Chaar Dham – The Four Sacred Hindu Pilgrimage Sites.

- Chaar Dham-The Four Sacred Hindu Pilgrimage Sites :-
    Chaar dham are the four most sacred and favorite destinations among all Hindu pilgrimages. According to Hindu mythology, if a person visits these four destinations once in his life time, his sins will be absolved and will attain salvation. The Chaar dham or the four sacred places are Puri in the East, Rameshwaram in the South, Dwarka in the West and Badrinath in the North.

- Badrinath :-
    Badrinath is located in Uttarkhand state of North India on the banks of the Alaknanda River between the Nar and Narayana mountains. Badrinath temple is also known as Badrinarayan temple and here, Lord Vishnu is known as Vishal Badri. The temple has a one meter tall statue of Lord Badrinarayan made up of black saligram stone. According to Hindus, this statue is considered as self-manifested, which is in meditative posture. Due to extreme weather conditions, every year Badrinath temple is closed for winter season in the third week of November and the statue of Lord Vishnu is moved to near by Jyotirmath. The temple opens again in the month of April or May. Major festivals of this temple are Mata Murti ka mela, Krishna Janamashtami and Badri-Kedar utsav. The common prasad offered to Lord Badrinath is hard sugar candy, tulsi and dry fruits. People born under sagitarius, Leo and Aries zodiac signs should visit this temple once in their life time.
    Around the temple, there are fifteen more idols of Nara & Narayana, Narasimha, Lakshmi, Narada, Ganesha, Uddhava, Kubera, Garuda and Navadurga among others.

- Dwarka :-
    Dwarka is one of the holy cities of Hindus and one among the chaar dhams. It is located in the West of Gujarat, India. Near Dwarka, the Gomti River merges into the Gulf of Kutch. The Dwarakadheesh temple is the major attraction of Dwarka. The temple is
dedicated to Lord Krishna, who is also called Dwarkadhish or King of Dwarka. The
temple has total 72 pillars and is also known as Jagat Mandir or Nija Mandir.
    It is believed that this temple was built by grandson of Lord Krishna. Swarga Dwar and Moksha Dwar are the two gateways of this temple, used for entering and exiting. From the temple, River Gomati can be viewed in all its glory. Everyday, temple flag is hoisted 5 times whose colour is changed from time to time but the symbol remains the same. The common prasadams which are offered to Lord Krishna in this temple are sugar candy, kheer, dry fruits, paan, fruits, and saffron sharbath.
    According to the type of Darshan and Sevas, Lord Dwaraknath’s attire is changed. Mangala, Shringar, Gval, Rajbhoj, Uthapan, Bhog, Sandhya Aarati, Shayan, Hindola are the various darshans of this temple. Temples of Lord Vasudeva, Devaki, Balarama and Revati, Subhadra, Rukmini Devi, Jambavati Devi and Satyabhama Devi are also present in Dwarka. Janmashtami (birthday of Lord Krishna) is the main festival of this temple. According to the Hindu calendar, it is celebrated on Ashtami of Bhadrapad month.

- Jagannath Puri :-
    Puri, the oldest city of eastern India is one of the holy cities of Hindus and one among the chaar dhams. The Jagannath Temple of Puri is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (Krishna) . This temple is a major pilgrimage destination of Hindus. It is said that the worshippers of Lord Krishna and LordVishnu should visit this temple once in their lifetime. Along with Lord Krishna, Goddess Radha’s idol also exists in this temple. It is the only temple in India where Goddess Radha is called Durga, Sati, Parvati and Shakti. Since ancient times, this temple has been famous for its annual chariot festival where, the three main temple deities Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra are hauled on huge and intricately decorated chariots. The construction work of the Chariots of this festival starts on Akshaya Tritiya every year. Devasnana Purnima or Snana yatra is one of the major festival of Lord Jagannath. Dolo Yatra and Jhula Yatra are the other festivals of this temple.

    The temple kitchen is the largest kitchen in India. Since ancient times, it has been believed that Goddess Mahalaxmi herself supervised the kitchen and if the food is not found conducive for offering then a dog appears near the temple kitchen. This is a major sign of displeasure of Goddess Mahalakshmi. Earthen pots are used for cooking with water drawn from Ganga and Jamuna wells. The prepared food is offered to Lord Jagannath and then the mahaprasad is distributed among devotees.

- Rameswaram :-
    Rameswaram town is situated in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Naidu state. It is one among the Chaar Dham. Rameshwaram temple is the famous temple of Lord Shiva and also is one among 12 Jyotirlingams of Lord Shiva. The temple is spread over an area of 15 acres. The pillar corridors of the temple are 4000 feet long and the pillars are the longest in the world. Total number of pillars in this temple are 4000. God Nandi of this temple is 18 feet tall and 22 feet in length. According to Tamil calendar, two annual Brahmotsavams are celebrated here in the month of Aadi and Maasi.