IMPORTANCE OF CHARDHAM YATRA AMONG HINDUS:-
The Char Dham Yatra is importance to considered a must-visited pilgrimage tour to get salvation. The Char Dham is a set of four pilgrimage sites in India. It comprises Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri and Rameswaram.
Every year during Akshay Tritiya (also known as Akha Teej) the doors of Yamunotri and Gangotri opens for the pilgrims. However, the dates for the door openings of Badrinath are declared on Basant Panchami and for Kedarnath, it is declared on the day of Maha Shivratri. Another circuit of four ancient pilgrimage sites in the Indian state of Uttarakhand viz.
Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath are referred to as Chota Char Dham to differentiate it from this bigger circuit of Char Dham sites. Puri located in the east, is located in the state of Odisha, The main deity is Shri Krishna, celebrated as Lord Jagannatha. Rameswaram located in the South is in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
This is the place where Lord Ram along with his brother Laxman and devotee Hanuman built a bridge (Rama Setu) to reach Sri Lanka to rescue his wife Sita who had been abducted earlier by Ravan.
Dwarka located in the west is in the state of Gujarat, Dwaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. All the Four Dharmas located at cardinal points of the Indian sub-continent are believed to have been liked by Lord Vishnu intimately.
It is said and believed that He takes His bath at Rameswaram, meditates at Badrinath, dines at Puri and retires at Dwarika.
A Char Dham yatra isn’t easy. Pilgrims need to earn the benefits bestowed, as only two of the temples (Badrinath and Gangotri) are accessible by vehicle. The remaining two (Yamunotri and Kedarnath) require treks. Pilgrims believe that visiting these holy places not only washes away all the sins accumulated through numerous births and rebirths but also prepares one’s soul for the journey towards ‘Enlightenment’.
Every Hindu should visit Chardham every year to break away from the monotonous and mundane routine of daily life and get a fresh leash of life.
