SEEING SPIRITUAL INDIA: A GUIDE TO TEMPLES, HOLY SITES, FESTIVALS AND TRADITIONS:

2020 UPDATE by Stephen Knapp

CHITRAKUT

When we are finished seeing the temples of Khajuraho, we can take a pleasant bus ride
through the forested hills to our next major place of pilgrimage. Chitrakut (Citrakoot, meaning
beautiful mountain) is 132 kilometers west of Allahabad by the border of Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh. It is also about halfway between Khajuraho and Varanasi. Many pilgrims
come here every day and as many as 100,000 on major festival days. Once when I visited it
was right after the Kumbha Mela in Allahabad in 2001, and the place was packed.
The significance of this place is that Lord Rama and Sita stayed here for 11 of their 14 years of
exile. This is also where Lord Rama’s brother Bharata carne to beg Rama to return to
Ayodhya. The Mandakini River, which flows through Chitrakut, is considered as sacred as the
Ganges. The story is that the sage Atri and his wife Anasuya live nearby. Because the sage
needed sacred water for his austerities, Anasuya made the Ganges appear in the form of the
Mandakini. Lord Rama bathed here every day. Sita also took bath here at Janaki Kund where
Her footprints are said to still be on the rocks there. There are numerous bathing ghats along
the river. You will find over 30 temples in this area.

In the central part of town along the river is Ramghat, the main and busiest ghat in this small
town. Many pilgrims gather a little water from the Mandakini and some flowers from one of
the vendors nearby, and then walk up the steps to the Shiva temple. There we can see the
main Shiva image, as well as a few other images of Vedic divinities. Being on the high steps
gives a great view over Ramghat and all the people and boats on the river. There are also
temples to Sita-Rama, a few for Krishna and Narasimha, one for Lord Jagannatha, and a
number of other Shiva temples. This is also where Saint Tulsidas saw two young boys come to
him and who asked for the sandalwood paste he was making, who he later recognized as Lord
Rama and Lakshmana.
From Ramghat you can get boat rides to a few of the other sacred places along the river. For
other places you can walk to some or simply take a ricksha to others. You can also hire a jeep
nearby. Upstream by about 2 km is Sita’s main bathing place, Janaki Kund, named after Sita as
Janaki, daughter of Janaka. You can see the Rama Janaki Raghuveer temple and the Sankat
Mochan Hanuman deity nearby. It is a beautiful place and has a most soothing atmosphere.
The water is especially clear. You will not want to leave.
A few km farther upstream is the Sphatik Shila, which means blonde stone. This is the boulder
that is said to have the footprints of Lord Rama, and where He would bathe every day.
Another nearby boulder is said to be the sitting place of Sita, and another for Lakshmana. It is
also where Sita was standing when pecked by Jayant, the son of Indra who appeared as a
crow, which greatly angered Lord Rama and took a position to shoot an arrow at Jayant,
which also left the imprints of Lord Rama's knee and the front part of His other foot on the
rock. You can see the footprints of Lord Rama and the markings of where Sita would sit on the
rocks which are outlined in orange.
For the places that are farther away, there are the Char Dhama buses. You can get these near
the Madhya Pradesh Tourist Hotel, and they will call out when they are trying to get
passengers. They leave in the morning and afternoon. So just hop on and pay the ticket and
away you go. However, they do ride around a while trying to pick up more passengers, even
though the bus I was on looked fairly full anyway. Then we are on our way over bumpy roads.

The first place we go to is about 18 km out of town. This is Gupta Godavari where you will find
two caves. One has a narrow entrance, but is roomy with a high ceiling inside, quite spacious
and comfortable, the end of which is where Rama and Lakshmana would meet for discussions.
In the larger cave, you will have to wade in water to get through it. At the end of the cave, you
will find a small pond said to be equal to the Godavari River, fed by natural springs. The cave
is dark, and the waters of the Godavari can rise up to hip level during the rainy seasons.
Because of this, it is difficult to see the path and can become very narrow, rocky and uneven.
So, you have to take care.
We then go to Sati Anusuyā where the ashram was located of Atri Muni and his wife Anusuyā .
Their three sons were the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. The temple here
has diorama doll displays depicting the story of Atri Muni and his wife, and a deity of Anusuyā
swinging her babies. This is a pleasant and somewhat wooded area with the Mandakini River
flowing nearby.
After this the buses also take you to Sphatik Shila and then to Janaki Kund. A tour on one of
the buses takes about three to four hours, so take the early buses so that you are not still
touring while it is getting dark. If you are on a tour, once it starts getting dark, they will try to
rush you through everything and you do not get as much out of it.
Another holy place of interest in Chitrakut is Hanuman Dhara, which is a spring made by Lord
Rama to refresh Hanuman after he returned from Lanka after setting it on fire. Sita had told
him that at Chitrakut there is a spring that is quite cool that Hanuman could use to relieve
himself of the burning in his tail. You will find it after a tough climb up a rocky hillside, about
five hundred feet up, which gives a great view over Chitrakut in the distance. Be careful of the
monkeys. Also, on the hill is the five-headed (Panch Mukhi) Hanuman Dhara deity. The
atmosphere here is very cooling and calms the mind.
Continuing on our way up, we can reach Sita's kitchen (Sita Rasoi) on the hilltop. You can see a
small room made from clay with an ancient stove there. This is said to be where Sita cooked a
special meal for the sages of Chitrakut. A few little shrines are there, and refreshment stalis
are at the base of the hill.
About a half-hour out of town is another place called Bharata Koop, a well where Lord Rama's
brother, Bharata, stored the holy waters from all the sacred places of India.

Another place that is worth visiting is the modern Ram Darshan Mandir. It is a beautiful
temple and garden, with an excellent museum of paintings and dioramas that tell the pastimes
of Lord Rama and the Ramayana. I have to admit that it is one of the best of such displays I
have seen. There is also a huge outdoor image of Hanuman shown opening his chest to reveal
Sita-Rama inside his heart.
Perhaps the most sacred place in Chitrakut is Kamadgiri Hill. This is considered the original
Chitrakut where Lord Rama was supposed to have lived during His exile. It is, thus, considered
an expansion of Rama. Because of this, many people walk barefoot around the hill on the 5 km
pilgrimage path. It's a pleasant and easy walk. Temples are along the path around this
forested hill, which includes the Shree Kamatanath temple (considered to be the tongue of
Kamadgiri Hill) and the Bharat Milap temple, where Bharata is supposed to have pleaded with
Rama to return to Ayodhya. You can still see Their footprints here that face each other. Just
past this temple is a path that will take you to Lakshman Pahadi, which are the places where
Lakshmana stayed while guarding Ram and Sita. You will find the Lakshman temple on the
hilltop. Another place of interest is Ramashayya where Lord Rama would rest on a horizontal
rock, the symbols of which can still be seen. A visit to Chitrakut is not complete without
visiting this hill. It is said that anyone who circumambulates the hill gets his or her wishes
fulfilled. There are also many monkeys around the hill, as well as many beggars, both male
and female. They simply depend on the mercy of the pilgrims. Yet it seemed to me the visitors
were more interested in feeding the monkeys than they were the poor people.
Bharata Kup is Bharata's well. The story behind this is that when Bharata carne to ask Lord
Rama to return to Ayodhya, he brought with him the water of all the holy rivers. These were
to be used to crown Lord Rama as the King, but Lord Rama refused, and would only return
after finishing His exile as requested by His father. So, Bharata put these waters in a well,
which became Bharata's Kup. The water is considered extremely holy and many devotees
relish it.
If you want to wander around the town on your own, you can get a brochure about the holy
sites in English at the Madhya Pradesh Tourist Bungalow. Be sure to bring your flashlight to
this town, or have candles ready in your hotel because it seems that lights go out quite
regularly.

PRAYAGRAJ (ALLAHABAD)

Once our tour of Chitrakut is finished, we can walk a ways out of the city to the bus station to
catch the next bus to Prayagraj, which used to be named Allahabad.