Flood of pilgrims swamps Char Dham 

Devotees are thronging Uttarakhand with the annual pilgrimage to the four Himalayan abodes of Hindu deities resuming on a full scale after two years of COVID-19 curbs. Namita Singh reports that the State administration is finding crowd management an uphill task, but the tourism industry has received a much-needed boost

On a cool afternoon in May, vehicles are lined up bumper to bumper as far as the eye can see on the Rishikesh-Kedarnath highway in Phata, a small town in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district.

The convoy of vehicles is ferrying thousands of devotees who have descended on the hill State for the Char Dham Yatra — an annual pilgrimage to four Hindu shrines: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath — which has resumed on a full scale this year after being a low-key affair for the last two years owing to COVID-19 restrictions.

The pilgrimage, considered one of the most sacred by the followers of Hinduism, is a journey to the abodes of four deities: Yamunotri (goddess Yamuna) and Gangotri (goddess Ganga) in Uttarkashi district; Kedarnath (Lord Shiva) in Rudraprayag district; and Badrinath (Lord Vishnu) in Chamoli district.

Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, the shrines are situated in the Garhwal region of the State, which is revered as ‘Dev Bhumi’ or the land of gods. All devout Hindus aspire to visit the four shrines at least once in their lifetime as they believe the yatra helps them attain ‘moksha’ or salvation. They believe the arduous trek tests their faith and paves the way for an inward journey towards spiritual awakening.

“Going to Badrinath is like visiting Baikunth [the abode of Lord Vishnu]. All our wishes get fulfilled. Seeing Badrinath and Kedarnath gives strength to our body and mind. After COVID, I have learnt one lesson: there is no point in accumulating wealth. Everyone should fulfil their desires at the earliest,” says Sushma Dhabale, 52, who has arrived for the pilgrimage with her elderly parents from Nagpur in Maharashtra.

Seventy-four-year-old Subhash Chandra Patel, who is part of a group of 110 pilgrims from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, says, “Undertaking the yatra has been a family ritual since the time of my ancestors. We are here to rid ourselves of sins and seek blessings. Lord Shiva fulfils all our wishes,” he says.

A devotee attains peace of mind on completing the pilgrimage, says Pankaj Shukla, a priest at the Kedarnath temple. “This journey cleanses the soul of a person and takes him towards higher consciousness. In this way, the soul is freed from the cycle of life and death.”