Seshadri's Musings

Muktinath is an ancient Vishnu temple located in Mustang, Nepal. The temple of Muktinath, known as 'the lord of liberation', is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists whom they worship as an abode of Hindu deity Vishnu and Buddhist deity Avalokiteśvara respectively. The term Muktinath is derived from the Sanskrit word “Mukti” and “Nath” where Mukti refers to “Salvation or Moksha” while Nath stands for “God”. Located in the Muktinath valley at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass, it is one of the world's highest temples at an altitude of 3,800 meters. The temple is given a status of one of the 108 (105th) Divya Desams of Hinduism and the only Divya Desam located outside India. It is also one of the 51 Shakti pithas, associated with the head of goddess Sati. The temple complex is known as Mukti Kshetra, which literally means "the place of liberation (moksha)" and is one of the Char Dham in Nepal. Source – Vedicfeed and Wikipedia. For Buddhists, Muktinath is an a

The trip was planned almost a month back and I had booked the train tickets accordingly.  There was a stay at Kancheepuram for one night.  We thought we would book the room during the week of the trip.  In case there are any delays, we might spend up forfeiting the advance for the room 😊 !  Since we were going to use Kavitha’s car for the trip, we did not have to book any other transport vehicle in advance.  My uncle, Kavitha’s father too was supposed to come with us for the trip, but later he dropped out.  We were all looking forward to the trip 😊 ! We started our trip on 14 th October from Hyderabad.  Just a day before, my mother’s cousin sent a message saying there was going to be heavy rains in Chennai on 16 th and the government had issued a red alert.  On 15 th too there was an orange alert.  On 14 th just as we started from home to the railway station, heavy rains started pelting in Hyderabad.  We thought we will continue the trip and then decide once we reach Chennai. 

Divya Desam Temples are the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the works of the Tamil Aazhvars (saints). “Divya” means “divine” and “Desam” indicates “place” (temple). Of the 108 temples, 105 are in India, one is in Nepal, and last two are outside the Earthly realms. The last two are Thirupalkaddal and Paramapadam. Tirupalkaddal is the ocean of milk and Paramapadam is the Srivaikuntam where lord Narayana presides. The Divya Desams are revered by the 12 Aazhvars in the Divya Prabandham, a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses. While most Divya Desams follow Thenkalai mode of worship, some follow Vadakalai too among others.   Sourced from www.templepurohit.com The idols of Lord Vishnu here can be found in the following 3 positions: - Kidantha Thirukkolam (Sleeping Position) – 27 Divya Desams Veetrirundha Thirukkolam (Sitting Position) – 21 Divya Desams Nindra Thirukkolam (Standing Position) – 60 Divya Desams In these 108 Divya Desams, the Lord Vishnu can be seen facing one of the fo