Haridvār (Māyā)

Gateway to the gods · Gaṅgā, Uttarakhand

Haridvār, called Māyāpurī in the Sapta Purī verse, is where the Gaṅgā leaves the mountains for the plains. Its name is read both as Hari-dvāra, “gateway to Viṣṇu”, and Hara-dvāra, “gateway to Śiva”, since pilgrims to Badrīnāth and Kedārnāth start here.

The heart of the city is Har kī Pauṛī and its Brahmakuṇḍa, where thousands gather for the Gaṅgā Āratī at dusk and float leaf-lamps on the river. Māyā Devī, Manasā Devī and Caṇḍī Devī temples crown the city. Haridvār is a Kumbh Melā site; it is pleasant most of the year except the peak monsoon.

Tradition says that during the churning of the ocean, drops of amṛta fell at Haridvār, which is why it hosts the Kumbh. Har kī Pauṛī, “the steps of Hari”, is said to bear a footprint of Viṣṇu on a stone in the wall above the ghat.

Uttarakhand · Gaṅgā Āratī · Kumbh Melā · Kāṃvaḍ yātrā

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