Prayag
Prayag means the place where two rivers mingle together. During
our journey through Uttarkhand we witnessed 3 major such Prayags
1.DevaPrayag
2.Rudra Prayag
3.Kesav Prayag
DevaPrayag
It the convergence of two deva (holy) rivers mingling
together, it is said that this place got the named as "Deva Prayag".
We had a dip at the point where these two rivers meet. The two holy rivers – River Bhagirathi and the
River Alaknandha meet at this point and from here on, the River is Named “Ganga”. The River Bhagirathi has a
greenish color and the Alaknandha river has a White color and we can see both
the colors mingle at the juncture.
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| Alaknandha (left) and Bhagirathi (Right) Meet @ Devaprayag |
Hindu Indians take a pilgrimage to such rivers. They call it
Theertha Yatra.It is believed that it will help the pilgrims to cleanse their
inner selves, wash out their evil tendencies and open up before them a path or
a direction for righteous living. They help in attaining Gnana (knowledge) and
Bhakthi (Devotion) to the individuals which helps in changing the direction of
their future life. It is a place where one can get enlightenment for achieving
liberation. Theertha Yatra is also one of the karmas to be discharged in
mundane philosophy. A Theertha Yatra is not only a physical act but it also
implies the mental or moral discipline and learning toward self-realization. Pilgrimage/Theertha
Yatra is remedy for many ills and sufferings. Theertha Yatra is an opportunity
to the householder to detach himself for some time from worries and
botherations of the materialistic daily life and to devote that time
spiritually. To cross the Sufferings and sorrows and attain peace.
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| Bhagirathi River |
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| Bridge across Alaknandha river leading to the junction |
We reached Devaprayag ready to get the holy dip in the river
and had to walk along Alaknandha river and cross it by the Bridge leading to
the exact junction. The Walk though the Bridge leading to the prayag was awesome.
The climate was also cool. Devaprayag lies about 45 miles away from Rishikesh
to Badrinath and about 1700 feet above the sea level.
Taking a bath in the holy water, I had to gradually lower in
to water as it was freezing cold J.
There were people carrying buckets to pour the water on to their heads as few
did not get in for the dip. There were chains tied from the steps and walls for
the easy & safe bath. One can feel the force of the water as you set foot
in the first step where the water starts. Enough to pull a person.
There was a Durga devi temple sighted in the steps. There
were also the Pandas (Brahmins) or the priests who were ready to help if one
wished to do tharpanam or offerings through Mantras for their ancestors.
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| The Ganga (After the convergence) |
Devaprayag is one of the 108 Divya Desam where The NelaMega
Shyama Perumal is standing giving darshan to all his devotees. Devaprayag is
also called with the name "Kadinagar"(especially in Tamil). The Goddess
(Thayar) is Pundareegavalli Thayar. You
need to climb few steps to reach this temple and as every vishnavite temple
this temple also have Sannadhis for Garudar facing the NelaMega Perumal. In the
Prdakshina or surrounding you can find Annapoorni devi and Hanuman ji.
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| Nela Mega perumal Temple- Devaprayag |
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| Temple Premises |
The two other Prayags we visited were
Rudra Prayag- Confluence of the Rivers, Alaknandha and Mandhagini
Kesav Prayag- Confluence of the Rivers, Alaknandha and Saraswathi
Few Links for more details
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