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Published: November 21st 2009
OLD COUPLES KASHI YATRA VIA KHAJURAHO (4)
26th September, 2007 - Wednesday.
After travelling through the populous villages and crossing the long bridge over River Yamuna, we reached Allahabad City by 2 pm. Our destination is to the house of the famous Telugu Purohit Shri Hari Jagannath Sastry who is doing invaluable service to all Telugu people visiting from Andhra Pradesh, perhaps, for the last more than fifty years. My former colleague, friend and Dharmadhikari of Sringeri Samsthana Temples in Hyderabad Shri Dharma Ratnaakara,Anjaneyulu, already spoken over phone to Shri Jagannatha Sastry intimating about our arrival with a request to help us in discharging our religious duties in Prayag and in Triveni Sangamam. I have noted the address and Phone Numbers of this Gentleman Purohit and I stopped my car by the side of the road to enquire the way to his House. Suddenly there appeared a cop and questioned that I was driving the Car without wearing seat belt and stopped the car at a place where it should not be stopped. It is my habit to wear the Seat Belt the moment I step into the car, which habit I cultivated from my stay in USA. I have removed the seat belt after stopping the car so that I can peep through the window and enquire a passerby the address of the Purohit. I explained this to the Cop and introduced myself as a pilgrim visiting Prayag and the Cop is good enough to leave me and also furnished the route to reach the House of Shri Jagannath Sastry. Shri Jagannath Sastry is so famous in Prayag and most of the shop owners, Autowallas know his address and take the pilgrims to his house.
After travelling about 2 km as per directions, I stopped by the road side and telephoned to the house of Shri Jagannath Sastry. His son Shri Lakshman Kumar Sastry answered the phone call and gave further directions and also stated that he would be sending one of his persons to a particular place from where he will take us to his house. He also stated that Shri GVSR Anjaneyulu, Dharmadhikari of Sringeri Samstanam of Hyderabad has intimated about our visit to Prayag. The person sent by the Purohit met us and took us to the house of Shri Jagannath Sastry. I am surprised to find that he kept his car garage free to park my car. On arrival he asked us to take lunch in the choultry maintained by Karivena Satram of Sri Sailam which was located in a house said to have been donated by Shri Jagannath Sastry. I also noticed that another friend of mine Shri Chidambareswara Rao of Hyderabad donated a sum of Rs.50,000 to this choultry for providing free meals to the pilgrims of Prayag. This house was by the side of the residence of Sri Jagannath Sastry. He also provided us two rooms in his house for our stay. Most of the pilgrims are accommodated in his house itself, which has about 10 rooms and three to four halls.
After taking lunch and brief rest in our rooms, we met Shri Lakshman Kumar and fixed up our programme for the next day i.e., performing of Shraddha karmas and Veni Dana Puja on the banks of River Yamuna and Ganga and Sangama Snanam . We expressed our desire to visit the important places of Allhabad this evening. He arranged a three wheeler for taking us to various places of interest in Allahabad.
BRIEF HISTORY OF PRAYAG PRESENTLY KNOWN AS ALLAHABAD
PRAYAG, from times immemorial is known as ‘Thirtha Raj”. The place is King of all pilgrimage centres in Bharat Varsh. Prayag is mentioned in various Epics, Vedas and Puranas and it stands at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi, a mythical river, flowing under the ground which is not visible. The place where River Ganga and River Yamuna meet is called Sangam which is the venue of many sacred fairs and rituals and attracts thousands of pilgrims throughout the year. It is believed that Brahma, the Creator, offered his first sacrifice here after creating the world. It encompasses a large area and is an inland peninsula surrounded by Rivers on three sides with only one side connected to the mainland. The city has many bridges crossing rivers the Ganges and Yamuna to allow free flow of traffic.
Kumbh Mela : According to legends, Lord Vishnu in the form of Jaganmohini was carrying the kumbh of amrit obtained during the course of Pala Samudra (milk ocean) Madhanam by Gods and Demons and during their scuffle for the Nectar Pot, four drops spilled on Earth and the Nectar drops fell at Prayag, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain. This event is celebrated every three years by performing Kumbh Mela, held at each of these four places in turn. The Kumbh Mela performed once in every twelve years is the greatest and holiest event witnessed by millions of pilgrims and tourists, including foreigners from all over India and the World and to take holy dip at the Sangam. Many a Naga Sadhus, Aghora Sadhus, Sanathana Dharma (Hindu) Religious Heads, etc., participate in this Mela.
A Sadhu Maharaj at Kumbh Mela.
Akbar, the Mughal Emperor in 1583 named the city Illahabad which means the city of “God’s Creation”. This city played an important role during the Indian Independence Struggle and remained on the national forefront all the times. The Homes of Nehru family Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhavan were at the centre of political activities of the Indian National Congress. It is jocularly said that Shri Motilal Nehru donated these Buildings to the Nation and in turn his Son Jawaharlal Nehru obtained India and given it to his projeny.
We visited the following places in Allahabad - Nehrus’ Buildings, Bharadwaj Ashramam, the famous Prayag Madhaveswari Ashtadasa Sakthi Peetham, Laliteswari Temple, the Anjaneya Swamy temple (known as Birla Temple) on the banks of River Yamuna, Kanchi Kama Koti Temple Complex, etc. The idol of Sri Anjaneya Swamy is in the lying position and we find in North that Lord Anjaneya in many temples gives us darshan in this position only. The persons in charge at Bharadwaj Ashramam pester the pilgrims and tourists to perform pujas demanding more money and also for alms. The maintenance at this place is worst, to say the least. The holy Bharadwaja Ashramam is turned into a begging place. There is an Akshaya Vata Vriksham (huge Immortal Banyan Tree) in the Fort (built by Emperor Akbar) which is under the control of Military. One can visit this place with permission but we have not visited this place. The main attractions at the fort are said to be the Ashokan Pillar, Patalapuri temple, Akshaya Vata Vriksham (Banyan Tree), Jodhabhai Palace and Saraswati Koop, a well, said to be the source of the mythical Saraswati River. After visiting all these places we returned to the house of Shri Jagannath Sastry and taking light refreshments (Phalaharam) retired to the bed. During the course of our lunch at Karivenam Satram, we met a group of pilgrims, mostly consisting of women and old people, from Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh who were received at Station by the agents of Hari Jagannath Sastry and accommodated in his house. The Pilgrims informed us that they would proceed to Ayodhya from there, the next morning. We were asked to be ready by 8 am the next day morning for going to the banks of River Yamuna to perform Veni Dana Puja, Shraddha rituals and holy bath at Sangam.
27th Septemer, 2007 - Thursday.
By 8 am the auto was ready to take us to the banks of River Yamuna for performing Veni Dana Puja and Pinda Pradana karmas. Veni Dana Puja performed once in the life time of a woman is the speciality here. After worshipping Goddess the wife is made to sit in the lap of her husband, the plait at the end is cut and offered as Veni Dana Puja. It is believed that this puja enhances the sowbhagyam and suhasini period of a woman. One Shri Madhunapantula Satyanarayana Sarma, a Purohit from Vijayawada who was temporarily appointed by Shri Jagannatha Sastry performed this puja for us. After this Puja is over, Shraddha karmas to Pitrudevatas was performed along with dasa daanams. The atmosphere was very pleasant with light dristles. After taking bath in River Yamuna, a boat fixed by Shri Jagannath Sastry was ready to take us to the Sangam area. Because of dristle, the banks became very wet and with great difficulty we could reach the boat as the slope was very slippery. From there we proceeded to the Sangam area where separate boats were lined up facilitating the holy bath. Under these boats an extended wooden platform was built to facilitate the pilgrims to stand and have a comfortable holy bath at the Sangam where the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati River mingle with each other. After finishing the holy bath we returned to the Banks of Yamuna and from there to the house of Shri Jagannath Sastry.
After reaching the house we found that there were missed calls in my cell from my son, daughter-in-law, and other relataives from Hyderabad. On contacting, I found that they were frantically trying to contact us as in the TVs it is flashed that in Allahabad that morning a Lorry rammed into a road side Hotel and 7 to 10 pilgrims from Andhra died instantly. There we came to know that some of the pilgrims from Krishna District whom we met yesterday in Karivenam Satram died in this accident. It is said that in the early morning they were scheduled to proceed to Ayodhya in a Bus arranged by their tour operator and they were taking tea in the road side hotel when this unfortunate incident occurred. Praying for their peaceful journey to Heaven, we remembered the Old Pilgrims with whom we have talked yesterday. In them included a childless couple from Masulipatnam. These pilgrims who came all the way from Krishna Distrct had their final breath in this accident in Prayag.
We took rest for some time and after taking lunch, we programmed to proceed further. Out next desitnation is Vindhyachal to have the darshan of Goddess Vindhya Vasini - an Ashtadasa Sakthi Peetham.
The Address of Shri Hari Jagannath Sastry is : H.No.110/105, Bakshi Daragunj, Allahabad-211006. Phone No.0532 2501729 - Cell No. 09415238615.
Shri Hari Jagannath Sastry Shri Lakshmana Kumar S/o Jagannath Sastry.
(Prayag Kshetra Purohit)
The Purohits doing yeoman service to Andhra Pilgrims at Prayag by providing free accommodation, free lunch, and helping in performing rituals and pujas. On prior intimation, they receive the pilgrims at Railway Station and guide them properly.
We started at 2 pm from Prayag and travelling via Handia, Gopalganj (Allahabad - Varanasi Road), on National High way and took diversion on right hand side to Mirzapur and reached Vindhyachal by 5 pm. The distance from Prayag to Vindhyachal is about 80 km. We stayed in the U.P. Rahi Tourism Guest House which has a reasonably good accommodation (Rs.350 per day). Vindhyachal is one of the most revered and powerful Sakthi Peethams in India. Vindhyavasini Devi (Mata Durga) is the presiding deity
28th September, 2007 - Friday. -VINDHYACHAL.
By 7 am we proceeded to the temple of Vindhyavasini. Mythologically Goddess Vindhyavasini is born in Yadava Clan to Nanda and Yasoda. It is also believed that a part of Sati (wife of Lord Shiva) fell down here. We had a leisurely darshan of Mata Vindhyavasini, the instant bestower of blessings, and from there we proceeded to the other temples. The most famous temples are situated in a triangle viz., Vindhyavasini temple, Kali Khoh Temple, Ashtabhuja Temple, dedicated to Goddess Mahasaraswati. Many a pilgrims perform trikona parikrama to these temples. We, however, in our car visited these temples situated in a triangle. In the Kali Khoh temple, the statue of the Kali has a mouth formed in the shape of a cave and hence the name. These temples are situated on hillocks with scenic locations and serene atmosphere. I felt that these temples are best places for a peaceful parayana of Durga Sapta Sati; but I could not perform the same for want of time and reserved the same for another visit.
After visiting these places we returned to our Lodge and took breakfast. We vacated the room at 10-30 am and proceeded towards Kasi. After reaching the National High Way we had an idea to go to another famous religious place connected with Ramayanam - Sitamarhi.
MATHA VINDHYAVASINI MAA KALI MATHA ASHTA BHUJA DEVI
SITHAMARHI -- It is believed that at this place Sita lived with her two sons Lava and Kusa. It is also the place known as SITA SAMAHITASTHAL where Sri Sita Mata was said to have entered into the crust of Bhumaatha and reached Vykuntha Dhamam. A beautiful temple depicting the entry of Sri Sita Matha into the earth was constructed. The way to this place is full of Dharbha (Kusa) Bushes. From there travelling via Gopalgunj, Aurai we reached Kasi by 4 pm. My friend Mr.Anjaneyulu arranged for our stay in the building belonging to Sringeri Sankarmath situated in Mehmoorgunj area by the side of Lakshmi Talkies in Kasi.
OM TAT SAT OM TAT SAT OM TAT SAT
RAGHAVARAO U.V.G.V. DUGGIRALA,
HYDERABAD, Dt.20th NOVEMBER, 2009.
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bhargava sarma
non-member comment
very good
friend by reading your experiance i feel my self i am visiting the places with you. i am thankful to you. your friendly C.Bhargava sarma.