MAHENDRACHAL

This is a mountain also known as MAHENDRAGIRI. It is located in the district of Gajapati in Tamil Nadu. It is 4943 feet high.

There is a shrine of Ramanuj Acharya in the temple. The river Lambya is flowing from here.1

HistoryMahendrachal mountain is mentioned in the Vasudev Mahatmya. and Shrimad Bhagwat in the story of the churning of the milk ocean.

Once, Indra was riding on his elephant when he came across Durvasa Muni. Seeing Indra, Durvasa offered him a garland. Indra accepted this garland and put it on the trunk of the elephant. The elephant threw the garland onto the floor, thus enraging Durvasa Muni. He therefore cursed Indra and all the Devtas to be stripped of all strength, energy, and fortune.

In the ensuing battles, the Devtas were defeated in battle and the Asuras (demons) headed by Bali gained control of the universe. The Devtas sought out the help of Lord Vishnu, who instructed them to churn the ocean of milk and gain necter (amrut). The Devtas then entered into an alliance with the asuras to jointly churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality and to share it among them. Of course, the Devtas were told by Vishnu that He would arrange for them alone to obtain the nectar, which would empower them to defeat the asuras.

(Insert picture of churning between the devtas and asuras)

For the task of churning the milk ocean, mount Mahendragiri was brought to the ocean shore by Garuda to be used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, the king of serpents, became the rope for churning. The churning was so arduous that Lord Vishnu Himself interceded in so many ways to aid the Devtas. He was present as Lord Ajita pulling on the side of the gods,

1 332 - Char-dham yatra

as Lord Kurma (the tortoise) who supported the great Mahendragiri mountain which was in danger of sinking, and Lord Vishnu Himself sat atop the Mountain infusing the Devtas and the serpent Vasuki with energy. With the Devtas at Vasuki's tail and the asuras at his head, they churned the milk ocean for one thousand years.

The churning of the milk ocean first produced a deadly poison halahala which Lord Shiva swallowed. Only he could swallow it without being affected by it. However, Parvati pressed his neck so that the poison does not reach his stomach. Thus, it stayed in his throat neither going up, nor down. The poison was so potent that it changed the colour of Shiva's neck to blue. For this, Shiva is also called Neelakantha (the blue-necked one). Neela means blue and Kantha means neck or throat.

Then came Kamadhenu (the wish fulfilling cow), Ucchaisrava (the white horse), Airavata (the white elephant), Kaustubhamani (a rare diamond), Kalpavriksha (the wish fulfilling tree), Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth), Sura or Varuni (the goddess of wine). Next came the apsaras, beautiful dancing girls, and a host of other wonderful things appeared from the milk ocean. At last, Dhanvantari (the divine physician) appeared with a pot of amrita (nectar of immortality) in his skilful hands. These objects except the amrita were divided equally amongst everyone.

Seeing Dhanvantari with the pot of nectar, both the Devtas and asuras became anxious. The Devtas, being fearful of what would happen if the asuras drank all the amrit, forcibly seized the pot. Wherever the Devtas went with the pot of amrit, fierce fighting ensued. In an endeavour to keep the nectar from falling into the hands of the asuras, the Devtas hid it in four places on the earth, Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. At each of the hiding places, a drop of the nectar spilled from the pot and landed on the earth. These four places are since believed to have acquired mystical power.

Eventually, Vishnu took the form of a beautiful woman, Mohini, and approached the asuras. When the asuras saw the charming beauty of Mohini, they lost all composure. Seeing her, the asuras completely forgot about drinking the nectar of immortality. While the asuras were thus bewildered by her beauty, Mohini seized the nectar and returned it to the Devtas, who drank it immediately.

Moral of the story

This story can be applied to ourselves. We start out as the Heaven ruled by the devs. We have been graced by God with good qualities. But as we (mind - Indra) gets into pride and ego, it leads into our downfall and we get ruled by the daityas (anger, greed, lust, etc). During some time in our life, our soul turns to God for help. God then says, OK, I will help, by showing you the path, but you will also have to do some work, hence the churning. Through prayers, meditations, etc., we churn our mind. We get pulled by both sides of our mind. Initially, in any detoxification process, the toxins come out. This is where God comes to our help by giving us the strength to overcome these problems. Eventually, we get back to our God like state. Some bad qualities are left over, for us to keep on remembering God as we should not let the ego overtake us.

River Sarayu

The River Sarayu flows through the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a tributary of the Ganges which meets two other rivers at the confluence (sangam) in U.P. It is also considered to be synonymous with the Ghaghara River or as a tributary of it.

The Rivers Karnali and Mahakali join in the Bahraich District and are known as Sarayu River. On Ram Navami, the festival that celebrates the birthday of Lord Rama, thousands of people take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu at Ayodhya.

The name is the feminine derivative of the Sanskrit root sar "to flow"; as a masculine stem, saráyu- means "air, wind", i.e. "that which is streaming".

The river is mentioned three times in the Rig Ved and also in the Atharva Ved. The bank of the Sarayu is the location of the slaying of two Aryas (noble men) at the hands of Indra in RV 4.30.18.

The Sarayu flows beside the ancient city of Ayodhya, which is in Uttar Pradesh. It was on the banks of the Sarayu that Lord Ram, the seventh Avatar of Vishnu was born, and also where he immersed himself to return to his eternal, real Mahavishnu form. His brothers Bharat and Shatrughn also join him, as did many devotees. The Ramayan also states that it was on the banks of the River Sarayu where King Dashratha accidentally killed Shravan Kumar whilst hunting a deer.

Bal Ghanshyam challenged the wrestlers Bhimsang, Dillisang and Mansang on the banks of the River Saryu in order to rid of their ego. NOTE - swaminarayan serial video.

On the 10th day of the first half of ashadha month samvat year 1849, Neelkanth varni started his van vicharan by jumping into the River Sarayu on the banks on chhapaiya, reappearing approximately 24km down on the banks of Ayodhya.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarayu

Bhagwan Shri Swaminarayan Charitra Darshan – Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot, page 12

River Ghela

Char Dham yatra, pg 141

The River Ghela runs through the town of Gadhada in the Indian state of Gujarat where Maharaj spent 25 years and 8months, it is therefore a significant place of pilgrimage for the followers of Bhagwan Swaminarayan as Maharaj himself had taken a bath in this river along with saints and haribhatktos several times. Nishkulanand Swami has stated in the Purshotam Prakash that whoever comes to bathe in the River Ghela will become pure on both the outside and the inside, and attain Akshardham. Nishkulanand Swami also compares Gadhada with Vaikunth (abode of Shri Krishna) on many occasions in the Purshotam Prakash. So whoever does darshan of places Maharaj visited comes closer to Akshardham, this is how benevolent Maharaj is and how easy Maharaj has made moksh for us.

Maharaj had also celebrated Holi on the banks and in the river itself with saint and haribhaktos.

Lord Himself had done much physical labour work in the construction of the temple in Ghadhada by carrying bricks and rocks from the Ghela River to the temple site.

Purushottam Prakash – Prakaran 29Purushottam Prakash – Prakaran 30

The Ghela is also known as the Unmant Ganga. Mandavya rishi is known as one of the most respectable rushis. At the age of 5 he killed a butterfly by poking it. When he was older four thieves stole from the King and ran away, as the soldiers chased them, they hid in to the ashram of Mandavya Rishi. Upon seeing the thieves there, the guards also took Mandavya rishi with them. The king ordered them all to be hung. However, Mandavya Rishi did not die. The king realiesd his mistake and worshiped him and let him go. Mandavya rishi became upset about this incident and went to Yamraja and asked him why he had been punished in such a way for no reason. Yamraja explained that when he was 5 he had killed a butterfly. Mandhavya rishi said that when you are you are not punished for your ingnorance, he was a child who did not know from right or wrong. In anger he cursed Yamraja to be born as a human and it is said that Yamraja took the form of Vidhur who was the royal advisor of Hastinapur Kaka to the Pandavs in the Mahabharat. Mandavya rishi returned to his ashram, However after a while he moved to an ashram in the Salemal mountain. There he realised that Yamraja was merely carrying out his duty and that he should not have cursed him. He gathered rishis and asked them for advice on what penance to do. They said that he was so great there were many ways in which he could

atone for this sin. However, if he were to bring the Ganga to earth there, then it would be of benefit to mankind in general. As such the rishi did great tap (penance) and pleased with his efforts mother Ganga flowed from his ashram.

Story of Nilkanth Brahmin. Nilkanth Brahmin was a renowned person within his friendship group and caste. One time when there was a famine, he went to the king and arranged for food and clothing for his people. When the famine finished, he with great pride told the women of his caste and his friend’s wives that he was so great that they were worthy of being his servants. In anger the ladies went home and complained to their husbands. The brahmins then gave him a really hard time and they wanted to get him into trouble. One day Nilkanth was taking a bath in a nearby well and his brother's son came there to get water. By accident he fell in. Nilkanth rushed to get help but unfortunately, the boy drowned. With great difficulty was Nilkanth able to get the corpse out of the well. Nilkanth was blamed for the death of this boy and was accused of pushing him in. Despite his efforts to persuade people otherwise, everyone held him guilty of this, and considered him a murderer. Nilkanth said even though I have not done this great sin, you consider me your sinner, in which case tell me also of away in which I can get rid of this sin from my shoulders and atone for it. The brahmins in anger said that he should pray to get the River Ganga there (Unmant Ganga) and bathe in her waters. Nilkanth renounced his home and came to Gadhada. He faced the south and began to do tap. He did so for a very long time. Impressed with his tap Ganga appeared nearby his ashram and bathed him in her waters. Nilkanth established a Shiv mandir there. Hence Maharaj along with devotees and santos constantly bathed here. Ganga felt so blessed by this; she said that the fish, animals and living organisms that live in her waters will be collected by demi-gods when they die. Those who bath in the waters of the Unmanti during religious days such as Ekadashi, are born as strong devotees after death, hence eventually attain Akshardham.

River Gandaki

The Gandaki River (also known as the Narayani in southern Nepal and the Gandak in India) is one of the major rivers of Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. In Nepal the river is notable for its deep gorge through the Himalaya and its enormous hydroelectric potential. It has a total catchment area of 46,300 km2, most of it in Nepal.

In Nepal

The river is called Sapta (seven) Gandaki for seven tributaries rising in the Himalaya or further north along the main Ganges-Brahmaputra divide. These are called Daraudi, Seti, Madi, Kali, Marsyandi, Budhi and Trisuli.

The Kali Gandaki river source is at the border with Tibet at an altitude of 6,268 m (20,564 ft) at the Nhubine Himal Glacier in the Mustang region of Nepal.

The river flows southward through a steep gorge known as the Kali Gandaki Gorge, or Andha Galchi, between the mountains Dhaulagiri (8167 m) to the west and Annapurna I (8091 m) to the east. If one measures the depth of a canyon by the difference between the river height and the heights of the highest peaks on either side, this gorge is the world's deepest. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forces the mountains higher, the river has cut through the uplift. The river's course over this structure is constantly shifting. It is said that the river has shifted 80 km to the east due to tectonic tilting in the last 5000 years.

The river then turns east to run along the northern edge of the Mahabharat Range. Turning south again and breaking through the Mahabharats, Kali Gandaki is then joined by a major tributary, Trishuli at Devighat. From Devighat, the river flows southwest and is known as Narayani or Sapt Gandaki. The river later curves back towards the southeast as it enters India where it is called the Gandak.

Major towns and cities located along or near the banks of the Kali Gandaki are, Kusma, Ridi, Devghat, Narayangarh, Valmikinagar and Triveni to name a few. The river carries heavy amounts of glacial silt, imparting the river a black color

The Gandaki River is mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharat. Episode 1 of "The Living Planet," David Attenborough's second nature documentary series, is set in the Kali Gandaki Gorge. People of the western world want to know more about our history and culture more than we do.

Valmiki Ashram

The ancient Valmiki Ashram and surrounding temples are located in the Chitwan National Park of Nepal.It is located at a distanace of about 7 km from Valmikinagar

It is said that Valmiki Rishi (sage) wrote the great epic, Ramayan here before the the historic events even happened. It is also believed to be the birthplace of Luv & Kush (the twin sons of Lord Ram and Sitaji. The hermitage also has landmarks of Sita’s ‘Falahar’ (eating place), meditation place of the great rishi Valmiki and the place where the Ashwamedh horse was tied.

Saligrama Sila and Mukthinath

The stones (Ammonite fossils) collected from the bed of the Gandaki River at a place close to Saligrama or Muktinath (also known as Muktishetra - place of salvation) in the Mustang district of Nepal, are called Saligram Silas and considered unique and are used for worship. It is also a sacred place for Buddhists who call it Chumig Gyatsa, which in Tibetan means 'Hundred Waters'. These stones are naturally formed round stones, with circular or spiral markings and are fossil ammonite stones found in the rivers of Himalayas, in particular kinds of ocean sediments, which have been uplifted to the top of the Himalayas.

There is also a tributary called Chakra-nadi or Jhong Khola which flows from Muktinath and joins the Kali Gandaki at Kagbeni. This tributary is described in Garuda purana as created by Brahma; and the great peak to the north of the river is said to contain the presence of Vishnu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandaki_River

River Narmada

Map of the Narmada River

The Narmada also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India and flows westwards over a length of 1,312 km before draining through into the Arabian Sea, west of Bharuch city of Gujarat. It is one of only three major rivers in peninsular India that runs from east to west (largest west flowing river) along with the Tapti River and the Mahi River. It flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra,

Narmadā is a Sanskrit word meaning "the Giver of Pleasure".

The source of the Narmada is a small tank called Narmada Kund located on the Amarkantak hill in the Anuppur District of eastern Madhya Pradesh. The river descends from the Amarkantak hill range at the Kapildhara falls over a cliff and meanders in the hills flowing through a tortuous course crossing the rocks and islands up to the ruined palace of Ramnagar.

Emerging from the Marble Rocks the river enters its first fertile basin. It is in the first valley of the Narmada that many of its important tributaries from the south join it and bring the waters of the northern slopes of the Satpura hills. The Omkareshwar island, sacred to Lord Shiva, is the most important river island in Madhya Pradesh.

Below Makrai, the river flows between Vadodara district and Narmada district and then meanders through the rich plain of Bharuch district of Gujarat state. The banks are high between the layers of old alluvial deposits, hardened mud, gravels of nodular limestone and sand.

Religious significance

The Narmada happens to be one of the most sacred of the five holy rivers of India; the other four being Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari and Kaveri. It is believed that a dip in any of these five rivers washes ones sins away. Legends also mention that the Narmada River is older than the River Ganga.

The Ramayan, the Mahabharat and Purans refer to the Narmada repeatedly. The Rewa Khand of Vayu Purana and the Rewa Khand of Skanda Purana are entirely devoted to the story of the birth and the importance of the river and hence Narmada is also called Rewa.

There are many assumptions as to how the Narmada originated, one of them is Lord Shiv, the Destroyer of the Universe, meditated so hard that he started perspiring. Shiv’s sweat accumulated in a tank and started flowing in the form of a river – the Narmada and for this reason it is often called Shankari- daughter of Shankar.

Another legend has it that two tear drops that fell from the eyes of Lord Brahma, the Creator, yielded two rivers – the Narmada and the Son.

The importance of the Narmada River as sacred is shown by the devotees performing holy pilgrimages of a Parikrama or Circumambulation of the river. The Narmada Parikrama, as it is called, is considered to be a meritorious act that a pilgrim can undertake. Many sadhus and pilgrims walk on foot from the Arabian Sea at Bharuch in Gujarat, along the river, to the source in Maikal Mountains (Amarkantak hills) in Madhya Pradesh and back along the opposite bank of the river. It is a 2,600-kilometre (1,600 mi) walk.

Some of the important national parks and wild life sanctuaries in the valley are the following. Kanha National Park located in the upper reaches of Narmada. Two tributaries of Narmada, Hallon and Banjar flow through this park. It is one of the best National Parks of Asia.

Satpura National Park, set up in 1981, is located in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh. Its name is derived from Satpura hill range and covers an area of 524 km2 (202.3 sq mi) and provides a unique Central Indian Highland ecosystem which is very rich in biodiversity. It comprises tiger, leopard, sambar, chital, bhedki, nilgai, four-horned antelope, chinkara, bison (gour), wild boar, wild dog, bear, black buck, fox, porcupine, flying squirrel, mouse deer, Indian joint squirrel etc. There are a variety of birds. Hornbills and peafowl are the common birds.

Maharaj sent many saints on pilgrimage to a village close by to the Narmada River called Tavara.

Bhatkachintamani – Prakaran 65

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmada_River

Meen sarovar

Chaar dham yatra – chappaiya, pg 380

This is a small lake (dry during the summer) where Ghanshyam Maharaj brought dead fish back to life and instructed the fisherman not to kill fish for a living.

One day Ghanshyam Maharaj was playing with his friends on the banks of the Meen Sarovar, Veniram asked them to stop playing and to come home and eat. Ghanshyam told him that he wasn’t the only one hungry and that they all were, he rubbed his stomach and said, it would be better if we could get food here, then we wouldn’t have to go all the way home. The friends relpied, we will do what you want us to, but please get us food quickly. Ghanshyam said if you want to eat then take this handkerchief and tie it to the bark of the tree, and go and bathe in the Meen Sarovar.

Playing blissfully, they all forgot their hunger until it started to get dark. Then Ghanshyam said its getting dark, let’s go home otherwise my elder brother will tell me off. They made their way to the tree where they had left the handkerchief and Ghanshyam saw that ashtasidhi’s where putting food in the handkercheif. He started taking the food and feeding his friends, but He himself got so caught up in serving that he was not able to eat, he requested the ashtasidi’s to take full form so his friends could see them and they could feed them. Whilst they were eating Brahma disguised himself as a fish in the sarovar hoping to get prasad when Ghanshyam washed his hands, however, knowing of this He told his friends that it was very late and not to wash their hands in the lake as they may get bitten by a crocodile. Upon hearing this bhrama then changed his form to a sadhu to ask for alms, Ghanshyam told the sadhu to ask for alms where the public is, Brahma then let go of his ego and revealed his real form and begged for forgiveness.

One day, Ghanshyam did jal kriya in the Meen Sarovar. They went to the opposite bank of the lake, when they were coming back, Veniram drowned in the water, but Ghanshyam Maharaj only realised Veniram wasn’t there when He got out of the lake, he saw his mom coming and thought he would get into trouble so jumped in the river. Bhaktimata asked the wrestlers that were there if they had seen them, and just at that point, she saw Ghanshyam and Veniram coming from the village hand in hand.

Khampa Talav

Bhagwan Shri Swaminarayan Charitra Darshan – Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot & Vachanamrut

Bal Ghanshyam was playing with his friends in Chhapaiya with his friends, whilst climbing a jambu tree, he hurt himself on his right thigh, at that time Ashwinikumar appeared to tend to him.

In Vachnamrut Gadhada Pratham 37, Maharaj says that a person who lacks understanding cannot abandon his feelings for his birthplace even if they have renounced the world. He showed everyone in the sabha his scar on his right thigh and said that whenever he looks at the scar, he remembers his birthplace and the lake. Maharaj acknowledges the difficulties of forgetting childhood memories and relations, but explains that if you want to think of your birthplace, think of the birthplace of your atma as this is what is of importance. If you want to maintain relations with relatives then you should maintain relations with relatives that you have had throughout your previous lives in the cycle of 8.4 million life forms. Just as upon beginning this human life, relatives of previous lives have been forgotten due to ignorance; relatives of this life should be forgotten through knowledge.

http://www.ecoheritage.cpreec.org/innerpageof.php?$mFJyBfKPkE8