Shri Bharat Mandir — Attraction in Rishikesh

Holydham.com Rishikesh Rishikesh is 24 kilometers away from Haridwar, and 245 km northeast of Delhi. It is the place where the clear Ganges leaves the Himalaya Mountains. Rishikesh is good place to stay for a while during the hot months of April to August. Rishikesh is famous as a place to study yoga and meditation, and there are many ashrams here. It became famous when George Harrison and Beatles came here in the 60s.

It is said that Bharata, the brother of Lord Rama, did severe penance here. A temple of Bharata was constructed at this site, and the town of Rishikesh grew up around it.

The town got its name from the time when Lord Hrishikesh, Vishnu, appeared here to grant darshan to Raibhya Rishi when he was performing austerities. The demons Madhu and Kaitabha were also killed here by Lord Vishnu as Hayagriva.

How Madhu And Kaitabh Were Killed Here in Rishikesh The avatar of Hayagriva Bhagavan took place to restore the Vedas to Brahma. Lord Vishnu had taught Brahma the creation through His breath of Vedas. Brahma became extremely proud and head strong of his position as the creator and about his powers. Sriman Narayana as usual wanted to remove Brahma’s pride. Due to Lord’s desire , then a couple of water droplets from the lotus seat of the Lord incarnated as two Asuras, Madhu and Kaitabha;, one demon (kaitabh) was of tamo guna and the other (madhu) was of rajo guna. They both stole the Vedas from Brahma.

Unable to carry on his work of creation without the Vedas, Brahma rushed to the Lord and pleaded Lord Narayana for mercy and saving Vedas. Seeing Brahmaji humbled, Lord Narayana incarnated as Hayagriva, as the white Horse faced to destroy the Asuras and restore the Vedas to Brahma. The Divya tejas Sattva murthy Sri Hayagriva thus, in a grandest beautiful manner rushed to Patalaloka and raised His transcendental sound and terrified Madhu and Kaitaba. Afraid, they hid the Vedas (which were in the form of babies) and ran away from the scene. Sri Hayagriva handed over the Vedas to Brahma and went back. Returning back with restored confidence, Madhu kaitaba searched for the sound which terrified them earlier but found the Source of sound as well as their stolen Vedas missing. Angered,They both again rushed to Brahma to take revenge. Brahma in turn was terribly scared and sought the help of Lord. Sri Hayagreevar appeared to fight with asuras and killed them. Brahma re-continued his work of creation.

That is why Lord is also called as Madhusudhana. (for having killed madhu and kaitabha).

Another name of Hrishikesh mentioned in scriptures is also “KUBJAMRAK TIRTH.” Here is the description of how Kubjamrak tirth derived its name. Lord Varaha told Prithvi- “In Satya Yuga, at the time when the earth was still submerged in water, I had killed two mighty demons named Madhu and Kaitabh. After killing both the demons I looked all around and found sage Raibhya engrossed in his penance. Sage Raibhya was a great devotee of mine. I was extremely impressed and watched him hiding myself behind a mango tree. The mango tree could not bear the weight of my hands and became curved. This is how Kubjamrak tirth derived its name. Very soon, sage Raibhya found out that I was hiding behind that mango tree. He eulogized me and requested me to grant a special status to Kubjamrak tirth among all the holy places. I blessed him and thus Kubjamrak tirth became one of the holiest places. There are several other holy places situated in the vicinity of Kubjamrak tirth, Manas tirth, Maya tirth, Sarvakamik tirth, Purnamukh tirth, Agni tirth, Shukra tirth, Manasar tirth, Sapta samudrak tirth, etc. All these holy places including Kubjamrak tirth are capable of giving...

Nice quite place. The sacred Bharat Mandir is a famous temple situated in Rishikesh. According to legends, Rishikesh came into existence with this temple only. In about 789 A.D on the auspicious day of Basant Panchmi, Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya reinstalled the presiding deity in the temple. Every year on this day the Shaligram is taken for a holy bath in the sacred Mayakund. A grand procession accrued the idol through the city back to the temple for the symbolic reinstallation. It is also believed that on the day of Akshya Tritiya any believer who 108 parikarmas (rounds) of Lord Shri Hrishikesh Naranyan attains the blessings equivalent to the pilgrimage to Badrinath.

Bharat Mandir has been mentioned in many religious texts including the Vishnu Puran, Shrimadbhagwat, Mahabharat, Vaman Puran and Narsingh Puran. Lord Hrishikesh known as Shri Bharatji Maharaj is different from Lord Rama's younger brother Bharat. He is known by the name of Bharat because he is said to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in Kaliyuga, the preserving force holding Shankh, Chakra, Gada and Padam in his four hands.

Just opposite to the entrance of the temple there is an age old tree. The tree is actually a combination of three different trees whose roots are entwined a way that it is next to impossible to visualize them as a separate entity. This include old banyan tree i.e vat vriksh, pipal tree and bel tree. All these trees hold a very scared space in Hindu mythology. It is believed that, these three trees represent Tri Dev, Brahama the creator, Vishnu, the preserver and Mahesh the destroyer. Devotees pray to these trees with ultimate devotion and belief.

A broken Buddha statue is kept under this tree which was obtained during the excavation. It is believed that this statue dates back to Ashoka period when Buddhism was spreading all around the country. Though the actual age of this tree is not known but it is believed that it is more than twenty five decade old and was there in same condition since the inception of...

Situated in the heart of the city Shri Bharat Mandir is the most ancient and the most famous temple. The history of the temple is the history of Hrishikesh indeed. The glory of this ancient temple is described in Kedar Khand (Vide Chapters 115 to 120)

In the seventeenth Manavavtar, Lord Vishnu pleased by the hard penance of Raibhya rishi Himself said "I will reside here for ever as Hrishikesh Narayan and this place will be known as Hrishikesh." Those who worshiped me as Varah in Satyug, as Parashuram in Treta Yug, Vaman in Dwapar and Bharat in Kaliyug are certainly entitled for liberation.

Shri Bharat Sanskrti Mahavidyalaya

In the pious premises of the ancient shrine of Bharat Bhagwan, His Holiness Mahant Parasuram Ji Maharaj founded Sri Bharat Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya on 11th March 1921 with a view to promote and preserve India’s Vedic culture and Sanskrit education. In the beginning this Mahavidyalay was affiliated with Sampurnanad Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya Varanasi but now is recognized and affiliated with Sanskrit Shiksha Vibhag of Uttrakhand Government. Free boarding and lodging facilities are provided to the scholars.

Besides the prescribed syllabus, the training and education of ancient classical studies such as Jyotish, Astrology, Porohitya temple worship, Vedas and Karmakand religious rituals etc. are given under the able guidance of H.H. Mahant Ashok Prappannacharya Ji Maharaj. This Mahavidyalaya is making a remarable contribution for the promotion and preservation of India’s Vedic culture and...