Panchvati and Around

 According to Valmiki Ramayana, its Sage Agastya advised Lord Rama to proceed to Panchwati. It is from here the story of Ramayana took a decisive turn. This place was situated in Dandakaranya. In modern era , it is a place in Nashik. The word “Panchwati” means 5 banyan trees which are still present.

How i went

I hired a guide at Ram Ghat which charged Rs 100 to show important places of Panchvati. It included

1)Shri Sunder Narayan temple

Here Lord Vishnu regain His complexion from dark to fair.

2) Ram Ghaat

A very auspicious place where river Aruna,Varuna and Godavari meet. Donot forget to collect the holy water from here.Bathing here is a must do.

                                                                                    3) Godavri Temple

This is the temple which opens only once in 12 years at the time of kumbh mela and on Ganga Dusherra.Luckily when i visited there , the temple was open.I had a magnificent darshan of goddess Godavri.

4) Goreram Temple

5) KalaRam Temple

A rare temple around the world where all the deities along with Lord Hanuman is Black Stone. One may come across huge crowd here as this is one of the most famous temple of Nashik

6) Sita Gufa- A narrow cave where it is believe that Sita was abducted from Ravana. The entrance to the cave is too narrow.

7) Kapaleshwar Temple

Where Lord Shiva treated Nandiji as His Guru. It is situated just few meters away from the Ram ghaat.

I started the trip at 10.30 am and finished it by 12.15 pm.Except KalaRam temple and Sita Gufa each site could be covered quickly . It is worth to explore KalaRam temple. As far as Sita gufa is concern, if you are travelling with kids, its not advisable to enter the cave together as there are chances of stampede in case of power failure and the local authorities told us that there is frequent power cuts here. Opposite to Sita Gufa there is a museum. I was temped by its entrance fare which was just Re 1. But when i entered i found that I found that even Re 1 was too much to see that museum as it can be seen in 2 minutes with nothing to be seen :)

Last but not least do not forget to see the 5 Banyan trees just outside the Sita Gufa as these trees which formed the basis of the name of this region "Panchvati". If you have time , hire an auto from here to explore "Tapovan" region. They charge Rs 40 per person and in an hours time they could drop at the Ram ghaat.

Sri Sunder Narayan Temple

This is one of the oldest temple in the Nashik. It is situated at the edge of the Ahilya Bai Holkar bridge. It is the only temple in the world where Lord Vishnu is present along with goddess Tulsi and goddess Lakshmi. Goddess Tulsi was Vrinda, the queen of demon Jallandhar in the previous birth. The demon had a boon that he will remain immortal till his wife remain chaste(Pavitra). It was necessary to kill the demon to save the earth from his havoc. So, Lord Vishnu appeared in front of Vrinda in disguise form of her husband Jallandhar. By mistake she could not able to reveal the identity of Lord Vishnu. Thinking him as her husband , she touched him. So her promise to remain pure was broken. When she realized her mistake she cursed Lord Vishnu to turned into a black stone called Shaligram. After this curse the complexion of Lord Vishnu turned into black. Lord Vishnu rushed to the bank of Godavri river and took a holy bath. Instantaneously, he regain his divine complexion.

My guide told me the unique feature of this east facing temple. On 21st March when day and night are equal, the first ray of the rising sun fall on the feet of deity

The Kapileshwar temple

This is the only temple in the world where Nandi ji is not present in the sanctum sanctorum. It is located at the bank of river Godavri at Ram kund in Nashik(Maharashtra).My guide told me an intresting legend behind it. Once Lord Shiva punished Brahma for his mistake and cut his 5th head. But at the same time , a sin incurred to Lord Shiva for killing the 5th head of Brahma(Brahm hatya dosh). This perplexed Lord Shiva . He tried every method to get rid of this sin. Despite wandering every place on bhu-lok(the earth), there was no respite. Then nandi ji suggested one escape route. He took Lord Shiva to the bank of Godavri. He guided him to a secret spot. This was the point where the 3 rivers, Godavri,Aruna and Varuna met. Here Lord Shiva took a holy dip. He was librated from the sin after this bath. Since Nandi ji guided him so Lord Shiva treated him as a Guru (not as a follower)at this place. This is the reason that there is no idol of Nandi ji here.

Exactly at this point Lord Shiva took bath at the confluence of Godavri river,Aruna river and Varuna River

At the backdrop, its Kapileshwar temple where Lord Shiva treated Nandiji as his Guru

The Holy Pond - Kushavrat

The word 'Sarovar' means a pond or a water body. The water is one of the most important subtle element in hinduism. Bathing in a pond in a pilgrimage is one of the important ritual which includes tarpan(offering water to the departed souls) also. In Triambak town, there is such holy pond where bathing is considered as one the dream of hindu due to its holiness. This is "Kushavrat sarovar" or "Kushavrat teerth". As per legend after the boon given by Lord Shiva to Sage Gautam, the river Godavri appeared at Brahmgiri hills(in Triambak town near Nashik) for the first time. But after a short while it again disappears as she was not willing to stay on earth.. Sage Gautam couldn’t able to bath in it, which was necessary for removing his sin accrued to him because of killing of a cow accidentally. Now it was a great cause of concern for Sage Gautam to prevent river Godavri from disappearing. He took 4 blades of kusha-grass and energized it with his divine power and threw at the 4 corners. This worked like a trap for riverGodavari. Since then it is believe that this pond where sage Gautam placed 4 kusha (a kind of grass) at the four corners is the source of river Godavri. After that this pond was named as “Kushavrat” means surrounded by kusha(a grass)

My Triambakeshwar Tour

The Triambakeshwar is one of the most sacred place on earth. Even our classics says that there is no sacred place like Triambakeshwar, no river like Godavri and no mountain sacred than Brahmgiri. It is in Triambakeshwar where Lord Shiva resides in the form of jyotirlingam.It is the birth place of river Godavri.

The first View

Where I stayed

I stayed at hotel Padma in nashik , opposite old CBS. The tariff was 600. they dont offer a/c room. the manager was very helpful. The hotel has inhouse restaurant offering food at reasonable price. Telephone number0253-2318095,2576837

Route
40km in SW direction from the Nasik Road railway station. The jyotirlingam temple is situated at the foothill of Brahmgiri hills in the Sahyadri range

The scenic view ofTriambak

How I went

My first step in Nashik

I boarded the train Mangla Lakshdweep from Hazrat Nizamuddin which departed at 9.20 am. The next day I reached Nashik Road at 6.15 am I hired a car Innova ac @ 8.5/km upto 300 km average per day. The name of the driver was Hari (tel no.09822315789). My plan was to explore the area around Triambak town. I check in the hotel which was in opposite direction of Triambak town. I choose nashik as a hub to travel further. I started at 8 am. The distance to be covered was 30 km. I reached the Triambak town in at 8.40. Immidiately after depositing shoes at the shop adjoining the main dwar(door) of temple , i manage to find one pandit for the abhishekam. After negotiation he asked Rs 400 for performing pooja. He instructed that I have to wait till 9.30 because at that time sanctum sanctorum was under the supervision of other pandits , may be appointed by trust, i guess. At 9.30 he reappear with dhoti for me which was the dress code for gents to wear for abhishekam. he statrted the pooja in the mandapam at 9.15. after the sankalp and other ritual he orderd me to prepare to go to sanctum sanctorum. After a bit struggle I was in front of Lord Triambakeshwar. Pandit removed all the the flowers above the deity. i witnessed the rare appearance of The TRINITY (Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh) in the form of three pinds. That was really the moment of my life time. I stayed in the sanctum for 5 minutes.
My pandit's name was Shri. Padmakar B Pingale(Phone-9922144835/9322831290)

Go Sewa

souvenir shops around temple

one can fine ek mukhi Rudraksh at the roadside vendors for mere few rupees:Amazing Deal

1) Make sure about the pooja timings from the localites because during that period no abhishek is performed. Start as early as possible so that you are left with enough time to cover other places of mythological importance.
2) The sangam of Godavri and river Ahilya is just outside the temple. Dont miss it.
3) A tour to Neel Parbat, Anjeri Hills and Brahmgiri is must do. Local autos is the best bet to move around.
4) just 200 m away from the temple is Kushavrat pond,one of the holiest in universe. Do explore it as there are numerous temples around it at a walking distance.
5) outside the temple , do feed the cows as it is considered as auspicious.
6) Do at least one pradakshina of the temple
7) A special golden crown of the lord is shown to public every monday around 4 pm

The Legend of Triambakeshwar

Sage Gautam was a very pious sage. He attained many divine powers with his meditation. Once there was a drought in his region called as Brahmgiri hills(Triambak) . He worshipped Lord Varun(the god of water). Pleased with the prayers of sage Gautam, Lord Varun blessed the area with plenty of water. The created jealousy among other sages. The deliberately send a cow at the hermitage of sage Gautam. While sage Gautam was trying to drive the cow away from his ashram, she died. It was considered as one of the greatest sin to kill a cow. The sage felt guilty for the sin which was done unintentionally. The only option was left to get rid of the sin was to perform the parikrama(circumambulation) of Brahmgiri hill for 101 times and bring the river Ganga here and worship the shivling . Sage Gautam performed this tough ritual. Later Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati appeared and granted the boon of appearing the river Ganga in this region. River Ganga appeared instantly on the order of Lord Shiva, but she requested Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati to stay along with here. Lord accepted the demand and decided to reside in the form of Triambakeshwar. From then the river got its name Godavri(Gautami-ganga). On seeing this divine occasion all other gods appear and promised to visit here once in twelve years when the planet Jupiter transits through the Leo sign. Since then when this planetary combination repeats ,the huge “Kumbh-mela” (festival) is held at the bank of Godavri. It is believe that to keep their promise all the gods present at the spot during that period and bathing in river Godavri considered as auspicious.

The first glimpse of Jyotirlingam, Triambakeshwar

the Mahadwar

The main sanctum at the backdrop

This moment which will go along with me when i would leave the earth

Saptashringi-The goddess of seven hills

Whenever I move to any city I make sure that if there any “Shaktipeeth(a place for worshipp associated with goddess)” nearby. In june 2011 I got a chance to visit Nashik. After extensive research I came to know that approximate 60 km North of Nashik, there is a shaktipeeth of Devi named as “ Sapta-shrungi”

The Legend associated with this place


Once the demon Mahishasur acquired all the destructive powers and created havoc on the earth as well as heaven. Due to involvement of a boon it was not possible even for gods to kill him. As a result Lord Brahma.Vishnu and Mahesh combine their energies to manifest into goddess Amba. A fierce battle broke between Amba and Mahishasur.the demon transformed himself into a buffalo but finally Amba killed the demon at the place called Saptashrungi(means mountain of seven peaks). After that the goddess decided to resides on saptashrungi. At the foothills of saptashrungi hills there is idol of buffalo head signifies , the demon Mahishasur. The idol of goddess is more than 10 feet tall having 18 hands. The signification of 18 hands signifies the “Maha Shakti”, the divine power. The idol is fully covered with sindoor. My guide told me that there is a cave behind this idol where the goddess the present in the divine form that human eyes cant bear the glow.
It is also believe that the sacred book of hindus “DeviMahatmayam” was written by Sage Markandey here. Since Sage Markandey is chiranjeevi(Long lived), still it is believe that he resides on the opposite hill where the goddess resides.

Route
From Nashik it is 60 km North.Follow the Dindori road (NH 17) from Nashik. After crossing the Nanduri village the landscaping changes into very beautiful hilly area.


Orientation

Situated in a village vani at the height of 1250m above sea level. There is a motorable road upto an altitude of 1140 m. From here there is a steep climb of 500 steps which could be cover easily in forty minutes. The offerings has to be purchases before the climb. It is custom to burn the camphor (in multiples of 9 ) at the huge entrance. It is believe that there are numerous kunds(holy ponds) in this area. Also this area is enriched with plants and herbs which has a lot of medicinal value.

How I went

I boarded the train Mangla Lakshdweep from Hazrat Nizamuddin which departed at 9.20 am. The next day I reached Nashik Road at 6.15 am and immediately I searched for a hotel . After extra effort I choose hotel Padma opposite old CBS (Bus stand). The tariff was Rs 600 per day. The hotel was a bit old fashioned. But I didn’t mind as luxuries looses its importance in pilgrimage. I hired a car from travel agency. The name of driver was Hari ( telephone number-09822315789 ). He was a fine driver but a bit slow.I begin the journey about 10 am. The route to Saptashrungi was scenic. I reached at the foothill around noon. it took almost 40 minutes to climb 500 steps. Inside the temple it was a divine roop of goddess. But I was closely looking on the walls for something special to worship goddess.

The scenic beauty around saptashrungi

The abode of goddess at the hill top

at the Maha Dwar

climbing the 500 stairs with the mantra " Jai Mata Di"

Sage Markandey Hill, opposite to temple complex