Memorable Trip to Mahakaleshwar Temple - Ujjain

Mahakal – A lord of “KAAL”. Mahakaleshwar temple is situated in the “Ujjain – Very Famous Pilgrimage Place of Hindus”, Madhya Pradesh. Mahakaleshwar temple is a place of “mahakal Jyotirling”, which is one from the twelve jyotirlings of lord shiva.

I had visited Ujjain in May 2015 with my whole family. Ujjain is known as a very sacred place for Hindus because there are many temples situated.

How to reach Mahakaleshwar –

By Air – No such specific airport in Ujjain, Indore Airport is the nearest one. It is connected to Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Gwalior etc.

By Train – Ujjain railway is directly connected to the various Indian locations like delhi, mumbai, lucknow, dehradun, ahmedabad, gwalior, mathura, jaipur, bangalore, hyderabad and many more.

By Road – City is very well connected to the various other cities by road like mumbai, delhi, gwalior, surat, indore, mathura, nasik, ahmedabad etc.

About Mahakaleshwar Temple –

Mahakaleshwar is the most worshiped temple in the city. It is located near the rudra sagar lake. Purohits says that this temple was created by the lord “Brahma” himself. Temple is most visited by the dities in the sawan month near by maha shivratri. The most attractive thing in the temple is its “Bhasam Aarti”.

Bhasam Aarti-

Bhasma Aarti is offered to lord shiva in the morning at 4:00 a:m by the sacred ash of a recently died person. Process to attend aarti is so simple. You just have to book ticket online by the website http://dic.mp.nic.in/ujjain/mahakal/default.aspx or by the ticket window available in the temple before one day of aarti. Ticket are the free of cost, nothing to pay for that. The vision of the aarti is you can say a “Adhbudh drashya”.

Bhasam Aarti is divided into two parts – one is jalabhishek and other is aarti by the bhasam. During the jalabhishek men should have to wear fresh dhoti with any upper garment, while women even a girls above of 8 years have to wear a saree. After a jalabhishek aarti begins and while the purohits spread the bhasam on the jyotirling, women have to cover their eyes. According to the hindu culture they are not allowed to see this process. The fabulous seen is their when the ash is spreading over the jyotirling. Such an amazing moment was that.

Poha – Famous snack of Ujjain

It was the dish made by the beaten rice. It was sweet and salty by the taste but the taste was amazing. It is a very famous food in the ujjain and indore also. When I come out from the temple it was around 7:00 a:m and all the food stales were open and the poha is common in all the shops. 

Trip To Mata Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu & Kashmir

Vaishno Devi Mandir is one of the holy Hindu temples dedicated to Shakti, located in the hills of Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Hinduism, Vaishno Devi, also known as Mata Rani and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess.

The temple is near the town of Katra, in the Reasi district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the most revered places of worship in India. The shrine is at an altitude of 5300 feet. The small town Katra is 50 kms from Jammu and serves as base camp for those visiting the holy shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi in the Trijuta Hills. Ma Vaishno Devi Shrine, which is 13 Km uphill from Katra, is covered by majority of pilgrims by trekking. But there are other options available as well. You can hire a Palki or take a pony ride. Every year millions of pilgrims pass through Katra on the way to Shrine. A trip to the cave shrine is by far the most important activity in Katra for Hindu devotees.  Approximately 8 million pilgrims (yatris) visit the temple every year and it is the second most visited religious shrine in India, after Tirnumala Venkateswara Temple. The Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board maintains the shrine. A rail link from Udhampur to Katra is being built to facilitate pilgrimage. The nearest airport is Jammu Airport which has very high flight frequency. All leading domestic airlines have their services to Jammu Airport.

As per Hindu epic, Mata Vaishno Devi was born in the south India in the residence of Ratnakar Sagar. Before the birth of child, Ratnakar swears one day that he will not interfere in the desire of child. The nick name of Ma Vaishno Devi was Trikuta. Afterward she was called as Vaishnavi as she took birth from Lord Vishnu's family. At the age of 9, she wanted her parents’ permission for doing reparation on the seaside. Vaishnavi prayed to Rama, who was the form of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama gave the name Vaishnavi to Trikuta and assured her that Lord Rama will take rebirth in Kaliyuga and marry her as Kalki.

Meanwhile, Lord Rama asked Vaishnavi to contemplate in the cavern established in the Trikuta Range of hills, located in North India. Rama gave Trikuta a bow and darts, monkey’s army and lion as her shield. Mata Vaishnavi determined to perceive 'Navratra' for the success of Lord Rama in opposition to Ravan. Hence one reads the Ramayana during the 9 days of Navratra, in remembrance of the above connection. Shree Rama promised that the whole world would sing Ma Vaishno Devi's praise. Lord Rama also said Trikuta was to become famous as Vaishno Devi and would become immortal forever. The abode of Maa Vaishno devi is attaining huge pilgrimage attraction due to Lord Rama's blessings to the goddess.

With the passage of time many more stories about the Mother Goddess emerged. The other story is:

Shree-Dhar was an ardent devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi. He resided in a village called Hansali, 2 km away from the present Katra town. Once Ma appeared to him in the form of a young bewitching girl. The young girl asked the humble Pandit to hold a 'Bhandara' (A feast to feed the mendicants and devotees). The Pandit set out to invite people from the village and near-by places. He also invited 'Bhairav Nath' a selfish tantrik. Bhairav Nath asked Shri-Dhar how he was planning to fulfill the requirements. He reminded him of the bad consequences in case of failure. As Panditji was lost in worry, the Divine girl appeared and told Him not to be despondent as everything had been arranged. She asked that over 360 devotees be seated in the small hut. True to Her word the Bhandara went smoothly with food and place to spare. Bhairav Nath admitted that the girl had supernatural powers and decided to test her further. He followed the Divine girl to Trikuta Hills. For 9 months Bhairav Nath was searching for the mystic girl in the mountains, whom he believed was an incarnation of the Mother Goddess. While running away from Bhairav, Devi shot an arrow into the Earth from which water gushed out. The resultant river is known as Baanganga. It is believed that by taking a bath in Baanganga (Baan: Arrow), a believer of the Mother Goddess can wash away all his sins. The banks of the river, known as Charan Paduka, are marked by Devi's foot imprints, which remains intact till date. Vaishno Devi then took shelter in a cave known as Garbh Joon near Adhkawari where she meditated for 9 months attaining spiritual wisdom and powers. Her meditation was cut short when Bhairav located her. Vaishno Devi was then compelled to take the form of Maha Kali when Bhairav tried to kill her. The manifestation of the Mother Goddess took place at the mouth of the Holy cave at Darbar. The Goddess then beheaded Bhairav with such sheer force that his skull fell at a place known as Bhairav Ghati, 2.5 km from the Holy Cave.

In his dying moments, Bhairav pleaded for forgiveness. The Goddess knew that Bhairav's main intention in attacking her was to achieve salvation. She not only granted Bhairav liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, but also granted him a boon, whereby every devotee, in order to ensure completion of the pilgrimage, had to visit Bhairav Nath's temple near the Holy cave after the darshan of the Goddess. Meanwhile Vaishno Devi assumed the shape of a rock with three pindis (heads) and immersed herself into meditation forever.

Meanwhile, Pandit Shree-Dhar became impatient. He started to march towards Trikuta Mountain on the same path that he had witnessed in a dream. He ultimately reached the cave mouth. He made a daily routine of worshiping the 'Pindis' in several ways. His worship pleased the Goddess. She appeared in front of him and blessed him. Since that day, Shree-Dhar and his descendants have been worshiping the Goddess Mother Vaishno Devi.

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Kerala - Beautiful Holiday Destination

Kerala is a land of natural diversity and a visit to the state would give you an experience of all landscapes.

Tree houses in Kerala
Tree houses are called as ‘Erumadam’ in the native Malayalam language. It is basically a house with all facilities built on top of a tree. The house is made using eco friendly materials like hay, coir and bamboo. These tree top houses were initially built and used by tribal people for protection against wild animals. Presently there are five tree top resorts located at Munnar, Athirapally, Thekady (02) and Wayanad. The stay at these tree houses keeps you close to the nature. You will be taken by surprise when you see the fully furnished rooms with modern facilities on the tree top. 

Kerala Tree Houses

Elephants in Kerala
Elephant is the state animal of Kerala and it has great prominence in the life of Keralites. It is worshiped and is part of religious ceremonies in and around the temples. They are also used at timber yards for transporting timber. The elephant is part of the Kerala state emblem. If you are interested to see this huge tusker in large numbers then you can visit the Sree Krishna Temple Elephant sanctuary.  

Elephants in Kerala

Hill stations in Kerala
Kerala has two popular hill stations which attracts tourists from all parts of the world. Munnar is a beautiful hill stations with numerous resorts located 1600 m above sea level. It is the place where three mountain ranges join together. The picturesque location of tea estates and scenic beauty of spice gardens provides excellent opportunities for bird watching, trekking and nature walk. 

Hills in Kerala

The other hill station is Wayanad, the name stands for Paddy fields in the local language.  Wayanad is a located in the heart of the Western Ghats with an altitude ranging between 700 to 2100 m above sea level. This place can be easily accessed from the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The spice gardens consisting of Cardamom, Pepper and tea/coffee estates are a delight to visit for the tourists. You can also shop for these aromatic spices when you visit Wayanad. The excellent wildlife, waterfalls, ancient caves and lakes are the other attractions in the hill district. 

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