Bhramgiri Trek-Part 1

The biggest happiness that one can derive is when an often failed plan materialises and becomes a reality, Some thing similar happened with me when most often my plan to Bhramgiri trek used to get cancelled. Four years I waited and finally it happened for me. Thanks to my friend Sanjay Khadeji who informed me that they are going for this trek and I readily jumped upon this opportunity.

Me and Sanjayji

We left at 11.pm from Kalyan and it was 3.30 am when we reached the base of Bhramgiri trek. We felt it would be too dark so thought it wiser to catch a small cat nap and start around 6.00 am.

What I like about treks and especially the one like Bhramgiri is the stories attached to them.Now whether the stories are true or not is not my concern, it excites me and in a way help me to feel more about the place that I am visiting.

Time For Some Story Time:
Bhramgiri as the name sounds means the hill of Brahma, According to the mythology Saint Gautam and his wife Ahalaya resided on this hill.It so happened that saint Gautam unintentionally killed a cow ( Hai ! Gau Hatya)  so to wash away his sins he worshipped Lord Shiva to bring Ganga on earth from the heaven. Lord Shiva was impressed by the devotion of Gautam and hence requested Mata Ganga to to flow down to earth in form of Godavari to wash away the sins and purify him. Perhaps due to this reason the river is also called Gautami river.

Then there is another story which considers Brahmagiri Hill as a huge form of lord Shiva and hence climbing this mountain was considered to be a sin.(Hai! Paap).

In the year 1908 seth Lalchand of Karachi (dont forget pakistan was once part of India) and sheth Ganeshdas built 500 stone steps at the cost of Rs 40000.

Now our Story:

We started our trek from these Rs 40000 worth stone stairs which are thankfully reconstructed. It was still dark so we had our head lamps on, As the initial route was from the stairs so there was no worries of falling from the cliff.This been a holy pilgrim place so its not uncommon to find devotees climbing like us in wee hours of the day.

Trek starts from the stone stair case (with Niraj and Sanjog)

Early morning climb accompanied by cool breeze was the perfect recipe for us, laughing cracking jokes and some of us trying to take pictures in low light was the order of the day till now.As we were climbing through proper stairs, so hike was not at all a tough preposition.

Narrow passage before the first Darwaza

After climbing for an hour or so these stone stairs bring you to spot where there is a narrow passage and the first Darwaza. Enclosed passage with high stone walls can give eerie feelings. 

Mountain and a lake...a perfect union

 However just before entering this narrow passage the scene looks absolutely amazing, red skyline atop the mountain range and a lake below was a perfect setting, the time stood still.

Time stood still

 As I stood admiring the beauty around me I was jolted to reality when something happened which I was wishing away, Someone shouted "Arre dekho Bandar aage" Yes it was the attack of monkeys. Actually I don't know who was more afraid they or us. There were monkeys all over the rocks ready to pull ambush on us. Thankfully Nikam sir had borrowed stout stick from the tea seller at the base and like a trained warrior I must say he started hitting the stick  on the rock and ensuring that we all keep moving safely. It was not a long battle but when it lasted it did lasted and before we could realise we were at the first Gate.

 Photography was done under the most stressful conditions and once we entered the gate we could breathe easy.These rock stairs keep going even after the Darwaza.

Ancient Stone Entrance

Little climb and we could see a plateau. Just out of the stress everyone took out their Cameras and we had our photo session Koi pattar per chad kar toh koi fence par. Sanjayji had to push everyone to move from there and finally we moved our bums and started further walk towards the right side after coming out from these stone stairs and one can see the hanuman idol.

Walking through this part was really a joyful experience especially when you see yellow, white, purple flowers smiling and waving at you in sheer happiness ( Ab yeh mat bolna ki fake mar raha hai....arre kabhi william wordsworth ki Daffodil padhi hai kya, bas woh wala ahsaas tha...Kya samjhe !!)   

phoolo ke dere hain, saaye ghanere hain ,
jhoom rahi hain havaayen,aise nazaaro mein,
 khilti bahaaro mein pyaar mile to ruk jaayen

Nazare ka luft lejiye hazoor...
Oye Niraj mudkar kya dekh raha hai

I must have hardly moved out walking from this blissful experience of flowers and country side view and taking this stone laden path,that another mesmerising moment was waiting to happen.

Stone laden path going towards the Temple

 Yes!! The moment that I always look forward to with a baited breath, the moment when the sun rise, cutting across the maze of clouds and spilling the golden gleam over the humanity.... ( kuch jyada toh nahi ho gaya na... arre bhawnao me bah gaya yaaro.)But just have a look at pictures and tell me ...Kon nahi hoga yamlaa pagala deewana.😄

Thank God for such amazing morning

Sunrise at mountain top 

After enjoying the Mountain top sunrise we reached the plateau which spreads like a big playground sloping downwards and standing atop from here on our left side is the Bhramagiri Temple and on the right side is Jatayu temple.

Amazing view from the Plateau

Bhramagiri Temple on the left from where we stood

Jata Mandir on the right side 

There are actually stairs leading towards the Bhramgiri Temple. one has to descend little and you reach Bhramgiri Temple. 

View of Bhramgiri Temple

The temple is almost perched on the edge and standing along the railing one can see the Harihar, Basgad Forts.

 I was told that in Shravan season one can see hordes of pilgrims coming to this place, luckily for us it was deserted today. Once you enter the temple you see a small kund and on the right side of the gate the sacred Shivling is there and as usual the nandi outside it.

Shivling of Bhramagiri Temple

Nandi 

And just opposite this Shivling  is the idol of  Devi Godamai and just below that there is Goumuk from which the river originates and pours into the Kund. 

Devi Godamai with water flowing from Goumukh

We paid our respect and moved on to another temple little ahead of this.Few steps forward  and on our left we see another kund , though neglected in today's time, I couldn't find any historical reference to it. Probably it may be a storage tank in the olden days.

Old neglected Pond

After checking out this enclosed water pond and taking the picture I moved out from here and I come across the Mulganga temple, purported to be the source of sacred River Godavari.Source situated at an altitude of 1298 mts.

Mulganga..Source of Godavari River

If you ask me I was very excited to come and watch the source of Godavari River  but Yeh kya such ill kept place , Arre I really felt bad for Mother Godavari. With so much Pilgrims coming and visiting I dont understand why can't they maintain it in a much better manner.Such holy place aur yeh haal...Uff 

Oh! Is this the source of Godavari River

One look around this temple we see different idols all around. Most prominently perched on a slab is the idols of Rishi Gautam and his wife Ahalya.
 

Rishi Gautam and Wife Ahalya

You must be wondering what significance does this Idol of Rishi Gautam and his wife holds at the spot of source of Godavari River, Well India is country of tales. Ab yahan bhi ek kahani hai (here is also there another story) Ab jaise film Kahani pasand aayi thi toh aap ko Kahani 2 ka intezaar tha , waise hi agar yeh blog pasand aaya ho to intezaar kare meri bhi Kahani 2 ka.

So Stay tuned and wait for the folklore of Rishi gautam , Shiv Jata Mandir and finally the Thrilling DurgBandar in my next blog.

Thank You

Mamleshwar Temple

It was almost 5;30 pm when we finished with our omkareshwar temple (You can click on this link to read about the visit to Omkareshwar) darshan we moved towards the banks of river Narmada to take a boat and ferry across the other side of the river to reach Mahamaleshwar Temple, As i had mentioned that the Yatra of Omkareshwar is not complete unless you pay your respects to both the temples.

Two minutes ferry ride

The ferry ride is hardly of two minutes and for which you have to shell out Rs 10 per head.(Travel Tip: The boat guy will tell you 20 Rs. per head or any amount like full boat so drive hard bargain. India surely can make you hard bargain master).

One can easily reach the Mahamaleshwar temple by walking on the bridge, so taking boat is not mandatory. But when I am travelling I want to absorb the fun of each method of transportation. Setting sun and the golden sheet of the river enriched the ambiance of the place. 

Ambiance drenched in gold

As I said, the boat ride was very very short and we soon touched the banks of Narmada on Mamleshwar side. Standing on this side one can absorb the richness of the religious India, ancient India, towering on other side is the prominent Omkareshwar temple and behind it the Omkareshwar Palace.(which I missed visiting this time around)

Omkareshwar Temple with Omkareshwar Palace behind it

We offered the prayer to Narmada river, and started our walk towards the market at the end of which is the Mamleshwar  temple situated.

Market place through which one gets to the Mamleshwar temple

The sun was sinking fast and I was worried that I wont be able to capture the pictures of the temple. We looked less like a tourist and more like runners especially with my daughter,my wife and myself dashing around to reach the temple.

Family of Road runners

Under the dimming sunlight we entered the Mamleshwar Temple. Believe me I found this temple more rich in architecture and intricate carvings and sculptures. 

Mamleshwar Temple Complex

The temple as you can see is housed in a huge complex with a main temple at the beginning and surrounded around it small clusters of temples.

Small temples around the main Sanctum 

We entered the main sanctum and paid our respect to jyotinlinga of Mamleshwar.

Shivling of Mamleshwar Temple

 Next I went to another temple next to the main temple the punjari told me it is called Vridhkaleshwar temple. 

Vridhkaleshwar Jyotiling with ancient relics around it

It also had a shivling. this temple was not as bright as the main temple. I had to use torch to click the picture.The temple had many ancient relics around the jyotiling and the entrance of the temple had very interesting sculptures. 

Interesting Sculptures

Once I finished with the temple and worshiping I moved on to the something that I love, of course capturing the beauty of ancient carvings and sculptures. Come and have an eyeful along with me.

It was now dark and the knew I will have to hurry to reach the Bus stand If I had to catch the last bus from Omkareshwar bus stand which the auto guy told me leaves at 7.30 pm. If I missed that bus then i would have to again take bus or auto to Sanawad and from there to Indore.Luckily for me I was in time to catch one bus earlier to that, it a different matter that as the bus was full so we got to sit in the driver's cabin.....well someone once told me the best view is always from the front. Musafir hoon yaaro so anything goes.

Thank you

OMKARESHWAR TEMPLE- INDORE

There was this long weekend coming so my wife and me decided to take advantage of that. She being a religious person suggested that we visit the Jyotingling of Indore and Ujjain. I been on a lesser side of religious beliefs was initially little reluctant to go but then decided to make a win win situation for both and added visit to Mandu the historical town near Indore,

We took Avantika Express which reached Indore at 9.30 am. After checking into the hotel and grabbing a quick bite dashed to Sarvate Bus stand where one can easily find buses going to Omkareshwar Temple. I noticed that these private buses take ages to move out of the town, trying their best to gather as much passengers as they can.Thankfully we were able to conquer a window seat. The journey was uneventful, the bus kept moving through villages , field and infact the route goes through mountainous region.It's a 77 kms journey from Indore. it took us 2.5 hours to reach Sanawad bus station. (Travel tip: check if the bus will go to Omkareshwer or only till Sanawad. Bus guys fool you. Sanawad is 12 kms before Omkareshwar). Though we were told that the bus will go till Omkareshwar but at Sanawad  we were informed it is the last stop.For a traveler, especially in India struggle never gets over. I inquired about the bus going to omkareshwar from there, finally saw a mini bus all set to go and boarded the same. This journey was about 15-20 minutes which ended at Omkareshwar Bus stand. There are sharing Rickshaw or you can hire individual to go near the temple complex, which is about 1-1.5 kms from here.Some people walk and go from here, as I was short on time and as it was already 4 pm so I took auto to the temple complex which begins from the bridge across river Narmada.

Entry of the bridge from the market to the temple

We started our walk from this bridge and crossed the river. the view from bridge is simply amazing and the setting sun made it more exotic.

Festival of Colourful Canopies

Narmada river flowing so serene adds the mystic to the place, series of temples dotting the banks of the river and the colourful canopies give the festivities kind of tinge to the place.

Exotic view on the left side of the bridge

Walking on the bridge and looking out on the right side one can see Narmada Dam and the second thing that you see is suspension bridge,and ahead the Omkareshwar Temple.

Narmada Dam and the Suspension Bridge

Glimpse of the Omkareshwar temple from the bridge

Hardly a walk of 5 minutes and taking a right turn you enter the usual site of souvenir shops markets which we so often see outside the temples.

Before going for the Darshan of this Temple lets brush up little history and some really interesting folklore connected with it.

Folklore:

There are 12 Maha Jyotiling spread all over India, Omkareshwar is one of that prestigious Jyotiling.The temple is situated on the mountain Mandhata, next to shores of Narmada river in Malva, MP
and on the next shore of river Narmada is Mamleshwar Temple.

Mamleshwar temple on opposite side

In a way it is a twin Jyotinglinga and there is a folklore behind this according to which it is believed that Omkareshwar and Mamleshwar are two halves of the same ancient Shivling that lord Shiva himself created and the divided into 2 halves. Local shopkeeper told me that the pilgrim to this temple is not complete if one doesn't visit both the Shivlings.

Now time for the next story. This is the story of Vindhya Parvat, Once Narada who was often travelling across the universe and more famous for carrying tales once sang praises of Mount Meru, describing its beauty and magnificence to Mount Vindhya. Now hearing such lavish praises made Mount Vindhya jealous and consequent to this he prayed to Lord Shiva for magnificence and splendors greater than Mount Meru. Lord Shiva granted the wish of perpetual growth in height but with a condition that this growth will in no way hinder his devotees. But after receiving the boon, Mount Vindhya forgot everything and to be more magnificent grew it's height so much  that it covered the Sun and the moon. The harassed devotees then approached Sage Agaste , who tricked the Mount Vindhya to not to grow more till he and his wife is there and then he didn't leave at all.

we entered the Omkareshwar Temple climbing few steps, In fact I got my first peek of the temple between the narrow buildings.

First glimpse of the temple

Omkareshwar Temple is basically a 5 storied building housing different God at different level.A local informed me that Mahakaleshwar,sidhnath,Dhwajeshwar and Gupteshwar temples were located on the higher floors.

Exterior of Omkareshwar Temple

I was not able to visit the same due to paucity of time so I clicked the photo of the exterior of the temple. 

Exterior of the Temple

As there was not much crowd so we were able to have darshan of the Shivling;

but not before passing through some of the amazing ancient carved pillars.

Paying our respect to the Omkareshwar Shivling we moved down the stairs till we reached Adi Shankara Cave and from there we moved towards the river bank to board the boat to Mamleshwar Temple( Click on this link to read the blog) which I shall cover in my next blog. Stay tuned. 

Mamleshwar Temple Blog

Moving towards the river bank 

Thank You