The greatness of Haridwar.
Why is Haridwar a holy place?
Because amrita has spilled in Haridwar.
Amrita came from the churning of the milky ocean.
It was handed over to the Devas by Lord Dhanwantari.
Asuras started chasing the Devas.
This went on for 12 days.
In between, Devas kept down the pot of amrita at 12 places.
5 in Swargaloka and 4 on earth.
One of those places is Haridwar.
Haridwar is holy because drops of amrita from the pot have spilled here.
Why is Haridwar called Haridwar?
In fact, it is called Haridwar and Hardwar.
Gateway to both Hari and Hara, Vishnu and Shiva.
The pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Vishnu and Shiva in Uttarakhand starts from here.
How many ghats are there in Haridwar?
There are so many holy ghats in Haridwar.
Among them, 5 are most famous - Har ki pauri, Kushavarta, Bilwakeshwar, Neel Parvat, Kankhal
Importance of Har ki pauri.
Footprint of Lord Vishnu can be seen on a stone slab here.
The legend of Kushavarta.
Lord Dattatreya was performing tapas here.
He had kept his Kusha grass, kamandalu, etc. near Ganga and was deep in deep meditation.
Mischievous Ganga tried to wash them away.
But she could not because of the power of Dattatreya’s tapas.
She turned into a whirlpool (avarta) and could not go any further.
When Dattatreya woke up from meditation, he saw his materials turning inside the whirlpool.
He became angry and wanted to turn Ganga into ashes.
Lord Brahma and other Devas intervened and pacified Dattatreya.
He said, ‘Since I found my kusha inside an avarta here, This place will henceforth be known as Kushavarta.
Importance of Bilwakeshwar
The famous Bilwakeshwar Mahadev Temple Is on top of a hill called Bilwa.
There is a steam here called Shivadhara.
By taking bath in Shivadhara, Shiva can be attained.
Bilwakeshwara Mahadev is under a Bilwa tree.
A divine serpent called Ashwatara comes here sometimes disguised as as animal and
sometimes as a human.
He keeps traveling between Pathala and the earth through the base of the Bilwa tree.
Importance of Neel Parvat
A Shiva Gana called Neela had observed tapas here.
There is also a branch of Ganga called Neeladhara here.
A dip in Neeladhara and then darshan of Neeleshwar Mahadev is very sacred.
Importance of Kankhal
Kankhal is the place where Daksha performed yaga.
Shiva was insulted during this yaga.
Unable to bear this, Sati Devi self-immolated here.
Shiva destroyed the yaga and beheaded Daksha.
Later Shiva was pacified by Vishnu.
Daksheshwar Mahadev temple at Kankhal is very sacred.
Famous Devi temples of Haridwar
Chandi Devi, Mansa Devi, Maya Devi.
Haridwar is one of the holiest places in Bharata.
Where people come to purify themselves.
By taking bath in ghats and get blessed.
For health, wealth, progeny, prosperity, spiritual growth and liberation.