Just 34 kilometres from Dev Prayag is the sacred Chandrabadani Temple, which is one of the great 51 Mother Divine temples scattered throughout ancient India. The following story explains the history of how this temple came about.
Devi Sati was the daughter of Prajapati Daksha who was a Brahmin priest. Devi Sati was married to Lord Shiva but her father disliked him. One day, Daksha performed a special a fire ceremony and invited all the Gods except Lord Shiva. Devi Sati begged her father to show respect to Lord Shiva, but Daksha refused and insulted Sati in front of his guests. This angered Sati who cursed her father and his sacred ritual; then she jumped in the fire and burned to death.
A grief-stricken Shiva roamed the universe with Sati’s lifeless body on his shoulders. The gods eventually asked Lord Vishnu to help Shiva overcome his grief. Lord Vishnu threw his chakra and dismembered Sati’s body into 51 pieces which fell to the Earth. Temples arose in all the places where Sati’s body or jewellery fell. This is how they became Mother Divine temples. Lord Shiva stayed in isolation until Devi Sati reincarnated as Parvati.
This is the history of the beautiful and sacred Chandrabadani temple. Pilgrims from faraway places come to Chandrabadani to worship Devi Sati and seek her blessings.
This group of students spent a spiritually charged day in the north Indian area of the Himalayas, which is considered by many to be the spiritual centre of the world.
Why is this area so special to those on a spiritual path?
A pilgrimage to the Himalayas
The Sanskrit word Himalaya means “snow abode”.
The sacred Himalayan mountains offer the experience of infinite energy, which helps people to connect with their inner nature. For individuals on a spiritual journey, the Himalayas are the ultimate destination for the soul. The experience of the Himalayas is in the form of non-verbal teachings, which have the power to shift inner energy blockages.
There are hundreds of temples and sacred sites throughout the Himalayan foothills. They are home to north India’s most significant spiritual places, such as Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, many beautiful monasteries, and many hidden secret spiritual sites as well.
A visit to the Himalayas will show you some of the most breathtaking panoramas on Earth. Many sacred herbs and plants exist in the northern region of the Himalayas, which is also known as DEV BHUMI – the land of Divinity.
The great Himalayas have been the source of immense peace, tranquility and enlightenment for countless sages, yogis and spiritual gurus. Every year, devotees from around the world undertake a holy trek to these sites despite all the challenges offered by the extreme geographic and weather conditions. The Vedic Yoga Centre offers annual pilgrimages to the major sites at Gangotri and Badrinath, and from time to time to other sacred places closer to the Centre, such as:
• Vashishta Gufa
• Tat Walla baba cave
• Dev Prayag
• Chandrabadani
• Panch Kedar
• Panch Badri
There are many more such holy sites, but the purpose of visiting them all is to help you travel the pilgrimage within. It has been a long tradition in India that whenever people are unaware of their inner pilgrimage, and they feel an absence of peace, happiness and clarity, they seek outer pilgrimages because these sites carry the higher spiritual vibrations that help them to connect within, and purify and develop their awareness to their own sacred temple within.
