The importance of Omkareshwar lies not just in its temples, but in the island itself. The island is a hilly area, and resembles the Hindu symbol �Om � (`) when viewed from above. This not only gives the island the name �Omkareshwar�, but this is what has drawn holy men to this site from time immemorial. Over the ages, so many temples were built on the island that at some point in time, a circumambulation of the whole island gained fame and was performed by many as an offering to the lord. Known as the Omkareshwar Parikrama, this circumambulation covered all the temples on the island, and was considered part of the pilgrimage to Omkareshwar. With the passage of time, many of the temples collapsed and so did the Parikrama path. Now, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department (MPTDC) has made an effort to revive the ancient Parikrama.
When I first heard about the Parikrama, I was all excited about it, but there was very little information available. All I was able to find out was that the path was about 9 Kms long, and that it took a little more than 3 hours to complete it. Again, I was able to find out about the many temples on the island, but was unable to find out how to visit them. The only people who had written a blog about the Parikrama were a group of young trekking enthusiasts who had made the trip sometime back, but they had not mentioned details. Add all this lack of information to the fact that the members of our family ranged from 6 to 70; and that I have a weak ankle which swells up at the slightest provocation, and I had all but given up the hope of doing the Parikrama or seeing all the temples on the island.
For a short while, I wondered about the possibility of going around the island by boat, but two factors pointed against it � the fare asked seemed too high (Rs.500/- in a motor boat); and our resort manager, who informed us that boats were not allowed on the dam side of the island. That seemed to settle things once and for all, and finally, my father-in-law decided that we would go ahead with the Parikrama on foot, no matter how long it took!!! Thanks to him, a trip which seemed blighted, especially with our experience at the Omkareshwar temple the last evening, turned into one of the best experiences of my life!!!!
Let me take you on a visual tour of our journey around the island���.
We started on our walk at sunrise, wishing that the dam wasn�t there to impede the view of the river and the mountains.
Once we crossed the bridge, it was easy to find the Parikrama path. MPTDC banners showed the way at every turn!
The dam on the Narmada has succeeded in stemming the flow of the river. It was a sad sight to see the plight of the river which was once known as a turbulent one which frequently flooded these areas.
A Temple on the mainland..
One of the true inhabitants of the island....
The path goes on....
An ancient temple, now decrepit....
Occasional shops like this one sell pilgrims the basic necessities such as water and snacks.
A glimpse of the river is all we get as we climb higher.....
An Indian Treepie - one of the many birds we saw during our walk....
The only wildlife sure to be present wherever you go in India....
The path turns downwards, towards the sangam
Another ancient temple..
... which is being renovated...
Donkeys carrying loads.... they have the right of way here...
The river in sight again!
Some variety of pigeon or dove...Can anyone help in identification???
The common myna on an uncommonly high perch!!!!
The river Kaveri (actually, it is just the Narmada which gets divided into two streams at the other end of the island. In an effort to make the confluence holier, the tributary has been given the name Kaveri)....
The confluence of the two branches of the river.. Samhith is trying to get the best of two worlds - collecting stones.... and having a dip in the water too!!! Now my house is full of stones!!
Stones piled up on the banks of the Narmada. This is a custom here, and it is believed that it will grant prosperity and help one in building a house.
Another temple - this one is quite intact, since the deity promises to rid devotees of all their sins from previous births!! An offering of Chana Dal (chick peas) is special here, and there are enough people who come this far just to make an offering. The shopkeeper had Chana dal, but no flowers, and when we asked him, he simply plucked a few flowers from a nearby tree and handed it over to us!!
Back on the road....
The sign seems as old as the gate it refers to.... according to it, the gateway ahead is called the "Dharmraj Dwar", and dates back to the 13th century.
We seem to have reached a sort of plateau, for there is a valley on the right, and on the left is the river. We are now on the other side of the island, and the road just seems to wind along....
Donkeys again!!
We finally see some kind of a settlement... There are quite a lot of people who live here.. All of them are sanyasis and these are like small ashrams. They make their living selling beads and such stuff to those who manage to come all the way here...
.... and these boards are an initiative of MP Tourism. These stones have been engraved with verses from the Bhagvad Gita and placed all over the path. It is certainly a good idea, but unfortunately, we Indians are known for our lack of care for public amenities, and already many of the slabs have been broken and are in shambles...
Now the path climbs up again...... This is the most difficult part of the journey, and we were most thankful for a chap selling fresh buttermilk at the summit. He was a real lifesaver!!!!
At last, we were at the Gori Somnath Mandir!! I had read about this temple,and wanted to visit it, but had no idea it was on the Parikrama path!
This temple has an interesting legend associated with it. Apparently, this temple housed a pure white lingam (thus the name - Gori Somnath; Gori- white). It is believed that anyone looking at the lingam could see his past life and deeds in it. According to legend, Aurangzeb came to this place, and as soon as he stood in front of the lingam, it turned jet black, and so it stands today!!!!
Another gateway, but this time a new one!
A new shrine... this time under a psychedelically coloured statue of Shiva! This is the statue that we could see from our room!
This is the institution responsible for the new temple - and it was a real surprise to see that they have also built a small hospital, a free mess, school (yes, there are people who live here with their families too....) as well as free old age home here!!!
Back on track.... the road goes on...
More temples.... actually ruins of temples....
......and another gateway in the distance...
the road takes a sudden turn... downwards....
we are now at the centre part of the 'OM'
here's what the road looks like... work is still in progress....
passing through the gateway we saw earlier....the road moves upwards again.....
Another temple in the distance... this time on the mainland....
another relic of an era gone by....
Looking back at the path we came by..........
Yet another gateway...........
with once-beautiful sculptures now in ruins.....
remnants of a glorious past......
pieces of sculptures and pillars lie all around.....
the road moves straight ahead.....
...............past another gateway.........
...and tree lined avenues...
The Siddhanath or Siddheshwar temple
This is believed to be the oldest temple on the island, and lies in ruins today........
Few of the elephants which support the pillars are intact today.........
It is only the main shrine containing the deity which stands intact. Here, we found a family of devotees who were busy offering prayers. They had brought not only all the articles of puja, but also the priest along with them! In spite of the condition of the temple, this was the most beautiful and certainly the most divine part of our trip!
Relics spread all over..... this is part of the ASI work here...
On towards the river...
At last, a view of the Narmada (with water!!!)
The path downwards..... and towards the end of our journey...
Here is what this path looks like, from the other end......
Back to walking along the river....
A group of birds perched on a wire... I wonder... are these swifts???
A monkey watches us from his post......
Our destination in sight........
the final stretch......
... along the river.....
We reached the bridge exactly four hours after we set out, after spending quite a lot of time resting along the way or appreciating a bit of nature or a piece of sculpture by the wayside..... It has not been an easy walk, but not too hard, considering that both, Samhith(6) and my father-in-law(70) are tired, but not exhausted! As to me, I am the second-youngest in the group, but I am the one whose ankles are swollen up! However, the pain doesn't really matter, since I have had the best walk I have ever had. This is one journey I would like to take again, and again..........
