Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Kumbhalgarh Trip- Day 4 – Parashuram Mahadeo Temple

It was Mohammed’s suggestion that we keep aside a day for the Parashuram Mahadeo temple. Mohammed was our jeep driver for the jungle safari. Since he seemed to know the area well, and agreed to take us there the next day, we agreed to take his advice, and, in retrospect, it is a good thing that we did!
We planned to leave by 9:00 AM, after an early breakfast, but Samhith didn’t wake up, and we didn’t want to spoil his holiday by waking him up, so it was past 10:30 that we finally left.
The Parashuram Mahadeo temple is a cave on a mountain, which is accessible from both, the foothills as well as the peak. When you approach the temple from Falna, there is a road leading up to the foothills, from where you have to climb up the mountain to reach the temple. From Kumbhalgarh, there is a road leading to the mountain peak, from where one has to walk down a path to the temple.


View from the peak- on the right, the saffron flag indicates the location of the temple, and on the left, the building seen is on the foothills, from where one starts the ascent, if one comes from Falna.

It is a rough path, which has steps in some portions. This path apparently was much worse till a few years back, when a generous patron donated money for improving the path. Most of the path is now smooth and railings have been constructed on the edges. This path is 1 ¼ Km long. We started our trek down the mountain around 11:30 PM. We were told to wear our slippers, as the path was rough, but just a few steps down, Samhith stepped on my feet, and my slipper broke. I continued the rest of the journey with bare feet, taking it to be a command from the Lord to come barefoot to the temple.


Here we are, at the peak of the mountain, from where we began our descent to the temple.


Normally, climbing down a mountain is supposed to be easy, but here, the path downhill is so steep, it was not in the least easy. I had to hold Samhith's hand all the time to prevent him from running and falling down, and, believe me, it took all my efforts to do so! If climbing down was like this, you can imagine what climbing up would have been like. By the time we started our climb uphill, it was past noon, the sun was right over our heads, shining as brightly as possible, heating up the road. The steep path was difficult to climb by itself, besides, I was barefoot, and I had blisters on my feet by the time I managed to reach the jeep. It took us a full two hours to get to the temple and back!


The cave temple of Parashuram Mahadeo

It is believed that Sage Parashuram came to this cave to meditate without any kind of disturbance. It was here that he was blessed by Lord Shiva. There is a Shivaling in this cave, called Parashuram Mahadeo, which is not manmade, but is supposed to have appeared, by itself. Right above the Shivaling, the rocks of the cave form a shape, which resembles a cow’s mouth (Go-mukh), from where water keeps dripping onto the Lingam. This water, it is said, is perennial, regardless of whether there have been rains or not. Moreover, it is believed that till about 75 years ago, it used to be milk dripping on the lingam. Gradually, the milk became watery until finally, about 50 years back, water started flowing. There is another shape in a corner, from which water sometimes drips, which resembles the udders of a cow. It is a local belief that if a childless couple prays to the Lord here, and if water from this portion drips on their hand, they beget a child soon. All in all, it is a very impressive temple, and I am very happy that I could make it here.


Inside the cave- the rocks seen above the trishul form the Gomukh

Though the temple is not very easily accessible, I believe that a large number of people visit the temple on special days, and there are good arrangements made for the pilgrims. In fact, they seem to have some wealthy patrons, who are willing to donate to improve the facilities, and in fact, arrangements are being made to construct dharamshalas, resting places, etc. For those interested in visiting the temple, there are shops just outside the temple, which sell everything from puja articles, from refreshments, to photos, books and even CDs about the temple. I have bought one of those CDs and shall try to put it online soon.
An interesting thing about this section of the mountain-side is that the smooth surface of the rocks is covered with beehives. That, and the multitudes of monkeys, who kept looking for food from the devotees, made the trek worthwhile for Samhith. He was scared of the monkeys, but was fascinated by them, and happily gave them ‘Chana’ which the shopkeeper provided. I wondered how he would manage the trek back up the hill, especially as I was in no state to carry him, but he proved my fears baseless, and made me proud by walking all the way, of course, resting every now and then!
We returned to the resort in time for lunch, but were too tired to go anywhere else after walking so much. Though we had walked only 2 ½ Km in all, it seemed like so much more because of the gradient of the road. But it was truly worth all the effort and the tiredness. This is a temple I will always remember, and encourage others to visit too…….

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie