Panch Prayag
Panch Prayag (Pañcha prayāga) is an expression in Hindu religious ethos, specifically used to connote the five sacred river confluences in the Garhwal Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand, India.
Alaknanda descending from the foot of the Satopanth (a triangular lake, which is located at a height of 4,402 m (14,442.3 ft), above the sea level and named after the Hindu trinity: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers near the Nanda Devi peak, in Uttarakhand cascades over a length of 229 km (142.3 mi) encompassing the five prayags and is joined at Dev Prayag by the Bhagirathi, a shorter river source vis-à-vis Alaknanda to form the main stream of the Ganges.
Pilgrims take a dip in the river at these locations before embarking on visiting the holy shrines in the "Deva Bhumi" (god's land) as Uttarakhand is commonly known.
The Prayags are rich not only with stories from puranas and legend but also in scenic beauty of the Himalayan snow-covered peaks and enchanting valleys.
[6] It is also deduced that the Panch Prayag located on the road to Badrinath refer to the Svargarohana (ascend to heaven) route followed by the Pandavas to attain salvation after they completed circumambulation of the earth.
[7] People of Garhwal, in particular, gather at the five prayags during Makara Sankranthi, Uttarayan, Basant Panchami and Ram Navami festivals for a holy dip in the sacred river confluences.
The other version of the legend states that the confluence derives its name from the Yadava king Nanda, the foster-father of god Krishna.
Placed in a dilemma, since both were his disciples, he ensured that Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu, was born to Devaki and Vasudeva but was fostered by Yashoda and Nanda.
[9] There is reference to this site in Meghaduta, a Sanskrit lyrical poetic drama written by the legendary poet Kalidasa, which attributes that Satopanth and Bhagirath glaciers joined here to form the Pindar River.
Another classic work by the same author called the Abhijnana-shakuntala also mentions that Shakuntala and king Dushyanta's romantic dalliance occurred here.
The contrived zamindar, who did not have adequate money to do reparatory acts to atone for this sin, requested a visiting pilgrim from South India to help him out.
And, down these steps, small shrines of Shiva and the Binayak Shila (the Ganesha stone) - that is believed to provide protection from danger - are located.
The holiness of this place is considered equal to the famous Triveni sangam confluence at Allahabad where the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers merge.
The Bhaghirathi runs down a steep declivity with rapid force, roaring and foaming flowing over large fragments placed in its bed, while the placid, Alakananda, flowing, with a smooth, unruffled surface, gently winds round the point till, meeting with her turbulent consort, she is forcibly hurried down, and unites her clamours with the blustering current.The confluence got the name tag 'Dev' from a poor Brahmin called Deva Sharma who performed "rigorous religious austerities" here and was blessed by Rama, Vishnu's incarnation and hero of the epic Ramayana.
[citation needed] The many legendary kings who did penance here were, Rama - to atone for his sin of killing the demon-king Ravana, a Brahmin.
An image of Garuda (a divine bird in human form with a beak and wings to fly, which is the vahana or vehicle of Vishnu).
On the festive days of Ram Navami, Vasant Panchami and Baisakhi, which are special occasions at this temple, the god is placed on a stone shown for worship.
A stairway from the temple of Deva Prayag of Panch Prayag, leads to the confluence of Bhagirathi and Alakananda rivers where a distinct demarcation of the churning muddy stream of Alakananda mix with the saffron clear flows of Bhagirathi is seen (see picture in infobox) to evolve as Ganges, the holiest river for Hindus.
