Built in - Ancient
Diety - Lord Krishna
Location - In Urgam Valley, 12 kms Trek from Devgram
Best Time to Visit - Opens only on Raksha Bandhan
Uttarakhand as we all know is a wonderful place. It is a glorifying place. It is a peaceful place which also has rich history and mythology. Uttarakhand is well known for is culture, various important shrines, sculptures, and temples and much more. It is a place of immense importance in the history and even today, this place is visited by people all over the world. This place is home to many Gods and Goddesses. This place is known as ‘DEVBHOOMI’ that means ‘the land of lords. This place gives us divine knowledge about various Gods and Goddesses of Hindu culture.
Uttarakhand is also famous for its Char Dham Yatra which is also known as Chhota Char Dham. It is believed that people should visit this place for at least once in their lifetime. This will give them ultimate peace. The devotees from all over the world come and worship these places all over the year. There are many famous temples in uttarakhand that carries great historic importance and also been home to many Gods and Goddesses. One of such temples of the Hindu mythology is Bansi Narayan temple. Bansi Narayan temple is an incredibly famous temple with rich history and culture.
Let us now gain some more knowledge about this beautiful temple of Bansi Narayan
The Bansi Narayan temple is located in Urgam valley in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand. This temple of Bansi Narayan is an 8th century temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. This temple lies 10 km ahead of bansa which is last village in this valley, hence there is very less human settlement to be found there.
This temple is around 3600 meters above the sea level in the Bugyals. This temple also occupies an inhabited spot for the local language (Shaily Katyuri) mountain in the Urgam valley which is surrounded by the divine Himalayan ranges of Nanda devi, Trishul, and Nanda Ghunti. This temple has a sight of dense oak and rhododendron forest that no nature lover can resist. The ten-foot-high temple houses a quadrangular statue of Lord Vishnu.
The Bansi Narayan temple opens only once a year, on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) and devotees visit the temple to tie Raksha sutra to Lord Narayana.
The Bansi Narayan temple has its roots in Hindu mythology and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu or Krishna. The time when the entire world was ruled by the demon King Bali, lord Vishnu sought to help the plight of other gods, troubled by the great conquest of king Bali.
Lord Vishnu attained the Avtar of a dwarf Vamana. On there encounter the Vamana asked king Bali to measure the land up to three steps. King Bali granted the Vamana’s wish as he was unknown. Shri Hari Vishnu then acquire a gigantic form and covered the entire universe with two strides.
The pride of King Bali was shattered by the lord, he then asked the Vamana to place his third stride on Bali’s head. King Bali was then sent o the underworld with the pressure of Vamana’s foot. The form of Lord Narayana was also known as Trivikrama. Bali requested for the protection of the Lord and so Lord Vishnu accompanied king Bali to the underworld, assuming the role.
Mata Lakshmi consulted to Shri Narada Muni to locate the whereabouts of the lord as she was unable to find the lord. Shri Narada Muni then narrated the whole plot to Mata Lakshmi and suggest her to travel to the underworld on a full moon of the Shravan month and tie a Raksha sutra on king Bali’s wrist.
The Bansi Narayan temple was believed to be the place where Lord Narayana emerged from the underworld.
The Bansi Narayan temple is famous for many reasons
The best time to visit Bansi Narayan temple in Uttarakhand is the spring seasons and the summer seasons. The winters are cold and snowy and there are chances of landslides. Apart from that it also makes trekking difficult.
It is highly recommended to visit this temple at the time of Raksha Bandhan since the doors of this temple opens only at that day only.
It is believed that Deva rishi Narada worships Lord Narayana at the temple of Bansi Narayan for 364 days and humans have the right to visit and worship this temple only for one day, the day that the humans can worship this temple is the day we celebrate Raksha Bandhan. On the day of Raksha Bandhan every household in the village of Kalgoth donates butter to the temple, and festivities are preparing with this butter, which is later given to the devotees and other priests as ‘prashad’.
The trek to the Bansi Narayan temple starts from the place called as Devgram which is a village in Urgam valley. The trek is around 12 to 15 km long and it generally takes about 6 hours to 8 hours to finish with water and snack breaks. The trek to Bansi Narayan temple is easy to moderate in difficulty but you will surely have some problem if you are not a regular hiker.
The trekking route to Bansi Narayan temple can make you see some rare and beauteous species of birds such as the red billed blue magpie, Himalayan monal, scaly breasted woodpecker, khalif pheasant, or a streaked laughing thrush.
If you wish to enjoy your trekking to the fullest, it is advisable that either you start the trek early in the morning or book a camping trip with you so that they can help you reach to the Bansi Narayan Temple, which would be a 3 to 4-day excursion.
The Bansi Narayan temple is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, in the Urgam valley.
The Bansi Narayan temple can only be reached by foot.
You have to make your way till Joshimath, which is at a distance of about 293 km from Dehradun. From Joshimath, head toward helang which is about 22 km away and finally head towards Devgram, 15 km away from helang. The trek to Bansi Narayan temple begins at Devgram which is 12 to 15 km long.
The Bansi Narayan temple is situated approx. 12 km from Kalpeshwar Mahadev temple, the last of Panch Kedar.
Motorable Routes to Bansi Narayan Temple
Public Transport To Bansi Narayan Temple
The journey to the Joshimath by the public transport can be quite exhausting for you. So, it is advisable that you stay in Joshimath for the night and head towards Devgram early the next morning. The next morning you can take a shared taxi from Joshimath to Devgram.
Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand is one of the famous journeys in the state. It is also known as Chhota Char Dham. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit in the Indian Himalayas. It is located in the Garhwal region of the state of Uttarakhand. The circuit consists of four sites- Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. It is believed every person should visit all these sites for once in their lifetime. It is also believed that if they worship in all these sites the devotees can get ultimate moksha.
Bansi Narayan temple is a very special kind of temple. If you are travelling during Raksha Bandhan time, then you should visit this temple as a part of your journey. This temple holds a great importance in Hindu mythology and history. So, if you ever visit these Char Dham sites during Raksha Bandhan time or even during summer or spring time you should visit this temple.
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