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Odisha Part 2 - Puri: The Experience of Jagannath

The temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the four most important temples across India. Sometimes called the Char Dham – Badrinath in the north, Rameswaram in the South, Dwarka in the west, and Puri in the east – these temples mark four corners of our country, and each of these temples has a connection to Adi Shankara. He is said to have travelled to each of them, thus marking a sacred geography of India, long before the country actually existed. Among these 4 temples, 3 are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, while only Rameswaram is dedicated to Lord Shiva, though the lingam there is said to have been installed by Rama. Further, Shankara set up Mutts at 3 of these sites (or very close to these sites, like at Badrinath, where the mutt is at Joshimutt), while the mutt in the south is at Sringeri in Karnataka, quite a distance away from Rameswaram. Coming back to the topic, I have visited Rameswaram most often, Badrinath during my childhood, and Dwaraka a few times, but Puri had stayed out of re...
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Vedic Rites to be performed during the Kashi Yatra

The purpose of a Kashi Yatra for most people is the performance of Vedic rites for their ancestors, and it was the same for us. My in-laws were performing all the rites, and we had nothing much to do. In fact, we weren’t allowed to accompany them to Gaya at all, as it is apparently considered inauspicious for those whose parents were alive to see the Akshaya Vatam and the Vishnu Padam. However, my curiosity about the rituals made me ask a number of questions which were thankfully answered in detail by two young people- the manager of the Kanchi Math at Kashi and the vadhyar or pundit who officiated at our rites. Both of them were extremely helpful, and it is entirely thanks to them that I have been able to write in such detail about Kashi as well as the surrounding places, even those we did not visit. At my request, I was given this list of the rites that are traditionally performed during a Kashi Yatra. I share this with all my readers in the hope that it may be of some use to them too. I have provided contact numbers of some people there who will be able to arrange everything for anyone who desires to perform these rituals. To read the full article, click here.
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  1. Sailin GudhkaJuly 28, 2008 at 10:51 AM

    Namaste
    Real good write up enjoyed every bit of it..........Keep writing & thanks once again for sharing. God Bless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SujataJuly 29, 2008 at 11:31 PM

    I saw your query on the HT electronic version today and was curios to find out more about you. This is a very interesting post. I enjoyed your writing style. Keep writing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. SujataJuly 29, 2008 at 11:36 PM

    I saw your query on the HT electronic version today and was curios to find out more about you. This is a very interesting post. I enjoyed your writing. Keep writing …..:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anuradha ShankarJuly 30, 2008 at 3:46 PM

    Thank you very much, Sai and Sujata....

    ReplyDelete

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