Mahaparikrama Of Char Dhams: The Four Abodes Across India...!!

Char Dhams are the sacred temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu or his avtars( incarnations). Badrinath, Rameshwaram, Dwarka & Puri are the four abodes. Since the four abodes are spread across the country in North, South, West & East; so the Char dham Tirthyatra is known as Mahaparikrama.
Chota Char Dham:
Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri & Yamunotri located at the foot hills of Himalayas; together are called as Chota Char Dham; where Chota means Small. These four are called as four abodes of Himalayas.
Role Of Adi Sankaracharya In Char Dham:
Adi Sankaracharya, a saint, reformer & philosopher of 9th century AD, played an important role in establishment of the char dham in Bharat( India). He established Badrinath in North, Rameshwaram in South, Dwarka in West & Puri in East and thus set a classic example of cultural & national unity of Bharat.
Badrinath:
Badrinath is situated in the North Indian state of uttarakhand; on the banks of Alkananda river in Himalayas. "Badri" refers to a berry that grows abundantly in the area & "Nath" refers to lord Vishnu. It is believed that a black stone image of lord Badrinarayan was discovered by Adi Sankaracharya in Alkananda river; which he cherished as sacred in a hot spring called TaptaKund. This was later moved to the present temple by the King of Garhwal.
Rameshwaram:
Rameshwaram is a town in South India, in tamil Nadu; where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the Rameshwaram temple as Sri Ramanatha Swamy. it was so named because here, Shiva-ling was worshipped by Lord Rama on his way to Lanka. It is considered as one of the twelve jyotir lingas of India. The marvellous Hindu architechture is seen in Rameshwaram. The temple comprises of forty wells, where the taste of each well differs from other.
Dwarka:
Dwarka located in the Western part of India was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is one of the seven most ancient cities in India. the city nderives its name from the word "Dwar" that means door. it is located close to where the river Gomti merges into the Gulf of Kutch. The temple has five storey tower which was built by Sambha, who is the grandson of Lord krishna. there are two gateways namely, Swarga Dwar for entry & Moksha Dwar for exit.
Jagannath Puri:
Puri, otherwise called the Jagannath Dham is located in the East India in the state of Odisha. It is situated on the coast of Bay of Bengal. Here, Lord Krishna is celebrated as Lord Jagannatha. The name Jagannath( Lord of the Universe) is a combination of two sanskrit words; "Jagat" means Universe & "Nath" means Lord. It is about 100o years old & constructed by raja ChodaGanga Deva & raja Tritiya Anaga Bima Deva. Here, Godess Subhadra is worshipped along with her brothers Jagannath & Balabhadra. It is one of the magnificient monuments of India that depicts rich sculptures & fine temple architechture.
Significance Of Chardham Yatra:
It is believed in Hindu relgion that a journey to these four abodes will wash away all of your sins. It is regarded as to be a journey of self realisation where one acknowledges his deeds, seeks blessings of God & lastly returns with a peaceful mind. So, every Hindu must go for a Chardham Mahaparikrama in his lifetime.