The Abode Of Lord Vishnu And Lord Shiva: Haridwar

The above picturesque river is located in the holy city of haridwar.

This city can also be spelled as Hardwar which is an ancient city and is located in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. This city is also called as gangadwara because the river Ganga after flowing for about 250 km from gaumukh from gangoti glaciers enters for the first time in haridwar.

Ancient legends says that during the event of ‘Samudra Manthan’,the elixir of immortality was accidently spilled by celestial bird ‘garuda’ on the city of haridwar along with Ujjain, nashik and Allahabad.

This is manifested as the Kumbha Mela. This mela is celebrated every 12 years in Haridwar. During Kumbh Mela, millions of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists gather in Haridwar to perform holy bathing on the banks of the river Ganges to wash away their sins to attain Moksha.

Brahma Kund is the spot where the Amrit fell.It is located at Har ki Pauri and is considered to be the most sacred and holy ghat of Haridwar.

Basically this holy town has two spellings: Hardwar and Haridwar.

Considering the first spelling – hara means lord shiva and dwara means gate, so hardwara means “Gateway to Lord Shiva”. This place is typically the start of a long journey to mount kailash,the home of lord Shiva. . Har ki Pauri or footsteps of Lord Shiva is considered the most sacred site in Hardwar.

The second spelling indicates- hari means lord Vishnu and dwara as I said earlier stands for gate together-haridwar means for “The Gateway to Lord Vishnu”. With a temple of Vishnu, Haridwar is a typical place to start a pilgrim’s journey.

There are several other temples and ashrams located in and around the city. Alcohol and non-vegetarian food is strictly prohibited in Haridwar.

Some Amazing Places To Look Out For:

 Chandi Devi Temple

This uniquely constructed temple is dedicated to Goddess Chandi, who sits atop the ‘Neel Parvat’ on the eastern bank of the river Ganges.

This temple was constructed in 1929 by the king of Kashmir-Suchat Singh. There is a legend associated with this very temple that, Chanda-Munda, the Army Chief of a local Demon Kings Shumbha and Nishumbha were killed by goddess Chandi here, due to which the place got its name Chandi Devi.

The main statue was established by the Adi Shankaracharya in 8th century A.D. This temple is a 3 km trek from Chandighat and can also be reached by a ropeway.

Mansa Devi Temple

This temple is situated at the top of Bilwa Parwat. The goddess of this temple Mansa Devi, literally meaning the Goddess who fulfills desires (Mansa), is a popular tourist destination, due to the cable cars, which offer a beautiful scenic view of the entire city.

The main temple contains two idols of the Goddess in which one with three mouths and five arms, while the other one has eight arms.

Kankhal

This ancient temple of Kankhal is also known as Daksheshwar Mahadev Temple. This temple is located is situated in the south Kankhal town.

Legends say that, King Daksha Prajapati who was the father of Dakshayani, Lord Shiva’s first wife, performed a yagya, to which he did not consider inviting Lord Shiva. When she arrived uninvited, he was further insulted by the king, seeing which

Sati felt infuriated and self-immolated herself in the yagna kund. Following the fate, King Daksha was later killed by the demon Virabhadra, born out of Shiva’s anger. Later the king was given a goat’s head by Shiva.

Daksha Mahadev temple is a tribute to this legend.

Sati Kundis is another famous mythological heritage which is worth a visit .Legends said that Sati immolated herself in this very kund.