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Char Dham

(Redirected from Chardham)
For the religious sites in Nepal, see Char Dham, Nepal. For denomination Himalayan pilgrimage sites, see Chota Char Dham.

The Char Dham (Hindi: चारधाम, romanized: Cārdhām transl. the four abodes), also rendered the Chatur Dhama (Sanskrit: चतुर्धाम, romanized: Caturdhāma)[1] is a set of four Hindu pilgrimage sites in India,[2] consisting of Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram.[3][4] Badrinath, Dwarka, and Puri are shrines of Vishnu, whereas Rameswaram is a shrine of Shiva.

Char Dham
Jagannath Puri
Rameswaram
Dwarka
Badrinath
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Locations of the Char Dham

Defined by Adi Shankara, each dhāma represents a particular yuga, with Badrinath representing Satya Yuga, Rameswaram representing Treta Yuga, Dwarka representing Dvapara Yuga, and Puri representing Kali Yuga.[3][5] Many Hindus believe visiting these sites can help achieve moksha (liberation or salvation).[citation needed]

The Char Dham is not to be confused with the Chota Char Dham, which is a devotional circuit in Uttarakhand.

Description edit

According to Hindu legend, Badrinath became prominent when Nara-Narayana, an avatar of Vishnu, performed tapas there. As the area then had a profusion of berry trees, the site was initially named badarikāvaṇa, the forest of berries. Per legend, a large berry tree grew above Nara-Narayana to save him from the rain and the sun. A local interpretation holds that Lakshmi became the berry tree to save Narayana. After completing tapas, Narayana said declared that people should always invoke her name before his. Therefore, Hindus refer to "Lakshmi-Narayana."

Within the satya yuga, the area came to be known as badrināth, the lord of the berry trees, in recognizance of Nara-Narayana’s penance. The temple to him is located on the banks of the Alaknanda River in the Chamoli district of Uttrakhand.

The second dhāma, Rameswaram, has its origins in the Treta Yuga when Rama built a lingam there and worshipped it to get atonement from Shiva for slaying his devotee Ravana.[dubious – discuss] It is believed that Rama's footprints are imprinted there.[6]

The third dhāma, Dwaraka, was established in the Dvapara Yuga when Krishna made the city his residence. [7]

At the fourth dhāma, Puri, Vishnu is worshipped as Jagannath, his avatar for the current epoch, Kali Yuga.

The monk Adi Shankara organised four maṭhas (institutions/monasteries) to correspond to the four sites of the Char Dham: the headquarters at Dwarka in the West, Puri in the East, Sringeri Sharada Peetham in the South and Badarikashrama in the North.[8]

The table below gives an overview of the four Amnaya Maṭhas founded by Adi Shankara.[9]

Shishya
(lineage) 		Direction Maṭha Mahāvākya Veda Sampradaya
Padmapāda East Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ Prajñānam brahma (Consciousness is Brahman) Rig Veda Bhogavala
Sureśvara South Sringeri Śārada Pīṭhaṃ Aham brahmāsmi (I am Brahman) Yajur Veda Bhūrivala
Hastāmalakācārya West Dvāraka Pīṭhaṃ Tattvamasi (That thou art) Sama Veda Kitavala
Toṭakācārya North Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ Ayamātmā brahma (This self "soul" is Brahman) Atharva Veda Nandavala

The four sites of the Char Dham edit

The Char Dham Highway project (connecting Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) is functional, and many service providers offer a Char Dham Yatra by helicopter.[10]

Puri edit

 
Jagannath Temple, Puri

Puri, located in the east, is located in the state of Odisha. Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The main deity is Krishna, revered as Jagannath. It is the only shrine in India where Subhadra, the sister of Krishna, is worshipped along with her brothers, Jagannatha and Balabhadra. The main temple here is about 1000 years old and constructed by Raja Chola Ganga Deva and Raja Tritiya Ananga Bhima Deva.[citation needed] Puri is the site of the Govarḍhana Maṭha, one of the four cardinal maṭhas created by Adi Shankara. Nilakantha Das suggested that Jagannath was a deity of Jain origin because of the appending of Nath to many Jain tirthankaras.[11]

The word Jagannath means the “world personified' in a Jain context, derived from Jinanath. Evidence of the Jain terminology such as of Kaivalya, which means moksha or salvation, is found in the Jagannath tradition.[12] Similarly, the twenty two steps leading to the temple, called the Baisi Pahacha, have been proposed as symbolic reverence for the first 22 of the 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism.[13]

According to Annirudh Das, the original Jagannath deity was influenced by Jainism and is none other than the Jina of Kalinga taken to Magadha by Mahapadma Nanda.[14] The theory of Jain origins is supported by the Jain Hathigumpha inscription. It mentions the worship of a relic memorial in Khandagiri-Udayagiri on Kumara Hill. This location is stated to be the same as the Jagannath temple site. However, Starza, a Jain text mentions Jains restored the Jagannath shrine, but the authenticity and date of this text are unclear.[15] This is the plume for Oriya people to celebrate a special day in this Dham which is known as Ratha Yatra (Chariot Festival).[16][17]

Rameswaram edit

 
Rameswaram Temple, Rameswaram

Rameswaram is located in the state of Tamil Nadu, in the southern part of the Indian peninsula. According to legends, this is the place where Rama, along with his brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman, built a bridge (Rama Setu) to reach Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, who had been abducted earlier by Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. The Ramanathaswamy Temple, dedicated to Shiva, occupies a significant area of Rameswaram. The temple is believed to have been consecrated by Rama. Rameswaram is important for the Hindus as a pilgrimage to Varanasi is incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. The presiding deity here is in the form of a Linga with the name Sri Ramanatha Swamy; it also is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

Dwarka edit

 
Dwarakadheesh Temple, Dwarka

Dwarka is located in the state of Gujarat, on the western coast of India. The city derives its name from the word "dvara" meaning door or gate in the Sanskrit language. It is located confluence where the Gomti River merges into the Arabian Sea. However, this river Gomti is not the same Gomti River, which is a tributary of Ganga River. The city lies in the westernmost part of India. The legendary city of Dvārakā was the dwelling place of Krishna. It is generally believed[who?] that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvārakā had submerged six times, and modern-day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area.[18][19][citation needed]

Badrinath edit

 
Badrinath Temple

Badrinath, is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, at an altitude of 3,133 meters (10,279 feet). The temple of Badrinath is dedicated to Lord Vishnu[citation needed] Uttarakhand. It is in the Garhwal hills, on the Alaknanda River banks. The town lies between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges and in the shadow of Nilkantha peak (6,560 m). There are other interesting sightseeing spots like Mana, Vyas Gufa, Maatamoorti, Charanpaduka, Bhimkund, and the Mukh of the Saraswati River, within 3 km of Badrinathjee. Joshimath is situated on the slopes above the confluence of the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers. Of the four Maths established by Adi Shankaracharya, Joshimath is the winter seat of Chardham.

While the three other Dhams remain open throughout the year, Badrinath Dham only stays open for pilgrims' darshan from April to October each year.

Chota Char Dham edit

Another circuit of four ancient pilgrimage sites in the Indian state of Uttarakhand viz. Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath is referred to as Chota Char Dham to differentiate it from this bigger circuit of Char Dham sites. The Chota Char Dham shrines are closed in winter due to snowfall and reopen for pilgrims with the advent of summer.[20][21][22][23]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Bharati, Agrhananda (3 June 2011). Agents and Audiences. Walter de Gruyter. p. 53. ISBN 978-3-11-080584-0.
  2. ^ "Chaar Dham Yatra: A True Test of Every Hindu's Quest Towards Spiritual Enlightenment". NewsGram. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b Dass, Parmeshwar (21 February 2022). "History of Chardham - The Amazing Story of Chota Char Dham". Namaste India Trip. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  4. ^ Chakraborty, Yogabrata (28 June 2023). "পুরীধাম ও জগন্নাথদেবের ব্রহ্মরূপ বৃত্তান্ত" [Puridham and the tale of lord Jagannath's legendary 'Brahmarup']. dainikstatesmannews.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Dainik Statesman (The Statesman Group). p. 4. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ ADMIN (5 February 2023). "Char Dham Yatra : Journey To Spiritual Liberation". TEMPLE KNOWLEDGE. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. ^ Seeger, Elizabeth, 1889-1973. (1969). The Ramayana. New York :W.R. Scott
  7. ^ Chakravarti Mahadev-1994-The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through The Ages-Delhi-Motilal Banarsidass-Second Revised. ISBN 81-208-0053-2
  8. ^ "Sankara Acarya: 4 - Monastic Traditions". Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  9. ^ "The Amnaya Peethams". Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006.
  10. ^ "Why schools in Kedarnath are going soundproof - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  11. ^ Mohanty, Jagannath (2009). Indian Culture and Education. Deep& Deep. p. 5. ISBN 978-81-8450-150-6.
  12. ^ Barik, P M (July 2005). "Jainism and Buddhism in Jagannath culture" (PDF). Orissa Review: 36. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  13. ^ Avinash Patra (2011). Origin & Antiquity of the Cult of Lord Jagannath. Oxford University Press. pp. 8–10, 17–18.
  14. ^ Das, Aniruddha. Jagannath and Nepal. pp. 9–10.
  15. ^ O. M. Starza (1993). The Jagannatha Temple at Puri: Its Architecture, Art, and Cult. BRILL Academic. pp. 62–63 with footnotes. ISBN 90-04-09673-6.
  16. ^ Char Dham Yatra, by G. R. Venkatraman. Published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1988.
  17. ^ Brockman, Norbert C. (2011), Encyclopedia of Sacred Places, California: ABC-CLIO, LLC, ISBN 978-1-59884-655-3
  18. ^ Santosh, Urmila (22 November 2016). "Where Mythology Meets Reality: Sunken City Of Dwarka". gounesco.com. GoUNESCO. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  19. ^ Shankar, Kalyani (15 March 2007). "Legends by the sea". The Economic Times. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  20. ^ Char Dham of Garhwal Archived 5 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine India, by Joe Windless, Sarina Singh, James Bainbridge, Lindsay Brown, Mark Elliott, Stuart Butler. Published by Lonely Planet, 2007. ISBN 1-74104-308-5. Page 468.
  21. ^ Chardham Yatra, by Savitri Dubey. Published by Alekh Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-88913-25-1
  22. ^ "Welcome To Alekh Prakashan". Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  23. ^ "Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib Yatra to restart from May 2014". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. 24 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2014.

External links edit

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