Jammu

Raghunath mandir

After enchanting srinagar we proceeded to Jammu, reached by midnight 12 retired in hotel room . morning visited Raghunath mandir, ranbireshwar mandir, Lakshminarayan mandir. raghunah mandir complex houses a number of temples in it's vicinity. the  temple was built by maharaja Gulab Singh.The presiding deity is Lord Rama. the crystal shivalinga in Raghunath mandir complex is said to be one for kal sarpa yoga rituals. when milk is poured on the lingam half moon can be seen inside the linga.
after breakfast we left to Amritsar by 10 in the morning, on the way we visited wagah border.
this is the only road border between India and Pakistan, lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Lahore and Amritsar. every evening there is a retreat ceremony called lowering of flags being held from the year 1959. At that time there is a parade by B.S.F. (Border Security Force),men of India and Pakistani soldiers. troops of each country in their uniform with colourful turban put on a show. the procession is marked with loud shouts of Patriotism full of energy. As the soldiers of both sides reach the gate, it is open. Flags of both countries flying high will be lowered with full respect and brought back. they salute eachother and start the flag lowering. the flags are carefully folded and the gates are closed . A loud trumpet sound marks the end of ceremony and soldiers are back with respective flags.

Durgiana temple

Golden temple

Sita mandir

we with high spirits of patriotism hindi movie songs left to Amritsar, reached by 8.30 pm. hurriedly after refreshing ourselves visited Durgiana temple complex which also houses temples of Sita mata and Hanuman.
the temple is beautiful and located near the Lohgarh gate.. later we visited Golden temple, surrounded by large lake or temple lake known as sarovar which consists of amrit (nectar). there are four enterances to the temple. inside there are many shrines of Sikh gurus and saints. after the tiresome journey returned to hotel for overnight stay. next day morning by 7.00 am we left to Kurukshetra reached there by 3.00pm.

Bhishma kund

Bhishma in bed of arrows

Jyotisar

Kurukshetra is a land of religious and historical importance. it is also known as Dharmakshetra. the imporatance of this place is attributed to the great Kurukshetra war of mahabharatha period. Bhagavadgita upadesham or Gitopadesham as called was preached to Arjuna by Lord Krishna on this land during might war in the dwapara yuga.

Brahma Sarovar

Krishna museum campus

Sannihit Sarovar

the Staneshwar Mahadev temple whose presiding deity is Lord Shiva is believed to be the oldest temple in the vicinity. a few kilometres from Kurukshetra is a village known as Amin, where the remnants of Abhimanyu fort are seen. the land is also known as Uttarvedi, Brahmavedi, Dharmakshetra and Kurukhetra during different periods. places of interest are brahma sarovar, sannihit sarovar, jyotisar (famoussite where Gitopadesham was preached to Arjuna by Lord Krishna), Krishna museum, Bhishma kund, (place where Arjuna shot arrow to the ground to get water to quench Bhishma's thirst)
after recalling mahabharata memories we forwarded our journey to New Delhi which was the last destination of this Pilgrimage.

Birla mandir

Qutbminar

India Gate

redfort

redfort ent

Lotus temple

Places of interest in New Delhi are many. To name few are Rashtrapathi bhavan, Mughal gardens, Parliament house, India Gate, Rajpath, Teen murti bavan, Lodhi gardens, Jantar Mantar.
we leisurely visited Birla mandir, RajGhat, Redfort, QutbMinar, Lotus temple

srinagar

our group

floating market

Left to Srinagar by 7 am from Katra, had breakfast at Om Bhojanalaya, vaishnoo dhaba means vegetarian dhaba. Parota was awesome. We had a small break to view the first valley of Kashmir named as TITANIC view point. 

Passed through Jawahar tunnel. Length of the tunnel is about 2.5 kms situated between Banihal and Qazigund which facilitates road connectivity to Kashmir throughout the year.  The tunnel was renovated by the Border Roads Organization under the project BEACON in 1960. It was first meant for 150 vehicles per day; the number is now 7000. After renovations, the tunnel now has a two-way ventilation system, pollution & temperature sensors, and a world-class lighting system.

It is guarded by military round the clock, photography or videography inside or nearby the tunnel is strictly prohibited. Once the vehicle enters the tunnel, it has to maintain the same speed throughout the tunnel. CCTVs are installed in the tunnel for continuous monitoring. Reached Srinagar by 5.30pm checked into houseboat named ATHENS, after refreshing tea we left for Shikara ride in Dal Lake. Shopping was awesome in the floating markets at Dal lake, purchased dry fruits, saffron, Kehwa powder etc.

Srinagar

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu Kashmir sprawls on both sides of river Jhelum. Srinagar was the summer resorts of mughal rulers, who built marvelous gardens with fountains, waterways, mosques etc.

Places of interesting are Dal lake, the largest lake of the city is indeed focal point of Srinagar. It is divided into four parts namely Gagribal, Lokutdal, Boddal and Nagin. Both Lokutdal and Boddal have island in the center called charchinar and sonalank. Naginlake is at the foot of zabarwan mountain, is the smallest and most beautiful part of Dal lake. One can also enjoy Shikara rides, houseboat stay, swimming skiing at dal.

 A shikara can seat about six people and have heavily cushioned seats and backrests to provide comfort in Mughul style. All houseboat owners provide shikara transport to their house guests free of charge. The shikara is also used to provide for other sightseeing locations in the valley, notably a cruise along the Jhelum River, offering scenic views of the Pir Panjal Mountains and passing through the famous seven bridges and the backwaters enroute.

Hazratbal Shrine

The white marble mosque on north-west side of Dal Lake has hazratbal mosque, enshrines a holy hair of Prophet Mohammed and is regarded as holiest mosque of Kashmir.

Chashma shahi gardens

Chashma Shahi ("Royal Spring") one of the smaller Kashmiri gardens around Dal Lake, is found on the southeastern side of the lake. 

Pari Mahal

Once the royal observatory, Pari Mahal has a charmingly laid out garden and is a five-minute drive from Cheshmashahi. Situated on the spur of a mountain overlooking the Dal, the ancient monument, with a well-laid spacious garden in front, is connected to Cheshmashahi by road. It is illuminated at night.

Nishat bagh

Also called the 'Garden of Pleasure', located on the bank of the Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Mountains as its backdrop, Nishat Bagh is a garden of bliss that commands a magnificent view of the lake beneath the snow capped Pir Panjal mountain range that stands far away to the west of the valley. The Bagh was designed and built by Asif Khan, elder brother of Noor Jehan.

Shankara charya temple

shikara ride

sunset in Dal lake

Athens house boat

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nishat bagh

first valley of kashmir

shankaracharya temple

The Shankracharya Mandir is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is thought to be the oldest shrine in the Kashmir valley. The Shankara temple was originally built by King Sandhiman of the Gonanda dynasty of Kashmir. Photography and videography is not allowed.

Trip to vaishnodevi, Jammu & Kashmir, Amritsar, Kurukshetra and New Delhi

VAISHNODEVI
We started vaishnodevi trek by 9.30 am and reached Bhawan around 2.30pm. had good darshan of mata rani. left downwards by 7.00pm and reached Katra by 10.30pm. there are dolis, horses and helicopter services from Katra to Vaishnodevi.

The temple is near the town of Katra in the state of jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the sacred places of worship in India. The shrine is at an altitude of 5200 feet and a distance of approximately 14 kilometres from katra. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board maintains the shrine. The nearest airport is Jammu Airport. All leading domestic airlines have their services to Jammu Airport.

According to mythology Maa Vaishno Devi was born in the south of India  in the home of Ratnakar Sagar. Her worldly parents had remained childless for a long time. Ratnakar had promised, the night before the birth of the Divine child, that he would not interfere with whatever his child desired. Ma Vaishno Devi was called Trikuta as a child. Later She was called Vaishnavi because of Her taking birth from Lord Vishnu's lineage. When Trikuta was 9 years old, She sought her father's permission for doing penance on the seashore. Trikuta prayed to Lord Vishnu in the form of Rama. During Shree Rama's search for Sita, He reached the seashore along with His army. His eyes fell on this Divine Girl in deep meditation. Trikuta told Shree Rama that She had accepted Him as Her husband. Shree Rama told Her that during this incarnation he had vowed to be ekapatnivratastha. In the meantime Shree Rama asked Trikuta to meditate in the cave found in the Trikuta Range of Manik Mountains, situated in Northern India. Lord Ram gave her a bow and arrows, army of monkeys and a lion for her protection. Lord Rama also said Trikuta would become famous as Vaishno Devi and would become immortal forever.

With the passage of time many more stories about the Mother Goddess emerged. One such story is about Sridhar.

Sridhar was an ardent devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi. He resided in a village called Hansali. Once Ma appeared to him in the form of a young bewitching girl. The young girl asked the humble Pandit to hold a 'Bhandara'. (A feast to feed the mendicants and devotees) The Pandit set out to invite people from the village and near-by places. He also invited 'Bhairav Nath' a selfish tantrik. Bhairav Nath asked Sridhar how he was planning to fulfil the requirements. He reminded him of the bad consequences in case of failure. As Panditji was lost in worry, the Divine girl appeared and told Him not to be worried as everything had been arranged. She asked that over 360 devotees be seated in the small hut. True to Her word the Bhandara went smoothly with food and place to spare. Bhairav Nath admitted that the girl had supernatural powers and decided to test Her further. He followed the Divine girl to Trikuta Hills. For 9 months Bhairav Nath was searching for the mystic girl in the mountains, whom he believed was an incarnation of the Mother Goddess. While running away from Bhairav, Devi shot an arrow into the Earth from which water gushed outand formed river known as Baanganga. It is believed that by taking a bath in Baanganga (Baan: Arrow), a believer of the Mother Goddess can wash away all his sins. The banks of the river, known as Charan Paduka, are marked by Devi's foot imprints, which remains intact till date. Vaishno Devi then took shelter in a cave known as Garbh Joon near Adhkawari where she meditated for 9 months attaining spiritual wisdom and powers. Her meditation was cut short when Bhairav located her. Vaishno Devi was then compelled to take the form of Maha Kali when Bhairav tried to kill her. The manifestation of the Mother Goddess took place at the mouth of the Holy cave at Darbar. The Goddess then beheaded Bhairav with such sheer force that his skull fell at a place known as Bhairav Ghati, 2.5 km from the Holy Cave.

In his dying moments, Bhairav pleaded for forgiveness. The Goddess knew that Bhairav's main intention in attacking her was to achieve salvation. She not only granted Bhairav liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, but also granted him a boon, whereby every devotee, in order to ensure completion of the pilgrimage, had to visit Bhairav Nath's temple near the Holy cave after the darshan of the Goddess. Meanwhile Vaishno Devi assumed the shape of a rock with three pindis (heads) and immersed herself into meditation forever.

Meanwhile, Pandit Sridhar became impatient. He started to march towards Trikuta Mountain on the same path that he had witnessed in a dream. He ultimately reached the cave mouth. He made a daily routine of worshipping the 'Pindis' in several ways. His worship pleased the Goddess. She appeared in front of him and blessed him. Since that day, Sridhar and his descendants have been worshipping the Goddess Mother Vaishno Devi. it is believed that no one goes empty handed fro the pilgrimage of mata vaishnodevi.