Chitrakoot - sight seeing / things to do
Chitrakoot - the name brings to our
memory the great Epic Ramayana. Here is the place where Lord Rama, Sita
devi and Lakshmana were staying till Sita was adducted by Ravana and carried
away to Srilanka. If you have read Amish Tripathi's Trilogy
series, this place makes it more lively to read through the book again.
When the trip was planned, I
didnt realize the significance of this place with respect to Ramayana since we
are from Chennai and Chitrakoot is so far away and the Ramayana stories were
stories alone. But coming to this place, it was taking me back to my
childhood days of reading listening to stories from Ramayana and living through
them in all the places in Chitrakoot.
Chitrakoot means " Hill of many Wonders" and is part of the Vindhya Mountain Range. The city of Chitrakoot is part of Satna District of Madhya Pradesh and adjoins the Chitrakoot District of State of Uttar Pradesh. It is a small town with less than 25000 people.
Chitrakoot is accessable by Railways and Roadways and the nearest airport is Prayagraj Airport which is just 106 kms away. It is also connected to Khajuraho Airport which is 167 km away from Chitrakoot.
Places of Interest in and around Chitrakoot
1. KAMAD GIRI
Kamadgiri
is the main holy place of Chitrakoot Dham . The Sanskrit word ‘Kamadgiri’ means
the mountain which fulfills all the wishes and desires. The place is believed
to have been the abode of Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman during their exile. Lord
Kamtanath, another of His names, is the Ishta Deva principal deity not only of
Kamadgiri Parvat but of the whole of Chitrakoot.
Read
through my blog and be part of my travel
https://saradaramani.blogspot.com/2022/04/kamadgiri-chitrakoot.html
2. RAM GHAT
As the name suggests this Ghat is totally associated with Lord
Rama and the steps lead us to river Mandakini
Visit my blog to read more on this
https://saradaramani.blogspot.com/2022/04/aarthi-ram-ghat-chitrakoot.html
3. BHARAT
KOOP
Bharat Koop is a huge well near Bharatpur village, located
around 20 KMs west of Chitrakoot. It is believed that Lord Rama’s brother
Bharat brought water from all the holy places to honour Lord Ram as the King of
Ayodhya. Bharat was unsuccessful in persuading Lord Ram to return to his
kingdom and take his place as the king. Bharat then, as per the instructions of
Maharishi Atri, poured the holy water in this well. It is said that taking a
bath from the water of this well means bathing in all teerths (pilgrimage
destination). There is also a temple here dedicated to Lord Rama and his
family.
4. BHARAT
MILAP TEMPLE
Bharat Milap temple is believed to be the marking the spot where
Bharat met Lord Rama during his period of exile to persuade him to return to the
throne of Ayodhya. It is said that the meeting of four brothers was so
overwhelming that even the rocks and mountains of Chitrakoot melted. Footprints
of Lord Rama and his brothers imprinted on these rocks can still be seen.
5. GANESH
BAGH
Ganesh Bagh is located on the Karvi – Devangana road. It was
built in the 19th century by Vinayak Raj Peshwa. This place consists of a
temple which has carvings on its interiors, resembling the art and style of
Khajuraho. This place is also known as mini Khajuraho, owing to its
architectural similarity with original Khajuraho.
6. SATI
ANUSUYA ASHRAM
Chitrakoot is not only about Lord Rama and his Parivar but is
also associated with various Rishis or Sages from the Vedic Time. One such Sage is Sage Atiri who did penace in
this small hillock and stayed with his wife Sati Anusuya who was tested by the
Teen Murtis to showcase her pativridhatha to the whole world.
Read through my blog to know more about this place
https://saradaramani.blogspot.com/2022/04/sati-anusuya-temple-chitrakoot.html
7. GUPT
GODAVARI
Gupt Godavari is located 18 Kms from Chitrakoot. Legend has it
that Lord Rama and Lakshman stayed here for some part of their exile.
Gupt Godavari is a two cave system inside a mountain with knee high water
level. The bigger cave has two stone carved thrones believed to be belonging to
Rama and Laxman.
https://saradaramani.blogspot.com/2022/04/gupt-godavari-chitrakoot.html
8. HANUMAN
DHARA
This Hanuman temple is situated on top of a huge rock. A steep
climb of several carved steps lead to the temple. Now we have a ropecar to do the climb much
more easily. While climbing these steps
one can see splendid views of Chitrakoot underneath. Legend says that inside
this temple Lord Rama stayed with Lord Hanuman, after Lord Hanuman set Lanka on
fire and returned back. Here Lord Rama helped him pacify his anger.
You will
read the entire epic story in my blog
https://saradaramani.blogspot.com/2022/04/gupt-godavari-chitrakoot.html
9. SPHATIK
SHILA
The
sphatik shila is a small boulder situated on the banks of River Mandakini,
upstream from the Rama Ghat. This place is believed to be the spot where Mother
Sita did her Shringaar (makeup). What
is called Sphatik Shila is in fact two enormous boulders which are believed to
contain the footprints of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita.
There is an interesting
mythology associated with this religious site in Chitrakoot. It is said that
one day Lord Rama was seated at this spot along with Goddess Sita and Laxmana
(Rama’s brother) and was engaged in making garlands for her. Just then, Jayant,
the son of Lord Indra, appeared on the scene disguised as a crow and pecked at
her feet.
Furious with him, Lord Rama shot a blade of grass to kill him.
He escaped and arrived at Indralok (the abode of Lord Indra, his father) but
was disappointed when his father refused to help him in any way. Scared, guilty
and filled with remorse, he returned to the scene and threw himself at Lord
Rama’s feet, begging forgiveness. As fate would have it, the blade cut one of
his eyes and blinded it. Several mythological tales attribute the one eyed
blindness of crows since then to this episode.
10. RAM DARSHAN
Ram Darshan temple is one unique temple where puja (worship) and offerings are prohibited. This temple helps people enter integral Humanism by imparting them the valuable moral lessons. The temple is an amalgamation of cultural and human aspects and leaves a mark on anyone’s heart who ever visits this temple. The temple gives an insight to Lord Rama’s life and his inter- personal relations. One needs an entry ticket to enter the premises.
11. Sitapur
Lying
on the left bank of Payaswani about 8 km. From Karvi, it is intimately
connected with the sacred hills of Kamtanath, which is 2 km to its south –
west. Pilgrims first bathe in payaswani at Sitapur and then move on to do the
Parikrama of Kamtanath hill. Originally known as Jaisinghpur, it was given to
Mahant Charandas by Aman Singh Raja of Panna, who gave it the new name Sitapur
in honour of maa Sita. There are twenty four Ghats and several temples along
the river, which add to the glory of the town.
12. Kalinjar
88
km. From Chitrakoot lies the invincible Fort of Kalinjar. Once desired by kings
& dynasties, it houses within itself the Nilkanth temple, Swarga Rohan
Kund, Vakhandeshwar Mahadev Temple, Shivasari Ganga & Koti Tirth. Other
interesting spots within the fort area are Sita Sej, Patal Ganga, Pandu Kund,
Budhi-Tall, Bhairon Ki Jharia and Mrigdhara.
13. Rajapur
38 km from Chitrakoot Dham Railway Station. The birthplace of
Goswami Tulsidas, who wrote the world famous Shri Ram Charita Manas. 42 km from
Chitrakoot, this place is believed to be the birth place of Goswami Tulsidas. A
Tulsi Mandir is situated here.
( Information and photo courtesy Uttar Pradesh Tourism board)
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