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Haridwar
is a holy city in the Haridwar
District of Uttarakhand, India.
In Hindi, Haridwar stands for
Dwar of Hari or Gateway to God,
'Hari' meaning god and 'dwar'
meaning gate. Haridwar is regarded
as one of the seven holiest places
to Hindus. According to Hindu
mythology, Haridwar is one among
the four sites where drops of
the elixir of immortality, Amrita,
accidentally spilled over from
the pitcher, in which it was being
carried away by the celestial
bird Garuda, after the Samudra
manthan.Haridwar located in the
foothills of the Himalayas, represents
the point where the Ganga reaches
the plains. Haridwar is an ancient
pilgrimage site, held in reverence
for centuries. Haridwar (and Rishikesh)
represents the gateway to the
Himalayan pilgrimage shrines of
Badrinath and Kedarnath. The pilgrimage
to the Himalayan shrines begins
only when the sun reaches the
zodiac sign of Aries. Haridwar
is also the site of celebration
of the Kumbha Mela, once in twelve
years, when Jupiter transits to
the zodiac sign of Aquarius. The
five sacred bathing spots in Haridwar
are Gangadwara, Kankhal, Nila
Parvata, Bilwa Theertha and Kusavarta.
The spot where the nectar fell
is considered to be the Brahma
Kund at Har-ki-Pauri (literally,
footsteps of the Lord, and symbolically
the footprints of the Amrita),
Nearby is the Gangadwara temple,
the most important of the several
temples that dot this town. The
Ganga Aarti which is celebrated
at 7 pm each night, is a spectacular
sight, when the aarti ceremony
is performed at all temples in
Haridwar at the same instant Hundreds
throng to the ghats at Hari-ki-Pairi
to participate in this festival.
Offerings of lamps and flowers
are made to the river immediately
following this ceremony and it
is a moving sight to watch hundreds
of miniature lamps float along
the river.
Rishikesh
is holy city for Hindus and a
famous centre of pilgrimage.It
is also known as the gateway to
the Himalayas and is located around
25 kilometers away from another
holy city, Haridwar. Rishikesh
is located at a height of about
1360 feet above sea level. Rishikesh
gets its name after Lord Vishnu
who appeared to 'Raibhya Rishi'
as a result of his tapasya (austerities),
as Lord Rishikesh It is believed
that several yogis and sages lived
and practised penance here. Rishikesh
represents the site where Vishnu
vanquished the demon Madhu. Tapovan
on the other bank of the Ganges
houses a temple to Lakshmana.
It is believed that Lakshmana
carried out penances here. It
is also believed that his brother
Bharata meditated here, and there
is a temple to Bharata here. Also
seen here are the Swargashram
and the Geeta Bhavan temples
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