The holy timeless village of Devprayag is in Himalayas in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand state. It is situated on the road that leads towards Badrinath Dhama. At Devprayag is a unique confluence (sangam) of two celestial rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers that both form the mainstream flow of the Ganges River. One can distinctly see this amazing phenomenon as the slightly dull colour Alaknanda river coming from behind the Giddhanchal mountain meets the crystal clear waters of Bhagirathi river.
Devprayag is surrounded by three mountain ranges – Giddha Anchal Parvat (representing Garuda), Dasaratha Anchal Parvat (representing Maharaja Dasharatha; father of Lord Rama) and Nrsimha Anchal Parvat (representing Lord Nrsimhadeva).
In Treta-yuga, Lord Ramacandra and Laxmana performed a yajna here to atone for killing Ravana, who was also a Brahmin by birth. This is marked by ancient Sri Raghunath Ji Temple here with a 15-foot tall deity of Lord Ramacandra (Raghunath). Adi Shankaracharya installed this deity about 1200 years ago. Devprayag is a significant place to visit. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams (important temples) of Sri Sampradaya.
Behind this Temple and slightly up a hill is Lord Vamanadeva’s cave. After being merciful to Bali Maharaja, Lord Vamanadeva came here and in this cave He performed tapasya for a long time. Nearby in the Temple compound is Lord Rama’s stone throne where He used to sit. Every morning a bhoga of specially prepared Himalayan style ‘khichidi’ is offered to the Lord Raghunath, which is an amazing delicacy!! At a short distance from Raghunath Temple there is Bharat Temple dedicated to Bharat, Lord Rama’s younger brother.
The confluence (sangam) at Prayagraj Allahabad is considered as most significant as this is where Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet. After that, the confluence at Devprayag is considered very significant.
There is an ancient history about how this place got the name Devprayag. In ancient times as mentioned in Skanda Purana, in Satya Yuga a brahmana lived here by name Dev Sharma Rsi. He performed severe austerity (tapasya) here for a long time. Being pleased from Dev Sharma’s austerity, Lord Vishnu appeared here before him. To take the darshan of the Lord, all the demigods also came here. Because Lord appeared here due to austerity by Dev Sharma, and all the demigods (Devas) also appeared, this place got named as Devprayag.
At a distance of 2 km from Devprayag is Chandrashila, a gigantic boulder in the middle of Bhagirathi river. Maharaja Dasharatha, father of Lord Rama meditated here for the salvation of his ancestors. 30 km further up in Himalayas is revered Chandrabadni Temple. This Temple is at 2,786 mt above sea level while going from Devprayag to Jamnikhal on the Tehri road. Reaching there one can have breathtaking views of the Himalayan peaks and the river flowing below!! Devprayag is winter home to the pujaries of Badrinath Dhama who migrate here when the Temple is closed due to being covered from thick snow.
Devprayag is located 75 km from Rishikesh. Easiest way to travel is to come to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun (100 km) and then travel to Devprayag. Dehradun is well connected by daily short duration flights from Delhi. Rishikesh is also connected by rail to the rest of India.
[Reference: HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami Maharaj lecture – Himalayan Yatra 2012]
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