‘Chardham Yatra’ begins in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal

Dehradun: Amid chanting of Vedic hymns and other religious rituals, the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples were thrown open for pilgrims on Tuesday, heralding beginning of the ‘Chardham Yatra’, the six-month-long pilgrimage to four prominent Hindu shrines in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakahand.

Earlier in the morning, palanquins carrying idols of goddesses Gangotri and Yamunotri reached their respective temples in Uttarkashi district on the auspicious occasion of ‘Akshay Tritiya’ and were installed in the sanctum sanctorum amid hymns by the chief priests.

During the winter, the idol of Gangotri is kept at Mukhba temple and that of Yamunotri in Kharsali temple. Military bands played religious tunes while a large number of pilgrims chanted “Har Har Gange” and other religious slogans and some took holy dips in the Bhagirathi and Yamuna rivers.

The portals of two other top Hindu shrines — Kedarnath and Badrinath — will be thrown open for pilgrims on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Though there is still heavy snow in the Kedarnath temple premises, the path leading to the shrine has been cleared, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Mohan Lal Thapliyal said. (IANS)

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