Hinduism 101

Lesson 7: Important Pilgrimage Spots.

The Four Dhams.

The Four Dhams:

“Dham” means “Abode” There are four Dhams of the Lords.At three of the Dhams Lord Vishnu and His Avatar Lord Krishna are woprshipped while at one Dham, Rameshwaram, Lord Shiva is the resident deity. The four Dhams are at the four points of the compass encapsulating the subcontinent of India in a cozy cocoon of security. To the Hindu the land of his or her forefathers is benignly watched over at all times by the gracious protector of all – Lord Vishnu – preserver and extenuator - and Lord Shiva - the forgetful benefactor - lost in fumes of cannabis but benign as ever. As with Muslims, who aspire to visit the holy city of Mecca at least once in a lifetime, the Hindu aspires to visit all four Dhams at least once in a lifetime. This is the most blessed of all pilgrimages assuring freedom from sins and ensuring Moksha – salvation from the miserable cycle of life and death. Practically, it is not necessary that all the four Dhams have to be visited on one single trip. It is possible to take them one at a time – visiting one this year while going to the others eventually – conveniently spread out over a lifetime. There is also no particular order of visitation – one goes to the one first that is nearest to home.

To the north is Badrinath, to the west Dwarka, to the south Rameshwaram and to the east lies ,Puri. These are the names of the places where the Dham temples are situated. I shall now acquaint you more elaborately with the Dhams and their Deities.

Badrinath:

Badrinath is at a height of 10,400 feet above sea-level in the Garhwal Mountains, a part of the larger Himalayas. From the very beginning, the mountains have had a special significance for the Hindu and it is deemed to be the abode of all the gods. Thus, this high-altitude pilgrimage spot is especially favored by pilgrims who are easily awed by the lofty peaks around, most of which have some religious connotations.

Approach to Badrinath from the plains is an arduous journey though pilgrims are amply rewarded by plethora of religious shrines and places all along the way. Badrinath not only houses the Deity Badrinarayan but also a host of deities including Lakshmi.

The innumerable rock-pools and mountain peaks, though seemingly natural, all have religious significances that, even if the pilgrim is not aware of, a conveniently-available priest will elucidate at length for only a pittance. Some of these landmarks are intimately associated with the Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata.

The snow-clad peaks, the blue rock pools, the tangy coniferous scent in the air and the clean atmosphere is very conducive to contemplation, an old Hindu scriptural recommendation. Pilgrims come, seeking succor, and go back feeling refreshed and fulfilled.

Dwarka:

Dwarka is as old as the history of India. It was the seat of Sri Krishna after He quit Mathura, His maternal home, to come and reign here. Since it has been held as holy for a long time it has gradually accumulated, over the years, a large number of religious monuments and institutions that today make it one of the most revered spots in Hinduism.

The main Dham temple houses Ranchchodji, another name for Lord Krishna who time and often fled from the battlefield under unfavorable circumstances to return again another day and win. “Ran” means “War” while “Chod” means “Running away”. There is also a temple to Lord Krishna’s wife Rukmini, who is believed to be an incarnation of Lakshmi.

Also resident near Dwarka is the Jyotirlinga temple of Nageshwar.

Adi Shankaracharya, one of the most learned and sanctified personalities in Hinduism, built one of his four maths here. It is still an institution where Hindu scriptures are studied and their inherent meanings deciphered.

Dwarka is so entwined with legends and myths that the pilgrim is overcome with religious fervor upon setting foot on its sacred soil.

Rameshwaram:

Rameshwaram is the only one of the four Dhams where the resident Deity is Lord Shiva. The other three have either Vishnu in one form or one of His avatars in residence. The temple is built on an island in the Gulf of Mannar at the tip of the peninsular that projects out of the Indian Subcontinent towards Sri Lanka. It is built on the site where Lord Rama, Vishnu’s seventh avatar, worshipped Shiva prior to His attack on Lankapuri, the capital city of the Rakshasas to rescue His beloved wife Sita who had been abducted by Ravana, king of the Rakshasas.

The temple has additional significance because it is, firstly, a Jyotirlinga, and secondly, it is said in the scriptures that a pilgrimage to Varanasi to pay homage to Lord Vishwanath is incomplete without also paying homage to Lord Ranganatha at Rameshwaram. The Dham is also singular in that it is an important pilgrimage place for both Vaishnavites as well as Shaivites. Rameshwaram is called the “Varanasi of the South”.

Pilgrims familiar with the “Ramayana”, written almost 3,000 years ago, find significance in many landmarks about the place. One of the most significant of these is the Gandhamardhan Parvat (a hill) on top of which Rama’s footprint is still found embedded in a rock at the topmost portion of the mountain. There are also other places of interest to the devout pilgrim and this is a favorite spot to cleanse one’s soul if one is a Hindu.

Puri:

Puri is a small coastal town in the Indian state of Orissa. Besides harboring the Dham temple it also has a number of other attendant religious places that are of interest to the pilgrim.

The resident Deity at the main temple is Lord Jagannath (Lord of the Universe). He is present together with His elder brother Balaram, who is believed to be an avatar of Shesha, the snake on whom Vishnu usually rests, and His younger sister Subhadra, who may be an incarnation of Lakshmi. Lord Jagannath is unmarried here and is closely associated with Krishna, Vishnu’s eighth avatar.

The temple, dating back to the tenth century, was built by an Oriya king Chodagangadeva but legend has it that it has been there since time immemorial. The temple is a huge tall structure and dominates the seaside town. Over 6,000 priests serve at the temple constantly and every little thing done there is ritual-bound and extremely stylized, requiring such a large number of servitors. It is also the custom to feed, each day, thousand of beggars and other needy people with the Lord’s Bhog (sacrificial offerings). The temple kitchens are extensive and the cooking arrangements meticulously elaborate.

The singularity of the idols of the temple is that all the Deities are handless. Legend has it that Vishwakarma Himself carved the idols out of wood. Long ago, a certain king of Orissa had been visited by the Lord in a dream and was commanded to erect a temple to His name. The Lord promised that He would send Vishwakarma to do the job if the king complied. The king was overjoyed and he awaited Vishwakarma who soon appeared in the form of a very old man. Gradually, with the king’s co-operation and the architect God’s expertise the temple grew up, splendid and awe-inspiring. When the time came to make the idols Vishwakarma ordered special wood and went into the temple. He stipulated that He would close the doors of the temple and would remain inside till the idols were ready. Before that time no-one was to enter the temple.

Unfortunately, instigated by the impatience of his queen, the king had the doors opened before Vishwakarma came out. When they went in they found that the God had carved all the idols up to their elbows. He was about to put on the hands but this was not to be as Vishwakarma angrily went away from there and was never seen again! So the unfinished idols had to be set in the temple and worshipped. No-one could dare to duplicate the God’s handiwork and finish the idols by putting on the hands. So! To this day Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra are handless. The idols are newly carved out of wood from specially-grown Neem trees every 12 to 19 years according to the lunar calendar. The handlessness is probably a commentary of the helplessness of the Lord before the evil of the world.

Another unique feature of the Puri Jagannath Temple is the Ratha Yatra. A ratha is a chariot and these chariots are really big. Hence the term – “Juggernaut” from “Jagannath” - in English meaning something huge and unstoppable. These rathas or chariots are used to transport the three Deities to their aunt’s house at Gundicha Temple nearby on a particularly auspicious day in Ashadha (June/July). The three Deities are loaded onto the chariots and hauled by hemp ropes by millions of devotees who gather in Puri at this time to participate in the hauling as this is one of the holiest rituals in Hinduism.

The Puri temple is one of the holiest shrines in India and it is regularly visited by millions of devotees every year.

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