It’s hard to resist ,when I get a call from the great
Himalayas for trekking there. The myths and mythological flavor of this region
makes trekking there more interesting and joyful. This time it was a call from
the Panch(five) keders (Kedarnath, Madhamaheshwar,Tunganath, Rudranath and Kalpeshwar)
of Gharwal ranges of Himalayas.
According to Hindu philosophy
there is a cycle of four yogas(ages),
namely the Satyayoga(12-11 000 BC), the Treta Yuga(7000 BC till about 3 000 BC), the Dvapara Yuga(It lasted for about
2400 years till 500 BC), and finally the present Kali Yuga(from 500BC).According to hindu
mythology Pancha Pandavas of Mahabharata(Dvapara Yuga,) established shiva-linga(symbol of Creation) in five different forms in these five regions
of Himalays to meditate the Lord Shiva for their ab-solvent and Salvation after winning the war of Kurukhsetra against Kauravas. After winning the great war
of Kurukhsetra by killing their own
blood relations,Brahmins and Gurus(teachers), PanchaPandavas (Judhistir, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul and Sahadeb) were suffering from a feeling
of sin and guiltiness . On advice of
lord Brahma, Pandva brothers went to Himalayas for penance and to have
the blessings of Lord Shiva(the all-powerful god of creation and destruction).
But as Shiva was angry and annoyed with the Pandavas for their sinful act, he refused to see them
and took the form of a bullock to escape them. But he failed to escape the
notice of Great Bhima, who caught the back of
the Lord in form of bullock firmly.The greatest of the all lords
could not but to turn kind-hearted to the Pandavas. He showed the Path to
Salvation to the Pandavas.
He advised them to meditate him manifesting his five forms(1) in the form a bullock’s back
in Kedernath near Sumeru ranges of
Himlayas,where Mandakini,one of the main tributaries of the river Ganges
originates.( Shiva here is a natural rock resembling the hump of
a bull). (2)In in the form of his Navel
in Madhmaheshwar, situated at the base
of Chaukhamba Peak .(3) in the form of Lord’s arms in Tungnath ,near
chandrashila peak(4)In Rudra-rup(manifesting destruction)of Lord’s face in Rudranath and (4) in his matted hair form in Kalpeswar in the
valley of Urgam.
In Kaliyoga(the present and the fourth of the cycle of four
ages) ,The Panch-keder were re-established by Adi Shankaracharya, one of the
greatest reformers of the time.
KEDE KEDER DOME |
In the early morning of 25th Sept/2012,we(me,Bhupen,Samarendra,Pranjal and
sishir),after having a bath in the hot spring of Gaurikund
HOT SPRING OF GAURIKINDA |
RAINBOW IN A ROCK(ON THE WAY TO KEDERNATH) |
Kedernath Temple |
A Nanga Sanyasi |
Kedernath Temple |
On 26th Sept. in the late afternoon we reached
Narayan Kutthi(about 15-16Km from Gaurikund) by a rented car. We managed two
porters there, and started our trekking to Kalimatth in twilight. It took about
two and half hours or so to reach Kalimatth. The moonlit night helped us to
find the foot path,when we were passing through the forest listening the
buzzing of crickets and night birds leading to Kalimatth. We passed the night in the guest
house of Kalimatth, the right place for a complete relaxation.
MADMAHESWAR TEMPLE |
BUDA MADMAHESWAR(SHIVA-LINGA) |
OFFERINGS MADE BY PARIKHSHIT SON OF ABHIMUNYA AND GRANDSON OF ARJUN TO PAY OBEISANCE TO HIS ANCESTORS AND FOREFATHERS BHISHMA, DHRITARASTRA, GANDHARI , KUNTI AND OTHERS |
In the early next morning(29th Sept) we trekked back to Unianah(about 17 km) and after having a light refreshment,and a little fun with a Nanga Sanyasi of Abahoni cult there we proceeded to Chopta(about 40km) by a rented car.
We passed the night there in a hotel and had our dinner in
the oldest(43 years) dhaba there of Mr.Mangal Singh. I enjoyed my interaction
with the old man and his wife.
In the morning of the following day(30th Sept),
we trekked directly to Chandrashila(4Km) bypassing Tunganath.
There are two myths about chandrashila—(1) Rama(Treta Yuga,7000
BC to 3 000 BC )after Killing Ravana,a brahmin, came here to meditate Lord
Shiva to get absolved and get rid from the sin of killing a Brahmin.
(2)Chandrama(Moon) in disguise of
Brihaspati(Jupiter) had had sensual pleasure with the latter’s innocent wife. Brhaspati ,when
came to know about the same cursed chandrama, and who turned into a piece
of rock instantly and had been lying there till the Pancha-Pandavas visited
this place to make him absolved.
TUNGANATH |
CHANDRASHILA |
In the afternoon we reached Sagar(31 Km) by a hired taxi for
our trekking to Rudranath(11,690Ft), next morning. In Panch-Keder,Trekking to
Rudranath is the toughest and one has to
cross the Now-la pass(14,527Km) to reach Rudranath in an all along steep route.
Our plan was as usual , two will go on pony’s back and three including me will
go on foot.
In the early morning of 1st Oct. when we were set
to start our trekking to Rudranath, my four co-trekkers changed their opinion
and decided to go on pony’s back to Rudranath to cover the distance in the same
day. As I differed to their opinion, I bid bye to them and along with a local
guide started for Rudranath on foot, leaving others in Sagar for arranging
their ponies for their journey to Rudranath.
Gingaru fruit |
CAVE TEMPLE OF RUDRANATH |
RANGES OF NANDADEVI FROM RUDRANATH DURING SUNSET |
We had night stay in Rudranath in a small chati(house for
night stay of pilgrimers).To respond the call of the nature there we had to go
nearby bush beyond the boundary of Rudranath Temple with a bottle of water in
hand.
In the afternoon of the following day,2nd Oct at
around 3pm we trekked back to Sagar, and had our night stay there.
On 3rd Oct, early morning we left Sagar for
Helong(55km) boarding on a rented car for our onward trekking to Kalpeswar. We
kept our luggage in a hotel in Helong(Halong to Kalpeswar—13Km) and after
having our breakfast we had an hour of trekking by the side of the river
Alakananda to reach the motor-able road, from where we proceeded to Urgam by a
car. I enjoyed my last 4 km of trekking
through Urgam village to Kalpeswar, as I had a lot of fun and interaction with
local people there, witnessing the
reaping of local crops by the housewives of the region.
SHIVA-LINGA IN THE CAVE-TEMPLE OF KALPESWAR |
After reaching Kalpeswar,I meditated and worshiped the
Shiva linga there in natural rock form in a cave temple in my ownway
My Pancha keder trekking ended,when I had returned back to Helong with all my great
feelings and memories that I had there for the rest of my life.
Early next morning(4th Oct) we boarded on a
Haridwar(275 Km)-bound bus. After reaching Haridwar that afternoon, I had my
course directly to Har-ke-pouri , where I
had long and repeated dips in the cool and soothing water of the Ganges. Yes I had my bath there only after seven days.