{"id":1169,"date":"2016-04-07T10:05:34","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T04:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/?p=1169"},"modified":"2016-04-07T10:05:34","modified_gmt":"2016-04-07T04:35:34","slug":"harsil-the-maha-prayag-at-bhagirathi-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/harsil-the-maha-prayag-at-bhagirathi-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Harsil and The Maha Prayag at Bhagirathi River"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harsil<\/strong> is a small sleepy village and important Cantonment of Indian Army situated at a height of 8300 ft. on main road to\u00a0Gangotri<\/strong>, 73 kms from Uttarkashi<\/strong>,\u00a0it was once on the old caravan route of India to Tibet most of the people are of Bhutia origin<\/strong>\u00a0and use Harsil as winter base, more importance is due to village Mukhwas<\/strong> where the statue of Goddess Ganga<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is brought and\u00a0worshiped\u00a0during\u00a0the winters when Gangotri’s\u00a0main temple is inacceseble\u00a0due to snow, it is on the left banks of river Bhagirathi<\/strong> and the Mayank\u00a0Shikhar<\/strong><\/em>. Importance of this place is due to less known fact\u00a0 that it is a confluance of<\/strong> Seven rivers<\/strong> and a temple dedicated to\u00a0Lord Vishnu<\/strong>, many Saints and Sanayasis<\/em>\u00a0preferred to meditate here<\/p>\n

Harsil<\/strong> is a small sleepy village and important Cantonment of Indian Army situated at a height of 8300 ft. on main route to\u00a0Gangotri<\/strong>, 73 kms from Uttarkashi<\/strong>,\u00a0it was once on the old caravan route of India to Tibet most of the people are of Bhutia origin<\/strong>\u00a0and use Harsil as winter base, more importance is due to village Mukhwas<\/strong> where the statue of Goddess Ganga<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is brought and\u00a0worshiped\u00a0during\u00a0the winters when Gangotri’s\u00a0main temple is inaccessible\u00a0due to snow, it is on the left banks of river Bhagirathi<\/strong> and the Mayank\u00a0Shikhar<\/strong><\/em>. Importance of this place is due to less known fact\u00a0 that it is a\u00a0confluence\u00a0of\u00a0<\/strong>Seven rivers<\/strong> and a temple dedicated to\u00a0Lord Vishnu<\/strong>, many Saints and Sanayasis<\/em>\u00a0preferred to meditate here, Godess Ganga’s<\/strong>\u00a0temlpe the\u00a0Gangotri<\/strong>\u00a0is further ahead 23 Kms. from here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Deodar<\/p>\n

\u00a0Deodar Forest in Harsil<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 
\n\"Mayank<\/p>\n

Mayank Peak, Harsil<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Story and History<\/strong>
\nAccording to the \u00a0Kedarkhand<\/em>,<\/strong>\u00a0a chapter in Skandha\u00a0Puran,<\/strong><\/em> it was here\u00a0Lord Shiva<\/strong> was helped by Lord Vishnu<\/strong> to kill the demon Jalandhar<\/em><\/strong> who was brother of Goddess Lakshmi,<\/strong>\u00a0Lord Vishnu’s wife<\/strong>, Demon Jalandhar’s wife Vrinda<\/strong>\u00a0went into the deep forest and started praying\u00a0to\u00a0protect her husband but Lord Vishnu followed her and disguised himself as Jalandhar started living with Vrinda<\/strong>,\u00a0when Vrinda recognized him she cursed\u00a0Lord Vishnu that\u00a0someone deceitfully abduct his wife in his next\u00a0incarnation, she entered\u00a0the pyre after this, Lord Vishnu<\/strong>\u00a0was so obsessed with the beauty of Vrinda<\/strong>\u00a0that he painted the ashes from the pyre and started roaming\u00a0all over the Lokas<\/em>, then his worried Devatas\u00a0were guided\u00a0by Godess Parvati<\/strong>\u00a0with the assistance of Goddess Lakshmi<\/strong> and Goddess\u00a0Saraswati<\/strong>, they\u00a0gave some seeds to them and directed them to\u00a0 spray those seeds on the ashes of \u00a0pyre, on which\u00a0Vrinda<\/strong> had given up her life.
\nThree holy plants<\/strong>\u00a0manifested from that pyre\u00a0 Amla<\/em>, Tulsi<\/em> and Malti<\/em><\/strong>. Later on Tulsi<\/strong><\/em> and Malti<\/strong><\/em> attained to the\u00a0 Vishnuloka<\/strong>, by the virtue of their respective penance<\/strong>. Later Tulsi<\/strong> became the wife of demon Shankhachuda<\/strong>, he\u00a0wanted conquer the Indraloka<\/strong> which resulted in a war with lord Shiva<\/strong>\u00a0who was finding it difficult in wining over him\u00a0due to the Tapasya<\/strong> of Tulsi<\/strong>.\u00a0On being instructed by goddess Parvati<\/strong>, Lord Vishnu<\/strong>\u00a0met\u00a0Tulsi<\/strong>\u00a0in the guise of her husband \u00a0Shankhachuda<\/strong>, so that the breach of Tulsi chastity<\/strong> could help lord Shiva<\/strong> to kill Shankhachuda<\/strong>, who derived his power from Tulsi’s chastity<\/strong> and virtuosity<\/strong>.\u00a0When\u00a0Tulsi<\/strong> recognized Vishnu<\/strong>\u00a0she became very angry and cursed lord Vishnu to become a stone<\/strong>. She was crying inconsolably. Lord Vishnu<\/strong> contemplated on Shiva as a result of which he appeared. Lord Shiva<\/strong> blessed\u00a0Tulsi<\/strong> that she would become the beloved of Lord Vishnu<\/strong>. Due to Tulsi’s curse<\/strong>, Lord Vishnu<\/strong> attained the form of Shaligram<\/strong> which is a stone and because of lord Shiva’s<\/strong> blessings. Tulsi leaves<\/strong> started being offered to the Shaligram<\/strong> in the process of its worship.\u00a0Vishnu<\/strong> also known as Hari<\/strong> who is lying as stone\u00a0(Shila),<\/strong>\u00a0This place is called Harsil<\/strong>, this black Shaligram<\/strong> is visible in winters\u00a0when there is less water in\u00a0Bhagirathi<\/strong>\u00a0because of snow.
\nJalandhari<\/strong>\u00a0is sister of goddess Lakshmi<\/strong> and demon Jalandhar,<\/strong> was on her way to meet her sister\u00a0 Lakshmi<\/strong> and brother-in-law Vishnu<\/strong>, upon reaching here when she came to know about Visnu\u00a0becoming\u00a0Shaligram,<\/strong> she melted and met Lord Vishnu<\/strong> in form of a river\u00a0who was lying in Bhagirathi<\/strong>.
\nThere is a temple of Lord Vishnu<\/strong> on the banks of river Bhagirathi<\/strong> built by Raja Ram Brhamchari<\/strong>\u00a0in the year 1921 AD\u00a0(Shaka Samvat 1978), to the east is Lord Shiva’s<\/strong> temple and in the north is Maa Bhagvati’s<\/strong>\u00a0temple, the rituals\u00a0of puja\u00a0are being performed since then by his family, at present Dr. Nagendra\u00a0Ravat<\/strong>\u00a0performing it for the last 35 years every day\u00a0without fail it starts with a holy dip at Bhagirathi<\/strong>\u00a0river and until puja is over which takes about 4-5 hrs. not a single word is uttered\u00a0other than the mantras \/ shlokas until the first meal of the day is taken.
\n\"Lord<\/p>\n

Lord Vishnu Temple at Harsil<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 
\n\"Lord<\/p>\n

Lord Shiva Temple, Harsil
\nThe Confluence of 10 Rivers<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Seven rivers are Tilangana, Jalandhari\u00a0(demon Jalandhar’s\u00a0sister), Vishnu Ganga or Kakora, Lakshmi Ganga, Him Ganga and Pawan Ganga<\/strong> pour their water in Bhagirathi<\/strong>\u00a0at this place, little up stream\u00a03 kms is a place called Dharali<\/strong> where Bhim Ganga<\/strong>, Kheer<\/strong> Ganga<\/strong> and Hatya\u00a0Harini<\/strong> rivers join the Bhagirathi\u00a0<\/strong>in all there are ten rivers<\/strong> which join\u00a0and form\u00a0Bhagirathi<\/strong> in this area hence it is called the Maha\u00a0Prayag<\/strong><\/em>.
\nAccording to legend when one of the Pandva’s brother Bhim<\/strong> was bringing the Chaman Rishi<\/strong>\u00a0to light the holy fire at Aswamegh\u00a0Yagna<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0on his way to quench the thirst of Rishi he hit his\u00a0Mace<\/strong>\u00a0(Gada) at a place from where the water came out,\u00a0this stream is called\u00a0Bhim Ganga<\/strong>, bathing in\u00a0 the river Hatya\u00a0Harini<\/strong> absolves the sins of killing some one by mistake or otherwise (Barham\u00a0Hatya Dosh)<\/strong>.
\n\"River<\/p>\n

River Jalandhri at Harsil<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Around Harsil
\nJust below the Mukhwa Village is Maharishi Markandeya<\/em><\/strong> ashram\u00a0who created the Maha Mritunjay Mantra<\/strong>\u00a0it is here he created the Durga Saptashati<\/strong>,\u00a0there are 700 shlokas<\/strong> (verses) in thirteen chapters,\u00a0in the praise of Maa Durga and killing of demons<\/strong>, here there is a white temple of Maa Annapurna<\/strong> and Lord Shankar<\/strong>, 1 km ahead is Maa Durga’s temple<\/strong>.
\nDense Deodar<\/strong> forest, apple orchards<\/strong>, Waulnut<\/strong>, Chestnut<\/strong> and\u00a0Wild Flowers<\/strong> are\u00a0in abundance in this area, Harsil<\/strong> is connected to Baspa<\/strong>\u00a0Valley\u00a0<\/strong>by Lamkhaga Pass<\/strong>\u00a0which opens into Chitkul<\/strong>, Kinnaur\u00a0of Himachal<\/strong>, one can have a\u00a0views of peak Bander Punch 6316 mtr.\u00a0<\/strong> and peak Srikanth<\/strong>\u00a0from Dharali<\/strong> village.
\n\"A<\/p>\n

A View of Banderpunch Range from Harsil<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 
\n\"Maharishi<\/p>\n

Maharishi Markandaey Ashram in White at banks of River Bhagirathi near Harsil<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Harsil<\/strong>\u00a0is well-connected\u00a0by a road and there are regular helicopter landings during\u00a0the months of May , June\u00a0 Late September till mid October\u00a0,\u00a0land slides are common in monsoons otherwise one can\u00a0reach\u00a0here throughout the year.
\nFor more information and packages contact + 91 9810506646<\/span><\/strong>
\nOffice contact 011 – 45725562, 63, 64<\/span><\/strong>
\nCallers from outside India contact +44 7700093414<\/span><\/strong>
\nEmail : promark@promarktravels.com<\/span><\/strong>
\nWebsite : promarktravels.com, yatrachardham.com<\/span><\/strong>
\nBlog : promarktravels.com\/blog<\/span><\/strong>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harsil is a small sleepy village and important Cantonment of Indian Army situated at a height of 8300 ft. on main road to\u00a0Gangotri, 73 kms from Uttarkashi,\u00a0it was once on the old caravan route of India to Tibet most of the people are of Bhutia origin\u00a0and use Harsil as winter base, more importance is due … →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,10,11,12,18,19,25,26],"tags":[162,242,243,282,284,315,320,462,520,614,724,812,871,874,882,883,991,1119,1162,1217,1623,1633,1675,1698,2341,2992,3091],"class_list":["post-1169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-char-dham","category-helicopter-charters","category-himalayas","category-history","category-people","category-pilgrimage","category-trekking","category-uttarakhand","tag-around-harsil","tag-bander-punch","tag-banderpunch-range","tag-bhagirathi","tag-bhagirathi-river","tag-bhim","tag-bhim-ganga","tag-chaman-rishi","tag-china","tag-dense-deodar","tag-durga-saptashati","tag-gangotri","tag-goddess-ganga","tag-goddess-lakshmi","tag-godess-ganga","tag-godess-parvati","tag-harsil","tag-indian-army","tag-jalandhari","tag-june-late-september","tag-lord-shiva","tag-lord-vishnu","tag-maa-durga","tag-maha-mritunjay-mantra","tag-river-bhagirathi","tag-uttarkashi","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}