Living waters, billowing of Heaven

Sandeep Rawat 

Tribune News Service 

Rishikesh, February 7

“A river sings a holy song conveying the mysterious truth that we are a river and if we are ignorant of this natural law, we are lost.”

—Thomas Moore

Uttarakhand is ‘Devbhoomi’, an abode of gods and goddesses and numerous shrines built after them. The holy Ganga flows hurriedly from high mountains in the Garhwal Himalayas imparting glory and piety to places along her banks. The Ganga, the living waters of salvation, belongs to the Heaven and has descended for general good and welfare. She has sprung from the highest mountains for running over the plains and conferring the most precious benefits on all creatures of the earth. She is the highest cause of all things, the purifier, the billowing of the ocean of Heaven. 

On the banks of the Ganga, Rishikesh is one such place that since ages has been regarded highly by those seeking the ultimate truth and spiritual solace.

Rishikesh is the place from where the Ganga after traversing mountainous valleys in the Garhwal Himalayas first descends on the plains before reaching Haridwar. It is also the gateway to the pilgrimage of Char Dhams of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

In Vedic texts, Rishikesh is also referred to as “Agni teerth”. In “Vaman Puran”, it is referred to as “Kubjamrak teerth”. According to “Vaman Puran”, Prahlad prayed to Hrishikesh at “Kubjamrak teerth” before going on the Badrikashram pilgrimage. 

Noted educationist and historian Dr Savita Mohan says, in “Nar Singh Puran” Rishikesh is used as another name of Lord Vishnu. 

In “Skand Puran”, references of Kankhal, Jwalapur (ancient Bhogpur), Haridwar, Rishikesh, Laxman Jhula, and Tapovan in Mayachetra (Mayapur ancient name of Haridwar) are found.

Dr Savita cites the connection of Jainism with Rishikesh and says Jain Teerthankar Rishabh Dev’s son Bharat had married Subhadra, daughter of King Nimi, who ruled near Rishikesh. Thus Jainism had influence in this area.

Lord Buddha and his disciples had also visited the area for preaching Buddhism. Moggaliputa Tissa, who resided at Ushirdwaj mountain, near Rishikesh, had taken part in the third Buddhist conference organized by King Ashoka  in Patliputra, who also propagated Buddhism. Since ancient times, Rishikesh has also been a hub of Sanskrit language, spirituality, Vedant studies, Vedic rituals, besides a pilgrim centre for taking a dip in the Ganga for attaining salvation.

Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ramteerth had also visited Rishikesh in quest of spiritual excellence.

Rishikesh town and its surrounding areas did not have a political identity before the creation of Uttarakhand. Earlier, one part of Rishikesh was in the Haridwar Assembly segment while the other was part of the Mussoorie Assembly segment in Uttar Pradesh.

 Rajendar Shah of the BJP, who hailed from a village near Rishikesh, was elected MLA from Mussoorie for the first time in 1991. He won the seat again in 1993 and 1998. However, Rishikesh became an Assembly seat after the formation of Uttarakhand in 2002, bringing some relief for people as the local MLA is more accessible.

Earlier, the people of the town had to look up to the MLAs of Haridwar and Mussoorie for resolution to their problems. Shoorveer Singh Sajwan of the Congress is the current MLA from Rishikesh. He defeated Sandeep Gupta of the BJP by a handsome margin in the first Uttarakhand Assembly elections held in 2002. Later, Prem Chandra Aggarwal of the BJP won the Rishikesh seat in the 2007 and 2012 Assembly elections.

While the major part of Rishikesh city lies in Dehradun district, the Swargashram, Jaunk and Laxman Jhula area is in Pauri Garhwal district and Muni-ki-Reti and Tapovan fall in Tehri Garhwal district.

Rishikesh is home to many noted Sanskrit educational institutions, Vedic study centres, shrines and ashrams. Geeta Bhawan at Swargashram was built in 1940. Shivanand Ashram set up by Swami Shivanand in 1936  caters to pilgrims, poor, ailing and needy persons. Bharat Mandir is located in the heart of the city. Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya reinstalled the presiding deity in the temple on Basant Panchmi in 789 AD. 

Gandhiji was enamoured by Lakshman Jhula

In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi went to Haridwar. It was the year of Kumbh Mela but he hadn’t gone there to attend it. He was keen to meet Mahatma Munshiramji and was relieved to reach his Gurkul. Gandhiji experienced the contrast between the peace at the Gurkul and commotion outside in Haridwar. He met Acharya Ramdevji there and had long discussions with him.

Gandhiji had heard much about the Lakshman Jhula over the Ganga in Rishikesh, and many friends pressed him not to leave Haridwar without having gone to see the bridge. He undertook the pilgrimage on foot and did it in two stages. He was charmed by the natural scenery about Rishikesh and the Lakshman Jhula. He bowed his head in reverence to our ancestors for their sense of beautiful in nature and for their foresight in investing charming manifestations of nature with a religious significance.

However, Gandhiji was anguished at the way people used these beauty spots. As at Haridwar, so at Rishikesh, people did not hesitate from desecrating the sacred water of the Ganga, dirtying roads and the mela banks of the Ganga. He was told that originally there had been a fine rope bridge, but a philanthropic Marwadi got an iron suspension bridge built at an enormous cost. The Marwadi then entrusted the keys of the bridge to the government.

Many saints called on Gandhiji at Rishikesh and he had long discussions with one of them, who was specially attracted towards him. This saint, however, was pained at seeing Gandhiji without a “shikha” (tuft of hair) on the head and the sacred thread about his neck. He conveyed his anguish to Gandhiji who was not fazed by the saint’s annoyance.