participated in the aarthi. I learnt that Tataka Vanam , locally known as “TADKA” is about a kilometer from this place. As it was dark, we decided to go in the morning. On the way back, had delicious lassi for Rs.25/- per glass. (In Mathura and Vrindavan where plenty of curd would be available everywhere, but in Ayodhya and Buxar , curd is not served with food. One has to buy the same separately as it is dearer). Returned to the hotel and had rotis with some veggies for supper . Meanwhile, we tried to contact Sri.Anil Kumar for arranging AC vehicle for the next day to visit places in Buxar-Kamasram- Chapra- Sonepur-Hajipur-Patna as we wanted to leave early in the morning but could not get network.

We waited upto 8 A.M. the next morning and as there was no response from Mr.Anil, we requested the hotel owner to help us out. He immediately arranged a Bolero for Rs.3,000/- to visit the above places and drop us at ISKCON, Patna. Adiyen was trying to gather info about the route to visit the places connected to Sri Rama from the hotel owner. He too didn’t know much about it. At that time, a gentleman named Shri.Punit Kumar Singh(Shri Pintu) passed by the hotel. The hotel owner immediately called him

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and showed my check list. My joy knew no bounds when he said that he knew the location of these places and volunteered to guide us leaving his business. Once again thanked Hanuman for this timely intervention by a devotee. During my interatction with him, I learnt that this devotee is the distributor for Bisleri water in Buxar. He can be contacted on 09939816488 for any help. First, he took us to Vedashira Ashram.

AT VEDASHIRA ASHRAM:- Had darshan of an image of Maharishi Vedashira and prayed him to make us visit all the places connected to Sri Rama. The inmates were very cordial and informed how Sri Rama protected the seven days yagnam conducted by Sage Viswamitra. They offered us some theertha prasadam and offered us to have lunch in their ashram. They were referring to a particular dish which Sri Rama had and wanted us to taste the same. The ashram also provides accommodation to devotees who visit Buxar. They have around 2-3 rooms where the devotees can stay. Adiyen felt that this is a better option rather than staying in a hotel because we can have satsang of these humble devotees. The love for Sri Rama bound us together. Their hospitality was indescribable. Their address is:-

Shri Shyam Narayan PatakVedashira Ashram, Buxar Mobile no. 09006461415

AT SIDDHASRAMAM:- Mr.Pintu took us to Siddhasramam which is located about 3 kms from railway station. This is inside central jail, the only one of its kind in Bihar. We didn’t have any problem in getting inside. Siddhasramam is the place where Lord took avatar as “Vamana murthy” . We expected to see the Lord as Vamanamurthy(We had in my mind the gigantic Trivikrama Perumal and Vamanamurthy as seen in Seerkazhi )and imagined to see one such idol but found a small Shiva linga . The priest endorsed the sthalapuranam that it was the birth place of Vamana murthy adding that Siva was worshipped by the lord and hence the presence of Linga. Somehow I was not satisfied.

AT VAIKUNTANATHAR KOVIL:- We were happy to see a South Indian temple in Buxar. There are shrines for Perumal, Thayar, Andal,Azhwars and Acharyars. A young preist placed our Perumal in the sannidhi and after archanai and neivedyam returned to us with some Tulasi leaves. While we were enquiring about the temple, an elderly person who is the incharge of the temple met us. He was kind enough to offer pongal and nellikaay thogaiyal(amla thogaiyal) on this auspicious Dwadasi . During our conversation, we learnt that he hails from Srirangam and is related to my second brother –in-law . This temple can be approached for accommodation and food arrangements . In fact, he told us that Sri.Krishnan approached him for accommodation and food facilities for the forthcoming Rama Anu Yaatirai in Sept,10. took a photograph with the priest and after offering some dakshinai , we left the place. Mr.Punit did not have prashad as he fasts on Tuesdays.

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AT LAKSHMI NARAYANAN MANDIR:-We visited Jeeyar Samadhi and this temple Ram Charitra Manas was being recited by a priest. We requested him to place our Ramar vigraham and offer neivedyam to our Lordships. He glorified Sri Rama’s pastimes and was happy to hear about our trip. After taking his blessings, we left for Ram Rekha ghat.

Thanking Mr.Punit profusely who spent more than three hours showing us all the temples, we proceeded to Kamasram.

PLACES AROUND BUXAR

KAMASRAMAM/PUNYASRAMAM:- Sri Rama spent second night at this place on his way to Sage Viswamitra’s Siddhashram. This is located on Ayodhya-Buxar route but it is nearer from Buxar.

Lord Shiva burnt the Kama also known as Manmatha (Cupid-God of Love) at this place. Manmatha became invisible as his body was burnt to ashes by Shiva. Sage Viswamitra narrated this incident to Rama .

AHROLI/ AHALYA UDHAR /AHALYA SAAPA VIMOCHANAM:- This place is about 5 kms outside Buxar. Some claim this to be the place where Gautama muni’s wife ,Ahalya was redeemed from her curse. Others claim that Kamtaul is the place where Ahalya was redeemed. As per Ramayanam, before Sri Rama entered Janakpur, he came across Ahalya’s ashram and redeemed her . This incident is referred to by Sage Viswamitra to Sage Sadananda. Sage Sadananda was the son of Gautama rishi and Ahalya and was Janaka’s preceptor. Sage Viswamitra introduces Rama as the person who killed the rakshasas and protected his yaagam and who redeemed Sadananda’s mother from her curse.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS PLACE:- Sri Rama while following Viswamitra reached this place. He was spell-bound looking at the tranquility in the ashram and enquired from Sage Viswamitra about the ashram details and why it has been abandoned. Sage Viswamitra narrated the following incident to Sri Rama.

Gautama rishi’s wife Ahalya was a lady of surpassing beauty and very dutiful to her husband. It so happened that Indra, the king of devas was attracted to her and committed an offence by disguising himself as Gautama rishi. The rishi who came to know about it cursed Indra that he would have 1000 eyes all over his body and cursed his wife in a softer note that she would be turned into a stone and would be absolved from her curse when she comes in contact with Sri Rama paadha dhooli(dust from Sri Rama’s feet). In Valmiki Ramayanam, it is stated that she was cursed to turn into an immovable object invisible to others whereas in Kamba Ramayanm, it is mentioned that she turned into a stone and awaited Sri Rama’s arrival. The moment he stepped in , Ahalya who was

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incognito as a stone for many years was redeemed from her curse. Due to her intense tapas, she transformed into a young radiant lady. Sri Rama and Lakshmana paid their obeisances to this rishi patni who was joined by Gautama rishi. Gautama rishi with his dint of yogic power came to know about Rama’s presence and returned from Himalayas to this place. (While referring to this incident in Sita Kalyanam, Smt. Visakha Hari beautifully quotes from Tyagaraja Ramayanam Sri Rama’s humility. Sri Rama had great regard for everyone including the rishi’s wife and was careful while placing HIS feet in the ashram to avoid committing any offence as HE didn’t know where Ahalya was . Tyagarajar in his keertan says that when Sri Rama entered the ashram, a strong wind blew carrying dust from Sri Rama’s thiruvadi and dropped it on Ahalya who was in the form of stone)

GAUTAMASTHAN/GAUTAMA MUNI ASHRAM :- This is located at Rewalkunj in Chapra dist. It is about 110 kms from Buxar. As the name suggests, this is the place where Gautama rishi had his ashram. This temple located in a small lane is easily identifiable . In the main shrine, there are vigrahams of Sri Rama,Sita , Lakshmanan and Hanuman. Opposite to this sannidhi, is Hanuman’s sannidhi. On the right side , we can find a shrine for Gautama rishi with Ahalya, their son Sadanandar, Hanuman and Anjani Devi. In front of Hanuman’s sannidhi, Sri Rama’s footprints imbibed on a marble stone is kept .

About one kilometer from Rewalkunj is the confluence of River Saruyu with Ganges. As it was summer, the water had dried up near the temple and was now 2 kms farther.

HARIHARNATH TEMPLE, SONEPUR:- Hariharnath temple is the place where Gajendra moksham took place. We can locate this place easily as almost everyone knows the place. The famous Sonepur Mela is held here every year.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS PLACE:- Sage Viswamitra , Sri Rama and Lakshmana spent one night on the banks of

River Sona. Sage Viswamitra narrated his story to the Lord at this place. This was the place from where Viswamitra ruled as a king. Due to conflict with Sage Vasishta, he renounced his kingdom and resorted to ascetism. After many attempts, he finally achieved the position of Brahma rishi .

This is the place where Gajendra,the elephant king was rescued by Perumal and bestowed moksham. Gajendra moksham is beautifully described in Srimad Bhagavatam. Gajendra , the elephant which was caught in the clutches of a crocodile tried its best to get out of it but failed in its attempts. It then prayed to Perumal known as “Gajendra Stuthi” and Perumal rescued the elephant by killing the crocodile with HIS discus. (Adiyen recalled this incident told by the priest at Thirukapisthalam, one of the divya desams ) At the entrance, Gajendra Moksham is beautifully carved.

OUR EXPERIENCE AT KAMASRAM,AHROLI, GAUTAMASTHAN,SONEPUR

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No one in Buxar could exactly tell us the location of this place. We only knew that it was in Balliya. So, the driver proceeded to Balliya which is about 35-40 kms from Buxar. He took us to BRIGHU MUNI ASHRAM which is situated near the police chowk claiming this to be Kamashram. Luckily, Adiyen’s wife remembered the photo taken by Sri Raghunathan at Kamashram and was sure that this was not the place. The arch was clear in her memory and the place seemed to be big.. Arguing with the driver that this was not the place, Adiyen decided to go inside the temple and find out the details. This temple is supposed to be famous . There is a sannidhi for Bhrigu rishi . A priest started narrating that Bhrigu rishi meditated at this place adding that Sri Rama visited this place while he was guarding Viswamitra’s yagnam(Rama guarded 5 yojanas on all sides )

The head priest was not able to help us out in locating Kamasram though we gave him all the description which we knew. We were perplexed and confused and decided to leave the place convincing that we could atleast place ourselves in the place visited by Rama. But Adiyen’s wife was determined to find out the location . Luckily we came across another pundit who gave us directions to reach the temple. He said that we had come very far about 20 kms or so and gave driving directions to the driver. Initially, the driver was reluctant to go back as it would cost him more but finally consented to take us to the temple. The priest informed that we should ask for “KARON village near “CHITPADA GAON” and take the immediate right turn after crossing the bridge if we come from Buxar. It is about 36 kms from Buxar. Finally we reached the temple around 1 P,M. Yes, it was indeed worth driving. A big arch displaying “KAMASRAM DHAM” welcomed us. Near the arch, is a small Hanuman temple. After about 3 minutes drive, we reached the temple . There were many devotees in the temple premises but the main shrine of Shiva was closed. A devotee pointed out to a tree in front of the sannidhi with dark marks on the trunk. He referred to the incident of Siva burning Manmatha and said that these were the marks which fell on the tree as Manmatha stood at that place. We had to satisfy ourselves with the lovely photographs displayed on the outer walls of the temple-photo showing Sri Rama and Lakshmana pressing Viswamitra’s legs is still vivid in our memory. Praying to the Lord to destroy all our desires except the desire to serve Lord, we left the place.

From Kamasram, we drove for about two hours and reached Ahroli. A very small sannidhi houses the marble sculpture of Ahalya offering obeisances to Sri Rama while Lakshmana and Sage Viswamitra look upon. Drove to Gautamasthan located in Chapra district near Rewalkunj . This is easily identifiable. The temple was closed but we could have darshan of Sita-Ramar in the main sannidhi through the grill gate. Opposite to this sannidi is the sannidhi for Hanumar near which there is Ram Paduka. On the right side, we had darshan of Gautama rishi, Ahalya, Sadanandar, Anjana Devi. The confluence of Saruyu with Ganges is located nearby. As it was summer, the river had dried up and now it was about 2 kms from this temple. Due to time constraint, we didn’t visit the place and looking at the direction , offered our obeisances from the temple itself .

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Driving past Chapra, we reached Sonepur in the evening . Compared to other places we visited, Sonepur seemed to be a bigger town . On reaching, we enquired the location of Harharnath temple. Our driver didn’t know the location. We followed the directions and reached the temple at 7 P.M. This temple is dedicated to Shiva. Had darshan of the deities. In the temple premises, in a mantapam, we found Gajendra Moksham beautifully depicted. There are many shops on either side of the lane leading to the temple. As it was dark, we did not see the confluence of River Sona with Ganges which is about half a kilometer from the temple. The famous Sonepur Mela where cattle is traded takes place at this place.

WE reached Hajipur at 8 P.M. As it was not possible to go to Ram Chauda at that time, we proceeded to Patna. As it was late, we decided to visit Ram Chauda at Hajipur the next morning.

Hajipur is about 6 kms from Sonepur. Patna is about 15 kms from Hajipur. Some trains which do not touch Patna pass through Hajipur. Hajipur and Patna are on either sides of Ganga. Mahatma Gandhi Sethu, one of the longest bridges is about 11 kms . Ganga can be seen in full flow at this place. To reach Patna, one has to drive over this bridge. There was heavy traffic starting from Hajipur and within an hour’s time, we reached ISKCON, Patna. After paying the toll tax at the entrance of the bridge, we continued our drive. Purchased some fruits sold by vendors near the check post. It is common for a chain of vehicles to wait for clearance at the check post.

ISKCON is located about 3 kms from Patna railway station on the main road. Situated on a vast area of land, a new temple for Krishna is under construction. Presently there are about 25 rooms in the guest house. The rent for AC room is Rs,500/- per day. It was 10.30 P.M. when we reached the guest house . So, prashad was not available. After settling the driver’s bill, we checked into one of the AC rooms. (We expected the driver to charge us for the extra mileage we traveled for going to Kamasram but looked like he adjusted it for Hajipur visit) We were totally exhausted and doubtful about stay facilities in Sitamarhi. We came to a stage where we wanted to cancel our Sitamarhi trip and proceed straight to Allahabad but Lord had other plans. Surrending to the Lord to help us accomplish our trip, we retired for the night.

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DATE: 12/05/10:- Stayed at ISKCON in the morning and the rest of the day was spent in traveling..Did not visit any temple .

OUR EXPERIENCE AT PATNA/ HAJIPUR

On 12/05/10, in the morning, Adiyen had the chance to meet a devotee Sri.Nagamani Prabhu who hailed from Darbhanga and knew Sitamarhi and other places very well. He is the program coordinator for the North eastern region of ISKCON. We expressed our doubts regarding our night stay at Sitamarhi as the train would reach at 10.30 P.M. The devotee immediately called up Sitamarhi M.L.A. to make all arrangements. As the MLA was not in town, he gave Hotel Aashirvad phone no.. Mr.Nagamani Dasa immediately spoke to Hotel Aashirvad and booked a room for us and also made vehicle arrangement for us to go to Janakpur next day. We thanked him profusely. Confident that everything would be taken care of, we participated in Srungar Aarthi followed by discourse on Srimad Bhagavatam in ISKCON temple. After partaking prashad, we tried to enquire about Ram Chauda and as noone was able to give correct information, we gave a skip to it. Relaxed in the room itself. My daughter did kirtan during Raj bhog and was offered bajji, furits, payasam etc as prashad. Mr.Nagamani Prabhu had arranged for a cab for us to go to Patna railway station from ISKCON for Rs.600/-. He suggested to leave early because of the common traffic jam on M.G.Sethu bridge which would last for 2 hours or so. We once again thanked him for all his kindly help and left at 1 P.M. Luckily there was no traffic jam and within an hour we reached Patna station. The scheduled arrival of our train Lichhavi Express was at 1558 hours but was late by 6 hours.

We stayed in the Station Superintendent’s room as there is no separate waiting room for AC passengers. The station master suggested us to go by bus to Sitamarhi as he was not sure whether the train would arrive at 10P.M. It takes about 4 hours to go to Sitamarhi from Patna by road whereas it takes about 6 hours to go by train. The railway authorities explained that from Darbhanga, the train has to take a round about route as there is no proper track to Sitamarhi. Whoever visited the room advised very casually not to wait for the train . They were telling that sometimes the train would not proceed to Sitamarhi. Lichavi Express is one of the worst trains in India. It always runs late. AS the sun was scorching, we didn’t venture out to have either lunch or supper but adjusted with the snacks.

There is a straight road from Darbhanga to Sitamarhi but we were afraid to go by bus because of the bumpy roads and overloaded buses where passengers travel on top of the buses with luggage. So we decided to stay back in the station and waited patiently for the train to arrive. The advantage was if the train was late, we would be reaching Sitamarhi in the morning and thus avoid night stay . Whenever we enquired about the train’s arrival, we used to get reply as “PATHA NAHI.”(DON’T KNOW) We were on the verge of frustration and finally after 8 hours of wait, the train reached at 11 P.M. We were the only travelers in the Second A.C. coach and had fear in traveling alone.

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However the coach attendant was kind enough and asked us to relax saying that the train may reach Sitamarhi at 6 A.M. and that he would wake us up. The train halts for more than one hour at Darbhanga to change the engine and go in a different direction. It takes round about turn to reach Sitamarhi. Unfortunately, Lichavi Express is the only long distance express train to Sitamarhi, the rest being passengers bound to Darbhanga and nearby places. However, the train reached at 03.30 A.M. The same train leaves for New Delhi after 2 hours. The scheduled departure from Sitamarhi is 2340 hours but was expected to leave at 06.00 A.M.Even the T.T. was taken by surprise as it took only 5 hours to reach Sitamarhi.

While conversing with the TT, we informed him about our accomodation at Hotel Aashirvad and wanted to know whether any vehicle would be available to go to the hotel. He replied that it was about 2 kms from the station and suggested that we could as well stay in the AC waiting room and not unnecessarily waste money for hotel accommodation. He said that the money could be used for paying Border tax etc. He personally spoke to the Station Master and gave us the keys. Locking ourselves inside the comfortable and well maintained waiting room , we relaxed for about two hours. We guessed it was Hanuman who had once again come to our rescue in the form of TT.

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Date: 13/05/10

SITAMARHI, JANAKPUR, DHANUSHA

Date 13th May,2010Places to be visited IN JANAKPUR:-

Janakpur temple Kalyana Mandapam Sri Ram Mandir Ratna Sagar Dhanusha

IN SITAMARHI:- Janaki temple at Punouda Yajna bhoomi at Punouda Janaki temple at Sitamarhi Panth Pakar (Sitamarhi-Janakpur route)

ON THE WAY TO SITAMARHI:- Kamtaul- the place where Ahalaya was redeemed. This is in

Darbhanga dist situated 3 kms from Kamtaul station.

Base SitamarhiWhere to stay Hotel Ashirvad situated 2 kms from station, any other hotelTemple details Janakpur temple- palace of King Janaka -100 year old

temple Kalyana Mandapam- Sita-Ramar Kalyanam venue Sri Ram Mandir- oldest temple in Janakpur Ratna Sagar- about 1 km from Janakpur where Sita’s jewels

for her wedding were kept Dhanusha-Sri Ram broke Shiva Dhanush Janaki temple, Yajna bhoomi at Punouda- Sita’s birth place Janaki temple , Sitamarhi- new temple –this is also

considered as Sita’s birth place Panth Pakar- After wedding, on the way to Ayodhya, the

marriage party halted here. Also considered to be the place where Sri Rama humbled Parusurama

Kamtaul- Ahalya saapa vimochanam- Janakpur is about 30 kms from this place.

Holy theertham Janaki Kund at SitamarhiTime Required One day to visit Sitamarhi,Janakpur- two days if you are visiting

KamtaulHow to reach Reach Sitamarhi by train and then take a vehicle to visit these

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places. But it is better to travel by road instead of train as the train never runs as per schedule. To take a vehicle preferably from Darbhanga, visit Kamtaul , proceed to Sitamarhi , night stay there and visit Janakpur the following day and return to Sitamarhi/ Darbhanga/ Jaynagar . Train services are available from Darbhanga

Importance of this place connected with Ramayana

Sri Rama broke Shiva dhanush and married Jaganmatha Sitadevi. This is the place where Sitadevi lived before her marriage.

Places visited by us

Janakpur Janaki mandir, Kalyana mandapam, Ram mandir, Dhanusha, Punouda temple, Sitamarhi temple,Pant Pakar

TEMPLES AND IMPORTANT PLACES IN JANAKPUR

JANAKI TEMPLE, JANAKPUR:- There are 3 sets of Janaki-Ramar vigrahams in the main garbagriham. Beside this , there is another sannidhi which accommodates 1.25 lakh salagrama shilas for which thirumanjanam and worship is done every day.

KALYANA MANDAPAM :- In this mandapam which is adjacent to Janaki temple in the midst of a garden, we can find Sita-Ramar kalyanam in the presence of Dasarathar and Janakar officiated by Sage Vasishta and Sage Sadanandar. To this day, the whole world celebrates Sira-Ramar kalyanam every year with gaiety and devotion, especially on Sri Rama Navami day. There are separate sannidhis for Sita-Ramar, Urmila-Lakshmana, Mandavi-Bharatan, Srutakirti-Shatrugunan on four sides around this mandapam.

RAM MANDIR:- This is the oldest temple presently in Janakpur. In the garbagriham, there are 3 unique shilas. In one shila, Sri Rama is carved out with Sita sitting on HIS lap,Lakshmana by Sri Rama’s side, Bharata and shatruguna near Sri rAma’s feet. Another shila has Lakshmi and Narayanan together and the third shila is that of King Janaka’s.

DHANUSHA:- This place is about 20-30 kms from Janakpur and is the place where Sri Rama broke Shivadhanush. As Goddess Sita was an ayonija(not born to human rights)- she was found while ploughing the yajna bhoomi by Janaka, Rajarishi Janaka decided to give her in marriage who would break the Shiva Dhanush given by Shiva to him . (Viswamkarma, the architect for devas, made two bows-shiva Dhanush and Vishnu Dhanush. Pleased with King Janaka’s ancestors, Shiva had handed over the dhanush to Janaka’s ancestors and was now in Janaka’s possession while the Vishnu Dhanush was with Parasurama, one of the manifestations of Lord Vishnu. ) Being a godly weapon, this dhanush was too heavy for a mortal to lift and only a person with spiritual power could lift it. As his daughter was self- manifested, King Janaka ensured that only an equal person with spiritual prowess would be fit to marry her. Many kings tried their strength and failed miserably as no one could even lift it.

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When Sage Viswamitra reached Janakpur along with Sri Rama and Lakshmana, he was duly welcomed with full honour by King Janaka and his guru, Sage Sadananda. On Viswamitra’s request, King Janaka brought forth the Shiva dhanush which was placed in a chariot and pulled by 500 men. Sri Rama obeyed Viswamitra’s orders and lifted the bow with ease which broke into pieces. The bow broke with a thundering sound piercing the whole world that Dasaratha in Ayodhya and Parusurama who was staying near Dwarka could hear the sound.

The bow broke into three pieces- one of them fell somewhere near Darbhanga, the other fell in the heaven and the third piece fell at Dhanusha.

OUR EXPERIENCE:-

On 13/05/10, adiyen tried to contact Hotel Aashirvad for the vehicle but there was no proper response as the Manager was not available.. While my family was getting ready, Adiyen went outside the station casually to get some milk for my children. Adiyen spotted a Hanuman temple just opposite to station where abhishekam was going on. Adiyen went inside the temple and prayed Hanuman to help us . In the temple, one of the sadhus gestured me to come near him. When I informed him that I have undertaken”SRI RAMA ANU YATIRAI” visiting places visited by Sri Rama, he was happy and blessed me. He said “DON’T WORRY… I WILL TAKE CARE” The words which he uttered was more like an “assurance” to me.

He instructed one of his followers to take me to a travel agent’s house and refer his name. I accompanied him to the travel agent,Mr.Sunil’s house. We were welcomed by him warmly . This person told him that Hanumanji has asked him to arrange a vehicle for us to go to Janakpur to visit the important places and also visit temples at Sitamrhi instructing him to charge a nominal amount. The moment he took Hanumanji’s name was referred, he greeted us reverentially and offered tea. As he had regard for that sadhu, Mr,Sunil didn’t want to make any profit from the trip and charged a very nominal amount of Rs.2,100/-.(I remembered the station master at Sitamarhi telling me that the vehicle hire charges would be app. Rs.5,000/- plus border permit charges). I was thrilled , went back to the temple and thanked the sadhu. The person who accompanied me said that the sadhu will be in mounam(Silence) till aarthi is given to Hanuman.

Excited about Lord’s arrangements, I returned to the waiting room enthusiastically and got ready for our trip. My wife had just completed recitation of Sundara kandam and was confident that Lord would guide us. Her faith was endorsed by my words. We reached the temple by 0715. Participated in the aarthi and offered fruits which we had bought for Lord Hanuman and for the sadhus . Thanked god profusely for this. Mr.Sunil himself came with Bolero and the sadhu instructed him to take us to Dhanusha also. (I remembered Nagamani Prabhu telling us that it may not be possible to visit Dhanusha and return to Sitamarhi in the same day.) Mr.Sunil suggested us to go to Janakpur first and then visit the local temples in Sitamarhi because the Indo-Nepal border closes at 5 P.M. As we wanted to visit Dhanusha also, he asked us to hurry up. Once again, we

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could not first visit birth place of Sitadevi (The same happened at Ayodhya. As there would be rush in Ram Janma bhoomi, the auto driver suggested us to visit Gupthar Gaht, so the place which we wanted to visit first was seen by us in the end) So, if one wishes to visit the places in sequence, then one has to adjust the timing or stay for an extra day at Ayodhya and Sitamarhi.

Sitamarhi is the last town in this side of Bihar near Nepal border. The Indo-Nepal border at Bithamode is about 60 kms from Sitamarhi. Janakpur is 25 kms from the border. We fuelled the vehicle for Rs.800/- and after driving for about 2 hours on the sandy roads , we reached the border by paying Rs.300/- as border permit charges . Getting permission to cross the border for Indians is easy. (WE remembered crossing Indo-Nepal border at three places in three different instances- in 2006 we went from Gorakhpur when we visited Salagramam(Muktinath), in 2008, we crossed the border from Gangtok, and now it was through Bithamode near Sitamarhi) . The border on the Nepal side is Maliwada. After about 45 minutes drive, we reached Janakpur temple. Purchased few AA batteries for our Flipper and some sweets to be offered to the deities inside. This temple is 100 year old built by a Rajasthani.

OUR EXPERIENCE AT JANAKPUR

JANAKI MANDIR AT JANAKPUR:- This was our second vsit to this temple. In the main garbagriham, there are three sets of Sita-Ramar. Requested the priest to place our vigrahams in the garbagriham and recited selected sargams relating to Seetha’s ancestors, Swayamvaram, Sita-Ramar kalyanam etc. After completion of recitation, the priest handed over our idol along with theertham and prasadam. Circumbulated the temple and visited Janaka’s sannidhi where there are idols of Janaka’s family- 4 daughters and sons-in-law and various saalagrama shilas. In an adjacent room there are many saligramams are kept. The priest showed us the salagrama shilas by removing the cloth which covered them. Having darshan of one salagrama murthi will burn our sins and we had the bhaagyam to have darshan of more than a lakh of salagrama shilas……

AT KALYANA MANDAPAM:- We then visited the Kalyana Mandapam situated outside the main temple. Had darshan of Sita-Ramar in the centrein Kalyana Thirukolam. Sri Rama weds Sita devi in the presence of Dasaratha and Janakar and their wives while Sage Vasishta and Sage Sadanandar officiate the wedding.Urmila-Lakshmana, Mandavi-Bharata and Srutakeerthi-Shatrugunan in Kalyana Thirukolam are also seen. Keeping Sita Devi as Purushakaaram to recommend us to Perumal, we prayed for Rama bhakti and successful completion of our yaatirai. With a prayer to Piratti to recommend for Perumal’s grace by forgiving and overlooking all our faults, we circumbulated the temple and offered namaskarams to the individual sannidhis built on all the four sides of the Kalyana Mantapam. It was noon and bhog was being offered to the deities . So, we had to leave hastily. However we recited sita kalyana sargam at this place. Nearby we visited Ram Mandir. Had lunch in a nearby Marwadi hotel and drove to Dhanusha. This is about 20-30 kms from Janakpur.

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AT DHANUSHA:- 40 minutes drive past Janakpur, we reached this village located in a serene place. The entire temple area is covered by a shed. Presently, this particular piece of Dhanush is about 30 feet in length and is growing in size. There is a peepul tree at that place and the dhanush emerging from the earth is found to be growing length-wise.. For the material eyes, it looks like a rocky one. We were amazed when we read this information written on the display board stating that every two years when they measure the length, they find an increase in size. A resident of that place said that when there was famine or some crisis, it is customary for them to pour huge quantities of milk at this place and offer puja to the Dhanush. When the milk overflows, the devotees are ensured that their problems would be solved. Especially when there is no rain, the devotees pour milk and when it starts overflowing, they would be blessed with rains. There is no separate sannidhi for the Lord.

Having visited all the important places in Janakpur, we started on our return journey and crossed the border by 3 P.M. On the way to Sitamarhi, we visited Pant Pakar. This is not exactly in the main route. One needs to take a diversion and travel for about 2 kms to reach Panth Pakar. A lovely temple indeed.

IMPORTANT PLACES IN AND AROUND SITAMARHI

PANTH PAKAR:- After the wedding, on their return journey, Dasaratha’s retinue along with newly wedded couples halted at this place. The place where Sita devi’s palanquin (“doli”)alighted under a banyan tree is marked by a hound covered with red cloth and pooja is performed. Beside this , a small vigraham of Sita-Ramar is kept. There is a stone inscription mentioning that Sri Rama defeated and humbled the angry and arrogant Parasurama who challenged him to break the Vishnu dhanush which the latter was possessing. ( Sri Velukudi Swamin in one of his discourses, states that Parasurama was defeated by Lord because he was arrogant whereas victory was on Rama’s side because HE was calm and composed and full of virtures.) . Parasurama realized that Sri Rama was also a manifestation of Lord Vishnu and transferred all the yogic powers to Sri Rama and left for Himalayas.

The banyan tree is itself very sacred and powerful. All disputes are solved at this place. No one can utter lies at this place. If someone dares to tell lie, he would be punished immediately. The roots of the banyan tree get coiled to the main trunk itself . They do not touch the ground.

PUNOUDA:- There is an old temple dedicated to Janaki devi. This place is considered as the birth place of Janaki. A beautiful temple built in Pagoda style for Seetha-Ramar. There are very small sannidhis in the premises denoted as the place where Janaka stood with the child while it was raining….

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IMPORTANCE:- The childless King Janaka was a very pious king who ruled Mithila /Videha with Janakpuri as his capital. As there was drought in the kingdom, the rishis suggested him to do a yaagam for which this place was selected.

After worshipping Shiva, King Janaka started plouging from a place presently known as “haleshwarnath mandir” which is about 2 kms from Punouda. When he reached this place, the plough got stuck and when the place was dug, they found a golden box in which a small baby girl was lying. The king’s joy knew no bounds as he considered that the gods pleased with him has gifted this child. He affectionately took the child in his arms . At the same time, it started raining adding to everyone’s cherishment. The place where he dug was filled with rain water and is known as “SITA KUND”

Since she came out by strking with the end of the plough, SHE came to be known as “SITA”. As she was Janakaa’s daughter, SHE came to be known as Janaki and Mythili because SHE belonged to Mithila.

SITAMARHI:- This temple is in the heart of the town. This place is also considered as Sita’s birth place. Beside the temple, there is a small tank known as Sita Kund, in the midst of which are beautiful statues.. A narrow wooden bridge is constructed across to enable devotees to visit the small mandapam housing seven statues. Janaka seen ploughing the field and Sita Devi appearing from the ground while Janaka’s wife, Sage Satananda and others look upon is a feast to the eyes.

OUR EXPERIENCE IN ANDAROUND SITAMARHI

Mela was going on when we visited this place. Exactly one month after Sri Rama navami, Seetha Navami is celebrated. Throughout Janakpur and Sitamarhi, this festival is celebrated for 10 days culminating in Sita Navami in the Tamil month of Vaigasi (May-June). Everyone feels proud to be associated with Sita Devi who is eternally remembered for her “PATIVRATA DHARMAM”. They keep glorifying Sita and Rama and go to the extent of declaring that Sri Rama gained so much recognition because of HIS association with THEIR SITA DEVI. Every evening, Ram charitra Manas is recited and there would be some dance-drama etc. The entire place wore a festive look. Nearby there is a small tank known as “Sita Kund” where Sita is supposed to had bath.

Near the kund under a tree, we saw small utsava murthis of Sita ,Ramar, Lakshmana and Hanuman along with a doli(wooden palanquin). Pooja was being offered to the deities. On enquiry, the priest informed that these deities belonged to Sitamarhi temple and it is customary for them to take the deities in procession to Janakpur and while returning from Janakpur, to halt at all the places connected to Sita Devi.

Another priest with whom we interacted made us sit under the tree where the original doli was kept and explained the importance of that place. Three others joined them and

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enthusiastically,they started narrating Ramayanam. The priest was adept in Ram Charitra Manas and was quoting verses from the holy text written by Tulsidas. He also referred to slokas from Valmiki Ramayanam. We were strangers to that place but the priests were so cordial and spent their time sharing their information with us. It was pure Rama bhakti which bound us together. They blessed us and suggested us to start our next visit from Sitamarhi as that was the practice.

SITAMARHI-PUNOUDA-JANAKPUR-PANTH PAKAR-SITAMARHI is the route to be followed.

He said that in that village, there was no police station/ no panchayat. Any dispute would be solved under this tree as it has special powers. No one can utter any lie at this place. The offender would be punished immediately. He asked us to circumbulate the tree thrice . We found a net tied around the tree to ensure that dried leaves do not fall on the ground. Such is the sanctity of that place. We happened to see few devotees including an old lady who were doing bhajan and reached this place.. The priest informed that many devotees do “ Mithila Parikrama” starting from Sitamarhi , they reach Janakpur, on their return visit Panth Pakar, Punouda and other places which are on the way to Sitamarhi and end their parikrama on Sita Navami at Sitamarhi. Such is the bhakti….. May the Lord bless us to do a similar parikrama in this janma….

The priests accompanied us upto the parking lot and bade adieu. We reached Punouda which is on the outskirts of Punouda.

AT PUNOUDA:- The entire place including the temple structure was illuminated . We participated in the evening aarthi. Purchased few photos. Preparations for the 10 day celebration which was to start on the following day was in progress. Mela takes place here for 10 days . Springing up of malls has become very common in cities , finding village fair where traders from different places assemble to do business was something new to younger generations dwelling in cities. YES… INDIA is still a land of villages…. Proceeded to Sitamarhi new temple which is in the Bazar about 2 kms from railway station. We participated in the night aarthi and had prashad.

Having thus completed all the places within the stipulated time, we returned to Hanuman temple to thank the Lord. All this could happen only because of the great Ram Bhakth Hanuman. Prostrated in front of all the sanths who were eagerly waiting for our arrival and narrated them our experiences. Gave some dakshinai, took some photographs with them. Adiyen was surprised to know that the saint who helped us was more than 80 years old. He was glowing with effulgence and it was hard to believe his age. He looks like a 30 year old person.

On the way had some snacks and curd for supper and returned to Sitamarhi station at 9 P.M. When we enquired about our train, the Station Master informed that it would reach tentatively by 2 A.M. and was not sure about it. Took waiting room keys and refreshed ourselves under a cool shower. As we had to travel by train the whole of next day, my wife unpacked the suitcases and washed the soiled clothes when suddenly there was a call

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from the station master at about 10 P.M.. He was literally screaming as to whether there was any passenger to travel by Lichavi Express(“KOI HAI LICHAVI ME JAANE WALE”). Adiyen rushed out and showed him the ticket. To my utter dismay, he informed that the train has been cancelled as it was running late by almost 6 hours saying that the train would terminate at Darbhanga . He advised us to go to Darbhanga which was about 3 hours from this place and board the train which was scheduled to start from Darbhanga at 6 A.M. I dreaded to think of traveling with 3 ladies in the dark night at such a place. Moreover getting a vehicle at that time to go to Darbhanga was impossible and to travel by road all alone with 2 girls was risky . Luckily another person came running to the station master that there was a passenger train going to Samasthipur and this was the last one. The station master advised us to take this train to Samasthipur and from there to take any train to Darbhanga as there would be many trains. The travel time to Samasthipur is about one hour from Sitamarhi and from Samasthipur to Darbhanga is about one hour . He assured that we would be able to board our train at Darbhanga. He gave instructions to his assistant to immediately stop the passenger train which was already leaving the station from platform 5 and sent his assistant to help us carry the luggage. When I imagine how we immediately packed our belongings ,carrying the wet clothes and baggages and ran to catch the train, I feel a chill passing through me. After we boarded the train , the station master gave signal for the train to move on . The train moved slowly and stopped at each and every station and finally after 90 minutes, it reached Samasthipur. Our clothes had dried up by that time and we were ready with our baggages for our next adventure. While getting down, a co-passenger pointed towards a train in the next platform which was about to start saying that it would go to Darbhanga. Children were half sleepy and at midnight , we were changing platforms with heavy baggages to catch the train. We could get in luckily and somehow managed to sit in the available side seats. There were many locals who were happily sleeping not bothering about when they would reach their destinations. These things are supposed to be very common in Bihar- the state which gave an efficient Railway Minister.!!!!

Luckily reached Darbhanga at 02.30 A.M. Darbhanga is a big junction. Leaving the baggages and children in my wife’s custody, Adiyen went to enquire about our train Lichavi Express bound to Allahabad. Luckily the train had arrived some one hour back and was stationed in some far away platform. Totally exhausted, we just wanted to throw the baggages and relax in our coach. Initially the coach attendant was reluctant to allow us inside but when I pleaded him he conceded to my request. Prayed the Lord for making our trip successful ofcourse with some thrilling moments and retired for the night.

Throughout the next day, i.e. 14th May, we traveled in the train. The train was as usual late and we reached Allahabad by 9 P.M. Took an auto for Rs.100/- to ISKCON located on the banks of Yamuna where we had already booked our accommodation. As the trains usually run late for hours together, the inmates were literally not prepared for our arrival. They were surprised to note that our train was late by two hours only. We had to satisfy ourselves with chapattis served with milk….

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We disclosed our plan to the ISKCON prabhu with whom we had telecom contact for room booking etc. We wanted to have holy bath at Triveni Sangamam in Prayag, visit Bharadwaja Ashram in Allahabad, visit Srungaberipuram which is about 30 kms from Allahabad and proceed to Chitrakut and requested him to help us out. He called up one of the known travel agents who agreed to take to all these places for Rs.2,200/- which was very nominal. The tour operators charge Rs.6/- per km. and also fo the return trip from Chitrakoot to Allahabad.

We were allotted an air-cooled room in the first floor. The guest house comprises of 5 rooms . A big photo of Srila Prabhupada near the entrance welcomed us. Somehow we had to cope up with the room temperature .

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On 15/05/10, we were ready by 6 A.M. with a set of clothes to go to Prayag. The car owner personally met the ISKCON devotee who coordinated with him on our behalf and introduced the driver to us. The driver took us to Prayag which is about 9 kms from ISKCON.

TRIVENI SANGAMAM SRUNGABERIPURAM

BHARADWAJA ASHRAM TULSIDAS ASHRAM

Date 15th May,2010Places visited TRIVENI SANGAMAM

SRUNGABERIPURAM BHARADWAJA ASHRAMAnd proceeded to Chitrakoot

Base AllahabadWhere to stay Any good hotel or At ISKCONTemple details Allahabad:- Triveni Sangamam, Letey Hanuman mandir,

Gaudiya Mutt, ISKCON, Bharadwaja muni ashram Srungaberipuram:- Ganges, Hanuman temple, Rishyasrunga

temple, architectural evidences where Rama stayed Chitrakut:- Tulsidas birth place at Ram Nagar on the way to

Chitrakut.Holy theertham Triveni SangamamTime Required Half a dayHow to reach Srungaberipuram is one hour drive from AllahabadImportance of this place connected with Ramayana

Srungaberipuram:- Place of Guha sakhyam. Sri Rama stayed for one day at this place. Sri Rama considered Guhan as HIS own brother. Guhan helped Sri Rama to cross Ganges.Triveni Sangamam:- Sri Rama had bath at the confluence of three sacred rivers and crossed Yamuna with the help of a boat constructed by Lakshmana to go to Chitrakoot.

TRIVENI SANGAMAM:- “Veni “ means plait. “Tri” means Three. Tri-Veni comprising of Ganga,Yamuna and Saraswathi rivers is considered to be Mahalakshmi Thayar’s plait. This is the holiest among all Sangamams. It is also known as “PRAYAG RAJ”. Kumbh Mela once in 12 years and Ardh Kumbha Mela once in six years takes place at this place. The sangamam is about 2 kms from the shore. During summer, as the water level decreases, one has to take a boat to go to the Sangamam whereas during monsoon, it would be at walkable distance from the shore. Blue Ganges flows from north, blackish Yamuna flows from west and Saraswathi is antarvahini (cannot be seen).

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Sri Rama explained its significance to Lakshmana and Sita Devi and had holy bath at this place.

LETEY HANUMAN MANDIR:- This Hanuman temple is near the shore. As Hanumanji is in a lying posture as if blocking the way, it is named so. When the British wanted to remove this idol, they failed in their attempts. This Hanuman protects the city from drowning during floods…. Devotees were pouring milk and offering flowers to the diety. PATALPURI FORT:- This fort was built by a Mughal emperor . From the port, there is a underground tunnel to Delhi. The idols of Sita, Ramar,Lakshmanan were worshipped here till few years back. Presently as the place has been converted as Ammunitions Factory, entry is restricted.

OTHER IMP. TEMPLES:- Gaudiya Mutt where Prabhupada was initiated and ISKCON are few temples of significance.

BHARADWAJA ASHRAM:- This is located in Allahabad and is well known temple. Sri Rama accompanied by Sita Devi and Lakshmana visited this muni’s ashram(earlier this place was a forest) and stayed here for a night. On this rishi’s advise, Sri Rama went to Chitrakoot and stayed.

Later Bharata stayed here when he set out in search of Sri Rama. When Bharata went to meet the rishi, he enquired from him about his intention of meeting Sri Rama. Bharata was shattered knowing that the rishi suspected him. He cried inconsolably justifying that he was not in no way involved in wicked Kaikeyi’s plot adding that he wanted to remain as Sri Rama’s servant. The rishi then praised Bharata that he knew about him and he questioned him in that harsh way so that the whole world would know Bharata’s qualities. Bharadwaja Muni with his yogic powers entertained Bharata’s entire army satisfying all their desires. Valmiki describes elaborately the arrangements made by Bharadwaja rishi for entertaining Bharata and his army. The desire of each and every individual was satisfied. Food of each person’s choice was provided and they were all entertained by heavenly damsels with music and dance. Such was the yogic power of the rishi.

Sri Rama while returning to Ayodhya after completion of 14 years again visited this place and offered obeisances to this rishi who asked him to stay for a day. Staying at this ashram, Sri Rama sent Hanuman to convey the news of HIS arrival to Bharata who was at Nandigram.

There are many sannidhis in this temple including that of Santoshi Maatha. There are sannidhis for Sita-Ramar, Bharadwaja rishi in an assembly of rishi, separate shrine for Bharadwajar etc. Near the entrance we can find an inscription about Sri Rama’s visit to this place.

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YAMUNA GHAT:- Lakshmana constructed a boat to enable the trio to cross Yamuna at this place. This is on the way to Chitrakoot.

IMPORTANT PLACES NEAR ALLAHABAD

SRUNGABERIPURAM:- This place is about 30 kms from Allahabad, one hour drive from station. Srungaberipuram is named after Rishyasrunga muni who had his ashram here. This rishi officiated the putra kameshti yaagam performed by Dasaratha. By performing this yaagam, Dasaratha was blessed with four valiant sons- Perumal manifested as Sri Rama and Adiesesha as .Lakshmana,Sankhu as Bharata and Chakram as Shatruguna. Rishyasrunga rishi and Santha Devi lived at this place. Later this place was ruled by Guha, the Nishadha king. As he used to hunt and hang the skins of deer, this place came to be known as Srungaberipuram.

As Guha,the hunter used to hang the skin of the hunted deer all around the place, this place came to be known as “SRUNGA BERI PURAM”. This was also the residence of Rishyasrunga muni and Shanta Devi. Rishyasrunga muni was instrumental in Dasaratha performing Putra Kameshti yaagam and Shanta Devi, the wife of Rishyasrunga muni was the daughter of Dasaratha. There is a temple dedicated to this muni at this place. Nearby there is a temple for Sita Ramar constructed later by some devotee.

RAM SAYYA AT SRUNGABERIPURAM:- Seetha Ramar along with Lakshmana and Sumantra crossed Ganges and halted at Guha’s place. Guha, the hunter was the ruler of this place. He welcomed Sita Ramar and Lakshmana warmly. Sri Rama embraced Guha saying that henceforth they are 5 brothers instead of four. The compassionate Lord treeted Guha as his own brother. The Lord asked Guha to get some tree extract for tying jadamudi (a hair knot) . Rama and Lakshmana remained with this jadamudi during their entire vanavaasam. Sri Rama fasted that night as he undertook the vow of an ascetic. The Lord had only three sips of water from the Ganges and retired for the night. While Sita and Ramar rested for the night, Lakshmana and Guha stood guard. The sight of the Supreme Lord sleeping on the ground who enjoyed all luxuries in Ayodhya and who was not accustomed to any hardship was now too much for Lakshmana and Guha to bear with. Sri Rama ,Sitadevi an Lakshmana lived only on fruits and roots during their vanavaasam . During these 14 years, Lakshmana never slept and always did Rama kainkaryam.

Later when Bharata came with his army , he too stayed at this place. When Guha pointed towards the place where Sri RAma and Sitadevi slep, Bharata cried inconsolably blaming himself to be the cause for Sri Rama’s plight. When Guha informed him about the Lord’s jadamudi, immediately Bharata and Shatruguna ordered for the same and applied. Thus all the four brothers remained like ascetics for 14 years. Such was Bharata’s affection for Sri Rama.

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RISHYASRUNGA TEMPLE:- There is a temple for Rishyasrunga muni and his wife, Shantha Devi. There is a sannidi for Sri Ramar. These temples were built later but the original site where Sri Rama stayed with Guha is bit far away from this temple.

EXCAVATED SITE AT RAM SAYYA :- Archealogical Survey of India executed a project “EXCAVATION OF RAMAYANAM SITES” during 1980s and have found that this is the original place where Sri Rama stayed with Guha. They also have found out two wells which were used to filter Ganga water for drinking purpose. A board mentioning Sri Rama’s visit to this place is displayed. This site and the surrounding area upto a radius of 2 kms on all sides has been declared as a “protected area” and no mining/ digging/construction activity can be undertaken without Government’s permission.

RIVER GANGES:- Ganga flows nearby. At the place where Sri Rama,Sita and Lakshmana crossed the Ganges to proceed to Bharadwaja muni ashram , there is a temple dedicated to Hanumar and Shiva. Hanuman’s face resembles that of Garuda’s.

OUR EXPERIENCE

AT PRAYAG:- Prayag also known as “Triveni Sangamam” is one of the holiest places. The confluence of three sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi takes place here.

We hired a boat for Rs.1,200/- to go to the Sangamam. Prayag is a typical piligrimage spot where the boatman, pandas loot us. All of us had holy bath and offered ghee lamp and flowers which we had purchased on the way. Just for using another boat to keep our belongings, we had to pay Rs.100/-.!!! . Beggars were pouncing on us ….. We had to literally rush back to the car. On the way, wen visited “Letey Hanuman” mandir which is closeby.

AT GAUDIYA MUTT:- From there on the way to ISKCON, we visited Gaudiya Mutt. This is supposed to be the place where Srila Prabhupada stayed for many years and took dikshai… Allahabad is considered as “Diksha Bhoomi” by ISKCON devotees. Renovation work is in progress. Radha- Shyamsundar is the presiding diety. This mutt is not connected to ISKCON. The place was calm and peaceful perfect for meditation. We happened to meet an exalted devotee, (whom we refer to as “Avadooth”). In a nutshell, he narrated the essence of Srimad Bhagavatam in simple words . There was a chart showing the various heavens and hells which would be obtained based on our karmas. Pointing to these two huge pictures hung on the wall showing the acts which leads a person to heaven/ hell and a Vaishnavite’s act, he described Bhakti Yoga in simple terms pointing out that only by having unflinched devotion to the lotus feet of Sri Hari, we can attain moksham. He referred to Katvanga, Prahalada, Dhruva, Parikshit,Ajamilan’s stories from Srimad Bhagavatam advising that age is not a factor for cultivating bhakti. . He briefly explained the nava vidha bhakti as expounded by Prahalada. We were totally mesmerized by his lecture unaware of time. We realized that only due to our acharyar’s grace, we could meet this person who definitely left his impact on us. We salute to this person and pray for our upliftment. In this trip, we had satsang in many places.

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Prostrated and offered him some dakshinai for our satisfaction. He didn’t require it as he was beyond all these material things….. We missed the Srungar aarthi at ISKCON . After having prashad , we started on our journey to Srungaberipuram.

Srungaberipuram is about 30 kms from Allahabad and 90 mintues journey from ISKCON.

AT SRUNGABERIPURAM:- We reached this place around 11 A.M. We could not bear the heat wave. The sun was scorching with vengeance on our heads. Even the AC in the car could not cool the inside temperature. The driver took us to the excavated site which is an evidence that Sri Rama visited this place and stayed with Guha. Except archaeological remains, there is nothing to be seen. We considered ourselves to be fortunate for having the sparsha of the place which was sanctified by Sri Rama.

AT GANGES:-A board showing the route for “RAM SAYYA” greeted us. River Ganges flows by. First, we had Hanuman’s darshan. The face of Hanuman resembles Garuda’s face. Opposite to this temple is a temple for Shiva. I was wondering why there was no temple for Sri Rama. We met a priest who stays with his family at this place. After providing with water for quenching our thirst, he started narrating about Sri Rama’s exile and his visit to this place, about guha’s qualities , how Guha helped the Lord cross the river. He was adept in Ram Charitra Manas and referring to select verses, he explained Guha’s reply to the Lord. Guha says that the Lord does not need any boat to cross over but he is asking only to give us an opportunity to serve HIM. When Sri Rama was about to place HIS foot on the boat, Guha wondered what would happen to the boat reflecting Ahalya’s incident. When Sri Rama stepped on a stone, it transformed into Ahalya, a lady. We recollected an old Telugu movie song”Ramaiyya Thandri O Ramaiyya Thandri…ee nomuli nochaamu Ramaya thandri……” The priest whom we named as “Guhan” enthusiastically went on telling about Ramayanam for more than one hour. I wondered how even an ordinary person was well versed in Ramcharitra Manas. We got delayed because of this and had to skip Sri Rama and Rishyasrunga muni’s temples.

We had to feel content for having visited the excavated site which other bhagavatas did not visit. Returned to ISKCON and checked out at 2 P.M. Purchased T shirts for my nephew’s son and brother’s children and some keychains to be gifted away from ISKCON shop and resumed our journey to Chitrakoot. We had to skip our lunch as there was no good hotel on our route. Had lassi and snacks on the way to Chitrakoot.

AT RAJAPUR:- This is the birth place of Tulsidas, the great poet who composed Ram Chairtra Manas . Chitrakoot is about 20 kms from this place. It is not on the main route from Allahabad to Chitrakoot. One needs to take a diversion and drive for about 19 kms to visit this place. A new temple built at this place has a shrine for Tulsidas. We reached this place around 5 P.m. At the entrance, there are huge statues of Hanuman . The sannidhi was closed but we could view the idol of Tulsidas through the meshed grilled door. The vigraham looks full of life. Beside the sannidhi, few important slokas

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from Ramcharitra Manas is written. In the big hall in front of the sannidhi, there are beautiful statues made of Plaster of Paris of important characters from Ramayana- Sravana carrying his aged and blind parents, Sri Rama doing Shiva pooja, Sri Rama accepting fruits given by Sabari while Lakshmana looks upon, Lord Narayanan in Adisesha ……

The inmates narrated Tulsidas ‘s story- how he was plunged in sense gratification and was behind material pursuits. It so happened that out of eagerness to see his wife who was at her parents ‘place, Tulsidas risked his life by going out in the heavy rain and though the river was in full spate, he crossed over it by clinging to a dead body which was floating mistaking it to be a wooden raft, how he tried to enter the room in first floor by holding a serpent mistaking it to be a rope. He was chastised by his wife at his unworthy behaviour saying that he is unnecessarily showing his determination in achieving worldy pursuits and if he diverts his attention towards the Lord , who is the Protector of the entire Universe, his life would be of some worth. Wisdom dawned on him instantaneously. He praised his wife as his guru for having opened his eyes and left the place never to return.

Having developed dispassion for worldly things, he left for Kashi and stayed there. He contemplated on Hanuman with a prayer to bestow him with Rama bhakti. He attempted to write Ramayanam in Sanskrit but failed in his attempts. One night, Shiva appeared in his dream ordering him to go to Ayodhya and sit in a particular place and compose Ramayanam in Hindi.

Tulsidas left for Ayodhya and reached the place directed by Shiva. An old saint who was sitting there vacated his place . He prayed to Hanuman and with his grace, started composing Ram Charitra Manas. It is believed that Hanuman used to sit in front of him and approve his song. He had an earnest desire to have Sri Rama’s darshan and pleaded Hanuman to help him out. Hanuman granted his request saying that the Lord would appear the next day at a particular place (the present Ramtek). Next day, true to HIS words, Lord gave darshan in the form of two youth aged about 12 years in the temple but Tulsidas could not recognize them. Later Hanuman told him that the 2 boys were Rama and Lakshmana. Tulsidas repented that he could not recognize the Lord and intensified his sadhana. The Lord appeared with Sitadevi, Lakshmana and Hanumar and blessed the saint.

With the grace of Hanuman, he was bestowed with abundant knowledge and was ordered by the Lord to write Valmiki Ramayanam in Hindi so that ordinary people can also recite. Valmiki Ramyanam could be rectied only by those who knew Sanskrit but for ordinary people, it was difficult. When Tulsidas used to compose Ramayanam, it is said that Hanuman used to sit in front of him and nod his head. Glorifying the great Rama Bhakta-Sri Hanuman, he composed the famous “HANUMAN CHALISA” He has given to the world, the most priceless gem, “RAM CHARITRA MANAS” which is popular all over North India.

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Prostrating at the feet of this bhagavata to bestow Rama bhakti on us, we proceeded to Chitrakoot. The travel agent at Allahabad who had arranged vehicle suggested us to stay at Hotel Kamadgiri where the rates are reasonable. Situated near Ram ghat, this hotel is very famous in Chitrakoot for its food-vegetarian food without onions and garlic. Had dinner and after making arrangements for the next day, we retired for the night.

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Date 16th May,2010Places visited ChitrakootBase ChitrakootWhere to stay Hotel Kamadgiri/ U.P.Tourism Guest House, M.P.Guest House or

any other hotel. Being a pilgrimage center, there are many hotels in Chitrakoot. One can stay at Allahabad or Satna and visit the temples

Temple details In Chitrakoot:- Ram Ghat, Bharat Milap, Kamadgiri Mountain, Mandakini river, Valmiki ashram, Janaki Kund, Atri ashram, Paduka dhaan, Spatik Shila, Bharat temple, Viswamitra ashram, Tulsidas ashram, Hanuman dhaara, Gupt Godavari, Ram Darshan and various other temples

Outside Chitrakoot:- Sarabhanga Ashram, Suteekshana ashrams located on the way to Satna from Chitrakoot; Agastya Muni ashram near Satna

Tulsidas temple at Rajapur 20 kms from ChitrakootHoly theertham River Mandagini Ganga (different from Mandakini river which

originates from Himalayas) Time Required One dayHow to reach There are few trains to Chitrakoot Karvi . As the train timings did

not suit us, we went by car. Can be accessed from Allahabad or Satna

Importance of this place connected with Ramayana

Sri Rama spent few months in the beginning of his exile. However the local devotees say that the Lord spent 11.5 years at this place.

PLACES IN AND AROUND CHITRAKOOT

RAM GHAT:- On hearing Dasaratha’s demise from Bharata, Sri Rama along with HIS brothers offered tharpanam to the departed soul at this place. All of them had bath in River Mandagini Ganga and offered roots and leaves as food to the departed soul. Kausalya who passed by this place, cried pitiably seeing her son’s condition . This is the most sacred bathing place in Chitrakoot. This place is famous for “Jala tharpanam” to departed souls.

JANAKI KUND:- This is the bathing place for Sitadevi. This kund is part of River Mandagini Ganga. Nearby there is a temple for Sitadevi. This is one of the “CHAAR DHAMS”, the others being Spatik Shila, Gupt Godavari and Sati Anasuya.

KAMADGIRI MOUNTAIN:- This is the most sacred mountain in Chitrakoot. Its height is 500 metres. Sri Rama stayed with Thayar and Lakshmanan at this place in a hermitage constructed by Lakshmana. Lord stayed here for many months till Bharata arrived. While Rama and Sitadevi stayed in the parna saala, Lakshmana used to go into

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the forest to gather fruits and roots.. Lord Rama praises this place that HE prefers to stay in Chitrakoot rather than being in Ayodhya. All the important places related to Ramayanam are located around Kamadgiri mountain. It is believed that Sri Rama used to offer prayers to this diety Kamadnath every day as he is one of the forms of Shiva.

This mountain is very sacred that people do not climb the mountain. It is protected by fence on all sides.(Likewise in Vrindavan, Goverdhana giri which was lifted by Perumal is very sacred . No one climbs the hill. It is also protected by fencing on all sides. Goverdhanagiri is bigger than Chitrakoot.)

Pilgrims circumbulate the mountain by first offering prayers to Lord Kamadnath. It is known as “Mukharavindh temple” We can find Mukharavinda temples on all four sides of the mountain. In one of the temples, we can find Sita,Ramar,Lakshmanar along with Kamadnath. Pilgrims offer coconut and sweets to the Lord before starting parikrama. (The coconuts do not contain water)

Pilgrims have a habit of offering milk to the diety. Near the sannidhi, there is Kubera Kund which has five big holes (with a radius of 2 feet) near the sannidhi. By placing their five fingers in these holes, they make a praarthanai (pray for desire). When the wish is fulfilled, the devotee fills up the five holes with five different grains (Rice,wheat etc…..) which is then cooked and distributed amongst pilgrims. The parikrama path is about 5 kms and takes about 2 hours to do the parikrama. It takes about 12 hours to do angapradakshinam. The parikrama path is stone laid . There are shops on either sides of the parikrama path . Like Ayodhya, in Chitrakoot there are plenty of monkeys. Parikrama can be done throughout the day except during midnight upto 3 A.M. It is believed that even today , Sri Rama offers worship to Lord Kamadnath . The sound of conch and bells ringing can be heard. To avoid disturbance , pilgrims are refrained from doing parikrama for three hours-from midnight to 3 A.M.

BHARAT MILAP- the place where Sri Rama and Bharata met is located at this place. Bharata fell at Sri Rama’s feet like a stick, Sri Rama embraced Bharata affectionately and enquired about everyone’s welfare. Looking at the affection of the brothers, the rock on which they were standing melted . There are Sri Rama’s footprints in front of which we can find small hollows representing Bharata’s fingers touching the ground while prostrating and with two bigger shallows considered as Bharata’s knee. Seeing Bharata’s affection towards Sri Ramar, the rock melted and thus the impression is recorded. Nearby Sri Rama’s Thiruvadi is imbibed on a marble which is worshipped. Pooja is done at this place and it is a practice for devotees to do atleast three pradakshinas. This place can be accessed by taking a vehicle or while doing parikrama.

PADUKA DHAAN –the place where Sri Rama gave HIS padukas(sandals) to Bharata to rule over the kingdom is near Kamadgiri mountain. A beautiful bluish figure of Sri Rama sitting on a rock and Bharata kneeling down and accepting the sandals can be seen at this place. The whole place vibrates with the brothers’ affection. This is opposite to Bharat Milap mandir.

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SPATIK SHILA:- This is the place where Kakasuran was punished by Sri Rama. The local devotees point out to the incident that Sri Rama dressed Sitadevi with flowers and applied kumkum on HER forehead in this place. Sitadevi refers to this incident to Hanuman to be informed to Sri Rama as an evidence of having met HER and hands over Choodamani(an ornament worn on the head) to Hanuman. Sitadevi narrates the following incident which is mentioned in the 67th sargam of Sundara Kaandam. One day while Ramara and Sitadevi were sleeping at this place, Indra’s son Jayanthan disguised as a crow with an evil intention to touch Sita started harming her . As Sitadevi did not want to disturb Rama who was asleep on HER lap, SHE endured the pain. Blood started oozing out from her heart and fell on Sri Rama’s face. Sri Rama got up and asked Sita as to who dared to harm HER. He found the crow with blood stuck to its nails and with HIS insight, HE understood the crow’s evil intentions. Sri Rama didn’t even his bow and quiver of arrows with HIM. So , he took a grass and uttered Brahamastram mantram and threw it on the crow. The astram started chasing the crow who tried to take shelter in heaven, amongst birds/amongst devas and so on but was kicked out by everyone. Atlast realizing that there was no one to save him, he fell down near Sri Rama’s feet. Sita devi turned it slightly towards Sri Rama as SHE knew that the Lord would protect those who have taken shelter (did saranagathi)to HIM. As the astram once aimed cannot be taken back, the Lord spared the crow’s life by plucking right eye.Citing the above incident, Sita devi asks Hanuman why the Lord who aimed Brahmastram at a mere crow did not vanquish Ravana till now. Hanuman pacifies HER that Sri Rama did not take any action because HE did not know HER whereabouts. This skandham if recited daily enhances devotion.

Spatik Shila is a big cream coloured rock and hence named as “Spatik” . Mandagini Ganga flows nearby.

HANUMAN DHAARA:- This is about 5 kms from Kamadgiri Hotel. As the name signifies, water from a dhaara (waterfall) keeps falling on Hanuman continuously. Hanuman’s body was burning due to the fire ignited on his tail. After pattabhishekam, Hanuman prays to Sri Rama to cool the burning sensation in his body. Lord Rama aimed an arrow on this hill from which cool water gushed out. Sri Rama ordered Hanuman to stay in this place. (I don’t know whether this is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayanam ) The origin of the water fall is not known. This temple is located on a hilltop. There are about 609 steps to reach the sannidhi. In the sannidhi, Hanuman is in a seated position, the water drips continuously on his right shoulder,. Earlier, it used to directly fall on Hanuman’s right bhujham thus wetting the surrounding places. Now the temple priest have put a pipe to avoid spillage . through the pipe, the water drips on Hanuman which goes below and is collected in a tank. There is a sannidhi for Sita,Ramar and Lakshmanar .

SATI ANASUYA MANDIR: This is one of the famous pilgrim spots in Chitrakoot and is one of the places covered in “Char Dhaam Yatra”. The place itself is known as “Anusuyya”. A big temple in front of which is a sacred kund in which water from various sacred rivers flow into it. There are about 1000 kunds in this place.

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Sri Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana visited Atri muni’s ashram after leaving Chitrakoot. Atri muni’s wife is Sati Anasuya who is known for her chastity. There are some remarkable incidents which need a mention at this place.

1) The chastity of Anasuya was known in all the three worlds. Parvathi,Lakshmi and Saraswathi however did not approve with their husbands regarding her greatness. So, the Trimurthis were sent to test her. Vishnu,Shiva and Brahma appeared before her and asked her to feed them with milk. The compassionate Anasuya with her yogic powers transformed the three deities into 3 infants-Vishnu as Dattatareya, Shiva as Chandran and Brahma as Durvasar and fed them with milk. Lakshmi,Parvathi and Saraswathi were perplexed because their consorts didn’t return to them as several months passed by. Searching for their husbands, they reached this ashram and found to their dismay that their husbands were transformed into infants. They realized Anasuya’s powers and pleaded to return their husbands. This was to demonstrate Anasuya’s powers.

2) Earlier this place was without water. When Atri rishi asked her to fetch some water for performing oblations, she sincerely obeyed him and prayed to Ganga to appear. The water appeared and the whole place was filled with this river water which is known as Mandagini Ganga.

Sri Rama offered HIS respects to the rishi who imparted his astra,sastra powers to the Lord. Obeying the rishi’s instructions, Sri Rama asked Sita to approach Anasuya and serve her. Sitadevi approached the aged Anasuya who was glowing in effulgence. Anasuya was happy to receive Sita. She asked Sitadevi to narrate her wedding details as she wished to hear it from Sitadevi HERSELF. Sitadevi beautifully narrated the entire wedding incident starting from breaking of Shiva dhanush,how Sri Rama sought HIS father’s permission for marriage, how grand the wedding took place. Later Anasuya gifted Sitadevi with jewellery and clothes which would not get soiled. Sitadevi fulfilled Anausya’s desire by dressing up in bridal costume seeing which even Sri Rama was fascinated. Anasuya advised Sitadevi about the importance of “pativrata dharmam” and instructed her to abide by it always.

After spending some time with them, Sri Ramar proceeded to Sarbhanga ashram as per the rishi’s advise.

RAM SAYYA- This is on the outskirts of Chitrakoot and is the place where Sri Rama spent his first night on arriving at Chitrakut. The impressions of the lying posture of Sri Rama and Sitadevi can still be seen on the rock in which they slept. Sita Devi slept on one side ,between them Lord’s Kodhandam was kept. Sri Rama slept on HIS back. The rock melted at the plight of Sri Rama’s condition. Hence, the rock is shallow and soft at the place where the Lord slept. On the side of the rock, the finger impressions of Bharata can be seen as he rested his hands on the rock while praying to the Lord.

When Sri Rama reached this place which was like a forest , he asked Lakshmana to take permission from the guardian of this place to allow them to stay. Lakshmana found that

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Shiva was incharge and seeing Shiva in dancing form without proper dress, Lakshmana returns without meeting Shiva. Rama convinces Lakshmana and extols the greatness of Shiva. Shiva advises them to go further inside and reside on Kamadgiri hill. (This incident is not mentioned in Valmiki Ramayanam)

BHARAT KOOP: Bharata along with the royal family, priests and citizens of Ayodhya reached Chitrakoot with full preparations to crown Sri Rama as the King of Ayodhya. Water from several sacred rivers,oceans and seas were brought in golden pots for the coronation ceremony which Bharata wanted to do at Chitrakut itself. Sri Rama was very firm in HIS commitment and promise given to Dasaratha and did not oblige to Bharata’s persuasion. Bharata decided to fast unto death in front of Rama by lying on Kusa grass. Sri Rama affectionately consoled him and after several requests, accepted Sage Vasishta’s advise to handover the padukas which would rule Ayodhya and get coronated as King of Ayodhya after completion of HIS exile. Sri Rama accepted his preceptor’s advise. Bharata requested Sri Rama to bless him with Thiruvadigal(padukas) which would represent Sri Rama to rule the kingdom on HIS behalf. The sacred waters which were brought were thrown into a well which is known as Bharat Koop. There are 4 rings on each side of the well to draw water. Though the water is drawn from the same well, it tastes differently when drawn through the four rings. – Water at one place is salty, at one place it is sweet, it is normal at other place.. A marvel indeed!!

GUPTH GODAVARI:- This is about 19 kms from Chitrakut. “Gupt” means secret. River Godavari from Nasik reached this place secretely to wash Sri Rama’s thiruvadigal . Sri Rama pleased with her services asked her to choose a boon to which she replied that she wished to disappear from this place. So, the source and the exit of the river cannot be identified at this place. WE can find water inside the cave only. Hence this place is known as “Gupth Godavari”. An idol of Godavari river is present near Gupt Godavari.

All the devas and rishis assembled in a cave to worship Sri Rama who was residing in Chitrakoot. There are two caves. In the first cave , Gupt godavari Kund, Dhanush Kund, Sannidhi for Sita, Ramar,Lakshmanar, separate sannidhi for Hanumanji, Karkata chor etc. are present. An asura who stole away Sitadevi’s saree was punished by Lakshmana to turn into a stone. When he pleaded to Lakshmana to satisfy his hunger, Lakshmana blessed saying that darshan of this stone by whoever visted this place would appease his hunger. After coming out of the first cave, we have to enter into the second cave. In the second cave which is almost dark, we have to walk in Godavari water for about half a kilometer to visit Godavari shrine .A small kund named as Ram Kund and Lakshman Kund are found nearby. Sri Rama and Lakshmana have sanctified this kund. Going inside the cave in a narrow pathway flooded with waters upto knee level surrounded by big rocks on either side is a memorable experience.

RAM DARSHAN:- Constructed some four years back, this tourist place should not be missed. The entry fee is Rs.10/-. The important incidents from Ramayana are beautifully carved-Putrakameshti yagam, Sri Rama going to forest with Viswamitra, Sri Rama protecting the yaagam, breaking Shiva dhanush,marriage with Sita, Ravana kidnapping Sita, Sri Rama performing last rites to Jatayu, Rama-Sugreeva friendship, Hanuman’s

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leap to Lanka, Hanuman setting fire to Lanka, war between Sri Ram and Ravana and Rama pattabhishekam. There are beautiful paintings from Ramayanam. This place is a MUST SEE. In the ground floor, there are collections of Ramayana written in different languages including foreigh languages. A replica of Sri RAma in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other countries can also be seen.

OUR EXPERIENCE AT CHITRAKOOT

We reached Chitrakoot by car from Allahabad at about 7 in the evening. It is 5 hours drive from Allahabad. As we visited Rajapur and halted at some places, we took six hours. Chitrakoot is situated between Allahabad and Satna but comparatively nearer from Allahabad. Chitrakoot shares space with two states- U.P. and M.P. Most of the temples are in M.P. The telephone booths and the hotels have two phone connections-one is M.P. and the other U.P. connection. The local drivers fuel their vehicle in U.P. as there is price difference in petrol.

Chitrakoot is a hill located in the picturesque surroundings. Surrounded by River Mandakini Ganga and trees touching the sky, the whole place is a feast to the eyes. Bharadwaja muni describes the scenic beauty of this place and advises Sri Rama to stay at this serene place . Lakshmana constructed a hermitage (parna saalai) on Kamadgiri mountain for them to reside. Even today, Kamadgiri mountain is consider to be very sacred as it was Sri Rama’s dwelling during HIS exile.. No one climbs the hill as it is very sacred. Thousands of devotees circumbulate the hill daily. The whole place vibrates with Rama bhakti.

We reached Chitrakoot at 7 P.M. and checked into Hotel Kamadgiri .The room rent is Rs. 350/- plus 100/- per extra person. The food provided is excellent. After many days, we tasted some good food. WE came to know later that the restaurant arranges for the food to be packed neatly to be had later. The restaurant is always fully packed. Another interesting news is that Chitrakut has pure HINDU cult. There is no church or mosque in Chitrakut. Hope that all other pilgrimage centres like Tirupati are maintained like this.

Coordinated with the hotel owner who was at the Reception to arrange a vehicle for us to visit nearby places. He contacted Sri.Ansal , a local taxi driver on his mobile but there was no response. Later we learnt that he does parikrama twice daily and in the evenings , he maintains silence while doing parikrama.He met us at the hotel at about 9 P.M. He agreed to take us to “Char dhaam” (comprising of Janaki Kund , Sati Anasuya ashram, Spatik Shila and Gupt Godavari), Hanuman dhaara, Kamadgiri mountain , Ram darshan and drop us at Satna for Rs.2,200/-. We were keen on visiting Sarabhanga ashram which is located on the route to Satna from Chitrakut and Suteekshana ashram near Satna (as Suteekshana muni stayed here, this place was earlier known as Suteekshanapuri which got corrupted as “Satna”) but he said that as these ashrams are located deep in forest, it will take one full day to visit these two places. The charges for visiting Sarabhanga asram is Rs.2000/-. As we had to board train from Satna on the same day, we did not visit these ashrams. Having bath in Mandagini Ganga and doing Kamadgiri parikrama

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are the two most auspicious things one needs to do at Chitrakut. So, we decided to go for parikrama.

Next day morning at about 5 A.M. before sunrise, we walked down to Ram Ghat which is the holiest spot in Chitrakut. We left for Kamadgiri parikrama at about 6.30 A.M. Kamadgiri hill is about 4 kms from Hotel Kamadgiri. After parking the car in the parking area, we started parikrama after worshipping Lord Kamadrinath at Doosra Prachin Mukharavinda. Offered milk ,water and broke a coconut . This diety was worshipped by Sri Rama HIMSELF. Chanting Rama naamam continuously, we started parikrama visiting various shrines on the way. The most important shrines are Bharat Milap, Paduka dhaan. It took about 2 hours for us to finish the parikrama. Then returned to hotel for breakfast. After relaxing for about an hour, we resumed our journey. We drove to Hanuman dhaara which is about 19 kms from Chitrakut. The driver advised us to carry water bottles with us as water would not be available on the route. Under the scorching sun, we started trekking at 11 A.M. and took about 30 minutes for us to climb 609 steps. The whole way was infested with langoors. The ascent was tiring because of the heat. Refreshed and sprinkled water from the tank in which water touching Hanuman’s thirumeni is collected. This water is potable. Recited Hanuman Chalisa and offered dry fruits to Hanuman. The priest narrated the incident about water falling on Hanuman. The marble vigrahams of Sita,Ramar,Lakshmana are beautiful Filled up our bottles with this water and descended the steps and drove to “ Ram Sayya” .

At Ram Sayya, an old priest unmindful of the heat showed us the rock on which Sri Rama slept. The names of Sita and Rama where they slept are painted on the rock. The priest showed us Bharata’s finger prints and Hanuman sannidhi . This Hanuman’s face resembled like the one we saw at Srungaberipuram. The priest informed that Shiva had advised Rama to stay in Kamadgiri mountain. Sri Rama slept for a night on arriving at Chitrakut at this place. Offered some dakshinai and after taking his blessings, we left for Bharat Koop.

At Bharat koop,the sannidhi was closed. Drew water from the sacred well in which all the sacred waters brought for Sri Rama’s coronation was poured. Each bucket of water tasted differently. Wondered at this .

Proceeded to Spatik Shila- the place where Kakasuran was punished. We then visited Janki Kund also known as Sita Kund. This is the place where Sitadevi used to bathe daily.

We visited Ram Dharshan by paying entrance fee of Rs.10/- per person. Cameras,mobiles etc are not allowed. It was a feast to the eyes. It was as if we could see entire Ramayanam in front of us.

We drove to Sati Anasuya ashram which is on the outskirts of Chitrakoot . Visited the jeeva Samadhi of Paramhamsa. This temple was built by Paramhamsa Trust. Clay figures from important incidents in Sati Anasuya’s life are kept. Anasuya praying to Ganges for providing water, Sri Rama and Lakshmana sitting near the feet of Atri muni

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who advised them, conversation between Anasuya and Sitadevi, Anasuya taking care of Trimurthis who were transformed into infants with her power etc. Offered bangles and kumkum to Anasuya as it is a prevelant practice there. In front of the ashram, there is a big kund which is considered to be sacred. Many sacred rivers have mingled in it and there are about1000 small kunds in that pond. The little monkeys snatched away the beaten rice(pori) packet which we purchased for feeding the fishes. The little monkeys are dangerous.

We then visited gupt Godavari. This is well maintained. There are few shrines of rishis. After paying money for entrance ticket, we entered into the cave. We sprinkled water from a small kund known as godavari kund and after applying tilak in Godavari’s sannidhi, we visited Ramar sannidhi,Karkata chor shrine, Hanuman shrine. A priest offered theertha prasadam and informed the importance of this place to us. We recited Hanuman Chalisa. After taking the blessings of the priest who handed us few kankanams at Hanuman sannidhi, we went to visit other kunds like Dhanush kund. Following the directions displayed on the boards, we entered the second cave after coming out of the first cave. The cave was dark and was illumined with lights at some places. Reciting Vishnu Sahasranamam and Narasimha dev kirtan chorously, we walked through the water which was upto our knee level amidst narrow rocks was an exciting experience. We were totally transported to spiritual plane. We remembered our recent visit to Jala Narasimhar sannidhi at Bidar . After worshipping the small vigraham of Godavari, the priest pointed out two kunds named as Ram Kund and Lakshman Kund. The priest said that Godavari washed Lord’s Thiruvadigal at this place. While returning, we were chanting “SRI RAM JAI RAM JAI JAI RAM” and were joined by about 50 devotees. The whole area vibrated with this mantra and the echo produced thereof. We wondered to see that once out of the cave there was no sign of water.

The driver could not tell us the exact location of Vasishta muni ashram and Viswamitra muni’s ashram in Chitrakut. So, we could not visit these places.

Having completed all the important places in Chitrakoot, we prayed to Sri Rama to always contemplate on HIM and drove to Satna. Satna is about 2-3 hours drive from Chitrakoot. There is no proper restaurant to have good food on the way. The driver suggested that we should have got the meals packed which is the system travelers usually follow. We reached Satna at about 9 P.M. Our onward train to Nagpur was at 2220 hours and was as usual late by three hours. We were supposed to reach Nagpur by 11.30 A.M. but reached only at 3 P.M.

JAI SRI RAM

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Date 17h May,2010Places visited Ramtek, Agastya muni ashram, Ram,Krishna DharshanBase NagpurWhere to stay Not required to stay overnight. Temple details Ram tek- the place where Sri Rama took oath

Agastya muni ashram- one ashram is near Satna about 4 hour journeySecond ashram at Ramtek near nagpur

Holy theertham Ram TalabTime Required Max. 4 hours including traveling time from NagpurHow to reach From Nagpur, one can engage auto or carImportance of this place connected with Ramayana

Sri Rama visited this place twice.-During HIS vana vaasam, Sri Rama along with Lakshmana and Sitadevi visited Agastya muni and stayed for few months. Sri Rama killed Sambarasuran and reached this place to take Agastya muni’s blessings

PLACES IN AND AROUND RAMTEK

RAM-TEK: - This place, situated on a hill ,is about 60 kms from Nagpur Railway station. Opposite to station, there are many travel operators who will take you to Ramtek and Ram Darshan which is app. 2 kms from Ramtek. One can finish visiting this temple from Nagpur within 4 hours.

“TEK” means oath. As Sri Rama took an oath in the presence of rishis at Agastya muni ashram to protect them and annihilate the rakshasa race, this place came to be known as “Ram-tek”.

This is one of the ashrams of Agastya muni. There is an ashram of Agastya muni near Satna about 4 hours journey from Satna. To visit this place one has to stay at Satna or Chitrakut for an extra day. There is evidence that Agastya muni stayed at Ramtek.

In Uttarkandam, it is mentioned that Sri Rama killed Sambarasuran at this place. He paid respects to Agastya muni who was staying here.

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This temple situated on a hill has motorable road upway to the temple. Only very few steps are to be climbed. On the left side, there is Agastya muni ashram where akanda jyothi glows continuously. If we go further inside, we find Narasimhar sannidhi on the right, then Lakshmana sannidhi. Behind Lakhsmana’s sannidhi, is the sannidhi for Sita-Ramar.

Agastya muni blessed and rewarded Lakshmanan for all the kainkaryams he was doing to Sri Rama, that he would give darshan prior to Sri Rama. Usually, Lakshmana is always seen by the side of Rama. Only in this temple, there is a separate sannidhi for Lakshmana whom should be worshipped first.

In the main sannidhi, there are vigrahams of Sita-Ramar. 15 days utsavam is celebrated during Chaithra maasam(April) culminating with Sri Rama Navami..

Starting from Ashwini Pournami (pournami after Dassera ) upto Kartika Pournami, special puja takes place in the evenings and on th last day i.e. Kartik Pournami also known as “Tipini Purnima”, the old dresses worn by Perumal earlier are kept in a vessel and dipped in ghee. The vessel is then taken to the hilltop and lit fire. Thousands assemble to witness the jyothi. As the asura, Tipini was killed by Shiva on this day, it is celebrated as “Tipini Purnima”

Sri Rama and Lakshmana appeared as two young boys of about 12 years of age to Tulsidas in this temple premises. Tulsi could however not recognize them. Later Hanumanji informed him that the two boys were Rama and Lakshmana. Tulsidas was full of anguish that he did not recognize the Lord on whom he constantly contemplated. Later with Hanuman’s grace, Sri Rama appeared to him in HIS original form-with Sita devi,Lakshmana and Hanuman and blessed him.

Ram Talab is a sacred pond in Ramtek which is located behind the temple premises.

Ram Darshan:- This is an devotional and entertainment park constructed recently . Various images made of plaster of paris from incidents in Sri Rama,Krishna, Shiva ‘s lives etc are kept. There are sound and light show, kutputli shows etc which would be enjoyed by children. The entrance fee is Rs.50/- and time required is one hour.

OUR EXPERIENCE AT RAMTEK

The train which we boarded from Satna to reach Nagpur was late by 4 hours. We got down at about 4 P.M. in Nagpur. Being the headquarters for Central railway, this is one of the busiest stations . Our connecting train to Nasik was at 2000 hours on the same day No question of train running late as this is the starting point for Sewagram express. WE had hardly 4 hours at our disposal and within this stipulated time, we wanted to visit Ramtek. Took a quick shower in the waiting room for AC passengers and had mango juice from IRCTC restaurant beside the WR. (This waiting room was air conditioned and well maintained like Ahmedabad waiting room. )

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Coming out of the station, we met a taxi driver who was prepared to take us to Ramtek and drop us back at station for Rs.1000/-. He happened to be a Tamilian. Luckily there was not much traffic so we could reach Ramtek within an hour.

Doing kirtan of Taraka mantram, we ascended the broad steps passing through wayside shops. Visited Jeeva Samadhi of a saint in Agastya muni ashram, Agastya muni’s shrine and after donating for Akanda Jyothi, we proceeded towards the temple. We first visited Lakshmana sannidhi and were wondering why he is alone. Then we went to Ramar sannidhi, chanted selecte verses from Ramayanam. We requested the pujari who gave us theertha prasadam to tell us the importance of this temple . He said that Sri Rama stayed at this ashram for 4 months during rainy season and promised protection to the rishis. This place was part of Dhandakaranya forest. He informed about the Sri Rama navami festival and Kartik Purnima festival. Did japa for sometime and after thanking the priest, left the place. We felt satisfied when the priest said that this was the original Agastya ashram and not the one which we missed at Satna.

About a kilometer from Ramtek there is a Vigneshwara temple where Ganesha is seen with 16 hands. Due to time constraint, we didn’t visit this place. On the way, we went to Ram Darshan. This place is constructed recently in a vast area. The entrance fee is Rs.50- and will take minimum one hour to visit all the places. Shiva darshan, sri rama darshan, sri Krishna darshan , sound and light shows, kutputli shows form part of this amusement park.

On the way to station, had dinner at Hotel Kamath which is nearby and boarded train at 2000 hours.

JAI SRI RAM

Date 18h May,2010Places visited NASIK,PANCHAVATI, TAKET, TRIMBAKESWARBase NasikWhere to stay Any good hotel Temple details Kalaram Mandir, Goreram Mandir, Sita Gufa, Parna saala, Ram

ghat, Sita Haran, Paanch vad(Panchavati)Tapovan, Maricha sthal,

AROUND NASIK:- Triambakeswar (one of 12 jyotir lingas) Godavari source Taket (Jatayu moksham)

Holy theertham River GodavariTime Required about 6 hoursHow to reach By train or bus to Nasik-from there take a vehicle to visit Importance of this place connected with Ramayana

Sri Rama spent his later part of his exile at this place. This was part of Dhandarkaranya forest. Sitadevi was abducteda at this place. Jatayu attained moksham near Nasik

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PLACES IN AND AROUND NASIK

TRIAMBAKESWAR: - One of the 12 jyotirlingas of Shiva is located about 52 kms from Nasik. The origin of Godavari is at this place. Temple of Godavari, Kapalesswarnath are nearby.

IN NASIK:- Nasik was part of Dhandakaranya forest. Dhandakaranyam spread over M.P., Chattisgarh, Jharkhand Maharastra. After promising Agastya muni that he would protect them from rakshasas, Sri Rama entered the dreaded Dhandakaranyam which was infested with wild animals and rakshasas. The rishis advised Sri Rama to stay at Pancha-vati (place where five vata trees grew)

Important incidents that took place at Nasik, Panchavati:- Sri Rama killed many rakshasas who were roaming about disguising as animals.

Sri Rama and Lakshmana always protected Sitadevi. One of them always used to stay with Sitadevi to protect HER who left all the comforts and preferred to be with Sri Rama.

AT NASIK :- Surpanaka, Ravana’s sister who came there was infatuated with Sri Rama and forced him to marry her. Sri Rama replied that HE was already having Sita and suggested that Lakshmana would be the correct person. She approached Lakshmana with her desire who rejected her pleas. Infuriated, she thought that Sita was an obstruction and with the intention of killing her pounced on her. Lakshmana immediately disfigured her by cutting her nose and ears. Sri Rama killed all the 14000 rakshasas headed by Kara and Dhooshana(RAvana’s brothers) who came to avenge Surpanaka’s insult. The place where Surpanaka’s nose and ears were cut is “NASIK”

AT SITA HARAN, PANCHAVATI :-Hearing Sitadevi’s beauty from Surpanaka who sowed the seed of lust for Sita in Ravana, Ravana hatched a plan. Hearing Sri Rama’s valour, Ravana did not want a combat with HIM. He conceited an evil plan ordering Maricha, his uncle to disguise as a golden and roam about in front of Rama so that their attention would be diverted and Ravana could abduct Sita. Ravana informed Sri Rama’s valour and advised Ravana to abstain from this deceitful act which would bring doom to the entire Rakshasa race. Ravana did not listen to Maricha’s advise and threatened to kill him. Maricha preferred to die in the hands of Sri Rama and agreed for Ravana’s plan. Disguising as a golden deer, he roamed about in the vicinity of Sita who requested Sri Ramar to get the deer for HER. Keeping Lakshmana as guard, Sri Rama who knew that it was an asura went to catch the deer. The deer ran swiftly and Sri Rama chased it. After going very far, Maricha called out “LAKSHMANA “ imitating Sri Rama’s voice. Sitadevi who was perplexed hearing Sri Rama’s voice persisted Lakshmana to go for Sri Rama’s help. She lost her reasoning power and spoke harshly forcing Lakshmana to leave the parnasaala. The moment he left, Ravana disguised as a

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sanyasi approached her with a begging bowl. He could not enter into the parnasaala which was protected by Lakshmana’s power. So he begged Sita to offer by coming outside. The moment Sitadevi stepped out, he assumed his original form , lifted Sita by her hair and got into the chariot which flew in the sky.

When Sri Rama and Lakshmana returned to the hermitage, they could not see Sitadevi. Looking at the surroundings like flowers fallen on the ground,large foot steps on the ground etc., they guessed that some one must have kidnapped or eaten Sitadevi.

PANCHA VATI :- As advised by the rishis, Sri Rama chose this place to reside. There are five trees which are numbered as 1,2,3… Parna Saala, museum, Sita Gufa are located in this area.

PARNA SAALA:- Sri Rama chose a serene place and Lakshmana constructed a beautiful parnasaala catering to Sri Rama’s needs, a separate place for Sri Rama’s worship, meditation, separate place to spend time with Sitadevi etc… In the Valmiki Ramayanam, it is mentioned that looking at the parnasaala, Sri Rama praised Lakshmana that “HE never felt Dasaratha’s absence even for a moment because Lakshmana was always by HIS side catering to every need. On an auspicious day, Sri Rama performed homam and did grahapravesham in the new hermitage.

SITA GUFA:- While Sri Rama was engaged in fighting with 14000 rakshasas single handedly, Sitadevi stayed in a cave(Gufa) protected by Lakshmana. Sita devi’s shrine is inside a cave and one has to get inside by bending completely. Sita Gufa is in Pancha vati.

SITA HARAN:- This is the place from where Sitadevi was abducted by Ravana. This is near the parnasaala located near Tapovan.

MARICHA STHAL:- this is the place where Maricha was killed by Sri Rama

TAPOVAN:- In an open space, the figures of Lakshmana disfiguring Surpanaka is sculpted on a stone. Beside it, there are three kunds with little water known as Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu kunds.

PARNASAALA:- Opposite to Tapovan, a small place marked as “Parnasaala” can be seen. There is a temple for Sita,Ramar,Lakshmanar

KAALE RAM MANDIR:- As the name denotes, the image of Sri Rama is blackish in colour. An old temple

GOREY RAM MANDIR:- Here the images of Sri Rama,Sita and Lakshmana are carved out of marble.

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RAM GHAT:- Sri Rama used to have bath in River Godavari at this place. Shradh karma and pind dhaan done here give manifold benefits. Kumbh Mela takes place at this place once in 12 years and Ardh Kumbh Mela once in 6 years. Near this, there is a beautiful shrine for Godavari- personified.

OTHER TEMPLES :- Temples for Aruna, varuna, Sri Baaneshwar, Sri Kapaleswar, Sighsth Mandir, Lambey Hanuman, Naro shankar,Bhakti dhaam and Mukthi dhaam are some of the famous temples in Nasik. Sapthsrungi devi is about 30 kms from Nasik. This place is relevant to Ramayanam. Triambakeswar, Godavari uthpathi, Godavari temple can also be visited.

TAKET:- This place is situated about 65 kms from Nasik on Igatpuri Road in Mumbai Highway. One needs to take a diversion from the highway and drive for about 20 kms to reach this place.

Jatayu, the aged vulture king , was Dasaratha’s friend whom Sri Rama met on HIS way to Panchavati. Jatayu introduced himself adding that he would protect Sitadevi in their absence. Sri Rama treated this eagle like HIS own father. True to its words, when it saw Ravana carrying away Sita in an aerial car, the vulture fought valiantly with Ravana. Even Ravana who was a terror to everyone could not withstand its attack. Ravana had to get down from his chariot leaving his grip on Sitadevi and fight with the bird. He mercilessly cut the wings of Jatayu which fell on the ground dying. He chased Sita who was running away from him screaming for help and snatched her and proceeded on his flight dragging Sitadevi by her hair towards Lanka situated in south.

The dying Jatayu was waiting for Sri RAma’s arrival. Sri Rama and Lakshmana could not recognize the wounded bird. Jatayu informed Sri Rama that Ravana abducted Sitadevi who was crying piteously and flew towards south. Out of gratitude, Sri Rama affectionately hugged Jatayu for his help who left his body on Sri RAma’s lap. Jatayu attained moksham by dying in the arms of Sri Rama.

So, it was through Jatayu that Sri Rama learnt about Sitadevi’s whereabouts. Sri Rama performed last rites for Jatayu and performed 10 days rituals as per the sastras. Even Dasaratha did not have this bhaagyam . Sri Rama performed all the rites as laid in scriptures to Jatayu like a son. For performing the rites, water was required. Sri Rama aimed an arrow and all the sacred rivers appeared here. It is known as “Jatayu Kund” situated opposite to Jatayu’s sannidi. In Jatayu’s sannidhi, Sri Rama hugging Jatayu who was lying on HIS lap while Lakshmana looks upon can be seen. Opposite to Jatayu sannidhi, there is Jatayu Kund and a big tree nearby. While Ravana was fighting with Jatayu, he placed Sita under this tree. Nearby there is a shrine for Sita,Ramar,Lakshmanar.

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OUR EXPERIENCE AT NASIK, PANCHAVATI, TRIAMBAKESWAR, TAKET

Reached Nasik at 8.15 A.M. After refreshing in the waiting room , we engaged a car to visit Triambakeswar, Nasik,Panchavati, Taket and to be dropped at Shirdi for Rs.2,500/-

Triambakeswar is 52 kms from Nasik and Panchavati which is enroute is about 12 kms from Nasik. Taket is 60 kms from Nasik and 110 kms from Triambakeswar. Shirdi is about 130 kms from Shirdi.

We drove to Triambakeswar to have blessings of Shiva, the foremost Vishnavite. Abhishekam was being performed for the Shiva lingam and took about an hour for us to return after having darshan. The details about origin of Godavari and its importance are painted on a notice board. We drove to Panchavati and visited all the important places located at walkable distance. We first went to Ram ghat and had bath in River Godavari as it is considered to be sacred. Visited Godavari’s shrine, proceeded to visit Kapaleshwar nath temple, from there to Panchavati temples. Purchased a booklet containing “108 Rama Naamam “ written in Hindi extracted from Ram Charitra Manas. Composed a tune and sang in the presence of Kaaley Ramar. Continued reciting it in all other temples. Gorey Ram temple is the biggest temple in Nasik. Had a very good darshan. Recited related sargams from Ramayanam in this temple and sang 108 Rama Naamam in Hindi and in Tamil. It was noon and bhog was being offered to the Lord. Met some Tamilian devotees from Madurai. We then visited Pancha –vati, Sita Gufa, Sita Haran, Tapovan, Parnasaala and left Nasik. To our disappointment, we didn’t see much at Tapovan. Having visited all the temples in Nazi, we proceeded to Taket, the last temple in our tour iterinary.Had lunch on the way and reached Take at about 4 P.M.

The idol of Sri Rama hugging Jatayu is very beautiful. It was as if we were seeing the incident in front of us. We recollected incident of Jatayu fighting with Ravana and wondered at its courage.. In the sannidhi, a replica of the vulture made from cotton is hung. A priest recapitulated all the incidents – how Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana, how it died in the arms of Sri Rama, how Sri Rama performed last rites and brought water showing us the kund, showed us the tree under which Sitadevi was kept. Contemplating on Sri Rama and recollecting our trip in visiting places sanctified by Sri Rama, we thanked Perumal for HIS abundant grace. Prayed for completion of other places related to Kishkindha, Sundara , Yuddha kaandams at the earliest.

Thus, with the abundant grace of Hanumar and Sita-Ramar, we completed our first phase of “Sri Rama Anu Yatirai” successfully. As our connecting train to Secunderabad was from Manmad on the following day, we decided to go to Shirdi and have Baba’s darshan whom we consider as one of the gurus. His preachings inspired my wife to learn Vishnu Sahasranamam etc. and as my children were pestering to visit Shirdi because of their friends’ influence, we decided to go to Shirdi and then take train from Manmad. Ultimately, when we went inside Shirdi Samasthan, we were greeted by a huge idol of Hanuman carrying Sanjeevini hill. Even in Shirdi, Hanuman graced us and thanked him.

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Reached Manmad by taking a taxi from Shirdi and boarded Ajanta Express at 2100 hours and reached Secunderabad on 20th May at 10 .AM.

Adiyen thanks profusely all the bhagavathas who helped me complete this yaatirai successfully.

Acharyar Divya Thiruvadigaley Saranam

Daasan Kazhiyur Varadan

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