CHITRAKOOT DHAM : KAMADGIRI MOUNTAIN AND HANUMAN DHARA

CHITRAKOOT DHAM : KAMADGIRI MOUNTAIN AND HANUMAN DHARA

After finishing my destination ,Teerthraj Prayag at around 5.00 oclock we headed towards Chitrakoot in our booked car. Chitrakoot is the place where Lord Ram spend most of his time in exile ( eleven and half years) and it was most lovable place by him.The great sage Atri, Sati Anusuya, Dattatreya, Maharshi Markandeya, Sarbhanga,Sutikshna and various other sages, seers, devotees and thinkers meditated; and here the principal trinity of the Hindu pantheon, Brahma,Vishnu and Mahesh, took their incarnations. The whole place is green with vegetation, mountains all around and lot of small river springs meeting Mandakini  river.

आज है चित्रकूट के दर्शन जहा श्री राम अपने १४ साल के वनवास में साडे ११ साल रहे थे . यह जगह उन्हें बहुत प्रिय थी .

Allahabad to Chitrakoot

Allahabad to Chitrakoot

The distance between Allahabad and Chitrakoot is around 130 kms. So my understanding was even if we take an average speed of 40 kms/hour then we would reach at 8.30 pm . But to my surprise , There were two railway crossings in between which took lot of time. Apart from this the road condition between Allahabad and Chitrakoot is pathetic with lot of potholes. Also there is a huge jungle in between. It had already gone dark and we couldn’t see any light anywhere. We were really scared seeing such a sight with not even a single person or car on the road. Remember while going on this route one should start early and reach this place before 7.00 PM . We reached Chitrakoot at 11.00 PM when everything was closed. 

Chitrakoot Dham : Map

After reaching Chitrakoot , we searched hotels but near Ram Ghat the main area of Chitrakoot, all the hotels were full .But one of the Hotel manager called up few hotels and found one room in a hotel called Ram Darbar which was magnificently huge Hotel . The rooms were spacious and just for Rs. 600 a good value for money. We had dinner and dozed off. Early morning we got up and started our tour to Chitrakoot.

 Kamadgiri Mountain and Lord Kamtanath, कामदगिरी पर्वत और भगवान कामतानाथ 

 The first destination was Lord  Kamtanath temple and Pradakshina of Kamadgiri Mountain. Kamadgiri is the main holy place of Chitrakoot Dham . The Sanskrit word ‘Kamadgiri’ means the mountain which fulfills all the wishes and desires. The place is believed to have been the abode of Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman during their exile. Lord Kamtanath, another of His names, is the Ishta Deva principal deity not only of Kamadgiri Parvat but of the whole of Chitrakoot. The religious-minded believe that all the holy places (i.e. teerthas) are in the Parikrama or its pilgrimage-path. The pilgrimage path around this hill is about 5 Km long. There are a large number of temples in the Parikrama Path. Except during the summers, the place remains green throughout the year and appears like a bow seen from any place in Chitrakoot.

 We decided to start Pradakshina or Parikrama of Kamadgiri Mountain . This starts with the darshan of Lord Kamtanath. There are many temples of Lord Kamtanath along with the main temple . Parikrama can be started from any point in the path after having darshan of Lord Kamtanath .

चित्रकूट में कामदगिरी पर्वत  पर श्री राम रहते थे और यहाँ पर उनका नाम कामतानाथ है जिसका मतलब सारी कामनाये पूरी करने वाला . कामदगिरी पर्वत की परिक्रमा की जाती है जिससे बहुत पुन्या मिलता है . करीब ५ की . मी का रास्ता है .

Some pictures below are taken from www.harekrsna.com and www.iskcondesiretree.net

Chitrakoot Dham : Entrance to Kamadgiri Parikrama

Chitrakoot Dham : Entrance to Kamtanath Temple

Chitrakoot Dham : Lord Kamtanath

Chitrakoot Dham : Shri Ram , Sita Maa , Lakshman jee and Shri Hanuman

(Photo Credits: www.harekrsna.com)

After having the darshan of Lord Kamtanath we decided to start our Parikrama Path . It was 7.00 AM . We had to look whole Chitarkoot today and then had to reach reach Varanasi at night also.

Chitrakoot Dham : Another Temple of Lord Kamtanath

Chitrakoot Dham: Kamadgiri Mountain

( Photo credits : www.iskcontreedsire.net)

The path of Parikrama is smooth with tiles placed so that even if one wants to perform parikrama without foot wear it is possible.

Chitrakoot Dham : Kamadgiri Parikrama

Bharat Milap Sthal भरत मिलाप स्थल

Then after just performimg Parikrama for 15 – 20 minutes we reached a place which is called Bharat Milap Mandir . This is the place where Bharat after coming to Ayodhya and performing final rites of his father comes to meet his elder brother Ram to offer him the kingdom. The foot prints of Lord Ram and his brother are still engraved here.  It was such a touching occasion that even stones melted owing to overwhelming emotions and carry their foot prints to this day.

अयोध्या में पिता का अंतिम संस्कार करने के बाद भरत तीनो माताओं के साथ श्री राम को यहाँ मिले थे

Chitrakoot Dham : Bharat Milap Sthal

Chitrakoot Dham : Bharat Milap Sthal

Then comes Lakshman Pahadi On Parikirama Path

 Lakshman Pahadi लक्ष्मण पहाड़ी

The Lakshman Pahari or Lakshman Hill located on the Parikrama Path of Kamadgiri Mountain half way from the Pramukh Dwar is the hillock where Lakshman; the younger brother of Lord Ram spent most of his time when retired from the services of his elder brother. He used to guard the Kamadgiri  Mountain when Lord Ram and Sita used to rest. There is a temple after Lakshman and a pillar called Lakshman. Pilgrims embrace this pillar as if they were embracing Lakshmana himself .

 I didn’t had much time and to leave as soon as possible , So I bowed down from here itself as most of the pilgrims

 यहाँ पर लक्ष्मण जी राम जी और सीता मैया की रक्षा करते थे , जब वे आराम करते थे

Chitrakoot Dham : Lakshman Pahadi

It took around an hour to perform Parikrama or Pradakshina around here. But the feeling while performing this was amazing.

Then we moved to our next desitnation in Chitrakoot which is called Hanuman Dhara.

Hanuman Dhara Temple हनुमान धारा

 It is one among the landmark sites in Chitrakoot Dham.

As any other place in Chitrakoot, Hanuman Dhara also covers a beautiful fable of Lord Ram. It is believed that this cascade was created to ease the hardship of Hanuman while he returned from Lanka after setting fire to Lanka. Lord Ram pierces an arrow in this mountain which springs up water which relieves Shri Hanuman.
Hanuman Dhara provides the awe inspiring scenery of a cascade that falls from the nearby mountains. Though the uphill path is little bit tiresome, the pictorial beauty of the gleaming waterfall take away all your hardships and you will be enthralled by the lovely environ that surrounds you.

An ascend of around  500 steps would get you towards the spring. The temple is dedicated to Hanuman holds a deity which is regarded as one of a rare idol of the monkey god. The spring that falls on the deity gradually fills the nearby kund ais indeed a delightful site to be remembered for a long. Apart from this, Hanuman Dhara gives a implausible view of the legendary town of Chitrakoot and so do not forget to pay a visit to this lovely hillock.

 हनुमान जी जब लंका जलाके आये थे तब वे बहुत थक गए थे और बहुत जलन महसूस कर रहे थे. तब श्री राम जी ने यहाँ बाण मार के एक धारा निकाली जिससे हनुमान जी को राहत मिली .

Chitrakoot Dham : Hanuman Dhara

Photo Credits : http://www.indiaunveiled.in

राम जी ने यहाँ बाण मारकर एक धरा निकाली थी जिससे हनुमान जी को राहत मिली थी , लंका जलाने के बाद.

Chitrakoot Dham : Near Hanuman Dhara Spring

Chitrakoot Dham : Hanuman Dhara ( water sring) falling on the Hanuman Idol

Chitrakoot Dham : Hanuman Idol in Hanuman Dhara Temple

Sita Rasoi सीता रसोई

 The Sita Rasoi at Chitrakoot is situated about 100 feet from the Hanuman Dhara. Her kitchen tirtha is also known as Pramadgni Asrama. Shaded by several trees, the place where Sita is said to have cooked kandmools (root vegetables) is very beautiful and peaceful.

 The cylindrical stone shrine sits atop the hill, near another local goddess temple, and adjacent to the Valmiki Asrama. The tirtha name, ‘Sita Rasoi’, is written on a rock outcropping, with a white arrow pointing towards the kitchen.

 सीता रसोई हनुमान धारा से करीब १०० मीटर की दूरी अपर है. यहाँ पर सीता मैया खाना पकाती थी

Chitrakoot Dham : Sita Rasoi

Dear Divine Souls,

 Here I come to end of this post . Chitrakoot Dham is a very huge place. There are many places still to visit. In the next post we will visit some of them. Till then,