"Kailaasarana Shiva Chandramouli Phaneendra Maathaa Mukutee Zalaalee Kaarunya Sindhu Bhava Dukha Haaree Thujaveena Shambho Maja Kona Taaree"
Monday, September 14, 2015
Once Upon A Time At Ramkund ,, Nasikh Kumbh Mela
If you are in a group of friends there is a lot to shoot at Ramkund below the Press and VVIP enclosure ,,provided you dont get intimidated by the cops ,, who have this habit of treating photographers like swatting flies ,,
I shoot alone , and it is best no constrains no compulsions and being alone has its many advantages ,,you shoot what you have to do , and shoot what you were destined to shoot .
I am in Mumbai but for some reason my soul is lurking between Ramkund and Trimbakeshwar and imagine I shot Kumbh Mela in 2003 and now after 12 years it seems nothing has changed ,,
Even in 2003 I shot the Kumbh alone .. and in 2015 I was as alone as I was in 2003 ..I had a contact in Nasikh but I did not contact him..as I was here for only a few hours ,, but to really shoot Ramkund from one end to the other end you need a lot of time and patience too.
I did not know any Sadhu among the Vaishnav Akharas at Tapovan ,,,but than the only salvation was everyone I met respected me because of my Sadhu attire ,,,necessity is the mother of invention ,,,
I Have Lived My Life With Hindus But Placing A Meat Toran On A Jain Temple Is Not Hindutva
Ever since I can remember I have had no issue with a persons religion at all I hardly had Muslim friends as we were totally isolated living at Wodehouse Road for about 10 years , here it was Rayo a Parsi Vimal a Buddhist and Keith Kanga the sole Jehovah Witness ..
Once we shifted to Strand it was Dennis a Catholic ,Hassan Jamadar who expired at an early age a Muslim... and the rest of my friends from the Mulchandani clan all Hindus ,, and my entire school life was with Ramesh Mulchandani Strand Hotel.. Bharat Sundar Pradip all Mulchandanis ,, going to the Cheti Chand na Mela .. going to the Hanuman Mandir standing in a corner as my friends prayed for their results and I am sure they prayed for me too as I always came first in class at Holy Name High School.
Later as adults we moved out to a wider periphery ,,came the riots 93 ..and the entire city was polarized ,,it was perhaps very late early 90 I made Shia friends and giving up alcohol taking up the camera I began to document my Faith along with other religiosity .
In 2003 I was introduced to Sufism I documented the Rafaees and than made my first trip to Ajmer Sharif in 2005 and met Peersab Fakhru Miya Hujra no 6 ,, he became an important teacher and my guide and it was in 2003 I met Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj Naga Sadhu Juna Akhara while shooting Kumbh Mela 2003 and he became a Guru too.. through him I shot the Maha Kumbh Mela 2013 and the Nasikh Kumbh 2015 .
In Bandra I was very close to the Catholics Darryl Fabian Clarence Gomes Merck Desilva Fr Jaun Fr Lawrie ,,, so it was a rich tapestry all wires connecting to a single mother board .
I have had Hindu bosses I think this is what saved me I doubt a typical Muslim boss would have understood my restless soul and my love for Freedom I had good Hindu bosses Mr Arjun Daswani Charagh Din , Mr Andre Kapoor Mrs Munni Gupta Burlingtons Taj , Mr Kishore Bajaj Badasab Bandra , Mr Nitin Manmohan Prachins ,, and finally I sought redemption becoming my own boss .. there was a stint at Muscat with Dr Hamed Al Riyami Tecodev and Hon Mohomed Moosa Undersecretary of Finance Al Anwar from 1980 to 1982 ,, never went back to the Gulf ever ,, I think there is more money in India than anywhere in the Gulf if you have the honest skill to tap it.
The most important influence in my life has been Mrs Punam Sinha and Mr Shatrughan Sinha ,,the first thing I did on reaching the Kumbh Mela Trimbakeshwar sent her a message this hardcore Bhakt of Shiva .. who has visited all the 12 Jyotlings.
I promote Hinduism as Hope and Hindutva a Message of Universal Peace over 66000 Hindu blogs ,,part of my cultural inheritance ,. I became a Malang in 2011 under Syed Masoomi Baba .Asqan Madari.. so I began promoting peace and humanity and Sufism.
But whatever issues about the meat ban during Prayushan totally politicized by vested interests and the Jain community leaders keeping quiet ,, till that time the placing of the Meat Toran on a Jain Daresar was the last straw , I mean it not only hurts the Jains but our secular sentiments too.. and those guyss posing outside the Daresar need to be booked .. this is not the spirit of Mumbai this is hooliganism goondaism and is this why Rakesh Maria was shunted to give such elements a free hand beats me .. this is not the Hinduism I respect revere and promote ,, and where is law and order and progress and development I am addressing this to our erstwhile dynamic CM Mr Dev Fadnavisji..
I am hurt as much as the Jains tomorrow some issue will they place a Pork.. Toran outside a Muslim Mosque or Shrine..is what I want to know,..
I have recently come back from the Kumbh Mela Trimbakeshwar Ramkund and my 3500 blogs in the Nasikh series dont touch on this ill-will or humiliation and million light years away from the 93 riots when we lost everything at Khar Danda .
The Jains are Indians .. and certainly not terrorists to deserve such a treatment at all This is not progress or development nor is this Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas ,, as preached by our visionary PM Mr Narendra Modiji..
Discipline is the means of achieving liberation.
As gold does not cease to be gold even if it is heated in the fire; an enlightened man does not cease to be enlightened on being tortured by the effect of karma. Lord Mahaveera
Sunday, September 13, 2015
An Ecstatic Moment For The Naga Sadhus Called Shahi Snan
As I write this with nostalgia I am in Mumbai at home while the second Shahi Snan 13 September is right now happening at Trimbakeshwar an impressionable moment as a photographer if you have not shot it you have missed something .. and you have to be destined to shoot the chaos the cacophony and the rising decibels the blare of the loudspeakers all drowned by the power of the chant of Har Har Mahadev..
I have been getting calls from my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharajs main disciple Mashesh Bhardwaj.. he has been documenting all the Kumbhs with my Guru on video.. I was earlier not a video man but videos add an extra living dimension to the story of the Kumbh one of the greatest event for the Hindus ,,and for all of us a cultural phenomenon ..which gets a lot of mileage from the foreign photographers capturing every single moment.
Mahesh Bhardwaj is very fond of me since we first met at the Nasikh Kumbh in 2003 and he is the guy standing on a stick while my Guru did LIng Kriya ,, this time I shot a video of the Ling Kriya on You Tube ,,
Mahesh Bhardwaj was trying to tempt me to come back to Trimbakeshwar for the second Shahi Snan today 13 September ,, but it was not possible as much as I wanted I had work commitments , I thought some miracle would pull me there but it did not happen...as a photographer the Kumbh Mela is my passion ,,and I am lucky I shot the first Shahi Snan 29 September 2015 .. over 2800 images with videos .
So hopefully I will try to go on the last final Shahi Snan 25 September 2015 at Trimbakeshwar...Mahesh is saddened by the fact that at the first Shahi Snan they all took the dip with our Naga Guru excepting me as I had got lost in the crowds ,,with an injury on my leg and limping I could not catch up with them and ended with Swamiji Avdesh Anand Ji Maha Mandleshwar Juna Akhara s procession going for the Holy Dip.. it got me entry into the Kund and whole lot of Naga pictures .. disabled from public view at Flickr because of frontal nudity ,,,
So this is a memory of a Shahi Snan the Nagas become little kids leaping jumping in the waters of the Kund they become one with Shiva and he enters their bodies removing all inhibitions .. as this kund is very small and time the major spoiler they have to get our of the Kund before the next Akhara enters ,, all seamlessly taken care by the Nasikh Kumh Mela authorities...The mortals the public gets its chance once the Naga Sadhus and other Akharas have taken their dip..
Having shot the Shahi Snan at the Sangam Allahabad ..a huge sprawling area ..the Trimakeshwar Kumbh is a bigger challenge as it is small in size and totally completely over packed
..
Mrutyunjayaaya Rudraaya
Neelakantaaya Shambhave
Amriteshaaya Sarvaaya
Mahadevaaya Te Namaha
Meaning: I pray to Lord Mahadeva who has conquered death, who is the destroyer of the universe, who has a blue neck and who gives happiness to all....
This post is my humble tribute to my Hindu brothers my friends without them their constant love support encouragement I would be lacking in my art as a peoples culture photographer ,, the Kumbh Mela ,,,gave me an insight into the Hope Harmony Peace Humanity that is part of Great India .. living in mutual coexistence beyond caste color or creed.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram
Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram (sometimes called Ram Dhun) is a popular bhajan (Hindu devotional song) that was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi.[1] These lyrics were taken from original hindu text "Shri Nama Ramayanam" written by Lakshmanacharya.
Original lyrics:
रघुपति राघव राजाराम
पतित पावन सीताराम
सुंदर विग्रह मेघश्याम
गंगा तुलसी शालग्राम
भद्रगिरीश्वर सीताराम
भगत-जनप्रिय सीताराम
जानकीरमणा सीताराम
जयजय राघव सीताराम
Transliteration
Raghupati raghava rajaram
Patita paavana sitaram
Sundara vigraha meghashyam
Ganga tulasi salagram
Bhadra girishwara sitaram
Bhagat janapriya sitaram
Janaki ramana sitaram
Jaya jaya raghava sitaram
The Shahi Snan Kumbh Mela Beckons
I just got a call my Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj had reached Trimbakeshwar and the folks out there are missing me ,, I told them I would try to come for the last Shahi Snan on 25 August 2015.
The Vaishnav Sadhus Nasikh Kumbh Mela Ramkund
If I had more time I would have gone on shooting the intense faces of the Sadhus but I had to move on to Tapovan a huge sprawling estate of Vaishnav sadhu Akharas .. and I had to rush back to Trimbakeshwar before the roads closed for 29 Shahi Snan..and I was tired hungry and limping due to a leg injury ,,
I hardly ever use my 55 -250 lens but here I used it generously and as I was dressed in Sadhu garbs I did not have any problem as such ,,I poetically shot Sadhu faces ,,
I did not see such faces at the Sadhugram Trimbakeshwar where I stayed , there were more young faced Maharashtrian Naga sadhus ,, here at Ramkund and Tapovan there were weathered faces old faces and if you are into portraiture this is the ideal places .
I dont know anyone at Ramkund Nasikh where I could stay overnight ,,so I shot all this in a few hours ,,I do not like staying in hotels ,, for more reasons than one , the rates during the Kumbh are steep.. and I cannot afford it ,,,
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Charity Thy Name Is Batata Wada Pao At The Kumbh
The rich affluent after the dip do charity , they take batatawada and a single loaf of bread and feed the poor that sit across the Kund at Nasikh Panchvati.
Even the poor Sadhus sit along with the beggars and each beggar is given one set ,,and I was fascinated with this Sadhu ... what was he thinking about the batawada and the bread in his hand ,,I tried poetically perhaps even mystically to penetrate his mind ,, but I failed both as a poet and as mystic of sorts ,, the man who was giving the bata wada and loaf came near me seeing me barefeet but was confused by my camera and walked away without uttering a word ,, I never refuse food but I would have given it to some beggar child down the road .
I gave money to some poor Sadhus and asked them to eat at a hotel near the Kund they thanked me I gave them bottles of water and made my way to the ricksha stand I was planning to go to Tapovan Sadhugram.
At Tapovan I saw and shot the Akhara people feeding the poor and the Sadhus ,,hundreds of them were being fed ,,it was amazing so many different looking Sadhus under the canopy of true Indian hospitality ,, the chant of Sitaram Sitaram Radhe Sham Radhe Sham flowed freely I began to shoot a video and chant it too and some more minstrels joined me chanting along with me ,, I was no more a photographer I had become one with the Sadhus and the beggars I shot .
If you shoot the Kumbh the way I shoot it you wont even need the camera in your hands ,, myriads of faces and eyes shot me ,, they knew heart to heart I was one of them we were one in body soul and spirit living out a role into eternity ..
The Kumbh is an unseen passion holding your inner soul in a bind ,, I have perhaps not come out of it ,, my wife was coming back from Lucknow a few days back and the entire coach was packed with Sadhus going to Nasikh and when she reached Mumbai she told me that on seeing the Sadhus she was searching for me among them mentally ,,,,
And mind you these are after thoughts of the Kumbh ,, Ramkund and Tapovan are vast huge far flung and you need several days to real shoot them on your soul.. this is what I shot in a few hours ,,a sadhu humbly holding a batatwada a loaf of bread ,,, and this is the story of our life too.. the eating items were given to him as charity ,,, by the rich.. the amazing cycle of cosmic give and take ,,,
I will now wrap myself in the silence of my picture ,, soak in it for some more time ,,,
The Holy Waters Of The Kumbh
taking a dip in the waters
of the godavari their sins
are washed away ,,for
their dear departed
ancestors they pray
bathing at the kumbh
mela nasikh a spiritual
getaway ,,to the gods
with humility their love
they repay ,,sita ram
sitaram radhe sham
radhe sham as they
chant away ,,om ganesha
shri krishna radhe radhe
Reliving The Nasikh Kumbh Mela 2015 Ramkund
From the time I started posting pictures at Flickr it was a mechanical state of mind and I uploaded the entire lot in a set added title and tags hardly any description , perhaps only as an introduction and once I had offloaded all my stuff I breezed out ..I never went back..if somebody commented I went back thanked him that was it a few pictures I crossblogged from Flickr to Twitter Facebook or Tumblr though my main blogs are at Blogspot and I still dont understand why Ms Marissa Mayer disabled crossblogging there ,...as I have to manually blog there which is a pain typing with one finger ..a bigger pain.
If you are a peoples photographer , the Kumbh Mela grows on you after every picture and I shoot without constructive method I just shoot impulsively I know when to direct my lens cosmically at a situation or thought ,,perhaps it was this inherent attitude of mine that had upset a lot of American photographers that shot with me ,,and thankfully alienated me from both of them.. I dont have the patience to sit compose ,, I shoot a storyboard single frames stitched together as moving pictures .
I had no intention of leaving Trimbakeshwar where I was based with my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj at the Naga Sadhu commune ,,and Ramkund Panchvati where I shot this bathing and the Vaishnav Sadhus at Tapovan is almost 27 km away from Trimbakeshwar .. I took permission from my Guru on 28 August to shoot both these places had he told me not to go I would have not gone at all.. and on 29 August was Shahi Snan at both the places the Grand Holy Dip of the Sadhus roads being blocked inwards outwards for vehicular traffic at both places ,I was to leave Trimbakeshwar for Mumbai via Nasikh on 30 August ,, so I hardly had anytime ,, I shot Ramkund and Tapovan..
I was also not very sure I would come back again for the next Shahi Snans , my work commitments , etc .
For me going to a place like the Kumbh is cosmic interpretation ,, it can happen if he wills I call it miracle .. nothing less ..I may not have money like those photographers who live at the Kumbh for weeks , they have professional assignments I have other responsibilities ,, photography is not my source of income at all .. I am a blogger first a photographer later .. i shoot to share my pictures and my eyes my soul my mind becomes Hindu till I am shooting the Kumbh Mela ..I block all other myriad identities of mine ,,perhaps I allow the poet and the beggar in me to accompany me on my shoots such as this.I become a beggar with the beggars and I become a poet because photography is visual poetry ,,its not about shooting cocks of the Naga Sadhus ,,
And now I am revisiting my Ramkund set picking up a few images tweaking them adding words where words did not exist,.. I like BW .. though the Kumbh is versatility exuberance of color ,,I mean shooting the cutting of heads during Moharam makes an impact in color rather than BW....but at the Kumbh both works fairly well.
I would love to shoot the Shahi Snan at Ramkund it is huge ostentatious and grand I shot it in 2003 .. but I hardly know anyone at Tapovan or Ramkund ,, so I rather shoot Trimbakeshwar hassle free with my Naga Guru and I am not young , its tough to shoot the Kumbh Mela walk miles with my age and my leg injury that because of my diabetes refuses to heal.
So if I go back again to shoot the Kumbh it would surprise me the most .. miraculously too.
The Magic Of The Maha Kumbh Lasts A Life Time .. Allahabad 2013
"Kailaasarana Shiva Chandramouli
Phaneendra Maathaa Mukutee Zalaalee
Kaarunya Sindhu Bhava Dukha Haaree
Thujaveena Shambho Maja Kona Taaree"
I was predestined to shoot the Maha Kumbh ,, a call from my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj Triveni and I left Mumbai on my tattered wings ,,I kept my identity as a Malang intact though my Guru as my protector insisted on naming me Ashok Bhartiya as many Naga Sadhus do not have the kindness understanding of my Guru ,, but with due respect though I adhered to his request I dressed as a Malang most of the time in the midst of the Naga Babas,, I had not carried any saffron clothes this was my first Maha Kumbh ,, I met the Maha Mandleshwars Sabapati and most of the time I was at sector 4 the Juna Akhara .
Our meals were at Swami Kalyan Ananadji 13 Madi my Gurus Maha Mandleshwar .. pure Satvik.. the Naga Sadhu who helped me was Bhagwati Giri , he was unwell but took us by boat on the Sangam and he was one highly connected dude and higly impressed with my Muslim credentials ..he could not believe it at first that I was the disciple of his Guru brother ,, I met a lot of living Sants I was called by Chandraswamiji ,, I met my Tantric Guru Kapoor Khamakya a very powerful man connected to the Order of Khamakya Goddess ..I spent some great time with him.
My Maha Kumbh set has been restricted by me because of total frontal nudity keeping in mind Flickr terms and guidelines... only a Flickr member can access my Maha Kumbh documentary.I shot 5000 images in a few days I shot the Shahi Snan Basant Panchami 15 Feb 2013 and left Allahabad on 16 Feb..
I shot over 5000 images but I could have shot over 15000 images had my Guru left me on the shores of the Ganga on the day of the Shahi Snan but he insisted I leave with him for my safety ,, I did without regrets ..
One thing was certain I did not want to shoot the Maha Kumbh merely as a photographer in pant and shirt from outside the fence .. I became a Sadhu within the soul of a Malang,...
Sadly I missed this spiritual euphoria of the Maha Kumbh at Nasikh,,
My Tantric Guru Kapoor Khamakhya wants me to meet him for the last Shahi Snan.. If I live I will go..the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak..
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
If You Are An Incorrigible Street Photographer Dont Miss Nasikh Kumbh Mela
I was here for a few hours as I was staying with the Naga Sadhus at Sadhugram Trimbakeshwar all this was shot on 28 August , and I took permission from my host my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj before making this trip to Nasikh Ramkund about 27 km away from Trimbakeshwar by bus ,,
From the bus depot I took a sharing ricksha that dropped me at Panchwati and I walked into the Kumbh ,, I had shot the Nasikh Kumbh Mela 2003 several trips at Ramkund ,, I shot the bathing ghats , I shot the beggars of Ramkund being served batata wada by rich folks .
There is a lot of street shots from the ghats till the sharing ricksha stand to reach Tapovan the residential Akhara of the various Vaishnab Sadhus ,,I was quite surprised to meet the Aghoris here , but they are like nomads moving from place to place asking for food and alms.
At Tapovan you can shoot myriads of faces portraits of the Sadhus , the pilgrims ,,a lot of bathing shots at Tapovan waters .. there is a Shiva temple on the hills above I skipped it because of my leg injury.. and I shot over a 900 images here a few videos ,, but if you want to shoot Naga Sadhus than Trimbakeshwar Neel Parbhat and Brahma Giri are the two places you will find them in plenty .. in the mornings they come to bathe at the Trimbakeshwar Kund ,,on normal days too.
A lot of street photography at Trimbakeshwar ,,3 km away from Trimbakeshwar is Pengal Wadi the other main Sadhugram of the Naga Sadhus and here too you can shoot a lot ,,I stayed here ,, most of the Naga Sadhus are Maharashtrians ,, a lot of farmers are their followers and disciples dressed in white with Gandhi topis ,, their sad faces and the overwhelming sadness of their farmer wives can kill you ..they are searching for a straw before they eventually drown thanks to the apathy of our state and central government ..the one thing you can be sure you can always get something to eat at the tents of the Sadhus they are extremely bound by the mantra of Devo Atithi Bhava ,,hospitality is the essence of their humility ,,
Yes I have not yet got over this euphoric moment called the Kumbh Mela ,if you are a photographer and have not shot the Kumbh than you have missed a vital link in your future repertoire ,, this was my third Kumbh ,, my second at Nasikh..
If it was humanly possible I would go again and again and again..
In The Laps of The Godavari - Godavari Ki Gode Main
The Godavari is the second longest river in India after the river Ganga. It starts in Maharashtra and flows for 1,465 kilometres (910 mi) into the Bay of Bengal via the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It forms one of the largest river basins in India, only Ganges, Yamuna rivers have more catchment area than it, and its catchment area is largest of peninsular India.[4]
The Godavari originates 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Arabian Sea in the Western Ghats of central India near Nasik in Maharashtra. It flows for 1,465 kilometres (910 mi), first eastwards across the Deccan Plateau then turns southeast, entering the West Godavari district and East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, until it splits into two watercourses that widen into a large river delta and flow into the Bay of Bengal.[5] [6]
The Godavari River has a Coverage area of 312,812 km2 (120,777 sq mi), which is nearly one-tenth of the area of India and is greater than the areas of England and Ireland put together. Major tributaries of the river include the Purna (South), Pravara, Indravati, Manjira River, Bindusara River, Sabari River, Wainganga, and Wardha River.[7]
After crossing Rajahmundry, the Godavari splits into two distributary branches which are called Vriddha Gautami (Gautami Godavari) and Vasishta Godavari. Again the branch Gautami splits into two branches namely Gautami and Nilarevu. Similarly the Vasishta splits into two branches named Vasishta and Vainateya. These four distributary mouths which join the Bay of Bengal at different places form a delta of length 170 km along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. This delta along with the delta of the Krishna River is called the Rice Granary of South India. [8]
Significance[edit]
Religious significance[edit]
The River is sacred to Hindus and has several places on its banks that have been places of pilgrimage for thousands of years. Amongst the huge numbers of people who have bathed in her waters as a rite of cleansing are said to have been the deity Baladeva 5000 years ago and the saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 500 years ago. Every twelve years, Pushkaram fair is held on the banks of the river.
A legend has it that the Sage Gautama lived in the Brahmagiri Hills at Trayambakeshwar with his wife Ahalya. The couple lived the rest of their lives in the then village "Govuru" which is now called "Kovvur"[Cow = ఆవు/గోవు] after the British rule. Ahalya lived in a nearby place "Thagami" which in due course of time changed to the name "Thogummi" .The Rishi as a reason for Annadanam(The nature of giving away food), started cultivating rice crops and other crops. Once, a holy cow(maaya-dhenu) created by Lord Ganesh on the wish of munis, which resembled a normal cow entered his abode and started spoiling the rice while he was meditating. Knowing that a cow shall not be treated harshly, he put the dharbha grass on the cow and to his surprise it fell dead. The munis and muni-patnis said “we thought that Gautama maharshi is an Uttama, but he did Go-hatya!”. The Rishi wished to atone for the sin of ‘Gohathya’ - killing a sacred cow. He went to Nashik and did Tapas to Lord Tryambakeshwar(Lord Shiva) on the advice of the other rishis. The rishi requests the lord to release him from the sin by making the River Ganges flow over the cow. Lord Shiva was pleased with the Rishi and diverted the river Ganges to flow over the cow where it died which is in "Govuru". The River Godavari is thus born in Nashik and flowing past the village Kovvur and merge with the Bay of Bengal at last.
Ecological significance[edit]
The Coringa mangrove forests in the Godavari delta are the second largest mangrove formation in the country. Part of this has been declared as the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, renowned for reptiles. They also provide an important habitat to a wide variety of fish and crustaceans. These forests also act as barriers against cyclones, tropical storms and tidal waves thus protecting the nearby villages.
The Krishna Godavari Basin is one of the main nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle.
Godavari is also a home to the endangered fringed-lipped carp (Labeo fimbriatus).[9]
Other significance[edit]
Trimbakeshwar
One of the ships of the Indian Navy has been named INS Godavari after the river.
Settlements along the Godavari[edit]
Statue of Mother Godavari at Rajahmundry Railway station
In Maharashtra:
Nashik (Holy city and site of kumbh mela bathing festivals)
Trimbakeshwar (shrine to the Jyotirlinga of the god Shiva)
Kopargaon
Puntamba - A place of pilgrimage with a number of ancient temples including the last resting place (Samadhi) of Sant Changdev
Dried up Godavari as seen from the Changdeo temple
in Puntamba.
Paithan (Ancient capital of the Satavahana dynasty)
Gangakhed
Nanded (Location of the Hazur Sahib Nanded Sikh gurdwara)
Sironcha (Town situated near the confluence of Godavari and Pranahita rivers)
In Telangana:
Basara, Adilabad (Gnana Saraswati Temple)
Goodem gutta, Adilabad (Temple)Luxettipet,Adilabad.
Mancherial, Adilabad
Nirmal, Adilabad (Nirmal Toys)
Chennur, Adilabad
Tadpakal, Nizamabad (Armoor Toys)
Battapur, Nizamabad (Armoor Toys)
Dharmapuri, Karimnagar (Narasimha Swamy Temple)
Godavarikhani, Karimnagar
Manthani, Karimnagar (Gautameshwara Swami(Siva) Temple, Sri Rama, Sarswathi Temples)
Kaleshwaram, Karimnagar (Kaleswara Mukhteswara swamy (Siva) Temple)
Mahadevpur
Eturunagaram, Warangal
Bhadrachalam, Khammam
In Andhra Pradesh:
Rajamundry, East Godavari (Sri Kotilingeswara Alayam)
Mukteswaram, East Godavari (Sri Kshana Muktheswaraswamivari Devalayam)
Ravulapalem, East Godavari
Dhavaleswaram, East Godavari (Where the Akhanda Godavari splits into two streams called "Vriddha Gautami" and "Vashista" before joining Bay of Bengal)
Kotipalli, East Godavari (Sri Someswaraswamivari Alayam)
Antarvedi, East Godavari(Antarvedi is famous for the Sri Laxmi Narasimhaswamivari Mandhiram constructed between the 15th and 16th centuries. There is also a temple of Lord Siva that is older than Narasimha Swamy temple. The temple's idol of Lord Siva was installed by Lord Srirama.
Yanam (Yanam is located in East Godavari District, where the Vriddha Gautami joins Bay of Bengal)
Polavaram, West Godavari (Sri Bhadrakalisametha Sri Veereswaraswamivari Mandhiram)
Pattiseema, West Godavari (Sri Veerabhadraswamivari Devalayam)
Kovvur, West Godavari (Sundareswaraswamivari Alayam)
Tallapudi, West Godavari
Narsapur, West Godavari
Sites of pligramage include:
Antarvedi, East Godavari(Antarvedi is famous for the Laxmi Narasimha Swamy temple constructed between the 15th and 16th centuries. There is also a temple of Lord Siva that is older than Narasimha Swamy temple. The temple's idol of Lord Siva was installed by Lord Srirama.
Basar (originally, Vyasara) - Sri Gyana Saraswati temple is situated on the banks of Godavari in Adilabad district, Telangana. It is 210 km from state capital Hyderabad and accessible by road and rail (nearest major station: Nizamabad, although Basar station also exists). It is considered that the sage Vyasa wrote the Mahabharata on the banks of Godavari at this location near Harsha house it is the beautiful scenario, and thus the place came to be known as Vyasara.
Bhadrachalam - Hindu Temple of Lord Rama.
Dharmapuri, Telangana - Hindu Temple of Lord Narasimha. Godavari flows from North to South in Dharmapuri, hence the river is localled called 'Dakshina Vahini' [South Flowing]
Kaleshwaram - Sri Kaleswara Mukhteswara swamy Temple is situated here on the banks of Triveni sangamam of rivers godavari and pranahita. It is 125 kilometers away from Karimnagar city, 115 km away from Warangal city.
Konaseema - Delta of Godavari.
Nanded - Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, One of the five most sacred places in Sikhism.
Nashik - One of the four Sinhastha Kumbh Mela, Hindu pilgrimage place.
Paithan - Saint Eknath's native place, famous Jayakwadi dam, and a beautiful garden named after Sant Dnyneshwar.
Pattiseema - A village where a Hindu temple is located on a small hill on an island in the river.
Kovvur - A village where cows resided and a place where the maaya-dhenu fell dead. Foot prints of the maaya-dhenu were seen even today in the famous place Kovvur called "Goshpadakshetram" also called "Gopadala Revu" where the foot prints of the holy cow are seen near the temple of Lord Shiva. Also a village which is the reason for the birth of river Godavari. Famous for a Sanskrit school which has been built 63 years back.
Rajahmundry - A town known for its role in Telugu culture and birthplace of writers such as Nannaya, one of the Kavitrayam trinity of poets who translated the Mahabharata into Telugu. The Godavari Pushkaralu is a major local festival that is staged every 12 years.
Trimbakeshwar - One of the twelve Jyotirlingas and ancient temple of Lord Shiva.
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