Badhrinath Visit (2018)
We decided to travel to Gopeshwar 2018 summers on the invite of one our volunteers to her home town. It turned out be a magical stay and divine experience. We visited Mata Anusuya Mata mandir 2018, via Atri muni ashram which a steep treck. And it was a pleasant surprise to meet doctor turned saint sitting inside his abode in a small yet cozy cave. He had given up his practice as he had a strong call to spend his rest of the life as a yogi.
Our beautiful visit to Vishal Badhrinath was filled with divine estacy even in huge crowd in the temple. It is considered to shrap mukta sthan, (getting free from any curse) where lord Vishnu sits without His consert Maa Laksmi. She stands as badhri tree giving him shade. Then we got the opportunity to visit Yogdhyan Badri, Vridha Badri ,Dhyan Badri, on the way as our tour guide Satya was kind enough to spend all the time for us.
In Vridha Bhadri we offered small pebbles praying that our fear of old age and death and disease be removed. We leave all fear at His holy feet to be taken care.
Then we made a visit to Urgam village, chamoli district, Kalpeshwar, the 5th kedar. Where a small river is running in between. The river is called Hiranavathi when it goes down she is called Kalpaganga and she mixes with river Alaknanda. River Bagirath in Devrpayag in Ram mandir finally becomes holy Ganges. Here shiva’s jatta and forehead is worshipped. The whole valley is called urgam valley.
We were satisfied visiting Madhyamaeshwar, Tunganath and then we went trekking to Ganajeshwar.
While way back we took a break at Sangam of Nanda Prayag, Alaknanda and Nandakini meeting point.
Meditating and praying at Nand Prayag, where river alaknanda and Nadakini river meets, Dev Prayag and Vishnu Prayag coming from the Niti valley, later joins the Alaknanda river known as Vishnu Ganga.
Visit to Pandukeshwara temple was very uplifting, it is one of the seven Badri temples, where it is believed that King Pandu was cursed by a sage which led to his death. This is also called as the birth place of Pandavas. Pandavas visited here while they were in exile. They visited when they were youth and when seeking heaven at old age. Here Arjuna was in penance / dhyana and Lord Indra appeared and blessed Arjuna.
Gopeshwar/ Rudranath temple
Raja Sagar surya Vanshi in treta yuga who was Rama’s Vansh, he came to expand his kingdom and he married local women. He was in a very unbeilable way asked to sacrifice his son, which he did. After that he was no more interested in the kingdom or its maintenance. In his kingdom they had surplus milking cows and he found his peace with cows. One day they found out that one of the cows was not giving its milk rather she sheds her milk on her own elsewhere. The kind was curious to know, he went behind and found that the cows milks upon a Shiva lingam.
The king got curious and did tapasya to know the sacredness of the lingam. Shiva appeared and king was pleased and Shiva asked him to ask for a boon, the king asked for his lost son. Shiva blessed him with a son and asked him to build a temple there and told him the history of that sacred place.
This was the place where Shiva did his Tapasya for ages after Sati was burnt and to break his deep meditation Kama and Rati were called. Kama threw the arrow of love and Shiva woke up. In his anger he cursed Kama to ashes. That place where Shiva mediated became Swyambhu white lingam of Rudra as Rudranath. The place he was burnt became the tree of Kalpavriksha. It is said that this happened in Satya yuga. After loosing her husband Kama deva of no fault, Rati prayed to get her husband back and was blessed that she would get him Dwapara yuga in the pond in the form of a fish. That that is where Rati kund is situated.
Everyday the temple would be built but next day it would go down into the earth. The mason got upset for months he tried. By then the queen delivered a boy yet the temple was not ready. The king medited again and lord asked him to sacrifice his son only then the temple would go up. The king readily agreed and sacrificed his son. The temple was built and the king has several children after that. The secret was revealed that Later
There is an ancient huge Trishul which is believed to worshipped by Lord Ganesha Himself. Many believe Ganesh Himself established Shiva ‘s trishul there. Ancient scripture is written there which recently was translated as, “. I am Ganapati Nagloka . I establish my light.” This Trishul does not get rusted at all.
Later in Dwapara yuga when lord Krishna was playing with Gopis, Shiva longed to be his Gopi so he disguised as a Gopi and danced with Krishna. Krishna could realise that she was Shiva. Shiva disappeared so Krishna came to the same place for tapasya. So where Krishna established the temple again it is called as Gopeshwar means Gopas Ishwar.
It is considered to be the same place where Lord Shiva established Himself as unending beam of light, where Vishnu and Brahma kept going above and below but couldn’t find its origin. It means God’s origin and Light is unending and un-traceable which has no beginning or end.