We covered two Jyotirlingams and Panchavati and Seetha guha on this day. As Rao was on his own somewhere around, only we, the two ladies went to see Seetha guha. It was really in an underground cave. We entered just with curiosity and it was an adventure. We had to crawl a small distance before we got out. I wonder how they even built a shrine inside and how they carry pooja items inside the temple!!!
I was thrilled when I heard that Hanuman's birth place was in the vicinity. But, as it was 2 km. walk, I backed off. Recently, I read somewhere that if Mars is in the fifth house of your birth chart, you worship God in the form of Hanuman. Now, I have to check my horoscope!!!. I seem to call on Him a lot!!
Thriyambakeswar is not only the abode of the jyothir lingam,(the 8th one in the order),but also, the origin of river Godavari. The Goddess in this temple is called Trimbakeshwari. Papaharini Theertam is located here and this is where Rao took bath before visiting the temple (which is considered as a holy bath). This Theertham is formed by Godavari waters after falling from Brahmagiri. (If you see my previous yatra's Karnataka post,I mentioned Tala Kaveri,which is the beginning of the Kaveri river).The region of these hills is called Sahya giri. The belief being that the Sun, Moon and Agni form the 3 eyes of Shiva and by worshipping to this lingam, one has worshipped the Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Rao had a dip in river Godavari, his long cherished wish - by taking a bath in the Paapaharini Theertham. Nirmala and I did not venture the public bath.
The links above show the map of Rama's travel path in those forests.
The Thrayambakam lingam was really huge (wide base). We were able to touch most of the lingams. The spelling of the names may vary. I spelled the way I pronounced the word.
By the time we finished our darsans, it was 5;30 p.m. and we were told that the Ellora caves were closed. Well, what can you see in the dark, anyway. Moreover, we were exhausted too!! We decided to drive upto Aurangabad for night stay.
Called my son to tell him about the Hanuman's birthplace etc. He was in a conference in Montreal and could not talk. Tried calling my sister in Nellore, could not get connected. We had a 'half-plate' meal in an adjacent hotel.
Our next visit was to the Ellora caves, whose hours were from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment