Narada Rishi says “Teerthi kurvanti teerthani”, meaning, when sages visit teertha kshetras (places of pilgrimage), their sheer presence enhances these spaces, making them more spiritually potent.
Teertha yatras have been our tradition from time immemorial. There is a mention of teertha yatra in the Ramayana. When Sitaji conceived, Prabhu Rama sent this news to his mother, Kaushalya, who was on a teertha yatra.
In the Mahabharata, too, we find a reference to teertha yatra that describes Balaram travelling across the Saraswati river and camping at all holy kshetras.
Teertha kshetra and teertha yatra are age-old practices in Sanatan Dharma. In Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga, we have seen sages regularly visiting teertha kshetras. In Kali Yuga, one of the foremost persons to bring back to life almost every prominent teertha kshetra was Adi Shankara. He traversed the entire length and breadth of the country four times, guiding temple authorities to adopt proper puja-vidhi at all the famous temples he visited. Shankara also inspired the kings to refurbish the dilapidated temples, and he penned beautiful shlokas on these teertha kshetras.
Teertha yatras teach a spiritual seeker how to deal with uncertainties through an unknown journey, and through this experience, he gains spiritual strength to handle uncertainties in life.
The most significant contribution of teertha kshetras is that they have kept Bharat together. The people down south can identify with Amarnath, Badrinath, Kedarnath, etc. Similarly, people living in the north can connect deeply with Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, and Thiruvananthapuram. Travelling across the land bearing a common goal of spiritual edification helps the yatris realise that they are all descendants of this one Bharat Varsha. Every state humbly wombs within it a spiritually rich and culturally vibrant teertha kshetra, unifying us as Akhanda Bharat.
In Bharat, we divinise everything. For example, here, we revere a hot water spring as a teertha kshetra, and the same in other countries would be considered a mere sulphur tank. The very act of travelling through Bharat renders one a teertha yatri.
Many kings like Cholas, Pandyas, Guptas, Marathas, Peshwas, and queens like Ahilya Bai and others, renovated not only old but also built new temples on the advice and guidance of saints and sages.
In this modern era, we are fortunate to have a Raja-Rishi (ruler-saint) in Yogi Adityanath. He has taken up this exalted work of developing the largest state Uttar Pradesh as a thorough amalgamation of technology and tradition. Here are some peeks into his grand vision of the development of Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura.
AYODHYA
• Construction of Grand Shri Ram Mandir.
• Construction of the Maryada Purushottam Shriram International Airport. Expected to be ready in 2023.
• Established the Rajarshi Dashrath Autonomous State Medical College in 2019
•Beautification of the Panchkoshi Parikrama route.
•Bus station of international standards.
•Decision to plant 27,000 saplings of trees mentioned in the Ramayana to create ‘Ramayan Van’ (forest) at multiple locations.
•Development of a museum of international standards as well as the development of the riverfront.
• Development of International Ram Leela Kendra and Cultural/Sanskrutik Manch.
• Multi-level parking.
• Establishment of a sewage treatment plant for treating the water from the drains that empty into the Sarayu River.
• Connecting all the teertha kshetras related to Shri Ram’s life with Ayodhya.
• Refurbishment and aesthetic enhancement of all temples and widening of the approach roads.
• Beautification of footpaths.
MATHURA
• Rs 16,000 crore allocated for the renovation and development of Braj.
• Rs 9,000 crore allocated for the development of Parikrama Marg.
• Rs 6,100 crore allocated for construction of the Mathura-Vrindavan bypass.
• The Parikrama Marg in Braj will have excellent infrastructure and be the cynosure of all eyes.
• Redevelopment of the railway line connecting Mathura with Dwarka. Estimated budget: Rs 850 crore.
KASHI
• Kashi Vishwanath corridor.
• Restoration and refurbishment of the Kashi temple into Vishwanath Dham.
• Development of 5.5 lakh square feet area of Manikarnika ghat and Lalita ghat on the banks of the Ganga.
• Development of a walkway all around the Kalabhairav temple.
• Building a town hall near the Kalabhairav temple.
• Cleaning of the streets and footpaths of Kashi. The effectiveness of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is for all to see.
• Multi-tier parking facility for two and four-wheelers at multiple locations.
• Construction of a flyover from the airport to Vishwanath Dham.
• Rs 186 crore allocated for the construction of Rudraksha Convention Centre with a seating capacity of over 1,500 people at a time.
• Construction of Bharat Adhyayan Kendra at Banaras Hindu University/Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya
• Construction of Vedic Vigyan Kendra (Centre for Vedic Science) at Banaras Hindu University.
• Banke Bihari Corridor to be built on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath Mandir corridor.
• Increase in devotees visiting temples and teertha sthals as construction of expressways and highways has made travel more accessible.
• Between 2018 and 2022, the Uttar Pradesh government approved nearly 95 schemes. Of these, 75 have already been implemented.
CONCLUSION
These initiatives will connect Bharat and other parts of the world to Kashi, Mathura, and Ayodhya, a genuinely inspiring seva by the government of Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath’s leadership.
Bharat is replete with region-specific deities like Lord Ayyappan, prevalent in the south, Lord Vithala in Maharashtra, Lord Shrinathji in the north, and Maa Kamakhya in north-east India. Rama, Krishna, and Shiva are worshipped all over Bharat as primary gods presiding over the nation. Reconditioning and upliftment of these mandirs is a celebratory act across Bharat.
The Modi-Yogi combination has put many teertha yatras of Bharat on the global map. Moreover, with world-class facilities in place, they are sure to attract unprecedented numbers of spiritual seekers and devotees from all over the world, bringing to light that spirituality is Bharat’s most extraordinary soft power.
Om Jirnamandirodharakaya Namaha.
Swami Mitrananda, the resident Spiritual Mentor at Chinmaya Mission Chennai, is a visionary leader, an inspiring tutor, daring adventurer, vibrant speaker, creative writer, vigilant administrator and a mentor for many youngsters across the world. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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