Pasupatinath yatra continued

Visted Khatmandu Jalnarayan and Pasupatinath.  Wanted to chant Rudram. But the group thought that the 20 to 30 minute chanting was too long and were worried about missing the 2:30 pm flight.
My husband let thongs go, chanted the Rudram and started walking barefoot to the Hotel. His shoes were left in the car. He came out of the Temple through a different door than the one that they originally entered. Crossed the road to find the way. God's ways? The van with all the people in the groupstopped in front.
The flight to Khatmandu/Pokkara was at 2:50 pm. Arrived Pokkara at 3:30 pm.

These are small planes, could hold 27 people hand luggage was checked.
We found out that the flight to Jhomsom was at 7 am not 6 am  in spite of trying to sort out issues, the Rep could not do anything. One family was quite worried. Tried to give them positive thoughts. Kapit, the agent was very pleased that they were comforted. He took my husband for a walk and told him about how his clents are all of different kinds. He gave his phone number and asked him to communicate if neccessary.

Goal is Muktinath - it is a long path from Hyderabad, India

Flight to Delhi was at 4:45 a.m. The main problem was the transportation to the Airport.
Decided to take a bus. No Taxi came. No Auto in the vicinity to go to the Jubilee Bus stand which was closest to the residence. Finally, decided to walk. Stopped a man going on a scooter. He gave a ride to the Bus stand. No reliable help from family either. I would accept all this as a general tendency in India.

 Finally, took the bus and it arrived at the Airport close to 4:45 a.m.
Thank God, did not miss the flight.
BUT, Indigo guys did not book the baggage to Kathmandu. So, had to go to terminal 3 with baggage.
Checked in for Kathmandu. Passport was checked. The Sree travels did not show up. Tried to call.
The personal phone did not work. ISTD was used to make the call. Finally, Sree travels representive Aggarwal came within 20 minutes. He had a different itenerary. No one to receive. No food on Indigo. Met a few  -  Sampath, the head priest from Srirangam. The others are all mostly Senior citizens.

This is the first step. The next post will give specific details of the yatra to Muktinath.

Muktinath and Pashupathinath temples

These are not accessable to travel for the elderly and those with physical limitations. I know that if there is a will, there is a way. Last year, I could not join my husband in this yatra. He planned a long trip to stay in India. Also with the natural disturbance in Nepal area, i was nervous to travel in September 2015. But, with the blessings of the Lord, my husband had blissful and comfortable journey. His total trip was three and a half months long.
He made some notes of his experiences and in my nextt post I want to write all those details. I have been lazy writing in my blog. Hope the readers make comments on my previous posts.
Any feed back helps improve my writing. Thank you all.

NAKSHATRA TEMPLES

I found this very interesting. This is posted by one of my nephews in India in the Facebook. I copied and pasted it here. This list covers only Tamil Nadu Temples. I wonder whether there any such Kshetras in other provinces of India. I will be doing more research on this. In the meantime, if any of my readers have information, please post them in the comment section.

Nakshatra-Kshetra

NAKSHATHRA TEMPLES/BIRTH STAR TEMPLES FOR A BIRTH STAR.
( A Collection of temples with the contact number from email)

In this compilation for each star two temples are told. Introduction Birth stars are as important as the celestial planets in Astrology.
Like it is important to visit the temples dedicated to the Navagrahas or celestial planets, it is also important to visit temples dedicated to ones Birth star or Janma Nakshatram.
It is said that visiting the temple corresponding to your Birth star at least once a year removes obstacles and ensures happy life.
The full list is as follows. For each star two temples are told, the convenient one can be chosen
1. Ashwini or Aswathi or Ashwathi or Asvini Piravi Marundeeswarar Koil Situated in Thiruthuraipoondi which is about 30 Kms from Tiruvarur. 04369-222392, 94438 85316 Dharbaranyeswarar temple Situated at Thirunallar about 6 Kms from Karaikal

2. Bharani or Apa Bharani Agneeswarar Koil. This temple is at Nallaadai, situated 20 Kms from Mayavaram on Nagapattinam Route. It is about 3 Kms from Poraiyar. 04364-285341, 97159 60413, 94866 31196 Vadaranyeswarar Temple This temple is at Thiruvalangadu, 45 Kms from Chennai on the route to Arakkonam.

3. Karthigai or Krithika Gaathra Sundareswarar Koil This is at Kanjanagaram, at a distance of 8 Kms from Mayavaram on Poompuhar road. 04364-282853, 94874 43351 Naganathar Temple Nagapattinam

4. Rohini Pandava Dhootha Perumal Koil Situated in the lane opposite to Ekambareswarar Koil at Kanchipuram 044-27231899 Sivayoginathar Temple Thiruvisanallur

5. Mirugaseerisham or Mrigashiras or Mrigasira or Mrigashirsha Adi Narayana Koil at Enkan. Enkan is very famour for the Murugan temple. Enkan is near Tiruvarur on the road to Thanjavur via Koradacheri. 04366-269965, 94433 51528 Vana Durga Devi Temple situated at Kathiramangalam at a distance of 5 Kms from Kuthalam & 16 Kms from Mayavaram.

6. Thiruvadharai or Arudhra Abhaya Varadeeswarar Koil located at Adhiramapattinam at a distance of 12 Kms from Pattukottai in Tanjore District. 99440 82313, 94435 86451 Agneeswarar Temple Thirukollikkadu near Tiruvarur

7. Punarpoosam or Punarvasu Athitheeswarar Koil Vaniyambadi in North Arcot District. 04174-22652, 99941 07395 Abathsahayeswarar Temple Alangudi

8. Poosam or Pushyami or Pushya Akshayapureeswarar Koil. This temple is at Vilangulam. Vilangulam is situated at 20 Kms from Peravurani, in Tanjore District. From Pattukottai on the ECR towards Rameswaram this is at a distance of 30 Kms. 97507 84944, 96266 85051 Karkadeswarar Temple Thirunandudevankudi is about 2 Kms from Thiruvisanallur and 8 Kms from Thiruvidaimarudhur

9. Aayilyam or Ashlesha Karkadeswarar Koil Thirunandudevankudi is about 2 Kms from Thiruvisanallur and 8 Kms from Thiruvidaimarudhur. 0435-2000240, 99940 15871. Subramanya Swamy Temple Thirupurankundram

10. Magham or Magha Mahalingeswarar Koil This temple is at Thavasimadai 25 kms from Dindugal on the road to Nattam. 95782 11659, 93624 05382 Thillai Kali Temple Chidambaram

11. Pooram or Poorva Phalguni or Purva or Purva Phalguni or Poorvaphalguni or Pubba Hari Theertheswarar Koil Situated at Thiruvarangulam, which is 10 Kms from Pudukottai on the road to Pattukottai. 98651 56430, 99652 11768. Sri Kalyanasundara Swamy Temple Thirumanacheri about 6 Kms from Kuthalam which is on Mayavaram-Kumbakonam route

12. Uttiram or Uttara Phalguni Mangalyeswarar Koil Edaiyathumangalam is on Trichy-Lalgudi route. Just after Valadi you will find an arch to your right, take a right turn there and the road will lead you to this village. 0431-2544070, 98439 51363 Kucchiamman Temple At Poovalur situated at a distance of 20 kms from Trichy and 3 Kms North of Lalgudi on Trichy Ariyalur road.

13. Hastham or Hastha or Hast or Hasta Kripakupareswarar Koil This temple is at Komal, which is about 6 Kms from Kuttalam, which is on Kumbakonam Mayavaram Route. 95002 84866 Thyagarajaswamy Temple Tiruvarur

14. Chitirai or Chitra Chittirairatha Vallabha Perumal Koil Situated at Kuruvithurai about 23 Kms from Madurai and 8 Kms from Cholavandan. 94439 61948, 97902 95795 Thyagarajaswamy Temple Tiruvarur

15. Swaathi Prasanna Kundhalambika and Tantreeswarar Koil Sittukadu about 10 Kms from Poonamallee on Pattabiram route. 93643 48700, 93826 84485 Jambukeshwarar temple Thiruvanaikaval is on the outskirts of Trichy near Srirangam

16. Vishaka or Vishaakha or Vishakam Kumaraswamy Koil Thirumalai about 7 Kms from Shenkottai and 15 Kms from Thenkasi. 04633-237131, 237343 Pralayanathar Temple Cholavandhan, 26 Kms from Madurai

17. Anusham or Anuradha Lakhmsipureeswarar Koil. This temple is at Thiruninriyur about 6 Kms from Vaitheeswaran Koil on the road to Mayavaram. 04364-320 520 Mahalingaswamy temple Thiruvidaimarudhur

18. Kettai or Jyeshtha Varadaraja Koil Varadaraja Koil is at Pasupati Koil, 12 Kms from Tanjore on Kumbakonam route. 97903 42581, 94436 50920 Angalaparameswari Amman Temple Situated at Palladam, 35 Kms from Coimbatore

19. Moolam or Moola Singeeswarar Koil At Mappedu about 40 Kms from Chennai 044-27608065, 94447 70579, 94432 25093 Meenakshi Amman Temple Madurai

20. Pooradam or Purva Ashadha or Poorva Shada or Poorvashaada Akasapureeswarar Koil Kaduveli near Thiruvaiyar. 94434 47826, 96267 65472 Bhakthajaneswarar Temple Thirunavalur is on Ulundurpet – Panruti route at a distance of 16 Kms from Panruti.

21. Uttiradam or Uttara Ashadha or Uttara Shada or Uthrashaada Brahma Pureeswarar Koil Situated at Keezhapungudi in Madurai district on the on the Melur – Sivaganga Road. 99436 59071, 99466 59072 Dharmapuram Durga Temple Mayavaram

22. Thiruvonam or Shravana Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Koil This temple at Thiruparkadal is 4 kms from Kaveripakkam on the Chennai – Vellore route. 04177-254929, 94868 77896 Rajakaliamman Temple Chetpet in Chennai

23. Avittam or Shravishtha or Dhanista or Dhanishta Brahma Gnana Pureeswarar Koil This temple at Korukkai is 5 Kms from Kumbakonam on the Patteeswaram – Muzhaiyur road. 98658 04862, 94436 78579 Magudeshwarar Temple Kodumudi is situated on Erode Trichy Highway, it is 26 Kms from Karur and 38 Kms from Erode.

24. Sadayam or Shatabhisha or Shatataraka Agnipureeswarar Koil Thirupugalur about 10 Kms from Nannilam towards Nagapattinam. 04366-236 970 Ardhanareeswarar Temple Thiruchengode

25. Pooratadhi or Purva Bhadrapada or Poorva Bhadra Thiruvaneswarar Koil Ranganathapuram about 3 Kms from Thirukattupalli in Tanjore District. 94439 70397, 97150 37810 Adishesha Perumal Temple Kanchipuram

26. Uttiratadhi or Uttara Bhadrapada or Uttara Bhadra or Uthrabhadra Sahasra Lakshmeeswarar Koil Theeyathur about 15 Kms from Avudayar Kovil in Pudukkottai District on Thirupunavasal route. 04371-239212 99652 11768 Panchanatheswarar Temple Thiruvaiyaru

27. Revathi Kailasanathar Koil Karukudi about 2 Kms from Tattayangarpettai and 1.5 Kms from Mettuppalayam in Musiri Taluka of Trichy District. 97518 94339, 94423 58146 Pranavavyaghrapureeswarar Temple Omampuliyur

The Thousand pillar Temple of Warngal, Andhra Pradesh

This is one Temple that I want to see. But, do not know when.

The Thousand Pillar Temple was built by the kakatiyas. It stands out to be a masterpiece and built  by the ancient kakathiya vishwakarma sthapathis. King Rudra Deva in 1163 AD had built it and is a specimen of the Kakatiyan style of architecture of the 12th century.

It was destroyed by the Tughlaq dynasty during their invasion of South India. There are one thousand pillars in the building and the temple, but no pillar obstructs a person in any point of the temple to see the god in the other temple.

Currently, the  engineers have taken out all the pillars from the building. After they lifted all the pillars they encountered a huge mass of sand. It took nearly two weeks for them to take away all the sand. It was wet sand, because of a pipe connection from the nearby water from Bhadrakali Cheruvu.

No Yatras planned for the year 2015 yet

I know that there are plenty of sacred places we still have to visit. Somehow, after the last one in 2013 I am exhausted mentally to vist India.  Soon, I would like make a list of what I want to see. That might help. If any of you have suggestions, please write in comments.

Another set of exciting places to see in the Northern part of India

Again, this is a collection that I felt was very useful as a guide. I remember much about these places. Joyful, it was!!!!!

Mansa Devi Temple: Situated on the Vilwa Parvat, it can be reached through the ropeway.

Rishikesh : Located on right bank of Ganges at its confluence with Chandra Bhanga stream. According to the legend times long past, Sage Raibhya Rishi did hard penance to please God. He was adorned Hari Rishi and the place was Imed after him. Lord Rama and his younger brother Lakshman also came here and stayed at banks of Rishikesh and scussed for killing Ravana. Today, Rishikesh has become a centre of learning in Yoga and meditation.

Lakshman Jhoola : 5 Kms. North of Rishikesh is the place where Sri Lakshman is said to have performed tapa. Sri Lakshman Temple was built in his memory. It is a suspension bridge with a span of 140 mts. constructed in 1939 across the river Ganga popularly known as Ganges.

Agra : Agra city is one of the five biggest towns in Uttar Pradesh, is famous allover the World for its celebrated monument -Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world. It was built by Emperor Shahjahan in 1653 in memory of his beloved wife Queen Mumtaj. It took 22 years to complete this beautiful mausoleum. Taj Mahal, situated on the Inks of River Yamuna, stands on white marble platform of 22 feet with a height of 243 feet.

Mathura : This was considered to be the birth place of Lord Krishna. The temples of International society for Krishna consciousness (ISKCON), Dwarakadeesh and Geeta Mandirs are famous.

Allahabad : It acquired its present name during the rule of Mughal emperor -Akbar, known as Prayag since ancient nes. Located as the sangamam, the confluence of the sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. It is of the holy cities for hindus. It is the birth place of the first Prime Minister of Independent India pandit Jawaharlal ehru, born and brought up at Anand Bhavan, his ancestral house. Allahabad is site for famous Kumbh Mela, which held once in 12 years.

Varanasi : An ancient city and a centre of learning for over 2000 years is one of the temples for times immemorial. The 3 famous Kasi Viswanath temple, on the banks of river Ganges is a holy place for Hindu pilgrims. The Shivalinga at the swanath Temple is among one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. It is a gold-spiraled temple rebuilt in 1776 A.D. by Rani Ahillyabai Dikar and dedicated to Lord Shiva. Varanasi is seat of Hindu religion and the ancient Indian language Sanskrit. The st wish of every ,Hindu is to have a visit to Varanasi once in a lifetime.

Sarnath : Just 10 Kms from Varanasi, was the place where Lord Buddha revealed to his first disciples the essence of philosophy, which became one of the world's greatest religion Buddhism. The emperor Ashoka erected magnificent upas and buildings at Sarnath, making it an important place of pilgrimage. It is a major centre of Buddhist studies.

Repost from the past - English 'speeched' ???

I can't believe that I found some in Andhra Pradesh. Anyway, here they are !!!

Coffee rates : One set (4)

                      Full set (6)

                      Half set (2)

Can you decode this? I could not.

Plane Dosa, plane omlette, plane parantha (?)

Conflake

With milk or sugar (what did they really mean by this question?)

Idle (very phonetic??)

Jam to a butter tost.

The following two, I found in Nellore (boohoo my birth place):

State Bank of India office:  Relation Ship Manager (Dargamitta, Nellore)

BSNL Telephone company:  Prise (????) for FCT 1450 (rupees???) (Nellore) I forgot the year.

The Temples around Parli, Sholapur etc., in Maharashtra

We took a train from Tirupati to Kinwat. Krishna Express was the only one available. It left Tpt around 9:30 p.m. We were concerned about the slowness reputation of that train. But we were glad to leave after dinner and sleep all night and reach Kinwat in day light. It was a 24 hour journey.

Nirmala decided not to join us on this trip. Rao had previously met two Pawars  and one of them Vikas offered to meet us at the train station and guide us during our visits to all the Temples. The other Pawar (not a blood relative of Vikas) also helped us in other parts of the state, close to Parli. They were really God sent. Vikas was the one who introduced Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow whom I mentioned in my Kumbh Mela post.
Again, since so much time had past between our yatra and writing of this post, I need to tap into my memory really hard to write the details accurately. I will try my best. Please feel free to comment and correct, dear readers.

I recall the following Temples. The spellings may differ. But I wrote the way I pronounce.
Vaidyanath in Parli
Rukmini Mandir
Trayambakeshwar Temple
Tuljapur-Tuljabhavani Temple
Mallikarjuna Temple
Adinath and Parshvanath Temples
Akkalkot
Nar and Madhi falls and Siddheswar Temple
Pandaripur Vithoba Temple
and many more.

We hired a Taxi from the train  station. Actually we asked Vikas to hire a local known Taxi from his home town Pusad about 70kms from Kinwat and bring it to the station - which he did.
I will continue with the specifics soon.
My advice to all yatris - keep notes. Otherwise as time passes, it is tough to recall. I learned this with my mistakes. I am still looking for the scrap notes that I made more than one year ago.

The religious rites of Sraadha, Pindadaan etc. in Prayag, Kasi and Gaya.

Allahabad (original Hindu name is Prayag) This is one of the places that we did the rituals for the departed souls. Rao and Umamaheswaran went to the banks of the river Ganga with the local priest to do this. Nirmala and I stayed back. I was able to help the other staff in the Mutt in organizing the area for the procedures after their return from the River. The reason for doing these here is to make sure all the departed souls in the family and immediate relatives did not miss the proper 'send off' after death. I still cannot understand why we had to do it again and again. Interestingly, we did it for ourselves too, just in case no one does it for us after our death. Kaashi/Varanasi/Benares This link below may be useful for you all of us: http://wikitravel.org/en/Varanasi In Kasi, we started off the rites the previous day itself under the guidance of the priest Sivakumar. He was very thorough, knowledgeable. Spoke Tamil and the local Hindi dialect. But was fluent in English and hence it was of great help to my husband who knew only Telugu. Even though Uma was trying his best to maintain the Tamil communication, the priest was very thoughtful. After the rites, we had clean, simple home cooked meals prepared by their staff in each place. The surroundings are very clean here. Ganga waters are also cleaner in Kasi than in Allahabad. Gaya We did 64 pindas here. The ladies of the Mutt cooked and I prepared the pandas for the daan. I have written in my older post a few years ago about this and also posted some photos then. No Bathing in the river here. Not much water around.

About 2013 and dates (years) of other Future Kumbh Melas

In 2013, Allahabad Kumbh Mela happened when Sun entered Aries and Jupiter was in Aquarius.

Not all are Maha Kumbh Melas. Maha Kumbh Melas come once in 12 years. The one in 2013 was extra special because it was 12 times 12 equal to 144 years occurance. Once in a life time event for us. I am extremely grateful to God for giving us this opportunity to have a dip in Triveni .

The future Kumbh Melas are hosted by:

2015 Nashik
2016 Ujjain - Kumbh Mela, Haridwar - Ardh Kumbh , Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) for Mahamaham Kumbh.
2019 Allahabad Ardh Kumbh
2022 Haridwar

The 2013 one was from Jan 14th (Makara Sankranti) to March 10th (Maha Shivaratri). A total of 55 days. Most visited place in the whole world, they claim. But I have no idea whether there are any other events in the world that are attended by millions like this one.

Hope the dip in converged location of the three holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati  had washed off all my sins thus far!!!!

Each day of bathing had a special significance. But, we chose to go on Feb 6th as I mentioned in my previous post.

The special days for this year were:

Makar Sankranti Jan 14, 2013
Paush Poornima Jan 27, 2013
Ekadasi snanam Feb 6, 2013
Mauni Amavasya Feb 10, 2013 (most crowded)
Basant Panchami Feb 15, 2013
Ratha Sapthami Feb 17, 2013
Bhishma Ekadasi Feb 21, 2013
Magha Poornima Feb 25, 2013
Maha Shivaratri March 10, 2013

Around Varanasi, before we went to Kumbh Mela

There are many Temples and a Mosque in this area. The Hanuman Temple also is famous and very blissful.
Since so much time had lapsed between the actual travel and this post of mine, some details are lost in time. I trusted my memory and did not make notes. Still, I need to write whatever I can recall.

Rao and Umamaheswaran were very much engrossed in performing the sraadha rituals for all those relatives that left this Earth. We went to the Gaya area for that. Rao did perform all this during our previous visit. But now one of his maternal uncles, who was very close to all of us passed away. As we were doing it for him anyway, he wanted to repeat it for all others, including Nirmala's family. The priest Sivakumar in Varanasi handed the contract and the cost was 20,000 rupees for Rao and another 20,000 for Uma. I thought that the amount included the three locations that they performed. But, we had to 'tip' the local priests again. Approximately three to five thousand rupees in each place. I wasn't prepared for that. Fortunately, Nirmala brought her ATM card and we could withdraw our money sitting in her account. We had the Taxi with us all the time. So, that was additional expense. My point is that we should be prepared with extra cash always.

Oops!!! I deviated myself into money matters. Whole idea of this passage being, be prepared for such surprises. Sanjeev was with me all along, great support and adopted me as his mother :):):).

Kasi Viswanath, Durgakund, Sankat Mochan Hanuman and Tilbhandeswar, Visalakshi, Vyasa, Tulsimanas, Annapoorna, Kalabhairava, Mrithyunjaya, Bharata MathaTemples to name a few.

Sri Viswanatha Temple
Varanasi is mostly remembered for Sri Viswanath Temple, which is also called Golden Temple. It is a Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva and is located on the outskirts of the sacred Ganga river. It was built in 1780 by Maharani Ahilabai Holkar of Indore. As recently as 1983, the Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh.

Durga Temple was built in the 18th century. It is a Swayambhu Idol meaning self manifested
and that no human being had sculptured it. In India, many Temples we visited claimed this concept. Thousands of devotees visit the Durga temple during Navratri .

This Temple has a rectangular tank of water called the Durga Kund meaning a pond or pool of Durga. The Kund was initially connected directly to the river thus the water was automatically replenished. This channel was later closed, locking off the water supply, which is replenished only by rain or drainage from the Temple. During this trip, I also took dip in many holy waters (rivers and ponds).

We had wonderful darsans in each Temple. The procedure for touching the Siva lingam in Sri Visweswara Temple changed a little bit since our previous trip. Since we went to the Temple with Sivakumar's family, we had special darsan.

For some reason, Uma decided to separate from us and do his own local tour. He was conversing in Tamil with the staff in the choultry and was getting some special attention. He was very happy with the new friends he made. This was his first visit to this area. I was happy that he was managing his life so well.

Kumbh Mela yatra continues - actually a summary

In one of his previous yatras, Rao fell sick on the train and Vikas (Pawar) from Parli area and his friend Amar Pawar, both helped him a lot. We communicated with them before this yatra. Actually they used to call us in USA to check to see how his health was!!! They introduced another young man Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow whom they met on a train also during one of their travels to Tirupati and became friends. It is all Bhagawan's leela. That Sanjeev Kumar was really God sent for us in our Allahabad trip. I will go into the details later.
We left Tirupati Feb 2nd morning and met Umamaheswaran at the Central station. We all packed dinner from our respective origins and ate on the train. I don't know who is responsible for the maintenance of the train - it was very unclean. We were told that the Chennai Railways are not incharge of that train. Anyway, I don't understand the Indian railways of this Era. When I was in India, even in the 60s, I commuted mostly between Nellore and Tirupati and only by bus.
We reached Varanasi almost on time, took a Taxi to the known Choultry near Hanuman Ghat where the Priest cum owner of the choultry had two rooms ready for us.
About this choultry - I must have written in my older posts. If you tell the Auto rickshaw fellows that you need to go to Krishnamurthy Ghanapatigal's place, they know. But the rate varies and if you want, you can negotiate with them. It is usually much higher than the actual going rate. It all depends on your skill and patience in India.:):):)
We rested, visited the local Temples, had meals which were freshly prepared, simple and healthy. By afternoon, Sanjeev Kumar called from the train he was on and arrived at our choultry with a happy face. He showed me the Police permit he brought with him to post in on the windshield of our Taxi for the local police to see when we reached the Triveni Ghat. This was on Feb 6th, 2013. It was supposed to be a busy, crowded day also. But we missed all that. I was sooooo happy to be there that day. As it was my daughter's birthday, I had special prayers for her. Of course I prayed  for my son, his family, my s-i-l and all my nieces, nephews (all the nieces and nephews I acquired in the USA also) and anyone that touched my life.
After a lot of discussion, we left for the Triveni area quite early in the morning. Took towels, change of clothes etc. The Taxi driver (oops! I forgot his name) and Sanjeev became close friends instantly. The drive was very comfortable. All the warnings we received about the traffic jam on the way to Allahabad from Varanasi did not come true. Personally, I wanted to experience the Kumbhmela crowd, which I did not and that was disappointing. The other three were happy about the smooth travel. But I wanted to see all the yogis, sages, Babas of all kinds. Most of all, I strongly believed that the great Babaji mentioned by Sri Paramahamsa Yogananda would appear to me in some form. May be he did, but, I don't recall any.

Finally, about our Maha Kumbh Mela yatra - preliminaries!!

We were four of us for this yatra. Myself, my husband Rao, my friend Nirmala and Umamaheswaran. Uma and his younger sister Bhuvana were with us for the Amarnath Yatra two years ago. Uma communicated with us frequently and made the Train arrangements to Varanasi. I met one young Vikas on the Internet and he said that he and his grand father were going to join us in either Allahabad or in Varanasi. That kept on changing since his wedding was fixed for February 13th or so and his grand father changed his mind and did not want to join us on the days we were planning. With all this confusion, I never met him in person. Hope he is having a happy married life!! I still have his e-mail address somewhere and I should contact him. This time my blog is running very slow. Hope I remember all the events in the right order.

Happy Deepavali/Dewali

To all my Blog readers - May you all be blessed with much Peace and Happiness on this Dewali day and into the future.

Back to Tirupati, Nellore and Hyderabad

After completing our Andhra yatra, I went to my native place Nellore to spend some time with my sisters. My husband went to Hyderabad and Machilipatnam to spend time with his side of the family.
As my daughter was visiting her in-laws in Chennai along with her husband and children and since they also wanted to visit my sisters, I co-ordinated my stay with their trip to Nellore. They made a day trip by Taxi and we all thoroughly enjoyed our family reunion. After they left, I continued my stay in Nellore. Nothing much accomplished while I was there. I very much wanted to visit my High School and could not do that. But, did visit the area I grew up and the Temples that we visited everyday. Did some saree shopping. Was happy to spend Pongal/Sankranthiri with my eldest sister.

On Jan 16th, I returned to Tirupati as I have previously booked my ticket to Hyderabad from there. Nirmala decided to travel with me to Hyderabad to spend time with her niece. On Jan 24th, she invited us to join her niece and family and to our surprise, she arranged a small family party with cake etc. She gifted us with silk saree and silk dhoti also. Now I remember that we were with her in Tirumalai for our 40th also and had wonderful darsan of Lord Venkateswara. While in Hyderabad, I caught severe cold and suffered a lot. My husband's two sisters-in-law took very good care of me.

Spent two weeks in Hyderabad and then we both joined my friend Nirmala for our main yatra, The Maha Kumbh Mela trip.

A brief sketch of the five Araamas

Since I have fallen behind in writing my posts, I am writing fast and this post does not do any justice to the glory of that land !!! 

By the way, please copy and pate the two links below in this post, about the 3rd and the fourth araamas..

                     Mukteswaram (Mukteswara, a Shiva Temple)
                     Appanapalli (Sri Balaji Temple)
                     Antarvedi  (Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swami Temple)
                     Vaanapalli (Pallaalamma Talli Temple, near Kakinaada)

Pancharamas are where the swayambhuvu of Lord Shiva is worshiped in the form of lingam.

 The Five Araamas are:
1. Ksheeraaramam
2. Drakshaaraamam
3. Amaraaraamam
4. Somaraamam
5. Kumararaamam

1. Ksheeraamam - Ksheera Rama Lingeswara Swamy

As the name itself suggests we perform abhishekam to
Lord Shiva using milk. 

The Sthala puranam talks about the life of Maharshi Upamanyu, a devotee of Lord Shiva. Born into a poor family, his mother could not provide him with sufficient milk to drink. She suggested that he pray to Shiva who only can provide him with sufficient milk. He obeyed the mother and started worshipping Shiva by chanting Shiva Panchakshari mantra. Lord Shive, pleased, bestowed him with two boons. Feeding Ksheera samudram and Shiva Saayudham (or Sannidhi).

The town is called Paalakollu, located in West Godavari district. The Temple was built by Reddy Rajulu.

How to Reach PaalaKollu:

Train route: Narsapur Express from Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Narsapur,
Paalakollu comes in between Vijayawada to Narsapur.

2. Draksharaamam - Bheemeshwara Swamy

This is the First Araamam of five. We worship the Lord Shiva as
Bheemeshwara Swamy. Here Shiva linga is 60 ft tall. Story is Daksha
Prajapati performed Yagnam here that is why this place is named as
Draksharaamam. The specialty of temple is Shiva lingam mixed with
white and black colors. I already mentioned about our experience in this Temple in my post of May 19, 2013.

How to Reach Draksharaamam:

It is resided in East Godavari District near Ramachandrapuram.
Ramachandrapuram is 30 Kms (approx.) far from Kakinada town. You can
reach Kakinada by bus or train from both Vijayawada and Hyderabad.

3. Amara aramam - Amara lingeswara Swamy

http://wikimapia.org/11987687/Amaralingeswara-swamy-temple
After killing the demon Tarakasura, one part of shiva lingam has
fallen here and Indra performed puja here that is why we worship him
Amaralingeswara Swamy. My mind is blank for this. I just cannot recall anything about this Temple.

How to Reach Amaravathi:

It is resided in Guntur district Amaravathi is 30 kms from Guntur and
Vijayawada. Bus facility is available from Guntur and Vijayawada.
There is no train facility.

4. Soma araamam - Soma Lingeswara Swamy

After killing the demon Tarakasura, one part of shiva lingam has
fallen here and Chandra performed puja here that is why we worship him
Somalingeswara Swamy. Here specialty is in normal days Shiva lingam
usually in white but it changes to wheatish color in Amavasya (Lord
shiva likes this day).

How to reach Somaramam:

It is resided in West Godavari district Gunupudi, near Bhimavaram.We
have to get down at Bhimavaram by train or Bus and travel for 2 Kms to
reach Gunupudi.

5. Kumara araamam - Kaala Bhairavudu

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/85145065

The above link shows photo taken by someone else. I just used it.

This is last araamam of all five araamas. This was constructed in the
dynasty of King of Chalukya Bheemudu. Here Shivalingam is made with
lime stone.

How to reach Kumaraamam:

It is in East Godavari District, near Samarla Kota. It's in
Vijayawada - Vizag route rail route.

A short comment on Kedarnath etc.

I just feel sad that such a Holy place was hit by hardships !!! At the same time, feel fortunate to have visited Kedar, Badri, Gangotri and Yamunotri in 2006. As I mentioned previously, we could not go to Joshi Math. Even though I have beautiful memories of that trip, I also visit my blog and read what I saw. Yesterday, a young man Bhushan who said that he reads my blog, advised that I should keep a diary while traveling so that I won't forget the details. He is 100 percent right. That is what happened during my December 2012 Andhra yatra. I remember very little. My two companions are not interested in the life of this blog. So, no help from them. I remember the truck loads of Tulasi (sacred Basil) in Hanuman Temple. Wherever we went it was Tulasi in abundance. Never in my life I have seen so much of those stems. Here in my home I grow them in pots and they are very special for me. They are so delicate and susceptible to those spider mites, I lost the plants many times. I start from the seeds again. I used to grow and take them to our local Temple during the Sravana month and the authorities sold them in minutes. I haven't done that in 5 years. Currently, I have two small but healthy ones growing. Locally, I know some of my young friends have huge plants in their homes.

Having written this short note, I should begin my 2012-2013 yatra posts soon. The main yatra was the Maha Kumbh Mela and I am yet to begin that. I will finish my Andhra ones first and follow the calendar for the other sacred places that we visited.

About Char Dham and the disaster news

Just came to know that the Chardham that is mentioned in my earliest posts is actually , should be referred to as Chota Char Dham. The WIKI says the four Peethams Dwaraka, Puri, Badri and Sringeri established by Sri Adi Shankara are the Char Dham. The Uttaranchal ones and the other set, we have visited all of them. But at Badrinath, we could not go to Joshi Math since our package tour by the Garhwal travels did not include it. Other two times we were in the vicinity, the weather did not permit the travel to Badrinath.

Now, after the disaster, we don't know how long it will take to do such yatra.

Some Uttarakhand disaster photos:

Two more Temples in Andhra pradesh

Ryali Jaganmohini Kesawaswamy Temple:

Here the idol when seen from the front it is the male form of Keshawa swamy and from the back, it is Jaganmohini. All those that know the story of Samudra Mathanam, the distribution of amrutam (divine nectar) and the Mohini avataram will know the significance of this. Normally, the priest explains the story after the Aarati.
Ryali is a small village in East Godavari district of Andhra. Also spelled as Ralli by some.

Also, there is a Shiva Temple in front of the Jaganmohini Temple. Shiva is known as Sri Uma Kamandalesara Swamy here. The photos below was copied from Wiki.

Mandapalli Mandeswaraswami Temple:

Mandapalli is Situated 38 Km from Rajahmundry, 60 Km from Kakinada and 30 Km from Amalapuram.

I don't recall much about this Temple. I know that Rao sponsored some pooja for those in our family and extended family who he thought are in or near Sada sathe (seven year Shani effect).
There is a Parvati Devi Temple also here. The Saptha Maharshis have installed this and worshipped Her. The legend goes that Lord Brahma had installed the Shiva Lingam here and is known as Mandeswara Swami. 
One more interesting Temple is that of Nageswara Swami which had been installed by one of the eight mythological poisonous snakes (???) called Karkotaka (I don't get it). 

The story goes that hermit Dhadhichi has done a sacrifice of donating his spinal cord for the mighty weapon popularly known as Vajrayudha of Lord Indra. The weapons wielded by the eight suras in the eight directions called astadikpalakas, killed innumerable ghostly demons. To avenge the death of these demons certain other demons called Aswadha and Pippale invaded the area and brought about lot of havoc. This was when sage 'Agasta'  assured the people and he king of the death of these giants in the hands of 'Lord Sani' the son of the Sun God. Further they appealed Sani Deva to protect them by putting an end to these terrible monsters 'Aswadha and Pippala'. Sani made up his mind to kill the monsters for which he had to wage a war for one long year and killed them. As a mark of this glorious victory he installed an idol of 'Lord Siva' here. After that Sani declared that whoever worship this Linga by offering the dear gingelli oil etc. would be blessed. He further said that he would bless such devotees by removing all evils that befall them . For this reason, Lord Eswara is popularly known as Saneswara or Mandeswara. So people offer gingelli products which are dear to Sani who is the diety here. This Linga is said to be one of the Sapta Maharshis. There is also another version that the wives of the Saptha Maharshis installed this lingam here.