JOIN WOX Travel Contest | Week 5
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
We started our journey to Hastinapur, which is located at a distance of 95 km from our house in the National Capital Region, Delhi, in the bordering state of Uttar Pradesh.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ ᴴᵃˢᶦⁿᵃᵖᵘʳ ʷᵃˢ ⁹ᵏᵐ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᵖᵒᶦⁿᵗ
If you know about the history of the Kauravas and Pandavas during Lord Krishna's era, then it will be easy to understand the background of Hastinapur, but if you know nothing about them, my images will let you speak for their culture and history.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
Hastinapur is also very famous for Jain devotees. But let me make it clear, I personally know nothing about Jain religion or culture apart from what I hear from my Jain friends and what I read in books and magazines.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
However, I did a lot of reading on walls and boards in the temple city of Hastinapur, so I now know enough to describe some important points. However our main interest was to enjoy the beautiful tourist interest place and record it for this contest.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
Hastinapur has witnessed the regal grandeur, royal conflicts, and princely era of the Pandavas and Kauravas in Mahabharata times.
Places like Vidurr Tila, Pandeshwar Temple, Baradari, Dronadeshwar Temple, Karna Temple, Draupadi Ghat, Kama Ghat, etc. are spread all over Hastinapur.
You will see various wonderful architectural beauties and centers of different temples of Jainism.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
Unfortunately, the entry was closed for other visitors as it was time for followers of Jainism, so we were stopped at the gate.
But other places are also worth visiting here, such as Jambudweep Jain Temple, Shwetambar Jain Temple, Ancient Digambar Jain Temple, Astapad Jain Temple, and Shri Kailash Parvat Jain Temple, etc.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
The Sumeru Mountains, the Lotus Temple in Jambudweep, and the entire temple complex are worth visiting. Hastinapur is also a center of great veneration for the Sikh community, as it is also the birthplace of Panch Pyare Bhai Dharam Singh, one of the five disciples of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. For Sikhism, the Gurudwara of Saifpur Karmachanpur is a major pilgrimage center for devotees.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
Apart from being a holy and historical place, Hastinapur is also famous for wildlife. The nearby sanctuary is equipped with various species of flora and is also a center for wildlife tourism, adventure tourism, eco-tourism, and related activities.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
Children have their own places for entertainment. When we visited that area a school group was there having fun in the amusement park inside the temple premises.
You can find a number of places in Hastinapur where accommodation and food facilities are available. You can choose between private and government rest houses, and various other options for where you wish to stay.
ᴱˡᵉᵖʰᵃⁿᵗˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᶜᵒⁿˢᶦᵈᵉʳᵉᵈ ᵍᵒᵈˡʸ ʳᶦᵈᵉ ᵇᵘᵗ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵗᵒ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵃ ᵗʳᵃᶜᵗᵒʳ ᵈʳᶦᵛᵉⁿ ᵉˡᵉᵖʰᵃⁿᵗ ʳᶦᵈᵉˀ ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
Jain Dharamshala is also located where better accommodation facilities are available.
This is the unique circular structure of Jambudweep, which is a replica of the entire universe,according to Jain faith.
This temple is constructed with white and different colored marble stones and has a diameter of 250 feet.
Mount Sumeru, which is situated right at the center of the campus, is considered by the Jain community to be the center of the universe and is made of light pink marble.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
Sumeru Mount, with a height of 101 feet, divides the building into four distinct zones: east, west, north, and south.
The east and west areas are used for meditation and lectures by the gurus. Although during our visit the temple was closed.
In the southern region, there are snow mountains, Ganga-Sindhu rivers, Bhogbhumi structures, and beautiful green trees, temples, ponds, and gardens are also seen there.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
The north region also has similar formations with different names, with the major formation being the Airavat region, which means the area of the godly elephant.
The Jain Jambudweep Temple has been a center of attraction for the followers of Jainism on a national and international level. This place tells about the ancient Jain religion, their beliefs, literature, geography, history, and pretty much everything else.
Meditation Center
This place, which was closed during our visit, is a meditation center, or as they call it, the Dhyan Temple, which means meditation or peace of mind.
The Jains believe it's useful for spiritual up liftment and mental peace. From the top of the temple, one gets a wonderful view of the temple complex and the city of Hastinapur.
It is a good place for family outings and picnics because of its beautiful gardens and mesmerizing view.
Finally, we went to the Pandav Tila, but there were too many monkeys, so we stopped at midway and came down the stairs and left.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
What I read on boards and walls said there were six islands around Jambu Island, which is located in the middle of the earth.
They believe the Sumeru Mountain was in the middle of a country called Ilavrit, which used to be situated where today's Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, and China are.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
ᴮᵘᵗ ᵇᵉ ᶜᵃʳᵉᶠᵘˡ ᵐᵒⁿᵉʸˢ ʰᵉʳᵉ ᵗʳʸ ᵗᵒ ˢⁿᵃᵗᶜʰ ᵉᵈᶦᵇˡᵉˢ ᵒʳ ᵉᵛᵉⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜᵃᵐᵉʳᵃ
I read a lot of history on the boards and walls, which I don't now remember exactly, but as you have access to the internet, try to search it online because it's all available online.
But what I read pretty much covers all surrounding areas, consisting of parts of Africa, almost all of Asia, and part of Europe, which they believe was Jambu Island.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
In Jain belief, Trilok or Teen Lok is called "Three Worlds". These three worlds are considered Devlok (where gods live), Bhulok (where ordinary people live), and Pitrlok (where people who have left this world live). However, I might be wrong or my reading is not accurate, so I stand to be corrected.
Finally, we wanted to visit Pandav Cave, so we went there, which is less than one kilometer from the main temple. We parked our bike, climbed up the steep ladder, and saw a temple where some sort of religious ritual was going on.
It was like a dense forest but as we wanted to move towards the Pandav Cave, we encountered a group of monks, which scared my wife, so we gave up the idea and came back.
They say it has shocking secrets hidden in this 151 feet high Jain Temple in Hastinapur. I did not get a chance to get in so I am giving you these pictures.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
On our way back, we found this temple, and we took a couple of photos. Then we reached its main gate, but again, that was close, so I inserted my camera through the grilled gate and took a long shot.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ
There was much more left to be seen but it was too sunny besides we wanted to get back in time so we started our journey back home.
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