#dharidevi

[atharvyogshala]

A revered temple, it is dedicated to Dhari Devi (a form of Goddess Kali), who is considered to be the guardian deity of Uttarakhand and is worshipped as the protector of the Char Dhams. According to mythology, a severe flood once washed away a temple and the idol of Dhari Devi was trapped against a rock near the Dharo village. The local residents claim to have heard wails and a divine voice directed them to install the idol there.

Local lore also has it that the idol of the deity changes appearance throughout the day – a girl child in the morning, a young woman in the afternoon and an old woman in the evening.

It is said that Goddess Dhari Devi has two parts. Her body’s upper half appeared at Dhari Devi temple while her lower half appeared at Kalimath temple, where she is worshipped as Maa Kali. According to the legend, Dhari Devi’s idol can’t be kept under any roof. So, that portion is always kept open towards the sky.

The temple is located between Srinagar and Rudraprayag on the banks of River Alaknanda and can be reached by a one-km cement pathway.

[anilbisht]

Up Close to Garhwal Himalayas - A Trekking Trip to Chopta, Tungnath, Chandrashila and Deoria Tal

Well, we had been to the mountains several times before, but never indulged in any uphill summit trekking leading up to the 13000 ft+ elevation levels. This in mind, initially, we two, the Bisht’s, planned to go to this trekking trip covering Chopta-Tungnath-Chandrashila-Deoria Tal. And, then the word spread, and five more, the Negi’s and the Rawat’s, joined us for this adventurously lifelong memorable trekking trip.  

In the second week of June 2023, we all undertook this 5-daylong, 1000 kms+ self-driven trip to higher reaches of Uttarakhand. We took the route from Delhi to Haridwar to Rishikesh to Devprayag to Srinagar to Rudraprayag to Agastyamuni to Ukhimath to Chopta to Sari Village (for Deoria Tal). Enroute, we detoured slightly to the revered shrines of Maa Dhari Devi, Srinagar and The Koteshwar Mahadev, Rudraprayag.

On Day1, we took a midway halt at Jayalgarh (10kms before Srinagar), a beautiful campsite arrayed on the banks of river Alaknanda. A piece of advice to all the travelers – avoid passing through Rishikesh on the weekends, otherwise you will end up facing multiple diversions, and sweat it out over the struggles of negotiating serpentine queues of a torturous bumper-to-bumper traffic right up to the Shivpuri. It’s a colossal waste of time and energy dealing with such heavy jams.  And, if no option, pass through Rishikesh around the wee hours.

We were late to reach Jayalgarh, reaching by 6.30pm; exhausted due to the Rishikesh traffic, we rested a bit for whatever little time we had. After some rest, we walked down to the riverbank and had some serene moments with our feet dipped in the cold flowing waters of Alaknanda. Allure of the Alaknanda is such that we revisited the riverbanks early in the morning just to witness the orangey dawn over the white sand banks and the morning mistiness of the river.

Our trip on Day2 started with a holy visit to the much-revered Maa Dhari Devi, regarded as the guardian protector deity of the state of Uttarakhand, the temple seating an avatar of Goddess Kali. Jai Maa Dhari Devi is a sacred temple in the Garhwal region, and is structured beautifully, with all its shine and glory, in the middle of Alaknanda River, which is connected to the adjacent hill through a foot bridge. The temple’s architecture is splendid, colourful and has intricate wooden designs and carvings around it. We all offered our holy prayers, soaked ourselves in the holiness of the deity, bought a few souvenirs and headed to our next stopover: Koteshwar Mahadev cave temple.

As we reached Koteshwar Mahadev - which is at a slight detour of 3-4 kms after crossing over the Rudraprayag Bridge - the amazing sight of the two parallelly imposing rocks standing next to each other welcomes you, with river Alaknanda gushing through the vertical gap, which not only beholds your attention and gaze but also mesmerizes you with its Grand Canyon like settings. Lord Shiva is seated inside a spring-water-dripped cave, which is naturally cool and dark and is dotted with several Shivlings. We offered our prayers to the almighty and headed to our ultimate destination, Chopta.

I must say that roads condition, overall, was just great; driving through the serpentine courses, forests, riverbanks, and the rocky terrain was a super pleasure. Late afternoon, we reached the picturesque hamlet, Chopta, located at an elevation of 9000 ft., is also famously known as the mini-Switzerland of Uttarakhand. The environ here was cool and wintry. We indulged in a bit of cricket match in the open spaces of the resort along with their staff members. By the night, our jackets were out as the weather had turned much colder. Heating appliances were not available as our stay was in the protected forest area, so the power supply was through solar means only, and that too in the fixed time slot of 7pm to 5am. Aside, we had a blessing in disguise; the mobile signals were hugely erratic, rather phones were down with no network during our time in Chopta. A small stream was also flowing by our cottage side. We gathered and gossiped around the stream sitting on the boulders, cooling our drinks in its icy waters and enjoyed our moments together in the lap of nature. As the sunlight dimmed, surroundings descended to pitch dark, and such was the darkness that it was quite frightening to even peep outside from our cottages in the late night.

On Day3, we woke up early, naturally, awakened by the constant chirping and coo of the birds of different species. Done with morning chores, we packed our breakfast and headed to the Tungnath trek point, about 4-5kms from our stay. On the way, by the roadside, we spotted a group of big-sized vultures feasting heartily on a decaying cow, possibly hunted down, or fallen off the cliff.

We reached the Tungnath base point at around 8am, lest we got late, it was time to start our trek to the world’s highest located Lord Shiva temple, Tungnath Mahadev. We parked our vehicles safely and sequentially by the hillside on the very tight spaces of the single lane road. Mules were also available, but we decided to trek on our own strength. We rented the sticks for the ones who needed it; stocked water bottles in our bag packs; wore our hats and started off spiritedly and spiritually by chiming aloud the bell at the gateway with chants of Har Har Mahadev. It’s a 4km trek, which gets steeper with every step-up. Phew! As we move up, lush green grassed meadows start to appear out of nowhere, surrounded by mountainous terrain and snowcapped ridges. Weather also keeps changing its mood – sometimes it’s sunny, sometimes it’s cloudy, sometimes it’s drizzling, sometimes it’s windy. One can experience all shades of the nature in this 4km long trek! As the climb gets steeper, the destination appears farther away as we start to huff and puff, taking frequent pitstops to normalise the heavy breathing, sipping water in between, and then restarting the trek. But, once we sighted the temple top as we looked up from a distance, we felt reenergized and relieved that our treacherous trek is now almost over. As the trek ended, and as we reached the temple’s premises, all our trekking tiredness vanished in a jiffy. Such is the aura of this sacred temple of Tungnath ji, perched at a high altitude of 12000 ft+.  We queued up and offered our heartfelt prayers to the almighty - Lord Shiva Mahadev - and took the holy blessings. Inside the temple, it was all a divine experience with feelings of the divinity everywhere in, triggering the goosebumps. We took a lap of the temple, offering obeisance to all the deities around, and came out bowed down in reverence and holiness.

It was 1pm by the time we finished our prayers; five amongst us decided to rest and refresh and not to trek further up to Chandrashila. I, along with my brother-in-law, decided to conquer the ultimate Chandrashila peak, which is located 1 km further above of Tungnath.  This 2nd stretch of the trek was much steeper than we had anticipated. And, in fact, it was even more treacherous and tougher than our just completed trek of Tungnath. 1km appeared easier in comparison to the 4kms we had done already - but in reality - it was as good as trekking 4kms again! With small baby steps, and with the might and awe of Lord Mahadev, we eventually, made it to the summit - The Chandrashila peak - an altitude of 13000 ft+.  There is a small temple perched at the top, painted in white with flags and worship bands tied on it, dedicated to the Goddess Ganga. We offered our prayers, clicked a few pictures, and soaked in the cool fresh breeze atop as much as we could. Unfortunately, the weather turned cloudy and dark, and we couldn’t see clearly the much sought after 360-degree panoramic view of the snow-laden mountains, sky-high ridges, and the scenic surroundings of the green meadows.  With looming rains, we quickly started to trek down. Enticed by the short-cuts, I tripped down twice over the sloping and moist meadows without any hurt though, which is nature’s way of telling us to follow the designated path. We rejoined our group at Tungnath, took some refreshments, and then headed back to the base point. Though trekking down takes lesser time, but I found it tougher than trekking up as one not only battles the gravitational pull but also the challenge of body weight balancing itself solely on the calf muscles and the knees. At around 3.30pm, we finally reached back to the Tungnath base after completing a tough uphill-and-downhill trek. As we had already checked-out from our Chopta stay, we were now headed to our next halt, the Sari Village, about 25kms downhill, at an elevation of 6,500 ft. We reached Sari, a beautiful village, and the base point of Deoria Tal, at around 5pm.

We started the Day4 excursion with an early breakfast and got ready for our 2.5km trek to Deoria Tal, a pristine emerald-green lake at an altitude of 8000 ft, part of the Kedarnath Sanctuary. The lake is perched at the hilltop and nestled in the dense forest around it. This trek was shorter in comparison to Tungnath, and not that steep but it was a tough trek as the path was a bit stony and patchy. And, it becomes more difficult, especially, if you are trekking late in the noon under the scorching sun. The trek has few eateries on its route run by the locals. We started the trek at around 9am. The entry point starts from the Sari village. It took us some sweating efforts to reach at the top. The very moment the trek ends, a stunning lakeview welcomes you with its open green spaces. A small forest checkpoint is at one corner where you can buy the entry tickets. The whole area around it has a magically soothing relaxing feel. The minty freshness and the greenery of the place reenergizes the body and the soul evenly. At the ground level, the lake is surrounded by meadows and the jungles; and when you look up at the sky around, the rising snowcapped Chaukhamba range of the Himalayas makes its imposing presence felt. The Himalayan view as seen from our own eyes is truly fantastic, and its reflection on the emerald surface of the lake makes it even more grandeur.  We took a walk around the lake, which is roughly an 800 mtr circled path, passing through the forests and the open spaces. Besotted by the picturesque lake and the gigantic Himalayas around, we spent close to two hours absorbing the magnificent nature and its mesmerising beauty. We leisurely laid ourselves down on the grass beds, lying under the cool and calming shades of the trees soaking in the freshness of the environ. After our delightful time at the lake, we returned to the Sari village, enroute visiting an elegant antique temple, of Lord Shiva, built by a local priest. It was 2pm by the time we returned to our base, had a hearty lunch, and then it was all rest in the lovely weather of Sari.

On Day5, we started our journey back; while one family went straight to Delhi, we, two families, stayed back enroute at a Rishikesh resort for a relaxing pool time and restful night after the tough trekking pursuits we had undertaken all these days. We had started our trip with a stay at Alaknanda riverbanks, and now ending it again with our stay on the riverbanks of the holy Ganges. In the evening, we sat on the banks of the calmly flowing river Ganges. It was quite breezy and sandy, but it offered us wonderfully peaceful moments sitting on the boulders, gazing at the rafts and kayaks pass by us, with our feet downed in the cold waters. As the water levels begun to rise and sunlight faded, we returned to our resort.  

On Day6, we left Rishikesh early, and reached back Delhi by late afternoon.

A fabulous trip with blissful moments, for all of us; to be cherished forever!!!

Anil Bisht

anilbisht@rediffmail.com

more pictures here: instagram.com/anil_bisht_/

  Green meadows on the Tungnath trek

Mountains around the Tungnath trek

Mountains around the Chandrashila Trek

Devprayag - holy confluence of river Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, forming the river Ganges

River Alaknanda at Jayalgarh, Srinagar

Rocky banks of river Alaknanda at Jayalgarh, Srinagar

Jai Maa Dhari Devi Temple, Srinagar

A suspended bridge along side Maa Dhari Devi Temple

Koteshwar Mahadev Temple

The view of the Koteshwar rocks with river Alaknanda passing through the gap

Chopta valley

Trek to Tungnath ji

Trek to Chandrashila

Tungnath Mahadev temple

Tungnath Mahadev Temple

Trek to Chandarshila

Chandrashila summit - the Ganga temple

Kedar himalaya peaks visible from Ukhimath

A Lord Mahadev temple at Sari Village

Deoria Tal

Deoria Tal + Chaukhamba peaks

Deoria tal and the dense forestry around it

Deoria Tal lake

Deoria Tal lake

The imposing Chaukhamba Himalaya range

Sari village from up above the trek to Deoria Tal

Deities inside the Sari village temple

Stone shaped deities placed at the Sari village temple

Sari village temple of Lord Shiva

Rishikesh - Shivpuri, the Ganges banks

[neeraj-bargoti]

Dhari Devi Temple Uttarakhand

[travlsblog]

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[yathaasarvam]

Shot at Dhari Devi Mandir, Sri Nagar #pictoftheday #pictureperfect #pictures #picture #photos #pics #photo #sonyalpha #pictureoftheday #photograph #india #sony #pic #photography #shotonsony #photographs #yathaasarvam #shotonsonyalpha #dharidevi #dharidevitemple #dharidevitemple🙏❤️ #dharidevimandir #dharidevitemple🙏 #uttrakhand #india #ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴅɪʙʟᴇɪɴᴅɪᴀ — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/KZ8jxkm

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[arunrawat8507]

Jai Ma Dhari Devi is a Hindu Holly shrine temple located on the banks of the Alaknanda River between Srinagar and Rudraprayag in the Garhwal Region of Uttarakhand, India

[your-am-photography]

i clicked from dhari devi temple from india the temple situated on #alaknanda #river #photography #uttarakhand #india #dharidevi #culture #temple #euttaranchal

[devbhoomitraveldiary]

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[borntorides]

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[heaveninhimachal]

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[ananyatravelworld]

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