Exploring the Holy city of Haridwar

Haridwar is an ancient city of Uttarakhand  State and is an important pilgrimage site for all north indians. Haridwar is also an entry point for starting the chota char dham yatra of Uttarakhand (which encompasses Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri). Being starting point for yatra to Badrinath ( shrine of Vishnu/ Hari) Vaishnavs rever the place as Hari -dwar; while also being a starting point for Kedarnath yatra ( Jyotirlinga - Shrine of Shiva/Hara) Shaivites rever the place as Hara-dwar.

Haridwar is also the place where river Ganga flows in all its vigour and people from all across north india come here for immersion of ashes of their loved ones into Ganga who left earth for heavenly abode. Haridwar is a crowded bustling city which nevertheless resonates with the religious ethos of  the age old spiritual element of mainland India.

For everyone on a short sojourn to Haridwar, below is a good itinerary to cover the most revered temples and holy places of city.

1. Har ki Pauri:

Haridwar is also one of the four cities of ancient India ( others being Nashik, Prayagraj and Ujjain) where it is believed that drops of Amrita had spilled during Samudra Manthan. The drops of Amrita particularly spilled at the Har ki Pauri - A ghat by the river Ganga. Every four years, a kumbh mela is organized at one of these four locations turn by turn where lacs of pilgrims come for a holy dip and thereby atonement of their sins.  For this reason, the Har ki Pauri ghat is the most famous ghat of Haridwar where many thousand pilgrims  take a holy bath every single day. If you are in Haridwar,  no better way to start your day than with a holy dip in the Ganga and if you could manage getting up early, take a dip before the sun comes up and enjoy the bliss of the morning aura around Har ki Pauri.

2. Chandi Devi temple:

Chandi devi is considered to be a sidh  peeth ( means where wishes get fulfilled)  by the devotees. It is situated atop a hill called Neel Parvat. It is believed that Maa Chandi devi ( A form of devi Parvati) had taken rest on Neel Parvat after killing demon kings Shumbh and Nishumbh. The main idol in the temple is believed to be installed by Adi Shankaracharya  in 8th century.

Chandi devi can be reached via udan khatola (Cable car). The ticket from the counter can be bought for both Chandi devi temple and Mansa devi temple together so as to avoid wasting time at another counter at Mansa devi. Cable car takes you atop from where there is a set of stairs you have to climb up to reach the shrine. Around the shrine You'll see the knotted chunris offered by devotees to devi for fulfillment of their wishes tied all around the railings. On some walls, there are bindis pasted on the walls by devotees. The red hues of these trinkets make the whole place look more vivid. After Darshan, Udan khatola will take you down onto the road from where you can start your sojourn to Mansa Devi Udan khatola site.

3. Mansa Devi temple:

Mansa devi temple is also known to be a Sidh Peeth. Mansa devi temple is situated atop the Bilwa Parvat and is reachable by cable car. Mansa devi is believed to be a form of Shakti  emerged from the thought of lord Shiva and a sister of Nagaa Vasuki. Mansa means wish and it is believed that Mansaa  devi fulfills the heartfelt wishes of devotees. If the queue to the temple is extremely long, I'll advise you to have patience and keep calm.

4. Bilkeshwar  Mahadev temple :
This is a temple dedicated to lord Shiva. The temple gets its name from the Bilwa tree standing tall in its courtyard. It is said that Mata Parvati did a penance for many years here for lord Shiva after which pleased with her prayers, he blessed her and agreed to take her as wife. The evening vibe here was very peaceful and the time we reached here, the Aarti had just begun. It was a perfect end to our day one.

6. Daksh Prajapati temple:
Daksh Prajapati temple is located in Kankhal  and also known as Daksheshwar Mahadev temple.  The legend goes something like this. Once upon a time King Daksha (Father of Mata Sati) organized a yajna. He invited Sati but did not invite Sati's husband  lord Shiva. Mata Sati became angry at her husband's disrespect and jumped into fire of yajna at this very place. Lord Shiva had beheaded  Daksha who later was given head of goat. Daksha had then requested Mahadev to always be present at this place and inturn Mahadev  accepted his request and promised to be present there in some form and especially during Savan month.

Daksheshwar Mahadev has a ghat of river Ganga  in the backside of temple. There is also a Dash Mahavidya  temple located within the premises. This was our first stop for the day and there wasnt any crowd at that time. We had a peaceful Darshan with a serene vibe.

7. Anandamayi Maa Ashram:
Anandamayi Ashram is located in Kankhal and in close proximity to the Daksh Prajapati temple. The ashram complex is dedicated to spiritual philosopher, Anandamayi Maa, whose remains are still buried at the ashram. I had read about her in the Autobiography of a Yogi and it was surely a very tranquil vibe here.

8. Maya Devi temple:

Maya Devi is believed to be the Adhishtatri Devi of Haridwar. Maya Devi is one of the Shakti Peethas. The legend behind 51 Shakti peethas  is that when Mata Sati jumped into Yajna kund, Mahadeva had become very angry and was dancing ferociously with her dead body in his arms. Then Lord Vishnu in order to stop his destructive dance had cut the body of Sati into pieces with his Sudarshan Chakra. The places where the  body parts of Mata Sati fell became the 51 Shakti Peethas. It is believed that heart of Mata Sati had fallen at Maya Devi. The inner shrine has Maya devi in the centre and Maa Kali and Maa Kamakhya on the either side of it.