Delhi to Davangere
We all have read about Mohammad Bin Tuglaq's journey from
Delhi to Daulatabad shifting his capital!! Although the reverse migration was
yet another story.....
My odyssey from Delhi to Davanagere has some interesting
stories to share.!!!!
Delhi to Mathura
We started at 7 am in the morning to the land of the Krishna
!
Scorching hot sun, mixed emotion of leaving behind
Delhi, and looking forward to a great odyssey!!
The beautiful Mughal architecture made of the quintessential Red sandstone was like a treat of 'red velvet cake' to eyes.
The Mughal dome, the 'Jalis' for ventilation, the 'key stone arches', Rajput influenced chatris[watch towers]. It is a blend of Indo Persian architecture.
We also offered our prayers in the Salim Chisti Dargah which was built by Akbar in honour of Sufi saint Chisti who had foretold the birth of a son to Akbar.
After the magnificent Fatehpur sikri tour, we purchased a handcrafted 'Marble box' as souvenir for memory.
We halted in Fatehpur sikri and moved to Morena, in Madhya Pradesh, our next stop that was even more intriguing.
Morena, Madhya Pradesh
The Ekatraso / Chausath Yogini temple
I have posted about Morena in my instagram!!
The Instagram
link
The monuments were magnus opus by the Gurjara pratiharas and
the Kacchapagata dynasties respectively.
Gwalior
Gwalior is the city of music. It is a proof of the
legacy of many powerful dynasties that ruled the region contributing to its
administrative and cultural glory! The Huns, Gurjara- Pratiharas, the
Kacchapagata, Delhi sultans, among others ruled the region. Among them the
Gurjaras and the mighty Kacchapagatas who gave the gift of Chausath yogini
temple in Morena.
Yet another 'magnus opus' of these dynasties in Gwalior is
its magnificent "Fort"!!
The Gwalior fort is said to be constructed in and around 8th
Century AD or even before.
This magnificent 'Gwalior Fort' is on the mighty
'Vindhyan range'
The Fort houses that spectacular 'Man Mandir' built
by Maharaja Man Singh of Tomar dynasty in 15th century AD.
The interior of the 'Man Mandir' is very curious that can be
experienced at the most.!
It has an underground floor , the dark echoing rooms, the
open spaces Inside the palace without ceiling like "Totti Mane"
are great.
Luckily it was raining cats and dogs in Gwalior when we
visited that augmented the
experience !!
The Vikram palace, built by vikramaditya Singh ,
son of Man singh has its own beauty.
The Gwalior museum displaying the antiquity of the empires
that ruled the region was informative!
After two days of car journey, the journey by bus began. It was a fantastic experience travelling in the 'Sleeper bus'. Seriously, I slept better while travelling in the sleeper bus than in any hotels! Totally we travelled by 4 sleeper buses in our entire vacation.
The bus had the 'Cradle effect'. The moment of the bus gave a swaying movement, that induced sleep instantaneously! 😀
Ujjain Mahakal is the 'God of Time'. It is a 'Jyotirling'. The "Bhasmaarati" to the 'Mahakaal' is the eye catching event that starts at 4 :00 am.
It is a tradition that one has to visit the 'Kaala Bhairava' and seek his permission before visiting the 'Mahakal'. So, we set out to seek the 'Kaal Bhairav'. The unique element is that, he pets a 'dog' rather then the conventional 'Nandi'!
We also visited the 'Sandipani ashram' where Sri Krishna got educated.
The 'maatha Gadkaalika' is a shakti peeth, where her 'lips' are ssa8d to be fallen.
Yet another 'Shaktipeeth' is the 'Harsiddhi Maata' where her elbows had fallen!
The stunning 😍 site is the 'Mahakaal Lok' , especially the evening lightings!!
'Mahakaleshwar' was a divine treat for the eyes! I saw the 'Moola lingam' without the depiction face, that is special to 'Mahalkaleshwar! The divine ecstasy filled the
"Dal bafla" is a local cuisine that is worth trying. It is similar to 'Dal bhaati chochoorma'!
Our bus to 'Ajanata' was at 7 pm. It was already 6pm, and I hadn’t yet visited the 'Harsiddhi maatha' Mandir. It was close to the 'Mahakaaleshwar' temple. I had to run to to take the darshan of 'Harsiddhi maata'. It had a beautiful and unique face, the evening lightings were being readied to light up, but I had to go to catch my bus at 7 to the World Heritage site- Ajanata!
Not to forget the 'Mahakaleshwar Tilak' on the forehead added the charm!!
Ajanta to Ellora to Ajanta🤔
We had yet another satisfying sleep in the 'Classic sleeper
bus'! and reached the 'Ajanta'! on Monday! and it is a 'Maintenance
holiday' in Ajanta !, so we had to hire a taxi and visit the Ellora whose
maintenance holiday would be on Tuesdays! I had again missed to take a look
about holidays of the monuments. My bad, We had to hire a car to reach the
Ellora!
Ajanta and Ellora were places that I had read about in the
NCERT books in my school days and later. Witnessing it in real would be like
getting a 'Hands on learning'.!
My Ellora visit has its own story to tell that I have
addressed it in a separate blog! Do check!
On the way to Ellora Caves is the Bhadra Maruti
Temple, a unique Reclining Hanuman is the speciality here.!
Then came the most awaited 'Ellora Caves', the rocks
that have withstood the marvel of history!
The Ellora cave comple has around 30 caves belonging
to 'Hinduism ', 'Jainism', and the 'Buddhism'.
It also had the one of its kind- Kailash temple, a
monolithic architecture that has stood as an evidence to the 'Sculptural
Prowess'! This 'Rastrakuta cultural contribution' was supposedly built
during the reign of 'Krishna-I' .
Photo
with the Japanese touristJust 1.5 km from Ellora caves is the 'Grushneshwara Jyotirlinga'! It is said to be the Svayambhu Jyotirling !
The uniqueness is that devotees are allowed to perform rituals like Abhishekam, and offer flowers to the Shivling, so I could touch the 'Jyotirling'!!
The Ajanta
Next morning, we set to visit the 'Ajanta'! As I had read about the architecture and the famous paintings here,My curiosity had touched the roof to witness it in real!
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