PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, April 1: Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation or IRCTC is giving you a chance to go and enjoy ‘Do (2) Dham yatra’. IRCTC has come out with a tour package for six nights and seven days.
This package allows you to visit Haridwar, Guptkashi, Sonprayag, Kedarnath, Joshimath, Badrinath, Rudraprayag and Rishikesh at the price of Rs 35,800 per person (for triple occupancy), Rs 37,600 per person (for double occupancy) and Rs 56,530 per person (for single occupancy).
Giving the details Chief Supervisor of IRCTC, Mukesh Prasad said that a total of 25 persons will be taken on a tour of Kedarnath and Badrinath, on which IRCTC has already booked the package for 8 people.
“To reduce the fair, we have reserved the seats in flight from Kolkata. So, the people of Jharkhand will have to travel to Kolkata to board the flight for the tour and at the end of the tour, they will again be dropped to Kolkata itself. Breakfast and dinner are also included in the package itself,” Mukesh said.
“Package can be booked by people by either visiting the official website or anyone can call on ‘9625532437’ to get the details as well as for booking the package,” Mukesh added.
The tour is supposed to commence from Kolkata on May 20, 2022. Tourists will be flown on to Delhi from Kolkata.
On their website, the organisation wrote, “IRCTC Ltd proudly announces the launch of DO DHAM YATRA for the year 2022 i.e. KEDARNATH & BADRINATH. There are four holy shrines in Uttarakhand dedicated to Hindu Gods and holy rivers of India. These four shrines are situated within the Garhwali Region and are collectively referred to as “HIMALAYAN CHARDHAM” comprising Kedarnath, Badrinath, and Yamunotri & Gangotri. Pilgrims from all over India and abroad await the opening of these shrines each year. In the year 2022, travel to DO DHAM will commence on 20th May 2022. It is believed that every Hindu should undertake Char Dham Yatra at least once in a lifetime to avail the blessings of gods adorning the shrines,” as they gave the flight details along with the package tariff.
The main entrance gate of Badrinath temple is colourful and imposing popularly known as Singhdwar. The temple is approximately 50 feet tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof.
The Badrinath temple is divided into three parts:
- The Garbha Griha or the sanctum sanctorum
- The Darshan Mandap where rituals are conducted and
- The Sabha Mandap where pilgrims assemble.
At the Badarinath Temple Gate, directly opposite the main Idol of Lord himself is seated idol of Bird Garud, vehicle/carrier of Lord Badarinarayan. Garud is seen in a sitting position and in prayer with his hands folded. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carvings. The Garbha Griha portion has its canopy covered with a sheet of gold and houses Lord Badari Narayan, Kuber (God of wealth), Narad rishi, Udhava, Nar and Narayan. Out of the 15 idols, the most attractive is the one-metre high image of lord Badarinath, finely sculpted in black stone.
There are more than 200 shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand itself, the most important one is Kedarnath.
The Temple at Kedarnath presents an imposing sight, standing in the middle of a wide plateau surrounded by lofty snow-covered peaks. The temple was originally built in the 8th century A.D. by Jagad Guru Adi Shankaracharya and stands adjacent to the site of an even earlier temple built by the Pandavas. \
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Kedarnath temple has exquisite architecture Built of extremely large, heavy and evenly cut grey slabs of stones, it evokes wonder as to how these heavy slabs were moved and handled in the earlier centuries.
The temple has a Garbha Griha for worship and a Mandap, apt for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors. A conical rock formation inside the temple is worshipped as Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form.
