Legend, Importance, Timings, Travel Guide of Gangotri Temple – Source of Sacred River Ganga – Char Dham, Uttarakhand
Gangotri temple – highest temple of Goddess Ganges located at height of 3100 mtrs in small town Gangotri of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand is one of the major pilgrimage destination for Hinduism, one of the Char Dham of Uttarakhand along with Kedarnath, Badrinath and Yamunotri. The origin of the sacred river Ganges is at 'Gaumukh' located in Gangotri glacier located 19km away from the Gangotri temple. It is original source of 'Holy River Ganga' which is one of important Chota Char Dham pilgrimages in Hindu Religion and as per the text of Hinduism, Gangotri temple is the place from where river Ganga descended from heaven after being released by Lord Shiva from his locks. It is known as Bhagirathi till it merges with Alaknanda at Devaprayag, from Devprayag, it is known as Ganga. Gangotri temple was built in 18th century by Nepalese general Amar Singh Thapa and then rebuilt by king of Jaipur.
Gangotri temple is simple in architecture and constructed with white marble and five shikhara of 20 feet height. Idol of goddess Ganges is placed in inner sanctum of temple as main deity, along with this, other idols of Goddess Yamuna, Annpurna, Lord Shiva, Ganesha, Hanumanji, Goddess Laxmi and Saraswati, king Bhagirath and great saint Adi Sankaracharya are placed. The pilgrims take holy bath in the crystal clear waters of the pious river Ganges and then visit the main shrine.
Gangotri temple Darshan open on sacred day “Akshay Tritiya” generally falls in end of April or first week of May, which is the beginning of Char Dham Yatra and Closed on Diwali falls on October or November. During close period, the idol is shifted to Mukhyamath temple in Mukhba village around 20 km downstream and regular puja rituals performed here. Along with Gangotri temple, Bharionghati, Jalmagna Shivlinga, Surya Kund, Bhagiratha Shila where King Bhagirath had worshiped lord Shiva, Pandava caves – where Pandava perform penance and Dev Yagya, Tapovan, Underwater Shivlinga or Submerging Shiva Temples etc. are other important place which attracts the devotee and adventure lover as trekking as well.
As per the legend, King Sagara's grandson – King Bhagiratha wanted to free his ancestors – (60000 son of King Sagar) from the curse of Sage Kapila, undertook penance for 1000 years to please Ganga to descend on earth, at last, his endeavors proved to be fruitful, River Ganga satisfied by his commitment arrived on earth and for this reason, it's also called Bhagirathi. The intensity of River Ganges was such that the whole earth would got submerged under its waters. To save the earth from such destruction, Lord Shiva caught River Ganga in his locks. Thus to please Lord Shiva, King Bhagirath again meditated for a very long time. Lord Shiva being pleased with Bhagirath's immense devotion and released River Ganga.
How to reach – Gangotri Temple: It is usually visited after Yamnotri located within the western region of Garhwal hills, where pilgrims generally make Uttarkashi as their base camp, time taken to visit Gangotri from Uttarkashi temple is about 4 hours by road. Gangotri can be visited by airways nearest airport from Gangotri is Jolly Grant, Dehradun around 250 kms away. Gangotri can be visited by railway's where station is located at Rishikesh, about 235 km away, Gangotri is easily accessible by road with most of the major cities of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and NCR region which is located at a distance of 452 Km from Delhi & 229 Km from Rishikesh. As millions of devotee visit Gangotri temple during the Char Dham Yatra, thus sufficient option of Hotels, Guest Houses, Ashrams, Dharmashalas are available for pilgrims.
