325. Day 3 – Prayag Raj

After having breakfast, we checked out and left for Prayag Raj.  It was earlier known as Allahabad and the name was changed to Prayag Raj, a couple of years ago (2018 in fact😊).  On the way there, some of the signposts still refer to it as Allahabad. 

After a drive of about 5 hours, we reached Triveni Sangam where Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet each other. 

From Wikipedia – In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here is said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.  At Triveni Sangam, the Ganges and the Yamuna can be identified by their different colours – the water of the Ganges is clear while that of the Yamuna is greenish in colour.  The third river, the mythical Saraswati, is called invisible.  The auspiciousness of the confluence of two rivers is referred to in the Rigveda, which says, "Those who bathe at the place where the two rivers, white and dark, flow together, rise up to heaven."  A place of religious importance and one of the sites for the historic Kumbh Mela held every 12 years. Over the years it has also been the site of the immersion of ashes of several national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi in 1949 and Atal Bihari Bajpayee in 2018.

We parked on the shores of Ganga and chartered a boat.  From Rs 5,000, we bargained and reduced the price to Rs 2,000 for the trip.  The boatmen took us to the place from where we can do final rites and take bath. Each one of us was given a life jacket to wear.  In the morning several boats are sent here to make a line beyond which people are not allowed.  Later on, other boats come and dock with these boats and then climb on these boats to do the rituals and other things.  We did not take bath and only put our legs on the river and used water to sprinkle on our heads.  Jayashree and her brother also filled up a bottle of the water and said they will put in the bucket for next day’s bath!  To be frank, the water was of a different colour altogether😊!

Then we saw the Allahabad fort from outside itself.  We declined to visit it as the sun was beating down hard.  While we were in the boat on the Ganges, it was very pleasant.  Just 100 meters from Ganges, on the shore, the sun was super-hot!

Then we went to see the Bade Hanuman mandir.

It is one of the ancient temples in India which have great sacred beliefs for Lord Hanuman. It is the only temple with idol of Hanuman Ji in sleeping position. This idol has legs towards south and head towards north.

The story of how this came into being is exciting. It is said that a wealthy but childless businessman from Kannauj, made an idol of Hanuman from stones found in the Vindhyachal hills. He decided to bathe the model at several pilgrimage spots or teerth-sthaans. When he arrived at Sangam, he had a dream that if the idol is left here, all his wishes would be fulfilled. He did so and returned to Kannauj, and his wife bore him a son. Soon the idol was submerged in the sand. It was discovered by a revered holy man, Mahatma Balagiri. The icon was installed where it was found, and the Temple became famous near the fort. Ever since it has been worshipped as Lete (lying down) Hanuman.

It is also said during the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar, the Allahabad fort was built. During the construction of boundary of the fort, this Temple obstructed the boundary wall. Akbar tried to dig and lift up the Hanuman Ji and place it somewhere else so that boundary could be built straight, but when they tried to lift up Hanuman Ji, he settled more in the ground.   After various attempt they gave up and built the wall around it.

Later during the rule of Aurangzeb when he heard about the temple, he ordered to throw the idol of Hanuman Ji. This was the time when Hindu temples were demolished in the whole country. Aurangzeb and his soldiers, after massive attempts, were unable to lift up the idol of Hanuman Ji. As many times they lifted, Hanuman Ji settled downwards in the ground. This is the reason why the idol of Hanuman Ji is 6 to 7 feet beneath the earth.

It is believed by the residents of Prayagraj (Allahabad) and has also been observed that every year during flood when the water level of river Ganga increases, it reaches the temple to make Hanuman Ji bath in the holy water. People say Ganga Maiya comes and make Hanuman Ji bath and then starts decreasing the water level. That mean water levels start decreasing once Hanuman Ji takes bath.

Then we went to Maa Alop Shankari Shakti Peeth. Alop means the one who disappeared. After Sati dahana and Dhaksha Yagna destruction, Lord Siva was disturbed mentally and lifted Satidevi’s body and roaming without any destination. Lord Vishnu cut Sati devi body parts by using Sudarshana Chakra. Every place, where Satidevi’s body part fell, became a Shaktipeeth. Here the ten fingers of Maa Sati fell. Prayagraj is the place, where the last part of Sati devi’s body fell on the ground. Here Sati devi’s body became completely disappeared, hence the name Alopi.

There are some other stories about Alopi maata. In every temple, at least one idol or one symbol will be there for worshipping the goddess. But here, there is no idol or symbol. We have to imagine the goddess present on a wooden jhoola (swing). Hence the name Alopi.

There was a big crowd and we thought of skipping it.  When I enquired about the time it will take for darshan from a policewoman, she said darshan is closed and will open again in 1 hour.  She said we can try and see the idol from some other place. She pointed it to us.  We went there to see, but could not see properly from the window. She hurriedly came to meet us there and told us that darshan has started and she was sorry to have informed us otherwise, earlier.  Jayashree, her brother and myself decided to stand in the queue for darshan. Fortunately, the line we stood had to complete a smaller line to reach the sanctorum😊!  We did the darshan in some 15-20 minutes and came out. 

It was already 3:30pm.  After this the driver took us to a dhaba and we had food there.  After food, we proceeded to Chitrakoot.  On the way there, we again stopped at a local dhaba and had Tea as well.  We finally reached Chitrakoot at about 8pm.  Had dinner and went to sleep. 

Thus ended our Day 3 of the tour!

Cheers till next time😊!!

 

PS – Sourced from Wikipedia and internet