Yoga Journal USA – May 2019

YOGAJOURNAL.COM 85

GOMUKH
The Ganges, also known as Ma Ganga, is the most revered, sacred
river in Hindu lore. When Ma Ganga was asked to descend to
Earth from the heavens, she was insulted, so she decided to sweep
away everything in her path with her waters once she reached the
terrestrial plain. In order to protect the Earth from Ma Ganga’s
force, Lord Shiva sat in the Himalayan mountain town of Gangotri
and caught the powerful river in his hair, saving the Earth from
cracking open. Thanks to Shiva, Ma Ganga’s celestial, purifying
waters then flowed through India, and the devout travel to her
banks to wash away sins and find salvation. A multi-day trek to
Gomukh—the Gangotri Glacier that is the site of Ma Ganga’s
headwaters—is the ultimate pilgrimage, Bhardwaj says.

KEDARNATH
This north Indian town nestled in the Himalayas is where Lord
Shiva is believed to have meditated. Pilgrims make the 11-mile
uphill trek to the Kedarnath Temple—which, due to extreme
weather conditions, is open only from the end of April to early
November—to worship him. “Passionate yogis who meditate there
for a while often experience intense energies,” Bhardwaj says.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

This northern Indian state in the foothills of the Himalayas is

home to countless goddess temples and monasteries, Bhardwaj

says, as well as the 14th Dalai Lama’s monastery, where he

currently lives and gives public discourses. “It’s an especially

interesting place because of the combination of Hindu and

Buddhist traditions,” Bhardwaj says.

BADRINATH

Badrinath Temple, dedicated to Vishnu, one of the Hindu triad

of gods along with Shiva and Brahma, is also one of the four Char

Dham pilgrimage sites. Visiting the char dhams, which means

“four abodes”—Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and Rameswaram—is

something every Hindu must do during his or her lifetime,

Bhardwaj says. “I think of Badrinath as the little brother of

Kedarnath,” he says. “While Kedarnath is the homeland of Shiva,

and has this intense energy as a result, Badrinath radiates a more

holy, more Hindu energy.”

PILGRIMAGES

HIMACHAL

VARANASI