Page 47 - Seniorstoday January 2022 Issue

Maa Dhari Devi which did happen eventually.
Badrinath Dham
The word Prayag means – confluence of
sacred rivers or Sangam. As the sacred rivers
– Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati flow down
from this stretch of the Himalayas, there are
six major such points. The first and – for some
the most important Prayag – Devprayag is a
major place for pilgrimage as the Raghunath ji
temple (dedicated to Lord Vishnu) overlooks
the confluence of two major rivers Alaknanda
and Bhagirathi – eventually forming the
sacred Ganga. The mythical Saraswati flows
just under the temple and meets the two major
rivers. This is one of the Panch Prayags of
the Alaknanda and Devprayag is considered
as a holy place itself where getting a dip is
considered “purifying”.
The important historical and administrative
town of Srinagar is the next landmark on the
drive. This was the capital city of the Garhwali
kings from the 15th. Century till the time the
British ruled the Garhwal hills. Unfortunately
in 1894 the old city was completely destroyed
and what remains now is actually the newer
part of the city. A little outside the town lies
the famous Siddh Peeth Dhari Devi Temple
which is built on a platform in the middle
of the river Alaknanda. A manifestation of
Goddess Kali, she is considered to be the
guardian deity of Uttarakhand and is revered
as the protector of the Char Dhams. To build a
hydro-electric plant the deity had to be moved
to another location for some time. There was
a lot of opposition to the moving of the idol of
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #31 | JANUARY 2022
The devotees of the goddess believed that the
moving of the idol would somehow agitate
Goddess Kali and it would not be good for the
region. Unfortunately it all came true exactly
on the next day of this incident a massive
cloudburst and flash flood started in very high
reaches near the Kedarnath Dham, which led
to widespread damage washing away many
people, houses, trees, and vehicles.
The next town / prayag – Rudraprayag
is one of the Panch Prayags of Alaknanda
river as it meets the fast flowing Mandakini.
This town also is important as it is the
gateway to two major Dhams (Badrinath
and Kedarnath). An interesting fact is that
Narad Muni worshipped Lord Shiva at the
confluence point and thus became the God
of Music (Rudra) from where the town got
its name. Jim Corbett was the hunter of the
most famous maneater Leopard – who some
say took about 125 lives and till date there
is a signboard where the animal was shot.
Apparently, there is a mela (fair) held every
year to commemorate it. The Shivanandi river
lodge is a small place close to the river and an
ideal place for a night halt.
Alaknanda is the dominant river in the
Garhwal Himalayas descending from the foot
of the Satopanth Lake at a height of 4,402
m (14,442.3 ft) near the Nanda Devi peak. It
traverses a length of 229 km and engulfs 5
Devprayag
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