“The Yamunotri” – Char Dham Yatra: The Four Abodes of God (Chapter 1)

Hello everyone, hope you all are well. Today, we are going to start with the first chapter of our Char Dham Yatra series, “The Yamunotri”.

The Char Dham Yatra is located entirely in Uttarakhand, which is also known as the Land of Gods, as it is home to many pilgrimages including the Char Dham, temples and religious sites. These four temples are named after the four sacred rivers of Uttarakhand: Yamuna, Ganga, Alaknanda, and Mandakini. This yatra or pilgrimage is an ultimate desire of every Hindu to visit at least once in their lifetime to attain salvation.

So, who came up with the idea of buildings a pilgrimage of four holy sites and why? Well, the man behind this is the great Hindu philosopher and reformer Adi Shankaracharya who initiated the Char Dham Yatra to revive the Hindu religion during the 8th Century.

This chapter focuses on the first leg of the yatra that begins from the Yamunotri temple. The Yamunotri shrine located in the western region of the Garhwal Himalayas, is situated at an altitude of about 3185m. According to mythological beliefs, there was once an Ashram of a sage named Asit Rishi who was a great devotee of the river Yamuna. He visited the river regularly and travelled the full stretch till it’s point of origin to offer his prayers.

As years passed by and it became increasingly impossible for him to take up this pious journey which saddened him. Witnessing this, goddess Yamuna changed its flow and started flowing closer his ashram. Feeling very blessed the sage decided to build a temple in the spot, so everyone can offer their prayers to the holy river goddess and this shrine was later named to be Yamunotri. Couple of years later, the temple was reconstructed by Maharaja Pratapshah and later re-innovated by Maharani Gularia of Jaipur in the 19th Century and multiple times by other devotees as it was impacted by natural disasters like heavy floods and snowing.

Let us now dive into the trek to Yamunotri while discussing its importance. It is a 6km long mountain trek that takes around 4-5 hours to complete. While it may sound tiring the walk is fun and pleasing as you adore nature’s beauty during the trek. Devotees riding on horses is also a common sight that many opt if they are unable to endure the trek by walk. You can sit on the horses and enjoy the journey.

Through the entire route basic amenities like water points, benches, and resting spots are made available for devotees’ convenience. There are also few stalls along the way serving delectable local treats. An alternate route to the temple is by a private helicopter that will fly you straight to the location of the shrine.

The end of the long trek is the most satisfying and fulfilling experience as you reach the shrine and seek the blessings of goddess Yamuna. The temple consists of a sanatorium and an assembly hall for the convenience of the devotees.

Goddess Yamuna’s idol carved out of a black marble and decorated with colourful garlands is a sight to behold and truly mesmerising. Adjacent to it is an idol of goddess Ganga made of white stone, that adds to divinity of the shrine.

The Yamunotri temple is of immense religious and spiritual significance for people of India and travellers worldwide from myriad faiths and cultures. The Yamuna River is revered as a symbol of purity and is believed to cleanse the souls of those who bathe in her waters and the hot springs around the shrine.

This place is also prominent for people who follow the Vaishnavite tradition, in which Yamuna is believed to be an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Radha, who was the consort of Lord Krishna. Besides its religious importance, it is also known for its amazing views of the nature and its captivating beauty. The temple is made of granite with a yellow conical tower bordered in beautiful red colour.

The rituals and events at Yamunotri Dham are another aspect of the overall experience that I would like to talk about. Few rituals followed here are:

1. Vasant Panchami: The Vasant Panchami festival is celebrated in the months of January and February where devotees get to see unique artistic and cultural activities and performances, followed by a special puja dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.

2. Olgia: The Olgia festival of Yamunotri, also known as Ghee Sankranti, is celebrated with a lot of pomp and grandeur. People who visit the temple adorn their foreheads with ghee and get to eat Indian breads with ghee.

3. Diwali: Diwali, the festival of lights is celebrated in the Yamunotri temple with a lot of enthusiasm and many special prayers and events taking place.

4. Yamuna Jayanti: On the occasion of Yamuna Jayanti, the shrine's doors are opened for devotees who have come for blessings of Goddess Yamuna.

The Yamunotri Dham, one of the most prominent of the four Dhams, welcomes hundreds and thousands of devotees and pilgrims’ year along with an aim to visit the Char Dhams once in a lifetime. So here we conclude the chapter 1 of the Char Dham Yatra and hope you enjoyed reading it, please do leave your comments and suggestions, so I can improve further. See you soon in next chapter “The Gangotri”.

Thank You!

Credits

Dimple Ved for sharing her amazing experiences of her recent Char Dham Yatra.