Chardham Yatra: The Holy Pilgrimage & It's Significance

The Chardham Yatra consists of divine darshan of four holy sites mostly done by hindus. It was said that whoever did this chardham yatra will attain moksha. Char means four and dham means religious place. The four religious places are Badrinath, Jagannath Puri, Rameshwaram and Dwarka. 

Table of Contents

1. About Chardham Yatra
2. Actual Char Dham
3. Altitude of Chardham
4. Significance of Char Dham
5. Bada Chardham Yatra
6. Chota Char Dham
7. Best time to visit Chardham
8. Distance between Char dham and From where to start Char Dham Yatra?
9. Things to carry for Chardham Yatra

About Chardham Yatra

According to holy books of Hindu mythology, 33 crore Devi- Devtas are worshipped. There are places associated with each of these Dev-Devis.It is a popular belief that, whoever visits these Tirtha Sthans with pure heart and devotion they attain Moksha. That’s why thousands of devotees and travelers have been travelling to these holy places since time immemorial. The famous Indian Philosopher, Shri Adi Shankaracharya coined the term 'Chardham'. 'Char' means four and 'Dham' means holy place.Here the word 'Char' depicts the four directions in which the Holy places stands tall. 

Actual Chardham

India has two existing Chardhams, one is Chota Char Dham and another one is Bada Char Dham. 

Devotees often have a question in their mind, about which one is the correct Chardham? Is it equally beneficial to travel both the Chardhams?

Bada Chardham comprises of Badrinath, Jagannath Puri, Rameshwaram and Dwarka,which are situated in four directions of India.The distance among these four places was huge, which made the pilgrimmage journey long and arduous.

In order to make the Char Dham Yatra feasible for all, Chota Char Dham was created.In which the four holy sites are in one state i.e. Uttarakhand. Chota Char Dham comprises of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. Chota char dham has the same importance as that of Bada Char Dham.

Why you should go for Char Dham Yatra?

It was believed that Char Dham Yatra helps devotees to attain moksha after death. It will free oneself from the cycle of births. Sanatan Dharma preaches 'Karma'.Which means for every sins one commits,one has to face it's consequences. Either in this birth or in next birth.

What do the Char Dhams represent?

Four temples of chardham represents the four yugas. 

Badrinath represents Satya Yuga

Rameshwaram represents Treta Yuga

Dwarka represents Dwapar Yuga

Puri represents Kali Yuga.

Bada Chardham Yatra

The Bada Char Dham is in four directions like-
Out of these four dhams, Badrinath is the first and oldest established dham. After Badrinath, the three dhams are established. 

Badrinath(North)

Badrinath is also known as Badrinarayan temple. It is situated at an elevation of around 3300 m on the banks of Alaknanda river. Due to extreme weather, the darshan of this temple can be done in only 6 months in a year. This temple is one of the famous temples of Lord Vishnu. 

Jagannath Puri(East)

This temple is dedicated to the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu i.e. Lord Krishna. It is over 1000 years old, where Lord Krishna is worshipped along with his sister Subadra and brother Balrama. The speciality of the temple is that the Sudarshana Chakra and idols of deities are made up of wood. 

Dwarka(West) 

This temple is also dedicated to Lord Krishna. It is believed that the original dwarka is submerged in the sea. The temple which devotees visit was built 2,500 years ago by Vajranabh. He is believed to be the great grandson of Lord Krishna. This dham is also called ‘Mokshapuri’. 

Rameshwaram(South)

 Rameshwaram temple is dedicated to Lord shiva. It is situated in the south on Rameshwar island. It was established by Lord Rama. According to a belief of Sanatan Dharma, after killing Ravana, Ram worshipped Lord Shiva here to absolve himself of the guilt of killing a Brahmin.

Chota Char Dham

That one question which is always in the mind of every devotee: if bada char dham is Badrinath, Jagannath Puri, Rameshwaram and Dwarka so, what was the importance of Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath? Answer of this question is that for some devotees it was quite difficult to visit the temple in four directions of India. That’s why chota char dham is the four holy places that give you the same results as of bada char dham. 

Kedarnath

Kedarnath temple is on the Garhwal range of the Himalayas. Mandakini river flows near it. The Kedarnath temple located here is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is considered an important pilgrimage site of Hindu religion. Shivling established in Kedarnath temple is considered one of the 12 Jyotirlingas.

Gangotri

Gangotri is a famous pilgrimage site located in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. It is situated at about 3300 metres on the Greater Himalayan mountain range. This is one of the Chota Char Dham located in Uttarakhand. It is from here that India's most sacred river, the Ganges River, originates, that is, it is from here that the Ganga River originates. It is believed that when Shiva freed the mighty river Ganga from his locks, the river Ganga descended. Every year between May and October there is a flood of devotees here. The doors of the temple are opened on Akshaya Tritiya of Shukla Paksha of Vaishakh month. In the month of Kartik, this door is closed on the day of Yam Dwitiya Tithi.

Yamunotri 

Yamunotri Dham is one of the Chota Char Dham located in Uttarakhand. It is situated at 3293 metres in the Garhwal range of the Himalayas in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The Yamuna river originates from here. The temple of Goddess Yamuna located here is the centre of attraction. Like Gangotri, the doors of this temple are opened on Akshaya Tritiya of Shukla Paksha of Vaishakh month and are closed on Yama Dwitiya Tithi of Kartik month.

Badrinath

Badrinath is also known as Badrinarayan temple. It is situated at an elevation of around 3300 m on the banks of Alaknanda river. Due to extreme weather, the darshan of this temple can be done in only 6 months in a year. This temple is one of the famous temples of Lord Vishnu. 

Best time to visit Char Dham

Travelling to Char Dham Yatra is very enjoyable in May and June and September and October. The good weather lasts during these months, with temperatures between 5°C and 20°C. Because of the intense rains and bitter cold throughout the monsoon season and the winter, it is usually not advised to travel during these times.

Distance between Chardham and from where to start the Chardham Yatra?

It is believed that devotees should visit the Char Dham temples in a clockwise direction. So it should be started from Badrinath temple. The Bada Char Dham route map should be like- 

Badrinath - Jagannath Puri - Rameshwaram - Dwarka

Distance between them are -
Badrinath to Jagannath Puri - 2,010.7 km
Jagannath Puri to Rameshwaram - 1,778.3 km
Rameshwaram to Dwarka - 2,508.2 km

For Chota Char Dham

It is believed that pilgrims first visit Yamunotri and Gangotri. Then they fill the water of these holy rivers in a vessel and perform Jalabhishek at Kedarnath Shivling with this holy water. After this one has darshan of Badrinath Ji, a form of Lord Vishnu. The chota char dham route map be like
Yamunotri- Gangotri- Kedarnath- Badrinath.
Distance between them are-
Yamunotri to Gangotri- 45.4 km
Gangotri to kedarnath- 31.3 km
Kedarnath to Badrinath- 218 km