So as decided, I have hit upon this nice idea of going to a place and then writing about it. It is nice, enjoyable and entertaining to do it. So the next place I thought of going was Ayodhya. My wife had anyway gone on a nature trail with her group and my son had gone back to the U.S. for his assignments. So the chance of my going on a trip was more possible. I booked my tickets for the Sadhbhavna Express which departs from Delhi in the evening. Ayodhya is around 14 hours by train from Delhi. So again it is Rohan’s car that I would have to take to Delhi from Mussorie. I surfed the Internet to know more about the place I was to visit. I always believe in knowing the place that I visit so that I am abreast with a lot of information about the place. This way the tour is informative and the experience is more exciting. As I read the Internet, I came to know that Ayodhya, the place where the Hindu God Lord Rama was born lies around 250kms from the holy city of Varanasi. Lying on the banks of the River Sarayu, the Hindus normally go there on a pilgrim tour. Well, I was in no pilgrim tour, but yes I could surely see the religious touch to it.

Dawned the day when I boarded the Sadbhavna Express and I was well on my way to Ayodhya. As the train chugged out of the station, I saw the myriad interests that people had when they went on a rail journey – some on business, some for pleasure, some for professional commitments, and some had worry writ on their face, and some were indifferent. Yes, a journey sure makes you get closer to the world and know more about its vagaries.

The train passed through Ghaziabad, and then Moradabad and then we reached the Chandausi Junction. Here the train stopped for some time, then as the train raced along with the trees and the rugged terrain outside, I saw Lucknow. I told myself, one day I would go here too. Lucknow, famous for its chikan work and the lovely kurtis here are so famous. Then we reached the Barabanki Junction and the next station was Ayodhya. Ayodhya has been in the news for so many wrong reasons. This holy land was so pious and calm by nature and as I stepped into the station and saw the crowd and the hullabuloo I couldn’t understand why it became such a focus in an inter religion clash. All the same, I made my way towards the hotel which I had booked through my travel agent. I reached the hotel – Birla Dharmashala which was an amazingly squeaky clean place. You could get air conditioned and non AC rooms. I took the AC one and it was nice to be here. I enjoyed the misty early morning touch the city had. The entire city reminded me of the poem “Upon Westminster Bridge” where the city seemed to be asleep under a blanket of dust.

I had a quick breakfast of hot tea and puri in the hotel which had a snack bar below. Then as I stepped out ,  I remembered what my friend had told me about Ayodhya being a place of extortion in the name of religion. I got a guide who was recommended by my friend. Rampyare Singh, the guide met me at the exit to the hotel. As we went in the open jeep that I had hired, I saw a good many of them hovering around us and I almost fell prey to their requests. The first place that I wanted to see was the place where Rama was born.  This today, was a mess in the name of religion. With acute security and tight protection to the visitors, we finally made our way through to the place. It was a long distance that we walked and the place was so calm and serene that I wondered why the bloodshed here in the name of God. This is the place where the Lord was born and this is the place which sees all this today. Really sad I thought to myself. I was wondering if it was really worth all this – the fights and the politics. Anyway, I saw the place , satisfied my curiousity and we headed towards the next place. This was the temple of Lord Hanuman, a sincere devotee of Lord Rama. I had heard my wife read out tales to my son from the Amar Chitra Katha. Yes, so many years in India, has made me abreast with all these legends and tales. This temple that we went was very old and the architecture was really inspiring. The reason people visit this temple is because this is the only place where Lord Hanuman is seated on a nice big throne. This is indicating the fact that Lord Hanuman was asked by Lord Rama to rule the city when he was away. The temple in itself was architecturally sound and was a huge structure. It was a four sided fort like structure with bastions on each corner in a circular shape. Significantly important, this temple was worth all the effort and I was happy to collect a few nice shots of the place.

Filled with piety and satisfaction, we made our way out and went to the Kanak Bhawan nearby. This is situated very near the temple. The Kanak Bhawan is another famous temple which is very popular for the idols of Rama and Sita which are shown to be wearing crowns on their heads. Due to this, the temple is also known as the Sone Ka Ghar also which in Hindi means the House of Gold.

We then drove around 150 kms to Chitrakoot. This is the place where Hindus believe that Lord Rama lived first during the exile along with his brother Lakshamana and his consort Goddess Sita. Here we first went to see the Kamad Giri. This is the mountain which according to mythology represents Lord Vishnu himself. Then we went to the Hanumat Dhara . Here there is a huge Hanuman’s idol and the river comes out of the mace that he holds in his hands. The ambience and the surroundings here calms a mind and after the mind was a little disturbed due to the security in Ramjanmabhoomi, this place somewhat eased my frayed nerves. The River Mandakini was in full flow here and the Spatik Shila, lay on the banks. This is the place where it is believed that Lord Rama aimed an arrow and tried to hit a crow. The crow incidentally was Jayanta , the son of Lord Indra. Lord Rama wanted to hit the crow as it was disturbing Sita. Then I saw the Gupta Godavari, where it is believed the river sprang after Rama’s arrow hit the spot.

Filled with delight and excitement at having seen such a mythological and historical place, I proceeded further with Rampyare. We had lunch at a roadside dhaba and then came back to Ayodhya to the Dharamshala. I took rest that evening and listened to a group of local singers singing folk songs. I joined them in their dholak and song sequence and enjoyed myself.

The next morning as I instructed Rampyare came at 7 sharp. We then drove down in the same open jeep to Naimisharanya which lies around 250 kms from Ayodhya. A long drive of more than three hours and we reached the place where it is believed that the Vedas, Puranas and Shastras were written. This is where it is believed that the sage Veda Vyasa also recited the Vedas. He did this so that the Devas would be greatly benefitted. He did this under a very old Banyan tree. The place looks beautiful with the River Gomati flowing along. I also saw that there were many religious institutions here.

We then drove back after this and I reached base again. I went around Ayodhya city and picked up a few trinkets for my wife who would otherwise crib for not having bought her anything. I also got a nice wooden toy for my neighbor’s child.

Dinner over the folk songs again and the next morning Rampyare was again there as punctual as ever. We went to the Jain shrines this time. I was surprised to see that Ayodhya was not only the land of Lord Rama but also had Jainism flourishing as a religion here. Rampyare said , “ There were many followers of Jainism who were regular visitors to Ayodhya on a religious mission. Ayodhya is supposed to be the place where around 5 Jain Tirthankaras took birth. The places of Jain worship are the significant points of the birth of these Jain gurus. The Nawab of Faizabad, Kesari Singh, is believed to have built around 5 shrines to commemorate the birth of these Jain leaders. “ I went there and I saw the date Vikram Samvat 1781 inscribed on the temples.

Filled with a lot of history and informative substance already, I was eager to visit more such places. The next place we visited was the Nageswarnath temple.

Rampyare said, “ Sahab, this is one of the most visited temples in Ayodhya.’ I was surprised. The temple was a lovely piece of ancient construction and loomed large over the Akhadaras and the Matths in the city. Rampyare continued “ Raja Kush ne ise banaya, meaning that King Kush built this temple.” Yes, I knew that Kush was Lord Rama’s son. Shivrathri apparently is celebrated here in pomp added Rampyare.

Rampyare was very informed about all this and I asked him the secret to it. He just grinned and said that was his job and he had to be abreast of everything that a tourist wanted to know.

We then drove down to Ramkot. Ram Janmabhoomi is interesting and mesmerizing in its own way. If one comes to Ayodhya, he perhaps comes only to see Ram Janmabhoomi . But Ramkot is another such intriguing place, the next in comparison to Ram Janmabhoomi. Lying on the western side of the city, this is where it is believed that Lord Rama had a fort once upon a time. Thus the site of Ramkot is actually at a height from the ground. There is a lot of emotional attachment that Hindus have to this place.

After such a revealing and interesting tour of temples, I was beside myself with a lot of piety and religious feelings when I lay in bed that night. I sat with my laptop and typed away whatever came to my mind. All feelings poured out and you are reading exactly that. !

Rossaying : If you want to feel religion, visit Ayodhya.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...