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Uttaranchal Bhairav Temple
Bhairav Temple is a famous location in Uttarkashi situated in Chowk area, near Uttarkashi in which place there are around 365 temples exist according to legends. The well-known Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang who visited India in 629 AD had referred this place as Brahma Pura while the Hindu text Skanda Purana, calls this place as Varunavata.
Uttarkashi town is situated along the River Ganga at a distance of 199 kilometres from Dehra Dun, very similar in features that enrich the famous location Varanasi.
Bhairav is considered a form of Shiva, who guards a Shakti Peeth from the attacks of enemies and that is why one can find Bhairav temples constructed nearby all Shakthi Peeths.
In Uttrakhand there are at least six Bhairav temples, which are at Kedarnath, Almora, Bageshwar, Devprayag, and those near Uttarkashi and Gangotri.
History
The concept of Bhairav can be found in the conversation between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu as narrated in Shiv Puran, where Lord Vishnu inquires with Lord Brahma as to who is the supreme power in the Universe. Brahma with a bit of arrogance apparently tells Vishnu that Brahma himselfwas the supreme power because he plays the creator’s role among the trinity. This clarification angers Shiva who then takes the form of Bhairav to teach a lesson to Brahma. As Bhairav, Lord Shiva takes off one of Brahma's five heads thereby making Brahma have only four heads then on. When appearing as Kala Bhairav, Lord Shiva is always seen carrying the pulled out head of Brahma. This act of Lord Shiva makes him a sinner to have committed Brahma Hathi Dosha and as a result, He was destined to roam around as Bhikshatana carrying a decapitated skull for twelve years. This happens to be the origin of Bhairav and Bhairav temples along Shakthi Peeths.
Bhairava temples or shrines are generally situated within or near most Jyotirlinga temples, the sacred twelve shrines honoring Shiva across India. Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi is one such temple and the Mahakaleshwar Temple at Ujjain is another. Kal Bhairav Temple worshiper’s include Kapalika and Aghori sects of Shaivism, while at these temples at Kashi and Ujjain; one can find Patal Bhairav and Vikrant Bhairav shrines.
Bhairav Temples In India And Abroad
With regard to Bhairav temples, there are
- Three in Uttar Pradesh, at Varanasi, Vidhyanchal and Allahabad
- Six in Uttrakhand, at Kedarnath, Uttarkashi, Gangotri, Almora, Bageswar, Devprayag
- One in Jammu and Kashmir, at Vaishnodevi complex
- Two in Himachal Pradesh, at Lahul Spiti district and Mandi
- Two in Delhi and NCR, one at Purana Quila and the other at Nehru Place
- One in Assam, at Tezpur
- One in Paschim Bangla, at Telkupi
- One in Odisha, at Nuagaon, Jagatsinghpur
- One In Jharkhand, at Madhuban
- Seven in Rajasthan, at Khetri, Jaipur, Nagaur, Sri Dungargarh, Jaisalmer Highway, Barmer and Bikaner
- Two in Madhya Pradesh, at Ujjain and Adegaon
- Six in Gujarat, at Surat, Kutch, Aravali Range, Siddhpur, Palitana Bhavnagar, Girnar mountain
- Three in Maharashtra, at Nashik, Satara and Bavdhan
- One in Goa at Dhargal
- Seven in Andhra Pradesh, at Kamareddy, Somasila, Srisailam, Ratanpur, Nellore, Yogimallavaram, Kajipalli
- Four in Karnataka, at Yaana, Adichunchanagiri, Dubalgundi, Kadri
- Fourteen in Tamilnadu, at AdhiyamanKotai, Gadag, Gudiyatham, Thiruvannamalai, Courtallam, Aragalur, Karaikudi, Kumbakonam, Morepalayam, IruppaikudiKaraikudi, Dharapuram, Pogular, Dindigul,Thirunermalai
There are Kalabhairav temples, eight in Kathmandu and One in Brazil.
Other Temples
The nearby town Almora in Uttrakhand is one of the six locations where Bhairav temples are famous. Almora City is equipped with eight gates, each of them having a Bhairav temple. In this city there are also temples depicting the nine forms of Durga.
Besides, there are few other temples of importance which include Jageshwar Temple, GanaNath Temple, Chaiti Temple, Katarmal Temple and Banri Devi Temple
How To Reach
By Air
Uttarkashi is situated 160 km from Jolly Grant Airport, which is the nearest and there are daily flights to this airport from Delhi. There are motorable roads connecting this airport and Uttarkashi town and plenty of taxis available for transport.
By Rail
Rishikesh Railway Station is the nearest rail point for Uttar Kashi, from where one can travel about 143km by road which is well maintained.
By Road
Uttar Kashi is in NH58 with excellent bus transport, including luxury types of buses, available for travel from major destinations of Uttrakhand State, which include Rishikesh, Tehri, Dehradun, Barkot etc.
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