CHITRAKOOT (DAY-1)

JEELEY HAR PAL KO (LIVE EACH MOMENT OF LIFE) WHAT I BELIEVE IN.

Time and Life is a valuable asset and will never revert back. Life is a journey and travelling is a very crucial part of life. By profession I am Biotechnologist working in vaccine manufacturing organization. Ever since my childhood I had a dream of travelling beautiful places in the world Travelling not only created memories for life time but gave me real life education .my goal here is to share my travel experiences of beautiful places on earth as well as to share few important tips for planning a particular trip. I believe in consistency and persistency to reach my goal.

That’s me,

SHIVA KUMAR

Chitrakoot is considered to be one of the major pilgrimage centers in India. It is situated on banks of river manadakini on the borders of Uttarpradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It is believed among the people that Lord Shri Ram along with Goddess Sita and his younger brother Lakshman spent more than 11 years during their exile in dense forest of Chitrakoot.

Best Time to Visit: November to March

How to reach Chitrakoot: One can reach Chitrakoot by Train, Flight and Road.

Rail: Nearest railway station to Ramghat is Chitrakoot Dham(Karvi) which is located around 10 kms from Chitrakoot. One can hire Taxi/Auto to reach the place. Auto fare is 20 rs per person.

Air: Nearest airport to Chitrakoot is Prayagraj which is located at a distance of 123 kms and Khajuraho is located at a distance of 185 kms. One can hire Bus/Taxi to reach Chitrakoot.

Road:Chitrakoot is well connected by road with regular bus services available to Agra,Prayagraj,Banda,Faizabad,Kanpur,Satna,Varnasi

Accommodation: Near Ramghat (Sangita sadan,Ashok hotel,Shankar sadan,Tourist Bungalow,Mandakini resort).One can book a decent room with a price around 800 rs for Non AC and rs 1000 for AC Check IN timings and check out Timings of most of hotels is 12 PM. On request basis one can extend for 1-2 hrs.

Places to Eat: Ashok restaurant, Annapurna hotel in Ramghat.

Duration of Trip: 2 days are enough to cover places in Chitrakoot.

We total 8 members, travelled by train from Morena to Chitrakoot by Mahakoshal express.We started at 7 pm and reached by midnight 2 am at Chitrakoot dham Karvi railway station. We booked auto for 300 rs till our lodge Shankar sadan which was around 12 kms .We reached by around 02:40 am and rested in hotel for few hours.

DAY-1

After having tea and Breakfast, We hired an Auto from Ramghat to cover places like Janaki Kund,Ram Darshan Museum, Sphatik Shila,Sati Anusuya temple,Gupt Godavari,Bharat Koop, Ram Shaiya and Hanuman Dhara,Total fare to cover all this points is around 800rs.It took us full day to cover all this places.

Note: (1) Few Auto drivers set their time for 4-5 hrs. So before booking auto make them clear about visiting all the places without skipping and book auto for full day.

(2) On festival occasions like Diwali there will be a huge rush, it may take lot of time to visit all the above places in one day, one can postpone few places for next day.

After travelling for around 2 kms we reached our first point.

Janaki Kund:It is 2 kms in distance from city center. Janaki kund is situated along the banks of Mandakini river and it is believed that this is where goddess Sita used to bath during the period of exile and at this place you get to see the footprints of Mother Sita. We spent few minutes by taking pics and video.Next we went to Spathik Shila.

Sphatik Shila is a place with two massive rocks which are believed to have the footprints of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita. Sphatik Shila literally means crystal rock and is located amidst dense forests, close to Janki Kund on the banks of river Mandakini.It is 4 kms from city center. One of the scenic landmarks in Chitrakoot, Sphatik Shila is a place where Lord Rama and Goddess Sita admired the exquisiteness of this place. Mandakini River flows nearby where one can easily spot the colorful fishes moving in water. One can feel the freshness of the untouched Mother Nature in the tranquil location. There is a interesting story about this place, Once Mata Sita was admiring the panoramic view of the Mandakini river, sitting on top of a sheela resting on it in Chitrakoot. At the same time, Jayant, the son of Indra, the king of the gods, arrived there taking the form of a crow bird. Jayant used to harass humans by changing his form in this way. He took pleasure in bothering people. To harass Mata Sita, he stunned Mata's feet. Blood started flowing from mother's feet. Seeing this, Lord Shri Ram became angry. He made a bow and arrow from the straws on the crystal rock and struck. To avoid the attack of Lord Shri Ram, Jayant kept running in all the three worlds but he did not get protection anywhere. In the end, he atone for his mistake and went back to the feet of Mother Sita and started apologizing. Mother Sita forgave son Jayant, but Lord Shri Ram's attack could not go unpunished, so Jayant, who came in the form of a crow bird, had a symbolic attack and since then the crow bird has seen less than one eye.

We tasted kandmul fruit which was earlier consumed by Lord Ram in Tretayug.Kandmul is a tuberous root ,crunchy and nutritious.

Next we went to Sati Anusuya temple, which is 16 kms form in distance from city center. There was huge rush at this temple .The story of Anusuya says that she sprinkled some special water over the holy trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar and this led to their incarnations. It is believed that it was Anusuya’s prayers and devotion that led to the creation of Mandakini River which brought an end to the famine in the town. The temple is dedicated to her. It is located in an ashram where it is believed that Sati Anusuya resided with her husband and sons. Located on the bank of Mandakini River, the temple, owing to its scenic location, also serves as a great weekend getaway and ropes in a large number of tourists and devotees every day.

Gupt Godavari:It is 13 kms form city center. Out of all the amazing places to visit in Chitrakoot, Gupt Godavari Caves hold an exceptional level of prominence among Hinduism. The cave houses intricately carved a sculpture of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva at its entrance. This spot is frequently visited by pilgrims due to their religious significance. The source of the water inside the caves remains unfathomable, making it an interesting site for tourists too. Entry for temple is around 20 rs for Adults and 10 rs for childrens. We saw lot of monkeys at this place. There are 2 pairs of caves. One has narrow entrance and exit but wide inside and another one has wide entrance but as we move on cave becomes narrow .There are a number of myths pertaining to the caves.

(1) Lord Rama and Lakshman held court in first cave during their exile.

(2) Gupt Godavari appeared here secretly to have Darshan of Lord Ram.

(3) When Goddess sita was bathing at sita kund in first cave. Mayank demon stole away Sita mata clothes.Lakshmanji followed him and punished him and hanged him in form of a stone. When one touches it a sound is heard so it is known as Khatkata chor.

After having darshan of Ramdarbar,Sita kund ,Khatakata chor,Gupt Godavari. We moved to our next destination Hanuman Dhara.

The water of this stream flows touching Lord Hanuman. That is why it is called Hanuman Dhara.It is said about Hanuman Dhara that when Shri Hanuman ji set fire to Lanka, after that he came to this place to extinguish the fire in his tail, which devotees called Hanuman Dhara. It is 4 km away from Ram Ghat at the beginning of Vindhyas. A miraculous holy and cold water stream comes out of the mountain and after bathing the tail of the idol of Hanuman ji goes into the lower pool. It is said that when Hanuman ji had set fire to Lanka with his tail, then his tail was also very jealous. Hanumanji requested Lord Shri Ram in Ram Rajya so that his burnt tail could be cured. Then Shri Ram made a holy stream at this place with the strike of his arrow, which continued to fall on the tail of Hanuman ji, reducing the pain of the tail. This place is on the mountain range

We climbed around 450 steps to reach on top. Alternatively one can travel in Monocable for 130 rs for both sides.After having darshan of Lord Hanuman we climbed few steps more to reach Sita Rasoi.

Sita Rasoi: This is the place where in earlier time,Sita mata used to cook food for her family and Saints. This place has lot of unwanted small temples and priests force devotees to give money. Instead of Sita Rasoi climb few steps more and take a breath taking view of mountain and surroundings.

Next we went to Ramghat for EveningAarti and Boating.

Ramghat: It is 1 km from city center. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Chitrakoot. The serene ghat lining the Mandakini River is where Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman appeared in front of the famous poet Tulsidas and he used to sit on the riverside and write Ram Charitra Manas. Ramghat is a beautiful ghat built on the banks of the Mandakini river in Chitrakoot .It is around 10 kms in distance from Chitrakoot dham railway station (Karwi).There are many ancient temples on the banks of this ghat. Ramghat is very well built and completely paved. One can enjoy a ride in Colorful boats with small beautiful rabbit in Mandakini river at Ramghat with a price of 150-300 rs. It is very nice to visit Ramghat in the evening. In the evening, aarti of the Mandakini river is held here at 7-8 pm. Deepdan is done in this river which looks attractive. In Ramghat one can see a huge statue of Hanuman ji on one side. You also get to see the statue of Tulsidas ji in Ramghat . The aarti site of Mandakini river is situated next to the statue of Tulsidas.

After spending few hours we went to Ashok Hotel for dinner which is near by Ramghat. Full meals was around 130 rs and taste was gud. After having sumptous dinner we moved to our lodge which was around 1-2 kms form Ramghat.

This is end of my Day 1 Journey in Chitrakoot.