Basara - Gnana Saraswati Devi temple

Wednesday 27th June, 2012

At 5:15 AM Amma, Padma, Vedu and myself started from Dilshukhagar - Hyderabad to Malkajgiri. We picked Komali Akka, Vanditha and Yogesh and hoped into Toyota Innova. At 6:00 we started to Basara. We had nice chat in the car while kids were enjoying the music. Ramesh (car driver) was very active and was entertaining us. We reached Nizamabad by 9:15 AM.

We stoped 10 km before the main temple of Basara for petrol. Thought of having a cup of tea but then went straight to temple. On our way to temple we saw a lake full of beautiful white and pink lotus flowers and a statue of Lord Saraswathi in a standing position holding a veena and in a white saree. 10 min after the drive we reached the temple precinct. Ramesh parked our car and we all went straight to a shop to buy books and pens for performing pooja.

Where is this temple:
Gnana Saraswati at Basara is in a small village near Nizamabad city, Adilabad District in Andhra Pradesh. Basar is a village situated on the banks of river Godavari.

How and When the temple formed:

Maharishi Vyasa and his disciples visited this place after kurukshetra. In the quest for a peaceful abode, he came to Dandaka forest and, pleased with serenity of the region, selected this place. After his ablutions in the Godavari, Maharishi Vyasa used to bring three fistful of sand and place it in three small heaps and made images of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali with his mystic power and later conducted prayers.

Speciality:

Idol's of Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Kali are made of sand and Lord Saraswathi's face smeared with turmeric. Since Maharishi Vyasa spent considerable time in prayers, the place was then called "Vasara" and turned into Basara due to the influence of the Marathi language in the region.

   

Importance: 

Devotees stream the temple for the ritual of ‘Akshara Abhyasam’ of their children -the formal starting of education deeming it to be auspicious with the blessings of the Goddess of Knowledge. 'Akshara Gnana' is a special ritual before commencing formal school education wherein the child is given little bit of turmeric paste to taste, believing that it will enhance one's wisdom and knowledge and will clear vocal chords for better learning. The Goddess answers all the prayers of the committed devotees, filling their life with bliss and happiness. Basara Aksharabyas can be done by just taking a new slate or notebook wherein the poojari will bless the child by writing the sacred "Om" on it.

Our visit to temple:

We walked straight into the temple after taking tickets for kumkuma archana. After walking few steps Akka bought some white lotus flowers for the goddess. We went to a room where priest was chanting mantras and we performed kumkuma archana to all the books and pens we bought.

Vedu, Yogesh and Vanditha sat in one place and did pooja to the books. After performing pooja kids went to the priest and he made them write "OM" on each of the book and blessed them by tapping on their back. We took a pradakshina to the saraswathi devei and went straight to the main temple. 

Built at the confluence of the rivers Mangira and Godavari this temple is adorned by the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The presiding deity, 'Gnana Saraswati Devi', is in a seated position with a 'Veena' in hand and bedecked with turmeric. Adjacent is the shrine of Goddess Maha Lakshmi (left) and a little distance away, on the eastern side (right) is the Maha Kali temple.

Walking ahead a few steps, one enters the sanctum sanctorum - a feeling better experienced than described. A feeling of peace, brightness and unlimited joy engulfs one. This was my second trip to Basara. I came to this temple with my college friends in 1992. I still remembered the feeling when I saw deity that day and I had the same feeling this time.

Whole family entered into the main sanctum and gave extra books and pens to keep on Devis lap for blessing. Priest offered all the kids some flowers and kumkuma. Lucky, Vedu got white lotus. We came out took the turmeric which was kept outside and then went inside again for second time. This time Vanditha, Yogi and Vedu were standing exactly in front of the Devi. They saw the deity very clearly. I waited there for few more minutes and went out. We then told kids to distribute books and pens to the kids in temple which they did. It is an old tradition where books/slates/pens/pencils will be distributed to poor kids. This tradition is the sign of sharing the knowledge/wealth with others.

We went to Dattatreya temple took aarathi. Yogi, Vedu and Vanditha wrote their names on the temple wall as they saw many people writing there. We then went to Kali temple at the top right hand side of the main temple. We walked down and sat behind the temple. Kids were busy taking pictures and playing. Amma, Akka, padma and I sat there while Akka was chanting few slokas. We took some photos and walked outside. Akka went and bought some prasadam for everyone. we had some prasadam and walked outside to have a cup of tea.

Ramesh took us straight to Godavari. We took some flowers to offer in godavari and went down the steps (around 20). On the left hand side we can see foot long idols of lord rama, laxmana, sita and hanuman. On the right side we can see the bridge. We all went inside the water and just washed our feet. Many kids and elders are holding magnets to collect money offered in the water. Vedu, Yogi and Vanditha went and gave money to most of the beggars in that region. We sat on the steps for few min and went back to car.

By the time we reached car it was 12:30 PM and we were very hungry. We all went to a very big restaurant (don’t want to mention its name) to have our lunch but they said food will be ready in an hour. We just don’t want to waste our time so decided to go to Nizamabad city and have our lunch. We stopped at one of the veggie restaurants and had full on lunch and went straight to Hyderabad.

I wanted to take Vedu to this temple for a long time. We missed Mns in this trip but at least I was able to take Vedu to Gnana Saraswathi temple. I had such a fabulous time with my mum, sisters and kids in this trip.

Sharadhindhu Samakare Parabrahma Swarupini.

Vasara Peeta Nilaye Sarshathi Namostuthe.

Kasi - Day 4

Kasi - Day 4 - 20/06/2012

We got up at 2:15 AM and started getting ready to go to temple to perform puja. We were at the temple by 3:15 AM. Even at this time the temple was full of crowd. Shyam Sastry garu took us to main temple and asked us to wait. We waited there for 5 min and he asked us to go inside the templ which we did. He then made us do 'Rudhrabhishekam' to Lord Viswanatha i.e the main Shiva Lingam inside Kasi temple. We were in the temple for almost 20 min. I think we are very lucky to get that chance. After the Abhishekam, Shyam garu took us to the Jnana Vapi (the wisdom well) and it is believed that the Jytorlinga was hidden in the well to protect it at the time of invasion by Aurangzeb. As per sources, the original Shiv-linga now resides in the well. We took three pradakshinas to the well, took theertham and then went to Annapurna devi temple.

I performed Kumkumarchana at 'Annapurna devi temple'. It took almost 30 min to do the whole archana. Shyam garu made sure that I sat in front of Amma while Mns and Vedu was sitting besides me and do it with good sprit. I consider very lucky for getting this chance. I must have done some thing good in my past life to get this chance. After the pooja we gave dakshina, took prasadam and walked out. Shyam garu then took us to Sakshi Ganapathi temple along side of the viswanath lane. It is said that who ever visits Viswanath temple must come and acknowledge that they visited this temple in front of Ganesh. People believe that he witness our visit to Kasi.

We came out from temple precinct and had Kachori for breakfast at 6:00 AM. After that we had a cup of tea and had Paan (betel leaf with areca nut) as Banaras is famous for Paans. I remembered the famous song 'Khaike Paan Banaras Wala' which states the importance of Banaras paan.

After reaching the Raddison, We took some rest while Vedu decided to go for a swim and spa. We got ready by 11:00 AM and went to check out from the hotel. Ram bhayya came to drop us at airport.

Ram bhayya was very emotional to say good bye to Vedu. He hugged him and kissed him. We then went inside the airport.

My trip to Kasi is a very memorable one. I did many things which I never thought I would do in my life and I made very good friends whom I can count on any time.

This trip is definitely dedicated to my Father-in-law and Mother-in-law and offcourse to my darling DAD.

Varanasi - Kasi - Day 3

Day 3 - Varanasi - 19/06/2012
Started from Radisson at 8:20 and reached near Kasi Maha punya khetram by 8:50 AM. Picked Shyama Sasry garu on our way. He took us to temple in a very small streets full of dung, spit, shops, people and dead bodies. I had high imagination of Kasi and this made me upset. On our way to temple we saw atleast 5 dead bodies. We started our Darshan with Visalakshi temple. This small temple is situated in one of the narrow lanes around the Vishwanath temple. This is one of the shakthi peetas of 18 and very famous one. Though the temple is quite small, the idol of the goddess is very beautiful. Behind the main stone idol of the goddess is another idol (Our preist Shyam sastry said it is the original idol), believed to be the idol prayed to in ancient times.He also told us that it was the swayambhu idol of the goddess. Whatever it is, it is certainly worth a look, so remember to look behind the idol when you visit this temple. Adi Shankaracharya, when he visited the temple, performed prayers to renew the powers of the temple and the goddess which had borne the brunt of several invasions. He also installed a Sri Yantram there, and it is to this Yantram that puja is done. Kumkumarchana to this Sri Yantram is considered very special, and can be performed by asking the pujari there.

I took pradakshina in the temple and was waiting for another darshan and one of the temple priest grabbed my hand and gave me red bangles, flowers, Kumkuma, ammas photo frame and Prasadam. I have no clue what made the priest to give those to me but I took them and started walking with Shyam garu to the main temple of Kasi Viswanath (Shiva).

Shyam Sastry took us straight to main temple gate passing us from huge crowd. Mns and Vedu went inside and police stopped me when I was about to step into the temple. The reason why they stopped me was because I was carrying harmful good i.e. Bangles (glass) in my hand which was given to me in the Visalakshi temple. Security is very strict here. No one is allowed to take even a pen inside the temple. Police made to wear the bangles to my right hand and then let me go inside the temple. What ever is the reason I felt it was a good sign. I never usually wear bangles but looks like visalakshi doesnt want me to go inside to see Viswanath with out her bangles :0). Priest took us straight to the main temple and showed us the main Shiva Lingam. People were pushing us from all sides. He told the temple priest that we are special so priest gave us prasadam and offered some flowers to us. we took a good look at the Shiva Lingam and walked out. We went inside the temple to visit Hanuman mandir, Dhoodi Ganapathi temple, Kubera temple (Lord of wealth) and from there Shyam took us to Kasi Annapurana devi temple (godess of food). He took us completely inside the temple and asked us to touch amma's feet. Then he asked me to take my sari’s pallu (cheera kongu) into hand and offered me rice with some vedas. He also gave me flower garland and told not to share it with any one. After all the prayers we came out from other side of the door and when we came out one woman from the crowd asked me to give a flower. I felt it must be a test in Annapurna devi temple for me because Priest told not to give the flower to any one but that women was asking me flowers.

I just made a big bow to amma and gave the flower to the lady. I came out with full satisfaction because i got a chance to donate something right in front of Annapurna devi. I felt very lucky for that.

We said thanks to Shyam and told him that we will see him tomorrow (if possible) and came out of the temple. I told Rambhayya to take to a place where we can have a nice hot cup of tea. We had tea and went straight to Benaras Hindu University. This is one of the biggest old universities in India. It is spread in 30 kms radios. Such a huge campus, we just went in car as we do not have time to get down and spend time there. From there we went to Kalabhairava temple.

Kala Bhairava temple
The Kaal Bhairav is said to be the Inspector of Kashi. It is believed if he gets angry on someone, the person who visit Varanasi will never get a chance to step into main temple of Viswanath for his entire life. The Veda's and Upanishad's says that even death is scared of Kaal Bhairav. People who go on pilgrim visit to Varanasi, do not forget to visit Kaal Bhairava Temple.

Kaal Bhairav, the "Black Terror," is widely known as the "police chief," of Kashi. Bhairav is considered a fearsome manifestation of Shiva. He wears a garland of skulls and carries a club of peacock feathers. Kaal Bhairav, whose name, Kaal means both Death and Fate, in addition to meaning Black. He is the black one who has also assumed the duties of the God of Death in Kashi. Even Death, it is said, is afraid of Kaal Bhairava.

Temple today is one of the most interesting in Varanasi. Entering from the street , through a door guarded by Bhairava's mount, the dog, one finds a fine courtyard, in the centre of which is the main shrine of Bhairava. Only the silver face of kaala bhairava, garlanded with flowers, is visible through the doorway of inner sanctum. The rest of Bhairava's image-said to be pot-bellied, seated upon a dog, holding a trident-is hidden behind a cloth drapery. This is the temple where Kasi thread [Black] is available. I went to a shop and took few Kala Bhairava hanging pieces and threads for relatives and friends.

mahankali temple
Our next visit was to Mahankali temple. We came here on the day we landed in Varanasi but it was closed between 1:30 - 3:00 PM. We made to this temple just in time. We went inside the temple when Aarathi was going on. We offered our prayers to Kali maa and offered coconut and flowers. This goddess looked very powerful. Her eyes are bright (silver eyes) and with red sari on her. We stayed there for 5 min and came our straight away as we have many more places to cover.

Sankat Mochan (deliverer from troubles) - Hanuman temple
This temple is situated on the banks of 'Assi' river. According to the Hindu beliefs, Lord Hanuman is provider of courage, intellect and knowledge. Lord Hanuman is also believed to the eradicator of all worries and tensions. As per Ram Bhayya Sankat Mochan Temple was the place where Thulsidas started writing RamCharit Manasa. It is regarded that regular 'puja' (worship) of Lord Hanuman at this temple, brings good luck to the devotee.

This temple is full of monkeys and the special Prasad in this temple is 'Besan laddu'. People who suffers from Satin (Sani) usually visit this temple on Saturdays and offer their prayers as Hanuman is the only god who can get tensions away from Shani.

There was a big line in the temple but I was so lucky that I went straight inside and stood there when priest was performing Aarathi as it was almost closing time of the temple. I just stood there to see the shrine for almost 10 min. It took a long time for Mns and Vedu to came inside the temple. I took a pradakshina and came back again to see Hanuman ji. Visiting Hanuman on Tuesday is considered to be lucky as Tuesday is his favourite day and lucky we were in temple on this day. Just before closing priest gave another big Aarathi which we were able to see. We went around other small temples around and sat there for few min and came out.

We went to Museum but did not feel like wasting our time inside a museum. We took few photos from outside and went back to car.

Sarnath
By the time we reached Sarnath it was 1:30 PM. We were very hungry so went straight to a restaurant and ordered full plate meals. After the meals we took a guided tour to Sarnath Buddha pillor.

As per the guide, Sarnath is the place where Buddha chose to deliver his first sermon. The celebrated Mantra, 'Buddham Sharanam Gachhami', owes its origin to Sarnath.

The pillar at Sarnath is one Ashoka’s pillars. It is especially important because on top of the pillar there used to be a statue of four lions holding up a wheel. Today, the national flag of India has a picture of that wheel on it. The wheel stands for dharma . It’s really difficult to explain to someone what the word dharma means. It means something like truth or maybe religion. The statue of the four lions is now in a museum.

Construction of Buddha statue in place of pillar was completed in 2004. We saw a big Jack fruit tree which has 100's of Jack fruits hanging to it. From the Pillar we went to silk weaving place where we can see how handmade silk saris can be weaved.

Banaras is famous for handmade silk sari's (pattu). We went inside the stores and bought a top for myself and kurtha for Mns. From there we went to the town where production of all Banaras sari's take place. I took 4 sari’s for myself and my gorgeous sisters.



Kedhareswar temple & Narayana sastry’s home

We were much tiered but Narayana sastry garu asked us to come to Kedhareswar temple in one of the ghats so we went straight to temple. This temple is also one of the swambhu temples. We reached there just in time for main Aarathi. We came out and sat on the steps enjoying the view of Ganges, sunset, people and burning of dead bodies from other end. Padmaja garu and kids came to temple to spend time with us. We spent almost an hour in front of temple and ganga. Narayana sastri garu asked us to come to there home for a coffee so we went there. Vedu showed them few magic tricks and both Pavani and Lokesh enjoyed his tricks and would like to spend more time with him. Padmaja garu offered me a new sari for visiting them.

I have no clue who these people are just 3 days ago but they treated us like their relatives. We said good byes and decided to go back to hotel. Sastry garu took us to Kariveeni Brahmana satram to introduce us and organise dinner for us. He then showed us way to go to our car.

We were back to hotel by 9:00 PM had the dinner we got from Kariveeni satram and went to bed.

Gaya - Bihar - Day 2

Gaya – Boudh Gaya - Day 2 – 18/06/2012　

I and Vedu woke up at 4:00 AM and woke mns so that we can start early. We had a big drama about the driver. We saw Ram bhayya sleeping on the bench and waited until 6:00 AM for him to wake up. He dint wake up so Vedu went and woke him up and told him to get ready so that we can start early before traffic starts. He took his own time to brush, take bath and started cleaning the bus next to our car. We were surprised to see that but thought bus driver is Ram bhayyas friend. After 10 min Ram bhayya drove off in the bus. Vedanth and Mns ran to talk to the driver to find what is going on? I was near our car and started calling Ram bhayya on his mobile to find why he went in the bus leaving us on road. Ram bhayya told sorry and said he is coming and in 2 sec he was near the car by that time. Prasad and vedu are still near the bus. I was surprised when Ram bhayya said, "Saab (sir) I was very tiered and could not wake up in the morning - SORRY". I asked him what??? then i realised that the person whom we were thinking as our car driver is not Rambhayya. I went to Mns and Vedu and explained the whole story. We cracked up so much on this incidence.

Finally we started to Gaya at 7:00 AM. It took us 2 hrs to reach Gaya. Rambhayya took us to Andhra Ashram and introduced us to the Priest. We took bath and got ready for offering Pandas (Pinda prathan).

We went to the Vishnupada temple near Phalguni river. Priest asked Mns to remember all the dead ones to offer Pindas. one is required to shed eating of at least three food items a fruit, leaf and a veggie for our ansisters. Mns and I left, Neethi beerakaya (silk squash), Raama phalam (custurd apple big one) and marri aaku (baniyan leaf). That means we should never in our life touch these again.

After the rituals Mns offered Pindas in three places. 1. on the banks of the Phalguni river (or if the river is dry it can be offered to a cow). 2. Vishnupada and 3. Akshaya Vata Vriksha (Banyan tree).

1. Phalguni river - Water will not be adequate to take a bath. It is said that due to a curse by Goddess Sita Devi, always there will be scanty water. It was completely dry when we were there.

2. Vishnu paada - After performing ceremony the pindas have to be dropped on the Sri Vishnu Pada inside the temple.

Importance of Vishu paada:

Lord Maha Vishnu had kept his sacred foot on the Hridaya (chest) of Gayasura on the Dharmasila at this spot. In the name of Gayasura the place has become popular to be known as Gaya. Gayasura literally means holy demon. It is a boon given to Gayasura by Lord Sri Maha Vishnu that who ever perform Pitru ceremonies at this place their fore fathers will get salvation. Not only that, even who ever visits and touches Lord’s foot & Dharmashila at this place will also be given salvation.

3. Akshaya Vata Vriksha - It is said that this tree is existing since Thretha Yuga and its roots are in Varanasi and Prayaga. It is in the premises of Vishnu Paada temple. Some believe that this is the place where Buddha first got his englightment and some believe that this is the place where Lord Siva stays. What ever is the reason this tree definitely looked very old and big.

After the sardha karma, we washed our feet and went straight to andhra asram for light lunch.

Mangalya gowrika temple
Our next desitination was Mangalya gowrika temple. This is one of 18 Sakthi peetas. The temple on top of a hill and have a wonderful view of the entire gaya town. This is a very small temple (only a few devotees can enter the shrine at the same time) which looks like a cave through which you can just pass your body and come out through the other side.

People believe one who does this, all their sins are gone. On the backside of the temple there is a spot where breast of the devi is believed to have fallen. We went inside the temple twice and offered our prayers.

Boudh Gaya

From mangala devi temple we went to Boudha gaya which is the place of enlightenment of Buddha. The place is very serene. We sat under the tree where Buddha was enlightened. Picked up a leaf from the pipul tree… hope to be enlightened someday. We went inside the temple and it was very pieceful. I sat there for few min to do meditation.

After coming out from the temple we had few cold drinks and started to Varanasi. On our way we stopped at a place for tea.

Ganga Aarati - Varanasi

We arrive just in time to witness the Ganga Aarti or "Offering Prayer to the Ganges," a ritual performed every night on the banks of the Ganges River. The Bazaar that lines both sides of the street leading to the Dasaswamedh Ghat where the prayer takes place each night is hopping with activity.

There are people everywhere, both tourists and locals, jockeying for a spot where they will have a good view of the 7 Brahmin priests making the offering of incense, sandalwood, Ghee, and camphor. The Aarathi on the Ganges offering is made in all four directions. Everyone comes to the evening prayer. No matter what your lot in life, no matter what caste you may have been born into, and no matter how devoted you are to your faith, the River Ganges is for everyone – all are equal at the banks of this mighty river.

We took a boat to view the Aarati from long distance and to have a clear view. After the Aarathi we took a ride through all the Ghats. The stretch of the ghats is for 3 kms. There are more than 80 ghats. I only remembered few of them.. Manikarnika Ghat, Hanuman Ghat, Harischandra Ghat, Dasaswamedh Ghat, Durga Ghat, Ganga Mahal Ghat, Kedar Ghat, Aassi Ghat, Brahma Ghat….

Importance of Manikarnika Ghat:
Two legends are associated with Manikarnika Ghat. According to one, it is believed to be the place where

Lord Vishnu dug a pit with his Chakra and filled it with his perspiration while performing various penances. While Lord Shiva was watching Lord Vishnu at that time, the latter's earring ("manikarnika") fell into the pit. According to the second legend, in order to keep Lord Shiva from moving around with his devotees, his consort Goddess Parvati hid her earrings, and asked him to find them, saying that they had been lost on the banks of the Ganges. Goddess Parvati's idea behind the fib was that Lord Shiva would then stay around, searching forever for the lost earrings. In this legend, whenever a body gets cremated at the Manikarnika Ghat, Lord Shiva asks the soul whether it has seen the earrings.

According to ancient texts, the owner of Manikarnika Ghat bought King Harishchandra as a slave and made him work on the Manikarnika at Harischandra Ghat. Hindu cremations customarily take place here, though a majority of dead bodies are taken for cremation to the Manikarnik Ghat.

Cremation of bodies take place 24/7 in both Harischandra and Manikarnika Ghat. It is believed that the smoke from Manikarnika Ghat reaches directly to Lord Viswanath (main temple) and the smoke from Harischandra Ghat reaches to Kedar Ghat Shiva (this temple is also swayambhu i.e. shiva lingam is formed naturally not constructed by anyone)

Hotel - Radisson

After the boat ride we walked in the narrow streets of Kasi. We had fresh lassi and went straight to Hotel Radisson. We got ready and went to take dinner at the hotel. When we stepped into the restaurant it was then we felt like we were in five star hotel. Vedu had full buffet and Mns and I had pizza and noodles for dinner.

Prayaga - Alahabad - Day 1

Prasad, Vedanth and I started at 4:00 AM from home to Hyd airport. While I was standing in a Q for security check I met a girl named Pavani with her mother Padma. I just said hello and she said I was looking beautiful. When I started talking to them in Telugu they said they did not expect that I am a Telugu speaking woman. Pavani and Padma garu were talking to me in the security Q like we know them for ages. We spoke about airports, places to pickles and fruits in the season. That’s how my trip to Varanasi began.

After security check, I asked Padma garu where they were going. She said they live in KasI and her husband is the priest in Kasi temple. OMG what a co-incidence. When I heard that I thought god sent some one to help us out to complete our Kasi yatra. Padma garu introduced us to Narayana Sastry garu. He told us where to and how to start our journey.

We hired a Tata Indica car which was booked from Hyd. Our driver Ram (I call him Ram Bhayya) picked us from airport and took us straight to Annadhana asramam as we told him we were very hungry. While we were having lunch Vedu was funny asking for ghee & yogurt which they don’t usually serve. After the lunch Vedu went and gave Rs.100 to the manager. I was very happy to see Vedanth’s attitude and good nature. He can come without giving a Rupee but he thought it was not appropriate to eat and walk out without paying anything. He also said to the cooks that food was very tasty.

Prayaga – Day 1 – 17/06/2012

We started at 2:00 Pm to Prayaga (Allahabad) from Varanasi. Distance between Kasi and Prayaga is 120 km. We were awake for few min and went to sleep. Ram bhayya stopped at a hotel for a cup of tea 20 kms before Prayaga. We had tea and vedu had some snacks and back in our car.

Triveni sangamam

We reached at Triveni sangamam where Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati (Triveni) meet at this point. This place is very sacred to Hindus. 'Prayagasya Praveshu Papam Nashwati Tatkashanam.' In Vedas it was said that "all sins are cleaned with entry in Prayaga". Prayaga is such an important place because Indian standard time is also calculated from the 82½ degrees East Longitude which passes through Zero Road, from a clock tower Mirzapur near Allahabad (reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Standard_Time). AS per Chaganti garu, Loard Brahma choose Prayaga for the beginning of the creation and he also referred this place as Tirtha Raja (king of pilgrimage centers).

Ram bhayya stopped car in front of a fort (not sure what that is) which overlooks the Triveni sangamam. We took a boat to reach the actual place. Sacred Sangamam can be seen very clearly at the point at which the white Ganges meet the greenish Yamuna and water bubbles come at the meeting point which we thought was Saraswathi. We got down and took a bath in the Ganga. We stayed in the water for almost 10-15 min as the weather was really hot, holiest rivers were really calming us down. If any one is interested to do pinda prathan for deceased parents, Pandits perch on small platforms of the boats to perform puja. We wanted to do that in Gaya hence we did not perform any thing there. Before coming back we took a bottle of Ganga water (looked very dirty though!!!). After reaching the muddy banks we half dried our cloths and went straight to Hanuman temple.

Hanuman temple
This Hanuman temple is really unique as I have never seen such a big idol of Lord Hanuman in reclining posture and Lord Rama and Laxmana (small idols) on his shoulders. To go to this temple we have to take a few steps down as this temple stays underground. When I asked the pundit about its importance he said, Lord Hanuman after fighting with Myravana in Pathala brings Lord Rama and Laxmana on his shoulders and rests in this place hence the posture is in reclining. He said when Ganga is in spate, this temple gets submerged in this temple.

Kumbha mela

On our way to Madhaveswari temple Ram bhayya showed us the place where people who come for kumbha mela stay. It is around 30-40 acres of land and govt already started cleaning the place for 2013 Kumbha mela in Allahabad. Over 20 million people visit this place during this time. Hindus, traditionally regard river confluences as auspicious places, more so the Sangam at Allahabad, where the Yamuna and the Ganges meet the 'River ofEnlightenment', the mythical Saraswati. According to vedas, Vishnu was carrying a kumbh (pot) of amrit (nectar), when a scuffle broke out between the Gods, and four drops were spilled. They fell on the earth at the four tirthas of　Prayag, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain. The event is commemorated every three years by the Kumbh Mela, held at each tirtha in turn; so, this will be held in each place once every twelve years, is the greatest and holiest of all. Although we missed this, we heard from Ram bhayya that it is very hard to survive for people like us. Wish I can be there one day.

　

Sakthipeetam – Madhaveswari
"Prayage Madhaveswari" also known as Alopi Devi temple is located in Alopi bagh (Daraganj). We parked our car, took some puja items and entered into the temple. I was looking for the idol of shakthi but surprisingly goddess is not in idol form here. It is a unique temple where its presiding deity is in the form of a small wooden Jhula (swing), which is placed above a marble and steel platform which has an opening under the Jhula which is filled with water.
As per Ram bhayya’s information and web Alopi means disappeared. The Goddess gets the name Alopi because of the belief that the last part of Goddess Sati’s body fell here and disappeared. The priest in temple said "that the fingers of the hands of Goddess Sati fell at the spot where the Alopi Devi Temple stands". Hence this is the last spot from where Goddess Sati disappeared from earth and it is considered highly auspicious.


We took a pradakshina of the platform, lit some lights and came out. After walking outside we heard bells ringing so we rushed inside to see the temple was closed and the priest was giving Aarathi (@ 7:00 PM if any one is interested). We could not stand in the front so we went back side and stood there. No one was there so vedu and I started ringing the big bells until the Aarathi was done. Priest took the Aarathi from our side of the door. Aren’t we luck to get that straight to us? We went inside again and took another pradakshina and sat inside the temple for few min.

After walking out we considered our self lucky to be able to attend the Maha Arathi. We bought some peda (milk sweet) not because we were hungry but because it was tempting and I would never say no to sweet.

Veni Danam
I did not get to do Veni danam due to lack of time. I heard the importance of this from Chaganti Koteswara rao gari speeches.

The word Veni means River. An interesting ritual performed at the Sangam is that of Veni Danam. This is a practice followed by married women for the long life of their husbands. The husband is supposed to comb and plait the wife’s hair and after decorating it with flowers, the end of the plait is cut off and offered to the rivers at the confluence. Normally hair floats on water, but at this place, the hair sinks straight to the bottom. Though hundreds of people offer their hair everyday, there is not a single strand of hair seen floating on the river. Whatever may be the scientific reason it is an inspiriting ritual for those who belief in the divinity.

We were on road @ 8:00 Pm from Prayaga to Gaya. We did not feel like eating any dinner. After driving for some time Ram bhayya stopped at a Dhaba to take some rest. Vedu and I slept in car. Mns and Ram bhayya went out and slept on dhaba benches.