Temples in Haridwar to Visit, Tour, and Best

Temples in Haridwar to visit nearby, Best Tour planning, and Booking

It is said that Haridwar is a sacred location where not only God, Gandharva, and saints, but also mankind, receive the benefits of their good deeds by residing.

Temples in Haridwar to visit

Haridwar is often referred to as the perfect place since Lord Shiva and Shakti (power) reside here. Since Mahamaya, the daughter of Daksh Prajapati, was born at Mayapuri, Kamkhul is thought to be Lord Shiva’s in-laws’ home. According to mythology, there are five temples in Haridwar, namely Hari ki Pauri, Kushawart, Vilvkeshwar, Neel Parvat, and Kankhal.

Hari Ki Pauri

“Pauri” means “footprints,” and “Har” means “God.” Har Ki Pauri translates to “God’s footprints.” It is thought that Lord Vishnu visited this location in the past, and his footprints may still be seen on a stone that is part of the stone wall.

One of Haridwar’s oldest mythological locations is Haari Ki Pauri. According to the famous story, devas and demons fought for nectar while diving in the sea. At this point, certain drops of nectar dropped in four different places: Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain, and Nasik. Since then, Hardwar has celebrated the Kumbh Fair every twelfth year, aligning with the sun and moon entering Aries and Jupiter entering Aquarius (Pandey, 1989). The Atharveda also contains descriptions of the kumbh (Purana kumbh).

While carrying out severe penance in this area some two thousand years ago, King Vikramaditya’s brother also acquired knowledge of the Ganga’s holy quay. King Vikramaditya built a staircase here in his memory; hence, this area was named “Hari Ki Pauri.”

The two ghats, Kushawart and Gaughat, which are situated south of Hari Ki Pauri, are practically equally important spiritually. It is believed that the sage Dattatreya stood on one foot and conducted a rigorous penance on Kushaghat. The Anushashan Parva of the Mahabharata, Chapter 26, Verse 12, also describes this pilgrimage. It is thought that by performing offerings such as pind and shradh (a yearly ritual for the deceased), a family member’s deceased father will receive ultimate satisfaction (Moksha). According to Mahabharata Vanparva 83, Bheeshem got here to fulfill his father Shantanu’s moksha yagna, and this place gained popularity as Shantanuteerth.

Vilvakeshwar

A mountain range called Vilvak, whose description can be found in Ansushashan Parva of the Mahabharata, chapter 26, verse 12, is located on the eastern side of Hari Ki Pauri. The Himalayan daughter, Uma Gauri, is said to have spent years remaining here before meeting Lord Shiva and assuming the name Aparna. There is currently a temple by Adi-Guru Sankaracharya next to a neem tree. An idol of Gauri Devi is located on the opposite corner. According to Kedarkhand Purana, chapter 107, the stream that runs between these two temples is known as Shivdhara.

Dakseshwar Temple

According to the local legend, King Daksh, the father of Siva’s spouse Sati, organized a Yagna and invited the god Shiva to attend. Kankhal is the location of the Daksheshwar temple. Consequently, angered Shiva devotee Veerbahdra killed the Daksh king after insulting Sati and offering her as a sacrifice in the Yagna Kund. However, Shiva later saved the king, Daksh Prajapati. Here, God Shiva was founded by King Daksh after he realized his error (Regved 10.72–4.5). In addition, Bhagwat Puran 4-3-7 and Mahabharat Shantiparva 25/3 have references to it. In 1810, the Landoura king Ramdayal’s wife, queen Dhankunwar, rebuilt this temple. Mahanirvan Panchayat Akhara then renovated it.

Mahamaya Temple

It is thought that the naval half of Sati fell on the grounds of the Mahamaya temple, where a Sakti peeth was built following sacrifice in the yagna kund where Sati’s limbs touched down (Naithani, 1994). Many religious texts and Puranas also describe it.

Manasa and Chandi Devi Temples in Haridwar

Located on Vilva and Neelgiri heights, respectively, are the Mansa and Chandi Devi Temples. It is thought that Chandi Devi must exist wherever there is Mansa Devi. Manasa was married to Rishi Jartkaru, and they had a son named Astik. She was the sister of Vasuki Naga and the daughter of Sage Kashyap.

In Brahmavaivart Purana 3-51, Manasa is described as the goddess who calms snake bites. Devi Bhagwat claims that Janamejaya worshipped Mansa Devi to protect himself from Takshak snake bites. Mansa Devi is referred to as the tenth Shakti (power) in Navachandi, and there is a picture of Astha Nag Vahinee with five arms and three faces in the temple. Behind the Mansa Devi temples lies an ancient pond known as Suraj Kund, which is thought to be the penance land of God Sun. There is an old temple dedicated to Hanuman with five faces next to Suraj Kund. According to legend, the five-faced Hanuman temple is located where the young Hanuman fell as he attempted to consume the Sun God during penance (Bhatt, 2004).

Across Neel Dhara, behind Mansa Devi, lies the Chandi Devi temple, built on the Neel Parvat. The ages-old story states that Chandi Devi destroyed two demons there named Shumbh and Nisumbh with her incantation power. The presence of the Shumbh and Nisumbh hills in this mountain range points to this. Some people believe that a well-known tantric from Kanpur was responsible for building the temple in 1858, while others believe that Jammu’s monarch, Suchit Singh, was responsible.

Saptarishi Region

According to the Vanparva (3.139,2) and Vanparva (47.39) descriptions, the Ganga was forced to split into seven streams upon reaching this location to save the penance stretch and home of seven sages, namely Kashyap, Atri, Vasisth, Vishwamitra, Gautam, Jamdagni, and Bhardwaj