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Last month, I went on a trip to Uttarakhand, a northern state in India, and during this visit experienced the serene beauty of this Himalayan state. One of the holiest sites was a temple located on the banks of river Saraswati and today I am going to share its rich history and beliefs. I am talking about the Kalimath Temple.
Kalimath Temple
Uttrakhand is home to a lot of temples and shrines and one of them is the Kalimath Temple. It is located in the Kedarnath Valley just on the banks of the holy river Saraswati. It is dedicated to Goddess Kali and it is mentioned in some of the oldest Hindu religious scriptures.
Goddess Kali is one of the most fearsome deities who destroys evils and is usually shown holding weapons in her hands. Interestingly, this temple is associated with a famous legend. More on it later.
Reaching here is not difficult there is no trek which is never the case in this mountainous region. It is located just near the road. You will still have to take a few stairs which is such a short walk.
The way to the temple is filled with rows of bells, all of which were donated by devotees from around the country. Finally, there is a bridge over the river Saraswati which takes you to the gates of the temple.
Walking over this bridge with the cool breeze blowing and the river's soothing sound makes it such an amazing experience. I had to take a short video clip so you can see what I am talking about.
I wished I lived somewhere close to a place like this so I could go there daily and sit close to the river for hours.
You can see the names of the devotees who donated all those bells. I tried to locate the names on them and most of them had just one name edged on them but some had more than one name showing that it was a collective effort in some cases.
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There were stalls on the way to the temple, selling stuff to offer in the temple, all bright and strong colours. Even the flags were all bright colours that you can see from a distance.
This was a unique temple, the story goes like this... Back in ancient times when all sorts of divine beings roamed in those lands, a powerful Devil who is called "Raktbeej" gained a boon from Lord Bharma, the boon was whenever a drop of Raktbeej fell into the ground a new Rakjeet would emerge with the same strength so any attempts to kill it backfired and produced more of the same devil.
But Goddess Kali killed it after a fierce battle where she drank every drop of blood before it even touched the ground. After killing this demon she went underground as if her purpose was fulfilled. (There are some other details that I am missing intentionally here) and the place where she believed to have gone underground is now this temple.
There are some other smaller temples in the same premise where other deities are worshipped too including the Goddess Laxmi and Goddess Saraswati.
In the above temple, many old weapons are worshipped like sickles, swords, tridents etc. I didn't take pictures of the inner sanctums. One should come and visit and see from their own eyes and experience it.
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This is a very old temple but it doesn't look that old, it has been maintained well for many centuries by the locals. Some of the stone idols have corroded, and most of the Shiva Lingams are put in a place and are worshipped by pouring milk, water, oil and other offerings.
I like the architectural style of these smaller temples. There are so many other temples built in this part of the Himalayas with a similar style using interlocking stones and minimal or no binding stuff like mortar or concrete.
After offering our prayers we came down near the river to spend some time there. The water was super cold and came straight from the glaciers in the upper Himalayan region.
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How can I miss an opportunity to make a cairn and leave my mark here!!
We were around an elevation of 1500 meters and the water looked so clean. I took a small video too. Hope you like it!
The river had dried up and must have been a little calmer than the monsoon season when it rains a lot and rivers are flowing at their full capacity.
I didn't want to leave the place, it was so beautiful. This was a wonderful place for a temple and to spend some quality time with your friends. The clean and fresh air, the calm and continuous noise of flowing water and the occasional ringing of bells tickle all of your senses at once!
Going back to our parked car was a tough walk, it felt like I left a part of my soul here just to come back and collect it only to experience it one more time.
All the small villages located around this valley have great views. They are living in paradise!
Stay tuned for more episodes...
Namaste 🙏
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- All the content is mine unless otherwise stated.
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- Photos were taken from my phone and edited using the "Snapseed" app.
- Text dividers are from @cryptosharan.
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