Swami Arunachalananda

Back To : Yatras From 2008 - 2011

February 2010 : Naimisharanya Parikrama

07-08 February -

With Sunil, I started for Lucknow from Howrah by Amritsar Express. Sudhir had accompanied us till Howrah station. The train stopped at almost all stops and hence our journey was slow and tiring. At Lucknow, we couldn't get connecting local train for Sandila so we took a bus to reach Sandila. It was around 7.00 in the evening and the last connecting bus for Pratapnagar Chauraha (on route to Naimish) had already departed. We were stranded at Sandila. Mamashree (Dr. Tulsidas) was staying in Naimish with Abhishek; we called him up and informed about the situation. He immediately called Mr. Dvivedi of Sandila - his recent acquaintance - and requested for help. Mr. Dvidedi took us to his home and there we had our dinner and night stay.

9th February -

Mr. Dvivedi drove us till the bus-stop in the morning. From there we traveled by bus to Pratapnagar Chauraha. At Pratapnagar Chauraha, we boarded another bus for Naimisharanya (locally called as Nimsar). There was drizzle since morning and road conditions were poor. This was interior Uttar Pradesh. Sunil was familiar with the route as he had earlier visited Nimsar. We hired a cycle-rickshaw from Nimsar bus-stand to Ganesh Kutia. The cycle-rickshaw was rather 'cycle-cart'! Ganesh Kutia was a small 'cement-concrete-hut' near a huge banyan tree in a big mango-grove owned by Mr. Gupta of Lucknow. The mango-grove was situated near river Gomati and was a remote & quiet place though being located near Naimisharanya and Ajijpur village. It had a bore-well which supplied pure, fresh water and another hut for an old Bihari watchman, who was also a spiritual aspirant. The banyan tree had a circular 'bench' under it and on it was a small 'Shiva-linga'.

10-13 February -

We stayed with Mamashree and Abhishek in Ganesh Kutia. We used to cook vegetables, Dal, Tikkad (thick roti) etc. daily on an earthen-stove made by arranging couple of bricks and using dried-up mango branches, grass etc. as fuel. Mr. Gupta, his wife, his son, and Mr. Dvivedi visited us once with 'puri-sabji', sweets, and fruits. We had already cooked our lunch. Together we all had our lunch near the banyan tree. A young sadhu from nearby Hamsa-Hamsini temple used to visit the Kutia frequently. He used to address us all as 'Prabhuji' and we greeted him back with 'Prabhuji'! Mamashree narrated the 'Pauranic' importance of Naimish. Sage Dadhichi had sacrificed his bones for gods to make a weapon to kill the evil demon Vrittasur. Before giving up his body, the sage wished to have pilgrimage around the holy places of India. The other sages (said to be 88000 in number) were worried that the old Dadhichi would require quite a long time for such a pilgrimage. Hence they called all the holy places to Naimisharanya and thus enabled Dadhichi to complete his pilgrimage ('84 Kosa Parikrama') quickly. Since that time, innumerable spiritual aspirants including Lord Rama is said to have performed this Parikrama. It is considered to be conducive for one's final Liberation. I went to visit Naimisharanya temples with Sunil. We visited Vyas Gaddi, Manu-Satarupa Tapasthali, Hanuman-Gadhi, Lalita Maiya Shakti-pitha, Chakratirtha, and Kali-pitha which has images of Vitthal-Rakhumai, Sai-baba, and Sri Gondavalekar Mj. Sri Gondavalekar Mj had performed spiritual austerities in Naimisharanya. After these temple visits we went to listen to Sri Ramesh Oza's 'Bhagawat Mahakumbha' being held at Naimish. But by the time we reached the place, the program was over and we could only see the beautiful stage and 'pandal'. Another day we went to Sitapur to book rail tickets for our journey from Ayodhya to Bareilly starting from 3rd of March 2010.

14th February -

After lunch we (Mamashree, Sunil, Abhishek, and me) started for our fourteen day Naimish Parikrama. We had darshan of holy sites in Naimish: Sri Naradananda Ashrama, Shukadev Tila, Vyas Gaddi, Manu-Satarupa Tapasthali, Lalita Maiya Temple, and Chakratirtha. Mr. Gupta and the 'Hamsa-Hamsini sadhu' accompanied us till this point. Then we started walking towards our first stop, Karauna which was about 10 km from Naimish. Each of us had a bag with following items: 1 shawl, 1 towel, 2 dhotis, 2 shirts, 1 sweater, 1 pair of inner wear and under wears, 1 pair of socks, 1 pot (steel-kamandalu), 1 bowl/plate. Apart from these we had a small cooking pot. On the way we proceeded by asking directions to villagers at many points. We had started our Parikrama a day in advance. This way we were to be ahead of the millions of other pilgrims who would also be performing this traditional Parikrama. Passing through many fields and finding our way through villages we reached Karauna around 8 pm. The main temple here is of the deity Dvarakadhish i.e. Lord Krishna with his consort Radha. At night we slept on the open verandah of the temple.

15th February -

In the morning we saw 'Saras' birds near a pond. This was for the first time that we had seen these 4-5 ft. tall and majestic birds. We took bath in a pond adjacent to the Shiva temple. This Shiva temple was next to the Dvarakadhish temple. After the light breakfast of jaggary and peanuts, we started walking towards our next stop - Haraiyya. Being ahead of other pilgrims and also being new to the UP countryside we had to ask directions to the villagers throughout the Parikrama. In all the villages, as we passed through it, men, women and especially little kids used to greet us with 'Sita-aaa-Ram','Baba bol kadakad Sitaram'. And we used to reply similarly. After walking for an hour or so we waited for drinking water from a bore-well in front of a house. We asked the route to the householder. He requested us to have food at his house. We agreed and waited, singing bhajans, till he prepared 'puri-potato-sabji'. This bhiksha (alms) is called 'Pakki Bhiksha' locally while the bhiksha of roti-dal-rice is called 'Kacchi Bhiksha'. Sadhus or pilgrims used to say 'Mahapuran' (completely fulfilled) to indicate that their meal is over and they require nothing further. And salt was referred as 'Ramarasa'! We were back on road again. We crossed many fields, rivulets, bridges, orchards, villages. In the afternoon we took some rest under a tree. On the way we visited an old Shiva temple known as 'Kailas'. We saw hundreds of monkeys moving in groups near the temple. Around evening we reached near the second stop, Haraiyya on the banks of Gomati river. We found a guava-grove nearby and decided to stay there for night. We met the owner of the grove, who was staying in a hut-like structure inside the grove. He welcomed us to stay there. We tied our dhotis around the open parts of the hut as a protection from cold. For our bed we arranged straws and dried leaves. For dinner we prepared 'khichadi' on brick-made stove & dried up branches of trees as fuel. We had purchased some rice, oil, spices etc. for this locally. Due to cold weather and taking bath in cold water I experienced pain in knee-joints.

16th February -

Sri Ramakrishna Tithi-puja day. Due to cold we couldn't sleep after 2.30 a.m. We lighted fire using dried grass and guava tree branches. Since it was Thakur tithi-puja day we considered the fire as holy Homa and the dried grass as oblations! Thus started the holy day with Homa lighted under open sky and near Gomati river. The grove owner, his small kid, and some of his friends joined us around the fire. Due to the heat of the fire my knee-pain was relived a bit. A villager sitting near fire requested us to take food in his house before we proceed further. We agreed. We saw hundreds of pilgrims moving in groups towards river Gomati for bath. We too joined them. On the way villagers were offering snacks and tea to everybody. We stopped to take tea at one point. As we were taking tea, another gentleman asked us to come to his home to take tea. He started speaking in Marathi - our mother-tongue! He said he worked in a hotel on Pune-Ahmednagar road and this village was his native town. We went with him to his house and kept our bags there. Then we went to Gomati for bath. We saw huge crowd of pilgrims taking bath in Gomati. After bath we took food at the promised house and picked up our bags from the other house. We proceeded further with the parikrama. On our way to the next stop at 'Nagava-Kothava', we visited the 'Hatya-haran-tirth'. At Hatya-haran we went to the Shiva and Hanuman temples and were lovingly requested by a group of youngsters to take bhiksha at a spot where they were offering puri-sabji to all pilgrims. After bhiksha we proceeded further. In the evening we reached a place on the high-way where recitation of Ramacharitamanasa was in progress. We enquired about suitable shelter nearby and were informed to proceed a little further for the same. After walking for about 5 minutes on the high-way we saw some newly constructed shops. They were closed but their open verandah offered us suitable shelter for the night. We prepared our beds using straws and leavers. At night two other sadhus took shelter on the verandah near us. We followed our routine of evening arati and stotra-chanting placing the photo of The Holy Trinity and Gurudev. I had this photo with me for 7 years now.

17th February -

Early morning we started walking and reached Kothawa. In the village we were requested by a gentleman to come to his house and take food at his place. We went with him and had our tea, snacks and chatted with him and his friends. Then we all had our bath at the bore-well in his courtyard. We also did our arati and stotra chanting there. At noon he served us puri-sabji and sugar (actually it tasted like a mixture of fine coconut powder and sugar). After meal he accompanied us till the village border and on the way showed us an ancient pond - now fully covered with leaves- said to be associated with Lord Rama. We proceeded further from there and on the way rested for a while in a mango-grove. On the way ahead we were again requested to take bhiksha at a public Bhandara venue. This spot was Nagawa, the actual parikrama stoppage for the day. We ate puri-sabji again and started walking further. At around 5.30 pm we came across a small, beautiful, and clean Shiva temple in a mango-grove. At first the temple appeared as a mosque from a distance as it was fully painted in white! There was a small room near the temple which was empty. We collected some fire-wood, arranged our straw-beds and performed our arati and stotra-chanting before going to bed.

18th February -

Early morning we lighted the firewood to get relief from cold. At around 7 am we started further. As we were leaving the spot, some people with big utensils arrived there. We learned that the room in which we had taken shelter for night was indeed the kitchen! And today it was to be used to prepare 'Bhandara' for other pilgrims; we, being ahead of others by a day, had the 'luxury' of using the room as bedroom!! In this Parikrama the average distance between two night halts was about 12-15 km; but our next stop, Giridharipur (Umrari) was about 18-20 km. After taking tea at a roadside stall we walked till noon and did not see any sign of bhiksha. Hence we decided to purchase wheat flour, vegetables, spices, oil etc. and prepare our lunch. We purchased the necessary items and entered a farm. The owner of the farm, Mr. Vajpeyee was a kind hearted, religious young man. We cooked 'Tikkad' and 'Cabbage-Potato sabji' which we shared with the watchman of the farm. Mr. Vajpeyee brought beds and blankets for all of us. To make such arrangements for pilgrims was his yearly practice. Again we derived the benefit of being ahead of other pilgrims - each of us had more than one bed, blanket, and pillow! In the evening Vajpeyee and his friends lighted fire and we all sat around it. We were served tea repeatedly and all of us had 'satsang' till late night. Mamashree narrated many moral and spiritual anecdotes; I was also requested to say something. I narrated the story of a yogi from Vyadha-Gita. Mr. Vajpeyee sang some meaningful bhajans. At around 11 pm Vajpeyee and his friends departed and then lying on beds we all cracked jokes and laughed heartily; later we slept - for the first and last time in Parikrama - on proper bed under starlit open sky.

19th February -

In the morning we were again served tea by the farm workers. We then prepared Tikkad and Sabji for all. We had our bath under the flow of water from irrigation pump. Then along with Mr. Vajpeyee, his friends, and farm workers we had lunch. Before departing Mr. Vajpeyee gave us some potato to be used later in the Parikrama. After lunch we started again for the Parikrama. We visited the temple at Giridharipur (Umrari) and walked till evening. After around 15-18 km we reached near Kutubnagar. We located a mango-grove nearby and decided the halt there for the night. At the center of the grove there was an open hut-like structure with pillars and roof and no side walls. We constructed a small room made up of dhotis inside that structure. We prepared our straw-beds and bought some water from a nearby village. We also purchased milk, biscuits etc. from the village. We made fire using the firewood collected from the grove; and prepared roasted potato and hot milk with biscuits as our dinner. Our 'dhoti-room' gave us enough protection against cold at night.

20th February -

At around 4 o'clock in the morning we lighted fire and sat around it chatting. We also prepared tea there and after the tea started for further journey. Soon we reached Kutubnagar where we purchased some socks and inner thermals. Next we reached the Sakshi-Gopal (locally called Sakhin-Gopal), our Parikrama spot for the day. On the way further we were requested by a farmer's son to come and have bhiksha at his house. We went to his house; had our bath at nearby bore-well; had bhiksha with many other pilgrims. Many pilgrims were fed in this house with joy and devotion. In the same village we were again requested by another villager to have bhiksha at his place and we had to oblige to his loving request! Our stomachs heavy with bhiksha from two houses, we started for further Parikrama. After a while we had afternoon siesta in a farm. On the road ahead we were again requested for bhiksha! Here we had to refuse it and accepted only Payas (rice pudding) in Mamashree's kamandalu. In the evening we reached our next stop, Madharwa. We were offered tea by a tea-shop owner. For our night halt we selected verandah of school; made our straw-beds, and collected fire-wood from nearby mango-grove. Sunil and Abhishek went to village shop and purchased milk, noodles etc. We heated the milk and had milk & payas for our dinner. Abhishek had developed bad stomach.

21st February -

At morning we lighted fire and prepared tea. Three 'Dandi Sanyasins' had arrived early morning for shelter on the school verandah. We offered tea to them. We proceeded with Parikrama; Abhishek and I had stomach upset, so we purchased some lemon, salt, and sugar. On the way we prepared 'Nimbu-Paani-Sarabat' and enjoyed sipping it in a farm. We had darshan at the temple of Madharwa. At noon we were requested by a villager to have bhiksha at his house. Near his house we were offered sugar-cane juice. After bhiksha we started walking again and reached a school-playground at about 2 pm. We had our bath and took rest under the shadow of a tree in the play-ground. After a while we start again and cross a new, big bridge on river Gomati. In the evening we again had 'Nimbu-Paani Sarbat'. We started searching shelter for night but could not find one. We reached a village but it too didn't offer us any shelter. It was late in the evening; we were proceeding to our next stop Jarigawan by asking route to villagers. On route while asking directions to a farmer, we were requested by him to come to his house and stay for night! We went to his house; had dinner and slept in his court-yard on thick 'straw-bed' with blankets provided by him.

22nd February -

We left the farmer's house in the morning and proceeded towards Jarigawan. On the way we had biscuit-breakfast under a tree. During the parikrama at many places we were asked about our home towns. On knowing that we were from Maharashtra, we were narrated that around 10 years back, the famous 'Gajanan Mj Palakhi' had come for this parikrama with all its regalia. Unfortunately they were robbed by armed dacoits. This incident is still recalled my many villagers along with the sincerity, simplicity, orderliness, and devotion of Warkaris. On reaching Jarigawan we bathed at a village bore-well and went to the local temple for darshan. After the darshan we started for to our next stop in parikrama, Naimisharanya i.e. our starting point! The parikrama doesn't end at Naimish but only pass through it to its last stop, Mishrit. At noon-time we cooked noodles and had our lunch in a mango-grove. After resting a while we started walking again. On the way we again passed through the villages that we had crossed on our 1st day of parikrama. As we approached Naimish we took slightly different route so that we could have darshan of some temples on the way like 'Ayodhya', 'Badrinath', 'Kedarnath' etc. These were old temples in remote hamlets surrounded by fields. Finally around 4 pm we reached Jagadbandhu Ashrama in Naimish. Here we were offered tea by the ashrama devotees. We then went to Vyas Gaddi; here we met two Maharashtrian ladies who had come for Naimish darshan. Mamashree was known to the in-charge of Vyas-Gaddi. Mamashree enquired him about Santdas Mj, a young brahmachari acquaintance of mamashree. Then after taking darshan at Manu-Satrupa Tapasthali we went to Chakratirtha and literally swam in the kunda there. We were happy that by the grace of the Holy Trio we were able to cover major part of the parikrama. At Chakratirtha we took darshan at Shiva-temple and then went to Lalita Maiya temple and Kali-pitha temple. At Kali-pitha we were in time for arati and the pujari gave Prasad to us first. Then after taking tea in a local tea-shop, we purchased some grocery. With Mamashree I proceeded to Hanuman Gadhi while Sunil and Abhishek went for mobile recharge. We reached Hanuman Gadhi at the time of evening arati. After arati we walked to Ganesh Kutia near Gomati. We reached Ganesh Kutia at around 7-7.30 pm and in the dark could hear some bhajans being sung by Mr Gupta. Mamashree and I decided not to disturb Mr Gupta and we sat quietly on the veranda of the kutia listening to the bhajans. After 15 minutes Mr Gupta came out of the kutia and was very happy to see us. The old-bihari watchman also came and we all were happy to see each other again. Soon Abhishek and Sunil returned and we prepared 'Khichari' for dinner. We all had our dinner and went to bed late at night.

23rd February -

In the morning the sadhu from Hamsa-Hamsini temple came to our kutia. We prepared lunch for all with 'Daliya-shira' as the sweet-dish. This was Mamashree's last day at Ganesh Kutia. He had been here for many months. He had planned to stay a few days at Mishrit, the last stop of parikrama, before proceeding further towards Varanasi on foot. We all finished our lunch at around 3 pm. After some rest we started for further parikrama around 5 pm. The old bihari watchman started crying as soon as Mamashree took their leave. With the Hamsa-Hamsini sadhu with us we walked through Ajijpur to the Hamsa-Hamsini temple. The temple is just on the bank of Gomati. We stayed in the sadhu's room adjacent to the temple for the night.

24th February -

We moved on with our parikrama. Our next stop was Chitrakut. On the way we reached Devadeveshwar temple; here a villager known to Mamashree offered us Guava. After darshan in the temple we had our guava breakfast in a mango-grove. At noon we reached river Gomati where many pilgrims were taking bath. We bathed here and crossed the river by a boat for 'Brahma darshan' - worshipped in a pillar on a hillock - on the other side. After the darshan we crossed the river again and resumed out parikrama. Next, on the banks of the river we reached 'Rudravart'. Here if you drop a leaf of 'Bel-tree' at a spot in the river, it generally sinks to the bottom, instead of floating on water! This is considered as granting of prayer by Lord Shiva. We all tried this and for all of us the Bel-leaf sank! Thanking Lord Shiva we marched further. At 'Rudravart', in the small Shiva temple on the banks of Gomati we saw a small photo of Thakur, Maa, and Swamiji placed among many other photos. Near the temple we were offered bhiksha from the 'puri-sabji bhandara' for pilgrims. Strangely, among the pilgrims taking bhiksha there, only we were offered sweets after the bhiksha! We walked for 3-4 hours and in the evening reached a village near Chitrakut. In a big courtyard of a farmer many pilgrims had taken shelter for night; we too stopped here. We purchased some milk and had it as our dinner; we made our 'straw-beds' and went to bed.

25th February -

Early morning we warmed-up ourselves near the 'fire-place' along with other pilgrims. We then started walking towards the last stop of the parikrama - Mishrikh (also called Mishrit). Within an hour we reached Mishrit and went straight to the main spot of the town - Dadhichi-kunda. It is a large pond with steps and temples constructed on all sides. The main temple here is dedicated to Sage Dadhichi - who willingly gave up his body so that gods could make weapon out of his bones to kill demon Vrittasur. It is believed that in this spot he sat in meditation and allowed Indra's cows to lick his flesh etc. Around his temple there are other temples dedicated to his parents, wife, and son. We took bath in the Kunda and hired a small room nearby for half-a-day to keep our bags. We had darshan at the temples and started the town parikrama. Mishrit was the last stop of this 14 day parikrama and for last four days pilgrims stay here and daily do the bathing at the kunda and 'Mishrit town parikrama'. The last day of the parikrama is 'Holi Paurnima'. The 'town parikrama' - which goes around the periphery of the town at some places and through the town at other places - takes around two hours to complete. After completing this 'town parikrama' we were happy that we have almost completed the whole parikrama; we purchased some fruits and started searching for a spot where we could stay for these last couple of days. We searched for a secluded spot slightly away from the town in the farms and after a while found one. It was at the corner of a farm under a huge mango tree. By tying ropes to the branched of the tree and passing a huge plastic sheet (tarpaulin) over the ropes we made our 'hut'. There was a small bore-well nearby in the premises of Arya-samaj office. Mamashree stayed in the hut while we returned to the town for purchasing grocery. I went to the room near the kunda while Sunil and Abhishek went for the grocery purchase. After the purchase Sunil and Abhi came to kunda where we cleared the room and returned to our hut. It was almost 3 p.m.; we cooked 'tikkad and sabji' on earthen stove made of bricks using firewood as fuel. This was our lunch-cum-dinner for the day. Sunil prepared a door for the hut using dried grass, sticks, and ropes. In the evening we did our upasana and arranged the straw-bed in the hut.

26th February -

We prepared breakfast by frying the tikkad-crust; made tea and decided to go to the 'town-parikrama' in the batches of two. Sunil and Abhishek then went for bath in kunda and town parikrama while I and Mamashree stayed back in the hut. Mamashree and I then collected firewood and sat under the mango tree near the hut discussing saints and their lives. After Sunil and Abhi, we went to the kunda for bath and then to town parikrama. When we returned the lunch was ready; we all had lunch and afternoon siesta. In the evening Sunil and Abhi went again to the town for purchasing milk while Mamashree and I performed the 'upasana' in the hut. Both of us had tough time doing upasana without Sunil and Abhi because we did not knew the upasana-songs by heart! For dinner we had milk and biscuits and then went to bed.

27th February -

Just like the previous day we did the kunda-bath and town parikrama in the batches of two. After the parikrama I asked Mamashree to go ahead while I went to a shop for shaving. Since 8th February I had not the pleasure of watching myself in mirror. While I was returning to the hut, luckily on the way I met Mr. Dvivedi, Mr Gupta and his son. They had come in a car and were searching our 'hut'. I took them to our hut and we all had lunch brought by them. They decided that they would stay with us in hut for a day. In the evening Mamashree went to the Dadhichi-Kunda with the guests for bath. For dinner we prepared 'Khichari' and then we all (7 members) went to bed in the hut.

28th February -

In the morning after tea, we decided that Sunil, Abhi, and I would go to parikrama first and then Mamashree will go with the guests. On this last day of parikrama I purchased a small 'chillum' (opium smoking pipe) made of red-clay as a souvenir of the parikrama. Most of the sadhus in North-India have 'chillum' with them and they smoke opium or tobacco through it. We came across many such 'Mahatmas' in the parikrama. After our return to the hut, Mamashree and the guests went for parikrama and we prepared the lunch. After the lunch and afternoon siesta, it was time for me and Sunil to part ways from Mamashree and Abhishek and go back with the guests as we had finished the parikrama. We made pranams to Mamashree and expressed our gratitude for successfully guiding us during the parikrama. After saying good-bye to Abhi, we start towards Lucknow. Mamashree and Abhi had planned to stay on the spot for few more days. In order to pick-up our luggage that we had brought from Howrah and did not carry in the parikrama, we first went back to Ganeshkutia, Naimisharanya. At Ganeshkutia we surprisingly met a boy-sadhu, Santdas; he had come in contact with Mamashree at Naimish. He was about 18 years old and the purity reflected on his face was impressive. Since Sunil and I had plans to go to Ayodhya later on, Santdas requested us to visit 'Gokul-Bhavan' - an ashrama belonging to his Guru. We all ate some fruits; then after doing pranams to the Shiva-linga at Guneshkutia and saying goodbye to the old bihari watchman and Santdas, we proceeded towards Sandila. Guptaji's son was driving the car. Around 7 pm we reached Sandila and once again went to Mr. Dvivedi's house; had snacks and tea there; after saying goodbye to him and his family we started for Lucknow. We reached Guptaji's house - which can be called a palace - around 9 pm. We had rich dinner and went to bed after chatting with Guptaji for an hour.

1st March -

In the morning, after taking leave of Gupta family, Guptaji's son dropped Sunil and me to the Charbagh railway station of Lucknow. This was a 'Holi' day and since this festival is observed with much fervour in Uttar Pradesh, we were soaked in colours when we took a cycle-rickshaw ride through the city; our white shirt and dhoti were now multi-coloured as were our faces! We boarded the train for Ayodhya and reached there around 4 pm. In the train we had our lunch that was packed for us by Gupta family. At Ayodhya, after a brief search we found 'Birla Dharmashala'; here we got a good room to stay for two days at the rate of Rs. 150/night. We took bath and cleaned our clothes. Since we had late lunch we did not take any dinner and went to bed around 10.30 pm after chatting an hour or so about movies we had seen in college days!

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