Lunch over at Badrinath. A short nap and the drive towards the temple, which we saw earlier, if you remember.

Shri Pashupatinath temple – the correct name is situated at Deeg near Pashopa Village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, and approx. 7 km from Aadi Badri Dham. The village is below the hill, and they guided us on how to reach it. 100 approx. steps.

Watching the surroundings, green fields, and villages, the view from the mountaintop is beautiful, and we are all in front of the priest to know The History of Shri Pashupatinath Temple (Deeg).

Pushpvan, i.e., Garden of Flowers – from here Lord Shankar used to take flowers to Vrindavan to make garlands to be presented to Radha. He himself appears as Gopi to watch Maharaas. The village’s name is Pashopa. During Shivaratri, hundreds of devotees from all the villages nearby visit the temple to offer prayers.

While returning, we saw a few old ladies with lots of courage or maybe devotion towards the Lord Shankar temple, climbing slowly and slowly to reach the deity to offer prayers. Salute – said I. And a few resting may be unable to reach as they were tired already. Anyways, that is respected too. One should not be over-courageous. A precaution is better than a cure, they say.

We were served tea/water by a village house and a cot as well to rest. Upon the request from the villages, we call everybody to be present and a small session of bhajan, Kirtan. They won our hearts for sure.

Time was less as evening hours were not that far, we said bye-bye Shukriya and towards our next destination, i.e., Kedarnath.

In this abode, Lord Shree Krishna showed Baba Nand and Yashoda Maiya all the holy pilgrimage places. Baba Nand had not given birth to a son at the age of 80 years, so he had accepted a wish to visit all holy pilgrimage places if a son is born. When Baba told Lord Shree Krishna a wish to visit Shri Badrinarayan, etc., pilgrimages, then God said Baba, where will you go at this age? Here, I will show you all the holy pilgrimage places. So in this Aadi Badri Dham, Nand Baba, Gaon residents came here along with Yashoda ji. Shree Krishna told Baba to close his eyes. When Baba invoked Badrinarayan, etc. with closed eyes, Sri Badri Vishal Nar Narayan, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Alakhnanda, Har Ki Pauri, Swarg Ashram, Dev Sarovar, Chandan Van, Gandh Madhav Parvat, Keshrachal Parvat, Dhwalgiri Parvat, Nar Narayan Parvat, Chitrakut Parvat, Vindhyachal Parvat, Dronagiri Parvat, Krishna Kund, etc, all the pilgrims appeared themselves and gave darshan to everyone, including Baba, which is still existing in the middle of Chaurasi Kos.

Ber Fruit Tree – This photo was taken when we stopped at the Deeg railway crossing as the train was about to cross and saw many Ber fruit trees nearby the road, as well as Vendors Selling Ber Fruit.

We are now driving close to Deeg Fort. No details about the same, but yes, it is a huge fort. The driver of our car enhanced our knowledge – The fort is covered by water from all sides.

Ok – said I. Maybe someday during the Rajasthan tour will try to visit – a thought. Deeg is in Rajasthan. We have crossed the border of Uttar Pradesh and are now driving through the roads of Rajasthan.

Deeg Fort is approx. 15 km from Mansi Ganga, or one can say approx. 45 km from Vrindavan.

One km of driving. Laxman temple at Deeg in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

All vehicles stop. Steps towards the temple and we all walk to reach the deity.

After Prayers, Prasad, we requested the priest to share the story about the temple. He requested all of us to sit quietly to listen.

The place where you are right now is called Dheerpur.

dheerpur naam gaon braj mandal ko
tako kala dekh tajmahalo sharmat hai
aur kundan ke beeach bagh bane bhavya
garjat tarjat meghan ki aur ghumraat hai
chalat dware jaldhare satrang dware
indra ke dhanush ki chawi darshat hai
aur dharti pe ho chahe sukha ka prakop kaho
dig mein to ho baroh mah barsaat hai

Because Lord Krishna enlarged himself at this location, which is why it is named Dheerpur. When Aghasur, a demon, gulped Lord Krishna, the lord had to expand his body to come out of the stomach to kill the demon.

Another name for Dheerpur is Lathawar. Lord Krishna at Dheerpur taught people how to play Lathi (a long, heavy bamboo stick).

This is Brajmandal, and the temple you are present in is Sheshawatar Shri Laxman Ji temple. Lord Laxman was Shesh in Satyug, Laxman in Treta Yug, Balarama during Dwapar Yug, and during Kalyug, they say Ramanajucharya is the incarnation of Lord Laxman. As you can see, Ram in Baalroop (child), as well as Laxman and Urmila Ji, are present within the temple. All over the world, it is said this is the only temple having Ram, Laxman, and Urmila deities within one frame. The temple is approx. 400 years old and is also known as the Usha temple. If you visit early morning, you can see the early morning sunlight reaching towards the face of the deity to offer prayers as said and believed, and then after touching the feet of deities continues towards city life. And not to forget, if you have time, please visit the palaces of Ding because they are special.

Boleiye Laxman maharaj ki jai

The priest blessed us for our safe journey. We all thanked him for sharing the History of Shri Laxman Ji Temple.

The best part of a road journey is that you can stop wherever you want to know about a subject or to talk to people, some known and a few unknown. 20 km approx. driving and finally, we reached Aadi Badri Dham (Deeg) in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, but before Badrinath (Aadi Badri Dham), I saw a temple on top of a picturesque hill.

I inquire. The driver said it is Badrinath, but no – He was wrong and I knew later when we reached Shri Aadi Badri Dham.

Bhajan singing now onwards during ‘Braj Chaurasi Kos Yatra‘ is a day-to-day habit. Thanks to God wish who decided for us to be on tour. Prayers.

It is said that Nand Baba was not having a child since the age of 80. He prayed that if a child is born, he will tour all the Teerth. When Nand Baba requested Lord Krishna his desire to tour all Teerth, Lord said – I will bring all the Teerth here for you. He requested Nanda Baba, Yashoda, and Devki to close their eyes, and when they opened, they all saw all of Teerth present in front of them.

Gangotri, Yamunotri, Alakhnanda, Har Ki Pauri, Swarg Ashram, Dev Sarowar, Chandanwan, Gandhmadhav Parbat, Dhaulagiri Parbat, Chitrakoot Parbat, Vindhyachal Parbat, Dronagiri Parbat, Neel Ghati, Maya Devi, Tapasya Kund, Gauri Kund, Udhav Kund, Krishna Kund, Shyam Kund, Sidh Gufa, and many other Teerth as well – The above display board narrates the summary.

Laxman Jhula? Another surprise for us, as we all know, Laxman Jhula is in Rishikesh, but the display board talks about the same. We were told it is behind the temple, about half a km walking distance. We all jointly walked to reach while singing a bhajan, passing through dense dry trees as well as muddy paths. It is almost no man’s land, except we saw one cowherd passing by.

Few walks – A few stairs and another temple on top of the hill. The priest said Lord Laxman visited this hill. We were shown Laxman Jhula. Actually, it is a hilly path that attaches two hills through stones currently not existing, but yes, the remains show a jhula, i.e., the bridge was present a few years back.

Prayers, and we again walked towards Aadi Badri Dam, but this time for lunch. We are hungry.

Punchari Ka Lautha – another temple at Deeg in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, on the way. We stop.

It is said during ‘Braj Chaurasi Kos Yatra‘ as well as Giriraj Parikrama, one has to stop to pray at this temple to proceed further. The stop is called Hazari, i.e., attendance. We did.