AYODHYA Trip (25-27 May 2024)

AYODHYA Trip (25-27 May 2024)

Me and Meenu decided to join trip to Ayodhya organized by Rishab’s sasural members (1^st trip with them after Rishab got married to Dimple on 24^th April 2024). We were 15 members : Me, Meenu, Rishab, Dimple; Dimple’s father Pramod ji, mother Ranjana ji, sister Khushboo; Dimple’s sister Barkha and jeeju Arpit, Arpit’s father Anil ji and mother Dimple ji; Arpit’s sister Akshita and jeeju Uday, Uday’s father Pawan ji and mother Menaka ji. All arrangements were painstakingly made by Barkha and Arpit.

Day 1 : 25.5.2024 (Saturday) : Delhi to Ayodhya and darshan of Ram Janambhoomi Mandir

Today was voting day in Delhi for the 2024 General Elections (Lok Sabha). Me, Meenu and Rishab cast our vote early at 7.30 am in nearby school. It was hot and humid even at that hour ! At 8.30 a.m, we four (including Dimple) started from home in cab and reached airport at 9.10 am. Met Pawan ji and his family in the Boarding pass queue. After getting issued Boarding pass and clearing security, we met Pramod ji and others at a restaurant near the departure gate. Some took home cooked food here.

We all boarded Akasa Air’s 10.50 am flight from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport Terminal-2. It was about 45 min duration flight. 

At 12 o’clock, we landed at Ayodhya airport. It is called Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport. It has been newly built and has been operational ever since Ram Janambhoomi temple was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a pran pratishtha (consecration) ceremony on 24^th January 2024 this year, constructed after Bhumi pujan on 5^th August 2020. The airport is still under development phase. Inside hall, there were beautiful large wall paintings and murals.

At 12.30 pm, we came out of the airport. Three Innova crysta cabs were waiting for us. 

At 12.45 pm, we started from the airport in scorching heat. The temperature must be about 45⁰C ! 

At 1.10 pm, we reached our Hotel – The Ramayana. It was a small hotel compared to Delhi’s standard (but good from this small City’s standards) but charges were quite high. A big 3-parts set of Ramayana Books Box placed at the entry of the Hotel near reception caught my attention. 

While the check-in process was going on and rooms were getting allotted and cleaned, we took lunch in the hotel’s restaurant called Naivedyam. 

At 2.45 pm, we got into our rooms. I was given room 3109 on the 3^rd floor. We took rest in the room. 

At 4 pm, we all came down to lobby. Some ventured to click pics and selfies in scorching heat in the hotel’s lawn. We waited for one of the three cabs to come, which got late.

At 4.30 pm, we all started in three Innova Crysta from the hotel to go to Ram Janambhoomi temple. We had VIP access, thanks to my IAS friend Sunil V (he had already sent our names to Commissioner Ayodhya, with one Aadhar no. per 8 persons, as one VIP pass can accommodate max. 8 names). Our vehicles numbers were already flashed and therefore we did not face any problem at the three check points manned by UP police on the VIP darshan marg which takes one through the back side of the temple complex. (However, the so called VIP darshan marg is not that VIP as we have to pass through narrow lanes between local houses and get stuck at many places due to scooters, cycles, pedestrians, residents etc.)

We got down at a check point very near to the temple complex and walked for about 100 mtr to reach a point called “Crossing 2 (Rangmahal Barrier) / North Gate”. Our darshan slot was 5-7 pm (but due to super VIP access, the slot time was not an issue for us). The temple complex is situated in thickly populated area. 

The temple complex has been built by acquiring land in the vicinity of the site which is believed to be the actual birthplace of Lord Ram on which Babri masjid mosque was erected in 16^th Century which was demolished by some people in 1992. The temple complex was built recently after the Supreme Court brought the curtains down on the Mandir-Masjid dispute by its verdict in 2019 and declared that a temple existed at this site in earlier point of time than the mosque. This verdict gave the disputed land to Hindus for construction of a temple, while Muslims were given land nearby in Dhannipur in Ayodhya to construct a mosque. There is a lot of resentment in the local public due to their houses being demolished to construct this temple complex.

A UP Police constable named Avtar Singh, who was deputed to facilitate our darshan (one Pawan kumar from Commissioner office coordinated), met me at the said barrier. The police personnel at the said barrier allowed us to enter on seeing Avtar in uniform with us. Just after entry, there were self-operated lockers, on the side of our path. We put our mobiles in it and then locked these with the provided key (hanging with each locker) and kept key with us. We barely walked 50 ft and lo and behold ! the magnificent Ram mandir (also called Ramlala mandir) was in front of us. We deposited our slippers at a slipper stand erected there and took token. Then we walked with Avtar towards the main area of the temple where the main idol (childhood vigraha of Ramlala) is kept. We, as it appeared to me, were taking the same route which is meant for the physically challenged people who are wheelchair borne. We reached in front of the idol (closest distance allowed to the idol) and had good darshan. The idol of Rama placed here (in the sanctum sanctorum of Ram temple) is that of a 5 year old Rama as a child. The 51-inch idol (4ft 1/4 inches), carved from black stone, is dressed in a yellow dhoti with a golden crown, necklaces, holding a golden bow and arrow. The idol is heavily jewelled to show Rama's royal lineage. The idol was sculpted by the famous sculptor from Mysore, Arun Yogiraj. It is made from a three-billion-year-old metamorphic rock, known as "Krishna Shile" or black schist, which was excavated from Gujjegowdanapura in H.D. Kote Taluk, Mysore. 

We entered from one door and came out of the other door on the side parapet / podium of the temple complex. From the podium, we could see construction activities like cutting, excavating, crushing, chisling of stones (to carve out idols) going on in the temple complex. There was lot of dust in the environment. The temple complex, presently, is only partially constructed. Taking photos was strictly prohibited.

After the darshan, we collected our slippers and our mobiles and came out of Barrier no.2. I and Anil ji collected our VIP pass from the nearby office of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust https://srjbtkshetra.org/ , also called Ram Kacherhi (Ghanshyam at the counter, who was already informed by Mr. Pawan from Commissioner office, took out the print out of VIP pass and gave to me). The names of we all 15 were printed on these 2 VIP passes. This VIP pass was no longer needed (as we already done darshan through UP police constable) but I kept this pass as souvenir. This Trust is supervising the construction of the Ram Janmbhoomi temple complex.

Then we walked to the nearby Hanuman Garhi temple. It was about 15 min walk. We entered through the exit gate (at the back side) of the Hanuman Garhi temple, which exit is on an incline. Pramod ji spoke to some pandit (9828529807) of the said temple who told us to come this way. There was huge rush of devotees in front, but some of us managed to have a glimpse of the Lord Hanuman ji. After coming out of the temple, we purchased besan laddu prashad from a shop there. 

Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya is believed to date back to 10^th Century AD. Legend is that when Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after killing Ravana and conquering Lanka, then his supreme bhakt Hanuman ji started living here and this place thus started being referred to as Hanuman Garhi or Hanuman Kot. Hanuman ji used to protect Ram Kot from here. In this temple, a 6-inch deity of Hanuman, depicted in his youthful (Bal) form, is positioned on the lap of his mother Anjani. It is believed that Lord Hanuman (Pavan Putra) lives here and guard Ayodhya. 

We then walked (for about 10-15 min) to the point where our vehicles were parked alongwith other vehicles and boarded the same at about 7.15 pm. We passed through Ram path and Lata Mangeshkar chowk. The whole Ayodhya nagri on both sides of the road was well lit ! 

Some of us ventured to see 3-D Laser show and so reached Suraj kund at about 7.45 pm but the 8 pm show (last show) was cancelled due to some technical glitch, so we had to return.

At about 8.30 pm, we reached back our hotel and relaxed. 

Several of us went to restaurant in a nearby hotel called Narayana and took dinner.

At about 10.40 pm, we returned to our hotel and went to room 2101 of Akshita where all remaining had assembled. Anil ji and Pawan ji were enjoying drinks. I also joined them for a while. All sang songs and danced and made merry.

At 12 pm, we retired to our rooms.

Day 2 : 26.5.2024 (Sunday) : Ayodhya (relaxed in hotel and laser show in evening)

We got up late after a hectic day yesterday (some ventured to go for bath in Saryu river at the Saryu ghat by e-Rickshaw in the morning at 6.30 am !).

At 9.30, me and Meenu went down to have breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. Some were already sitting and some joined later. 

After breakfast, I and Meenu walked and sat in the lobby of the hotel as it was very hot outside. We all decided to rest in the hotel during the day as hot air wind was blowing outside. 

At about 12 o’clock, we assembled in the room of Rishab Dimple and played cards 3-patti and then ludo. We ordered lunch in the room through room service and had the lunch while playing ludo. Thereafter, we all watched video clips of wedding and other functions of Barkha, Akshita, Dimple by cast/mirroring through mobile on the room tv.

At 6.45 pm, some of us (I, Meenu, Dimple, Dimple’s mother, Khushboo, Dimple ji) started in a Innova crysta cab (charged 2500/-, too high !) and reached Suraj kund at about 7.10 pm, bought tickets for the laser show (Rs.30/- per head) and entered the complex. It was beautifully laid out. We walked to the constructed ghat inside where Saryu mata aarti was going on. We participated in the same. Thereafter, the 3-D Laser show started. It showed the history of Suraj kund in Ayodhya and the legend associated with it. It was about 25 min show. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing. The show was shown using the fountain water as the backdrop screen ! We then roamed in this complex. Did darshan of Surya bhagwan temple. Clicked pics.

The rulers of Ayodhya were descendants of Surya bhagwan, that is why they are called suryavanshi. Lord Ram was also a suryavanshi. They worshipped surya (sun). It is believed that this kund and mandir was got constructed by suryavanshi rulers. It is believed that by taking bath in this Surya kund and doing darshan pujan in adjoining Surya mandir, all wishes come true. This complex was renovated recently just before pran pratishtha of Ram Mandir in January 2024.

At 8.20 pm, we started from there and returned to hotel at about 8.45 pm. After freshening up, we gathered in the room of Akshita. Joined in drinks with Anil ji and Pawan ji. We called food in the room itself through room service. Kids also ordered pizza and Giani ice cream from outside. All danced and performed. 

At about 11.30 pm, we retired to our rooms.

Day 3 : 27.5.2024 (Monday) : last day in Ayodhya 

We got up early. 

At 6.30 am, me, Meenu, Rishab, Dimple and Ranjana ji took an e-rickshaw from the nearby chowki and started for sightseeing.

We got down at the nearest rickshaw point to Hanumangarhi temple at about 7.05 pm. However, there were long queues, heavy rush, crowd and dhakka mukki in the que for darshan at the front entry of the said temple. So, we decided to see other places instead. We walked to nearby Kanak Bhawan, which was 10 min walk from there. Kanak Bhawan is to the north-east of Ram Janam Bhoomi, Ramkot, in Ayodhya. It is believed that this Bhawan was gifted to Devi Sita by Kaikei immediately after her marriage to Lord Ram. This is private palace of Devi Sita and Lord Rama. King Vikramaditya got it renovated. Later it was rebuilt/renovated by Vrish Bhanu Kunwari which exists even today. The main idols installed in the garbhgrih (sanctum), are of Lord Ram and Devi Sita.

After visiting Kanak Bhawan, we walked to Dashrath Mahal, which was just 3-4 min walk from there. The idols of all 4 brothers (Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughan) with their respective wives are placed here. Dashrath Bhavan is the original residence of King Dashrath - the ruler of Ayodhya and father of Lord Shri Ram. It is said that Ram and his brothers used to play in this bhawan during their adolescent days. The Bhawan / Mahal is now in shambles and can hardly be said to be a palace.

At 8.15 am, we came out of Dashrath mahal. We then walked by the side of the queues of Hanumangarhi temple to reach the chowk, from where we took an e-rickshaw for Rs.20/- each to go to Nageshwar temple, near Lata Mangeshkar chowk. It was 5 min journey. The e-rick dropped us near Ram ki Paidi. From here, we walked to Nageshwar temple, which was 2-3 min walk. 

We did darshan of Nageshwar Nath temple and offered milk, water and flowers on the lingam. This temple is at Ram Ki Paidi in Ayodhya. This temple of Nageshwarnath is said to have been established by Kush, the younger son of Rama in Treta yug. Legend is that Kush lost his armlet, while bathing in the river Saryu, which was picked up by a Nag-Kanya named Kumudini. Angered by this, Kush killed nag-kanya. Her father, who was a devotee of Shiva, worshipped and prayed for protection. Lord Shiva became happy and asked Kush to forgive nagkanya’s father. On seeing Lord Shiva, Kush became normal and forgave nagkanya’s father and worshipped Shiva and said that since you came here after becoming happy on this naag, so this place may become famous by the name of Nageshwar dham. This temple has Lord shiva sitting in middle being surrounded by naags (snakes). Even till the times of King Vikramaditya, the temple was in good shape. The present temple was built in 1750 by the minister of Safdar Jung, named Naval Rai. The festival of Shivratri is celebrated here in a big way, and Shiv Barat procession is taken out during these celebrations. During the festival time of Mahashivratri, the temple receive thousands of devotees.

We then walked in the side lane of the temple to enter Shri Kale Ram temple. It’s a small temple (just one room), with not many aware about this temple and hence not much crowd here. The idols of Hanuman ji and Ram ji are overlooking each other. We sat and recited Hanuman chalisa here. It is believed to be the only temple that depicts the idol of Lord Rama along with his brothers Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. This temple also has idols of Lord Hanuman and Goddess Sita. It is believed that the original Ram murti which was found in Ayodhya at the disputed site is placed here.

We then came out of the Kale Ram temple, and walked to the Ram ki paidi (1 min walk). Here, I dipped my feet in the water of Saryu river. Some people were taking dip / bath in it. It is administration-made ghat. Ram ki Paidi is a series of ghats on the bank of River Saryu. The river front brings forth an outstanding Landscape especially in floodlit night. 

Then, we walked nearby to Lata Mangeshkar chowk which has iconic structure of a Veena/ sitar erected on the chowk. We clicked pictures here. 

At 9.25 am, we took an e-rickshaw for the hotel. We got stuck in traffic congestion on a road stretch at a point which was dug for laying sewers. Throughout Ayodhya, lot of development works are going on, leading to traffic snarls and congestion. 

At 9.55 am, we reached Hotel and took breakfast. We then changed clothes and came down with our luggages.

At about 11.10 am, we started from hotel in 3 Innova and reached airport at about 11.35 am.

We boarded 12.50 pm Akasa Air flight. 

At 2 pm, our flight landed at Indira Gandhi airport Terminal-1.

At 3.25 pm, we returned home, taking an ola cab (Ertiga).

A memorable trip came to an end.

* It costed us Rs.90k for the whole trip for 4 persons (incl air ticket 9k per person, Hotel, food, taxi)

Rameshwaram Madurai trip (26.1.2024 to 29.1.2024)

Rameshwaram Madurai trip (26.1.2024 to 29.1.2024)

Our friend Sanjay Mittal had made a program to visit Rameshwaram during the long weekend from 26-28 January. They were 3 couples. Me and Ajay Beriwal ji with spouses also tagged along and booked our air tickets accordingly. So, finally we 5 couples were excited and fortunate to be part of the group to seek darshan of Lord Shiva in Rameshwaram during 26-28 January 2024.

So, here we go !

26/1/2024 Friday

At 4 am in the morning, me and Meenu got up at home in Delhi and after getting ready, we started from home at 5.35 am in Uber cab and reached Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 at about 6.15 am. Ajay ji and Monica di had already reached about 15 min back. At the entry gate of the airport terminal, we went to DigiYatra entry point, showed our face there at the face scanner and gate was opened ! We did not even had to show our boarding card or aadhar card, thus saving the hassle of line ! 

Once inside, we went to the ‘P’ check-in counter in the end of the Terminal. There were self check-in counters of Indigo airlines there. (Aman had already web checked-in for 4 of us yesterday and selected seats in one row (off course at extra cost). We showed our boarding card in our mobile to the staff there. He punched PNR no. in the kiosk computer and took out physical paper copies of our boarding cards and also took out luggage tags, we handed over our check-in baggage to him (8 kg and 9 kg), he then pasted luggage tags on it and thus baggage check-in was complete.

We then went to security check area and got into the DigiYatra queue which was a short queue. After security check, we walked towards our designated Boarding gate. We met Ajay ji and Monica di in Delhi street restaurant. Then we did some shopping in the shops there. We then sat near the Boarding Gate and waited for the Boarding to be announced. After some time, the Boarding started and we boarded our Indigo flight. We met Mansi, Nikant and Nishtha in the flight.

At 8.15 am, the Indigo flight took off from Delhi. 

(Originally, our flight was departing Delhi at 5.25 am and reaching Madurai at 8.50 am. But Indigo, at later stage, changed the flight timings and also added a layover at Hyderabad. Now, the flight dep from Delhi at 8.15 am, landing at Hyderabad at 10.30 am, layover of about 2.30 hrs at Hyderabad, dep from Hyderabad at 1.25 pm and landing at Madurai at 2.50 pm.  Resultantly, we got delayed by 6 hours, which upset our prog for the 26^th Jan). 

At 10.30 am, our flight landed at Hyderabad. In the airport terminal, we cleared security again (DigiYatra line) and went down by lift (near Boarding gate) to the Airport Lounge downstairs. Using our respective credit cards, we took meal in the lounge.

At 1.25 pm, the Flight departed from Hyderabad.

At 2.55 pm, the Flight landed at Madurai airport. Two pre-booked Innova Crysta cabs were waiting for we 5 persons (One Innova had picked Sanjay Mittal, Ajay Mittal and Kanupriya in the morning at about 9 am after they landed from Bangalore, and taken them to Rameshwaram).

At 3.10 pm, we 5 persons started from Madurai airport in the two Innovas, to go to Rameshwaram which is about 3 hours journey from Madurai.

At 6 pm, we crossed Pamban bridge. We got down and took pics on the bridge. The wind on the bridge was high. It was feeling very pleasant. There was continuous traffic jam on the bridge as the bridge is quite narrow and there are only two lanes : one for coming vehicles and the other for the ongoing vehicles.

At 6.30 on, we resumed our journey. At 6.39 pm, we passed by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam memorial centre.

At 6.45 pm, we reached our Hotel The Residency Towers, Rameshwaram. We checked in at the hotel. My room was 325 (Ajay ji’s 323). We went to our rooms, changed clothes and quickly got down to go to the Rameshwaram temple to have darshan, as the temple entry was going to be closed soon by 8 pm.

At 7:15 p.m., we met Sanjay Mittal in the lobby and we 8 persons (Ajay mittal and kanupriya rested in the hotel as they had already done darshan in the afternoon) started in two innova for the Rameshwaram temple Darshan. Temple was very close by and was hardly 7-8 min by car, but there was heavy traffic jam on the way probably because today was national holiday on account of Republic Day. Temple was just about 1.2 km from the hotel but it took us 30 minutes to reach there !

The driver dropped us at a barricade near the temple from where we walked about 300 mtr to reach the Eastern Gate Tower (called Gate tower is locally called ‘Gopuram) of the Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameshwaram. 

Rameswaram means "Lord of Rama" (Rāma-īśvaram) in Sanskrit, an epithet of Shiva, the presiding deity of the Ramanathaswamy Temple. According to Hindu epic Ramayana, Rama (who is considered the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, prayed to Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-king Ravana in Sri Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from her abductor Ravana. According to the Puranas (Hindu scriptures), upon the advice of sages, Rama, along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshman installed and worshipped the lingam (an iconic symbol of Shiva) here to expiate the sin of Brahm hatya  incurred while killing of the  Ravana who was a Brahmin. To worship Shiva, Rama wanted to have a lingam and directed his trusted lieutenant Hanuman to bring it from Himalayas. Since it took longer to bring the lingam, Sita built a lingam made of sand from the nearby seashore, which is also believed to be the one in the sanctum of the temple. 

The temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines, where Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlinga, meaning "pillar of light”. The temple in its current structure was built during the 12th century by Pandya Dynasty. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. The primary deity of the temple is Ramanathaswamy (Shiva) in the form of lingam. There are two lingams inside the sanctum - According to tradition, one built by Rama from sand, residing as the main deity, called the Ramalingam, and the one brought by Hanuman from Kailash parvat, called the Vishvalingam. Rama is said to have instructed that the Vishvalingam be worshipped first since it was brought by Hanuman - the tradition continues even today.

Rameswaram is significant for many Hindus as a pilgrimage to Varanasi is considered to be incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. The town along with the Ramanathaswamy temple is one of the holiest Hindu Char Dham (four divine sites) sites comprising Badrinath Temple at Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Temple at Puri in the East, Dwarkadheesh Temple at Dwarka in the West and Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram in the South. The temple has four gates called “Gopurams” : East, West, North, and South. The main entrance is through the East gate. 

We met Mr. James, the temple liason officer (police) at the Eastern Gate of the temple. (I had already lined up with him, courtesy my friend A.P. Bharat Kumar, a resident of Madurai who had arranged VIP darshan through his Govt. lawyer friend).

Mr. James took us inside the temple. We took out our slippers and he helped in keeping these safely near the entrance of the Gate.

We first had the darshan of the 16 feet Hanuman Murti and then of the shivling which is believed to have been brought here by Hanuman ji from the Kailash Parvat. Thereafter, we had darshan of the main Shivling / deity of Rameshwaram temple.

There were two queues for darshan :  one queue of Rs. 100/- ticket and other queue of Rs 200/- ticket.

James put us in the queue of Rs. 200 and then quickly took us near to the starting of the queue near the main shivling / deity. We all gave same money to the Pandit standing in the front who allowed us good Darshan of the main shivling. Notably, the shivling can be seen only from a distance (of about 20 ft) which is installed in a room (Garbh Grah) having no lighting and the room is illuminated only by the light of the diyas ( as is common in all South India temples) and the room is quite dark.

Thereafter, we did darshan of the Maa Parvati idol within the same temple complex. It had amazing grandeur.

Then we roamed around within the temple complex and reached the point which was the centre of the temple complex where all four corridors of Rameshwaram temple were meeting. We clicked pictures here from our mobile. One can carry mobile inside the temple complex and take pictures in corridors but you can not take pictures of the deities. 

There are peculiar colourful drawings /paintings / murals done throughout the temple, particularly on the walls and on the ceiling of the corridors.

We then did darshan of small mandaps of Nandi, Ram Darbar and Shiva in Tandav style. The walls, ceiling and doors of this mandir /room of Shiva in Tandav style are decorated with strings of Rudraksha totalling 1 lakh Rudraksh ! The young priest there told that this used to be the place for getting rid of kal sarp dosh in olden times.

At 9:00 p.m., we came out of the Eastern Gate of the temple and walked to the Agni Teertham about 300 mtr away. It is infact like a beach. Here people take bath before darshan in the temple. It suddenly started drizzling. So we immediately rushed towards the cabs parked near to the barricades and boarded the cabs around 9:25 p.m. and reached hotel around 9:35 p.m.

We 8 persons straight went to the restaurant of the hotel where we met Ajay Mittal and Kanupriya. We all 10 persons took dinner, gossiped and returned to our rooms about 10:45 p.m. and went to sleep as we had to wake up early next morning for the darshan.

27.1.2024 Saturday

We got up at 3:30 a.m in early morning, took bath, got ready (I wore track lower and dry-fit Tshirt, while others wore kurta pyjama. All kept one set of clean clothes each for changing after bath in the temple) and assembled in the lobby of the hotel at 4:30 am.  At 4.45 a.m., our cabs came and we departed for the Rameshwaram Mandir.

The cabs dropped us at the Agni Tirtham beach located in the sea nearby to the Eastern Gate of Rameshwaram Temple. It was early morning dark there. Few lights were there. We stood in the water waves to wet our feet. We also sprinkled some water from the sea on ourselves. Water was very salty. (I found this to be a dirty beach, with dung, filth littered around. I wonder why people can not keep beaches clean !)

It is generally believed that before the darshan of the main deity, one must take bath in the Agni Teertham, then take bath in the 22 kund inside temple complex and thereafter only the darshan of the main deity is considered complete and successful. But there is one issue. For the Mani darshan which opens only between 5 am to 6 am in the whole day, one’s clothes must not be wet. So, we did not take complete dip in the Agni teertham and only sprinkled some water on ourselves.

After sprinkling water on ourselves at Agni teertham beach, we all walked towards the Eastern gate Tower of the temple which was about 250 mtr away. We reached there at 5:15 a.m and waited for James to come to get us the entry for VIP darshan.

(By way of precaution, we had also booked online the special Darshan tickets costing Rs. 200/- per person but in fact it was not needed as James was taking care of our entry and expedited darshan. We later noticed that there was a counter inside also where one could buy physical tickets also !)

James came at 5:30 a.m. and took we all 10 persons inside. He got our slippers kept at one place inside near the Eastern Gate.

We first did darshan of 16 ft Hanuman murti and then of the shivling which was brought by Hanuman ji from Kailash parvat. (2nd such shivling is inside in a room near the main shivling/deity)

The Mani Darshan is only between 5 to 6 a.m. The requirement for Mani darshan is that one should first Sprinkle water on himself at Agni Tirtham and thereafter do Mani Darshan. Thereafter, one has to do 22 kund snan and thereafter only the darshan or rudrabhishek of the main deity.

We gave Rs. 2000 to James for Mani Darshan (i.e. Rs. 200 per person) which he told was the official fees. He got us entry into the queue of Mani Darshan and at 1 or 2 points he bypassed the queue to get us in the queue ahead of others. There was huge rush for Mani Darshan. We did Mani Darshan at about 5:30 a.m.

Mani darshan is the darshan of a shivling made of sphatik (quartz crystal). It is considered auspicious. The sphatik shivling (called Mani shivling) is placed at the place of the main deity / shivling everyday between 5 am to 6 am (during this time, the main deity / shivling is covered or removed or being prepared for darahan ?).

All this while we were carrying our fresh clothes and undergarments in carry bag/ sling bag. James then got our bags placed at one place under the supervision of a temple staff / police personnel near the South Gate Tower. ( He also helped me in using washroom of a nearby lodge) We put our mobiles in the bags, and kept the cash in waterproof plastic pouches in our pockets. 

Then James took us for snan (bath) in 22 Kunds, also called 22 Tirthas or 22 teerthams. (We gave Rs. 2000 in total to him for kund snan, that is Rs 200 per person, against which he arranged two priests / staff exclusively for us to pour water over us at each kund).

These are 22 wells (Kuan / kunds) within the temple complex. Each is numbered serially from 1 to 22 and each well has a name. All these wells are located near to each other. There are queues of people at each well. Bathing in each well has its own significance and cures you of specific sins, ills and problems. These wells are named as : 

1. 1. Mahalaxmi Teertham
2. 2. Savithri Teetham, 3. Gayathri Teertham and 4. Saraswathi Teertham
3. 5. Sethu Madhava Teertham
4. 6. Gandhamadana Teertham
5. 7. Kavatcha Teertham and 8. Gavaya Teertham
6. 9. Nala Teertham and 10. Neela Teertham
7. 11. Sangu Teertham and 12. Chakra Teertham
8. 13. Brahmahathi Vimochana Teertham
9. 14. Surya Teertham and 15. Chandra Teertham
10. 16. Ganga Teertham, 17. Yamuna Teertham and 18. Gaya Teertham
11. 19. Siva Teertham and 20. Satyamirtha Teertham
12. 21. Sarva Teertham
13. 22. Kodi Teertham

James talked to and deputed 2 staffs for our snan at each well ( name of one was Mr. Paandi). They took us to each well one by one. There were 3-4 temple staff at each well taking out water from the well using a bucket and pouring it on people assembled at the wells.

These two stuff deputed by James for us sprinkled water on all of us couple wise at each well. At 3 or 4 Wells the space was very congested and there was not much space for standing and pouring water. So these staff brought water in buckets from these Wells and sprinkled on us in open space /veranda.

In this manner we completed 22 Kund snan.

Thereafter we had to change our clothes to fresh one for the pooja /Darshan. So, we collected our bags and went to the clothes changing spot which was nearby. Its a place in the open, covered on 2 sides, with no washroom or bathing facility. We changed clothes here (separate space for ladies). I wore kurta pyjama. Others wore south Indian dhoti and kurta. We then went to East gate and James helped in keeping our bags there at one place here.

One can carry mobile inside but have to keep in pocket. If they see someone clicking picture of deities, then they can confiscate the mobile, though generally they are very liberal and flexible and do not resort to such step. In the open areas, verandas (i.e. away from deities) etc, one can click pictures.

Then we gave Rs.6000 to him for Rudrabhishek @ Rs.3000 per person / Group (see official rates of different types of pooja here). 

He took us to the small verandah/compound near main deity gate. We all sat around a small hawan kund / platform on which pooja is done (public was moving in queue in enclosures around this verandah). A pandit came (arranged by James) and performed pooja couple wise one by one. James arranged 2 flower thali (having 10 garlands) and 2 pooja thali (we gave 1200 for this to James). Mittal grp took one and we 4 took another. There were also 2 big kalash of water arranged by James. We two groups took one each. Pandit put coconut on each kalash (from the thali). Pandit asked each couple to garland each other !

It (rudrabhishek puja) was a small pooja : pandit asked gotra, name, wife name, children name and asked each couple to recite the prayer / mantra after him. Then we mixed the jal brought by some of us from Gangotri, kedarnath etc in 5 small lota (bought by Mittal outside in morning). Each couple kept one lota. We gave dakshina of total Rs. 1100? to the pandit as asked for by him for the whole grp of 10. 

James then put us in the staff entry gate near main deity darshan.

Once we reached in front of the main deity (mani shilving was removed by this time and main deity /shivling had been decorated and opened for darshan, at the same place where we did mani darshan), the priest there took all water lota from us and poured its water into a bucket and then went inside to the main deity /shivling and poured this water over it from this bucket. He also massaged the deity with the oil and other things from our thali like bhasam etc and again poured water on the deity. Then he came out and gave prashad from our thali to us (2 small banana, mashed banana prashad). The priest applied bhasm on our forehead and also gave some bhasm in our palm and we then moved towards the exit.

As we came out of main deity mandapam, we did darshan of Lord Vishnu in shyan pose (we were told that there are only 2 such idols : one here and one in Pashupatinath temple in Nepal). Generally, Vishnu ji is seen in relaxing mudra. 

[In the compound in which we were sitting for puja, was the small temple of shivling (called Vishwa ...... shivling) It is believed to be the 2nd shivling which was brought by Hanuman ji from kailash parvat. In this compound, there was also installed in one corner the idol of Shiv Durga.]

We then did darshan of maa Parvati in the temple / mandapam dedicated to her.

Thereafter, at about 9 am, we came out of the temple complex through South gate and walked to the East Gate very nearby, picked our chappals and bags from here. We gave Rs 1100 to James voluntarily. He was happy.

We came out of East Gate.

There was a shop of items like shankh (conch shell), maala, shivling etc just opp East gate. Monica di purchased 2 dakshinvrati shankh for total 3000/- (he was asking for 1900/- per shankh but we bargained !). We also bought 2 whistling shankh for 2500 (he was asking 1800 for each). Mittal grp left for hotel by auto during this time.

We walked from East Gate towards North Gate and on to the barricade point where cab dropped us yesterday. Took an Auto from here (150/-) and reached hotel in 15 min at about 9.45 am. We went straight to the dining room where Mittal etc were taking breakfast. We also took breakfast while gossiping at the dining table. Ajay Mittal and his wife cut cake in the dining room as it was their 29^th Wedding Anniversary !

At about 10.45 am, we retired to our rooms to take rest. It had become so hot outside (about 38 degree), so there was no point in going outside at this hour. So we decided to better take rest and go out in the evening after lunch.

At 3.15 pm, we all started from the hotel in 3 cabs for Dhanushkodi, which was 20 km away. There was Traffic jam on the way.

At 3.55 pm, we passed by Dhanushkodi old town. Legend is that a cyclone destroyed this town. There used to be a railway station and other buildings. Now there are remains only.

About 5 km further down is Arichal Munai i.e last point of Dhanushkodi. Circular point.
This is the farthest point of India in the South. The mythological Ramsetu (also referred to as ‘Adams bridge’) start from here. The much talked about Sethusamundram project starts from here.

There was maddening incredible rush and traffic jam up starting about 2 km before the last point. It seemed as if the whole town had come to this place today. The narrow strip of land jutting into the sea was lined up with parked vehicles on both sides. So, our driver parked the car and we 4 walked to the last point. It is a roundabout with an Ashok emblem pillar erected there. It was such a beautiful scene. The Bay of Bengal is on one side and Indian ocean is on the other side of this narrow strip of land. People were rejoicing. Though it was sunny day but we were not feeling the heat as the wind was blowing in its full vigour. From here, in distant sea, we could see small patches / strips of land which are believed to be the part of the now submerged Ramsetu !

Then walked back about 200 mtr and got down to the beach. We spent about an hour there and clicked pics.

At 5 pm, we started from Arichal munai (referred to as Dhanushkodi).

On our way back, at 5.15 pm, we reached Kothandaramaswamy temple (commonly referred to as Vibhishan temple). This place was surrounded with sea / marshy land. We did darshan in the temple. There was not much crowd here. Once out, we savoured coconut water here. Nearby, a team of 2-3 local persons having a big piece of mythological floating rock (believed to have been used in making of Ramsetu by Lord Ram’s vanar sena) and were touching the rock on the head of the queued up people and charging Rs.20/- per person. We also experienced it. Those persons also put the said rock in a tub of water to show that it was indeed floating rock. We were quite surprised to see that the rock did not drown in the water !

At 6.10 pm, we started from the Vibhishan temple.

On way back to Hotel, at 6.30 pm, we reached Panchmukhi Hanuman temple (which was 10 min from our hotel) and had darshan of the huge idol of Hanuman ji. 

We then walked to the adjacent Lakshman Teertham adjacent thereto. The  uniqueness I noticed here was that the Shivling here had Sheshnag over it !  (sheshnag is associated with Lord Vishnu).

At 7 pm, we started and reached our hotel at 7.10 pm.

At 7.30 pm, we got down to the dining room for dinner. Today, we all opted for Buffet dinner. After dinner, we all sat and gossiped by the poolside.

At 10 pm, we retired to our rooms.

28.1.2024 Sunday   Rameshwaram to Madurai

Today, we will be going to Madurai after leaving Rameshwaram.

At 5.30 am, we got up. At 6.15 am, I see off 6 members of our group going to Dhanushkodi and Vibhishan mandir (as they did not go there yesterday).

We got ready and at 7.45 am, we 4 started from our Hotel The Residency Towers, Rameshwaram in our Innova crysta cab to visit other places.

At 7.55 am, we reached Ram Padam temple (or Ramar Patham or Gandhamadhana Parvayham). The temple had barely opened being early morning and infact it was being broomed ! We were the first one to reach there, later 8-10 people trickled in. We had the darshan and took pics there at the parapet overlooking the nearby areas. It is one of the highest point of Rameshwaram. This is a small hillock which has got the divine feet of lord Rama. It is also said that Hanuman crossed the sea from here to go to SriLanka in search of Sita. He used this hillock to jump to Lanka as this was the highest point in Rameswaram in the olden days.

At 8.25 am, we reached West gate of Rameshwaram temple to click pictures in daylight.

At 8.40 am, we returned to our Hotel and had breakfast in the dining room. The other members of our group had also returned by this time. We then got ready and checked out from the Hotel.

At 10.20 am, we all started from our Hotel in 3 innova crysta cabs to go to Madurai. At 10.35 am, we reached Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam National Memorial on way to Madurai. It had just opened when we reached there. We all visited the same from inside and saw various things, photographs and facets pertaining to the life of former President of India Dr. APJ Kalam. It is a mausoleum in memory of APJ Abdul Kalam (1931–2015), the 11^th President of India (2002-2007), located in his home town, Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu. The memorial was designed and constructed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) as a tribute to Kalam and to display the cultural heritage and ethnic of India. It was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister  of India in July 2017. (Incidentally, I have the privilege of meeting Dr. Kalam at his residence in 2012 with my family !)

At 10.55 am, we started from APJ Abdul Kalam National Memorial. 

At 11.05 am, we reached Villondi Teertham. It is a holy well (kuan) inside the sea. Surprisingly, the water of this well is sweat while the water of sea all around is salty !
Legend has it that this was created by lord Rama when he shot an arrow to get fresh water from the sea to quench his wife Sita’s thirst. Located about 7 km from the Ramanathaswamy Temple, this place offers some stunningly beautiful and dramatic views of the sea. The place is named Villondi or 'buried bow' as it is believed to be the place where Lord Rama buried his bow and arrow. 

We walked through a long platform (about 100 mtr) in the sea to reach the holy well, with the sea on both sides and sea breeze blowing. There was a baba named Thangharajan at this well, who was taking out water from the well using bucket and pully and serving to the visitors. He told he was born in 1948. But he was looking very fit ! We also sipped the water pulled out by him from the well.  The water in the well is quite mysteriously sweet in spite of being surrounded by salt sea water all around and devotees believe it will do them good if they take a sip of this holy water. There is a small temple like structure on the mainland just at the start of the platform. The sight is quite fascinating.

At 11.20 am, we started from Villondi and drove towards Madurai.

At 2.20 pm, we reached Madurai and stopped at Hotel Sree Sabrees, Madurai for lunch. The hotel served South Indian style thaali on Banana leaves, and we ate using fingers (without spoon !). After taking lunch there, at 3.15 pm, we started and reached our Hotel at 3.30 pm i.e. Hotel Courtyard by Marriott, Madurai. We checked into the hotel and took rest in our rooms.

At 4.15 am, my friend Bharat bhai came from Rajpalayam with his associate Kaleeswar @ Kali. I was meeting him after our Canada trip of June 2018. We gossiped with him.

At 4.35 pm, we started from Hotel. Bharat bhai went back to Rajpalayam (his home) leaving Kali with us, who will accompany us for VIP darshan in Madurai temple. It was so nice of Bharat bhai to come down from Rajpalayam, after 1 ½ hour journey, only to meet me ! 

We reached Meenakshi temple, Madurai which was just 10 min away from the Hotel. The cabs dripped us at the back of the temple, near underground parking. We left our shoes / slippers in the cab and walked barefoot to the temple, which was about 15 min walk from there. We reached the East (?) Gate of the Temple. Kali spoke to the security staff there, who then allowed us to enter from this Gate. We hired a registered guide who was standing there near the Gate. He took us around in the temple and explained about various idols, drawings, figures, sculptures, etc. At one point, there was heavy security, beyond which only those with valid pass or VIP access could go. Kali got us through that checkpoint in the temple. I noticed that there was more strictness here as compared to the Rameshwaram temple. The mobiles were strictly not allowed (we all had left our mobiles in our cabs). 

This temple is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Shakti (Parvati), and her consort, Sundareshwarar, a form of Shiva. It is called Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple. The goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple, unlike most Shiva temples in South India where Shiva is the principal deity. According to a legend, King Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed a Yajna seeking a son for succession. Instead, a daughter was born out of the fire who was already 3 years old and had three breasts. Shiva intervened and said that the parents should treat her like a son, and when she meets her husband, she will lose the third breast. They followed the advice. The girl grew up, the king crowned her as the successor and when she met Shiva, his words came true, she took her true form of Meenakshi. The marriage of Meenakshi and Shiva was a grand event, with all gods, goddesses and living beings gathered. Vishnu is believed to be the brother of Meenakshi, giving her away to Shiva at the wedding.

The complex has numerous shrines and mandapas, of which the most important and largest are the two parallel shrines in the innermost courtyard, one for Meenakshi and the other for Sundareshvara. The goddess shrine has the green stone image of Meenakshi, standing in bent-leg posture. Her raised hand holds a lotus, on which sits a green parrot. Her left hand hangs by her side. This image is set in a square garbha griya (central sanctum). A copy of this image has been made from metal and is kept in the temple complex. The metal version is used for a festive procession.  The Sundareswarar shrine has a stone linga in its square plan sanctum, and this anicon is shaded under a stone cobra hood. In the northeast corner is another stone image of his consort. None of these travel during a festive procession. There is another metal symbolic image of Shiva called the Cokkar, which is merely a pair of embossed feet on a metal stool. This symbol is kept near Sundareswarar sanctum all day, then carried in a palaki daily to Meenakshi's chamber every evening so that the two can symbolically spend the night together. In the morning, the temple volunteers wake the divine couple and the symbolic Cokkar image is carried back to the Sundareswarar sanctum.

Typically, Meenakshi is visited before Sundareswarar by the pilgrims, she considered the primary deity of the complex. 

The outer walls of the temple have four towering gateways called ‘Gopurams’, allowing devotees and pilgrims to enter the complex from all four directions. The temple has 14 gopurams, the tallest of which is the southern tower. The temple complex has many mandapas (pillared-halls) built by kings and wealthy patrons over the centuries.

 

We had very good darshan of the Meenakshi shrine and Sundareswar shrine, courtesy Kali. The temple priest gave us bhaboot (ash). We offered small petals made of silver on the diety. 

At about 7 pm, we came out of the temple, and walked to the parking. We went to Thirumalai Nayakar Palace where there is Light and Sound show in the evening. But we were disappointed to find that it was under repairs and hence closed for the public. 

We then savoured the famous cold beverage Jigar thanda (melted flooda icecream type) at an outlet in the market and bought some local packed snacks and returned to our hotel around 8 pm. 

Mr. Madhavan, advocate (APP for Tamilnadu Govt in Madurai Bench of High Court) came to meet me in the Hotel. He is the friend of Bharat bhai and was instrumental in arranging for our VIP darshan in Rameshwaram and Madurai. We gossiped in the lobby for about 45 minutes. Then, he left. He lives nearby. 

We 5-6 members of our group assembled in my room (while others went to sleep). We did not have dinner as all had late lunch today. We ordered pizza in our room from zomato and gossiped. At 11 pm, went to sleep.

29.1.2024 Monday (Return from Madurai to Delhi)

We all got ready. 

At 7.20 am, we all 8 members started from the Hotel and reached Madurai Airport at 7.45 am. We checked into the airport (we 4 got seats 12 CDEF (emergency exit row). At 9.10 am, the Indigo flight took off from Madurai airport (Ajay Mittal and his wife took flight to Bangalore).

At 12.10 pm, the flight landed at Delhi airport T2. Ajay ji’s driver picked four of us and at
1.50 pm, we returned home.

Total expenses of trip : 1.08L for 2 persons :
51950 Air tickets Del Madurai Delhi
56000 to Sanjay Mittal
(Rameshwaram hotel 2N : 24740
Madurai Hotel 1N: 11800
Common exp incl Taxi : 19410
(15k for 1 taxi for 3 days, 2k per taxi on 29/1 for airport drop)