Places to visit in the city Chitrakoot
RAM GHAT - Chitrakoot
 Ram Ghat, the
focal point of Chitrakoot, is a long stretch of steps cut
into the banks where pilgrims perform religious ablutions
and rituals. Many compare its hallowed sanctity to Rishikesh
and Benaras. Here, people believe, the sacred river Sarayu
surfaces from its subterranean sojourn, and then vanishes
again. Here, too, is the Tulsi Chabutra, the platform on
the Ram Ghat where the great poet-saint Tulsidas wrote the
Ram Charit Manas. Long flights of landing steps lead up
from the brown, lapping water. Ferrymen wait expectantly
in their canopied barges, often festively decorated with
tinsel streamers. Early in the morning, devotees stand waist-deep
in the flowing river, worshipping the dawn with an oblation.
This is also the time when there is a tintinnabulation of
bells ringing from all the shrines at the same time, the
hollow calls of conches, and the chants of voices raised
in prayer.
PARAM KUTIR - Chitrakoot
The Param Kutir is believed to be the prime cottage, the
first hut, erected by Lakshmana for his brother and sister-in-law.
As the eminent scholar C. Rajagopalachari says, /”Lakshmana
was a clever workman. He soon constructed a strong hut,
which was weatherproof and made it comfortable and convenient.
Single-handed, he completed the mud hut with windows and
doors, all made of bamboo and jungle material./” Clearly,
such a fragile hut could not last the eons that have lapsed
since the age of Lord Rama. The Param Kutir has been reconstructed
as a temple, popular with worshippers today.
BHARAT MANDIR - Chitrakoot
Lord Rama/’s younger bother, Bharat, came to Chitrakoot
to persuade the prince to return from exile and assume his
rightful position as ruler of Ayodhya. He was unsuccessful
but, according to a local legend, Bharat and his army of
/”chariots, elephants, horses and foot soldiers/”, as well
as the royal family and nobility of Ayodhya, camped a little
below Param Kutir. Today, that spot is marked by the Bharat
Mandir where the whole court is worshipped as resplendent
idols.
JANAKI KUND - Chitrakoot
The steep escarpments and thickly wooded embankments upstream
of Mandakini give way to the Janaki Kund, considered to
be the favourite bathing spot of Sita. A straight stretch
of river and a series of steps on the left bank descend
down to the water, almost greenish-blue in colour. The sounds
of temple bells waft through the stillness if you happen
to visit the place early in the morning. The recitation
of prayers is broadcast through the loudspeakers and pilgrims
start arriving even before the eastern sky turns orange.
SPHATIK SHILA - Chitrakoot
Beyond Janaki Kund, the river is enchantingly beautiful,
the tilting boughs adding to the beauty. A further journey
upstream leads you to Sphatik Shila where a large boulder
bears the impressions of Lord Rama/’s footprints. Another
thing that is likely to attract your attention are the horde
of monkeys swinging on the branches of trees overheads.
Pilgrims offer peanuts to the monkeys, as many hold these
primates in reverence as the descendants of the monkey-god
Hanuman.
KAMADGIRI MOUNTAIN - Chitrakoot
Legend has it that before creating the universe, Lord Brahma
performed a powerful ritual with 108 fire pits, which fashioned
the landscape of Chitrakoot. However, modern-day geologists
would have it that the step-like structures of the Deccan
Trap were formed by lava welling up from the depths of the
earth. Consequently, mountains in this region hold huge
caves. The entire, bow-shaped, mountain of Kamadgiri is
believed to be hollow, thereby concealing an enormous lake
in its interiors. Around this subterranean reservoir, it
is said, sages sit in timeless meditation. Perhaps this
is why Rishi Bhardwaj advised Lord Rama to spend much of
his exile around this supremely serene place.
Today, devotees walk barefoot around this mountain, convinced
that their wishes will be granted by this spot, hallowed
by the royal exiles and the sages. The hollow mountain is
said to have four doors: the Pramukh Dwar, or main entrance,
which is now a shrine, and three other portals. No ordinary
human has crossed this mysterious threshold and seen the
great lake inside Kamadgiri, but there/’s a curious phenomenon
associated with the mountain. Rain falling on the protected
trees of this hill does not run off, but sinks in and then
emerges as 360 springs that start flowing at the same time
as if they were the outlets of an overflowing underground
lake.
GUPT GODAVARI - Chitrakoot
Nineteen kilometres to the south of Ram Ghat is a great
cavern called Gupt Godavari. Deep in this cave, according
to legend, the river Godavari emerges as a perennial stream
from the rocks, flows down to another cave below, and then
disappears. A massive rock protruding out of the ceiling
of the Gupt Godavari cave is said to be all that remains
of the demon Mayank. He had the temerity to steal Sita/’s
clothes while she was bathing and was petrified by the vigilant
Lakshmana. Another legend has it that Lord Rama held court
in this cave, along with his faithful brother Lakshmana,
during their exile. At the entrance to the cave is a beautifully
carved sculpture of the Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva)
.
A word of warning. If you are scared of bats, be a little
wary when you enter Gupt Godavari. They hang in clusters
from the ceiling, twittering, quarrelsome, fluttering, emitting
their high-pitched squeaks whose echoes help them avoid
obstacles in the dark.
Do look out over the plains of Chitrakoot from this high
point. As your eyes travel closer and closer to the sacred
lands around the Mandakini river, the terrain becomes appreciably
greener and greener, protected by the veneration of the
soil of Chitrakoot. Indeed, the burden of its timeless heritage
sits very lightly on tolerant Chitrakoot.
SATI ANASUYA - Chitrakoot
When you emerge from the cool, slightly musty, darkness
of the cave into the fresh, bright, loam-scented hills,
you will realize that faith has done more for the preservation
of the ecology of Chitrakoot than all the laws of man. This
green environment recharges the Mandakini which is said
to originate in the hills near Rishi Atree/’s ashram. Today
a monastery marks the traditional site where Rishi Atree,
his wife Anasuya, and their three sons meditated. It is
believed that the Mandakini originated as a result of the
meditation of Anasuya.
HANUMAN DHARA - Chitrakoot
On one of Chitrakoot/’s wooded hills, 5 km from Ram Ghat,
you will come across a shrine dedicated to Hanuman, the
great warrior. Aptly christened the Hanuman Dhara, pilgrims
trudge a steep 360-step stairway to seek the blessings of
Hanuman. Legend has it that Hanuman flew to this hill, enflamed
with rage and victory, after setting fire to Ravana/’s palace
in Lanka, and helping to rescue Sita. To cool his wrath,
he stood under a stream of icy water gushing out of a rock
in Hanuman Dhara. His idol still stands bathed by a flow
of cold, crystal-clear, water. While you are at Hanuman
Dhara take some time off to stop at the old step-well, on
the way up: it reputedly never goes dry, thanks to the rain-trapping
forests of Chitrakoot. |
