Raghu's column!: Beholding a part of Ramayana at Nashik.

It is always a divine experience to follow the trail of Lord Rama during his period of 14-year exile. This time we visited Panchavati and Tapovan in Nashik/Nasik. Earlier we visited Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi and Rama Setu and Parnashala near Bhadrachalam - a few times.

The city of Nashik as you know is in Maharashtra, it has great significance in the Hindu religion, and Panchavati and Tapovan situated here have their share of legends associated with it. When Lord Rama along with Sita Devi and his brother Lakshmana went into exile for 14 years, they made Panchavati and Tapovan their home, for a very long time. These places touched by Lord Rama’s feet are considered very sacred. Panchavati means 'Garden of Five Banyan Trees’. These trees are still standing today and are considered to be very sacred. The sacred Godavari River flows through Nashik city. Tapovan is at the confluence (Sangam) of three Rivers Godavari, Kapila and the invisible Saraswati. Nearby, along the Godavari River is Ram Kund where Lord Rama bathed, it is a place of pilgrimage for Hindu devotees; they take a dip at this place.

The name Nashik is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nasika’ which means Nose. This name has its origins from the ancient times of the Ramayana. It is here on the banks of the Godavari River that Lakshmana, brother of Lord Rama cut the nose of the Rakshasi (demoness) Shurpanakha sister of the Rakshasa (demon) King Ravana of Lanka, when she tried to seduce Lord Rama and when rejected she tried to attack Sita Devi.

The attached photos and video show the important places we have visited in Nashik.

Around the Panchavati area we visited, Panchavati, Sita Gufa/Sita Gumpha, Ram Kund, Triveni Sangam, Ganga Godavari Temple, Kalaram Temple, Goraram Temple and Kapaleshwar Temple. As mentioned above Panchavati is the place of the five Banyan trees. At this place is the Sita Gufa (Cave), it is said that it is from this place that Sita Devi was abducted by Ravana. The cave complex has figures depicting the account of the incident. Ram Kund is the place of bathing of Lord Rama, considered very sacred. Here is Triveni Sangam the confluence of the three rivers, Godavari, Varuni and Tharuni. And at this Ghat called Ganga Ghat is the Ganga Godavari Temple. Kalaram Temple is not far from here. It was built in 1790, it is the largest, most prominent and most captivating temple in Nashik. The main sanctum houses black-stoned idols of Lord Rama, Sita Devi and Lakshmana. Since the idols are in black, the temple has come to be known as ‘Kala Ram’ meaning ‘black Ram’. The most amazing feature of the temple is that it is completely black, built with black stones. The only hint of any other colour is provided by the gleaming spire of the temple which is capped with 32 tonnes of gold. The other temples in this sprawling complex are of Lord Hanuman, Lord Vithala and Lord Ganesha. Goraram temple is situated in the Kalaram temple lane. It is a very small temple and has idols of Lord Rama, Sita Devi and Lakshmana in fair hue, which is how the temple gets its name. Kapaleshwar temple is of Lord Shiva. It is very close to Ram Kund. According to legend, the temple is the place where Lord Shiva performed penance after taking a holy dip in Ram Kund to wash off his sin of killing a cow by mistake.

In the beautiful Tapovan area, we visited many places. We saw the confluence of the three rivers, Godavari, Kapila and Saraswati. We visited the Parnkuti temple where Lord Rama is said to have lived during exile. A little distant from here is a temple for Lord Rama’s brother Lakshmana. This is also the place where he is said to have cut the nose of Ravana’s sister Shurpanakha and thrown it on the other side of the River Godavari. Thus the city got its name Nashik, meaning nose. Nearby there is also a Swayambhu (self-manifested) idol of Lord Hanuman and a temple of the snake Sheshnag, the seat of Lord Vishnu, who incarnated as Lakshmana. Close by is Kapila Tirth where the sage Kapila has meditated. There are also three Kunds which are known as Brahmatirth, Shivtirth and Vishnutirth, which are interlinked at the very bottom. There is another Kund known as Agnitirth nearby. On a hillock along the river are huge statues of Lord Rama, Sita Devi and Lakshmana. The other places we visited here are the Laxmi Narayan temple and the Sarva Dharma temple. You can see all these clearly in the attached photos, especially in the video.

The most fascinating fact about Nashik is that it is one of the places for the Kumbh Mela of the Godavari River, which takes place every 12 years and attracts countless people to take a bath in the River.

Another very important place we visited is Lord Shiva’s Temple called Someshwar Mahadev Temple. It is an ancient and very beautiful temple. There is also a temple of Lord Hanuman here. It is situated 10 km away from Nashik along the Godavari River at Jalapur, Someshwar on the way to Gangapur Dam. The location is very beautiful, covered with greenery and very old and gigantic trees. There is a boating facility and an amusement park for children.

The highlight of our three-day stay in Nashik was our accommodation on the left bank of the Godavari River in Panchavati, overlooking the River and in very close proximity to all the important places of Panchavati.