Narmada Parikrama - Discovering God in 90 Days!

1 राम जय राम जय जय राम|
श्री
NARMADA PARIKRAMA
DISCOVERING GOD IN 90 DAYS

श्री
©Narmada Parikrama, Discovering God in 90 Days.
Vishal Rane
[email protected]

श्री
Prologue
In 90 days or more, you will witness an e ortless

transformation of your inner space from being a ‘भोगी’ -
Bhogi (self-indulgent unaware & oblivious state) to ‘योगी’ -
Yogi (all witnessing, self-aware ascetic being). All you have
to do is understand this inner journey well and then allow
your heart to lead the way. Even before you realise, you will
be walking 7 - 15 Km a day, will be spiritually stirred enough
to overcome all challenges along the path and before your
90 days are up, you will be experiencing the guaranteed be-
spoke, God / Self awareness state. No other quali cation or
readiness is required on your part. Your belief, religious,
spiritual or otherwise, is irrelevant to the process; you may
be a Vedanti or a devotee, you may be a karma-Yogi or
Dnyani, you may believe in Sagun upasna (Praying to God
believing in it’s from) or Nirgun upasna (praying to God as
omnipresent & formless) or you could even be an atheist, it
does not matter what your belief system is. Even your
physical endurance is inconsequential. If you follow the
science of realisation and embrace the thirteen tenets
provided herein with sincerity of heart, your experience of
God / Self awareness is guaranteed. I say this because, it
stands to reason and in my experience it is so. At the
inspiration of my Guru and Narmada Mayya, this book
brings to you a possibility of a be-spoke spiritual journey
crafted to complement your chitta-vrittis (Habits &
tendencies born out of one’s mind and intellect) and is
designed to deliver the divine experiences unique to you
and ONLY you. This inner journey, made on foot, is called;
Narmada Parikrama!

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Preface & Dedications:
Ever since my return from Narmada Parikrama, many kind

souls have prodded me to venture into writing a book about my
experiences during this once a life time journey. I initially had two
major reservations in doing so:
1. I did not believe it was my doing at all and writing about it might
sound like I made it all happen. I did not know how to address this
anomaly at that point in time and,
2. I did not want to write a travel / adventure journal, nor give out
an impression that Narmada Parikrama was about the outward
journey of this body alone.
After a lot of deliberation and some inspiration from within, I nally

decided to make an attempt. Just like my Narmada Parikrama, this
book too, I realised, was not my doing at all. Once that realisation set
in, the essence of this narrative began to gush forth e ortlessly.
I thank every kind soul who has given even a breath of her / his life
in making this journey happen but most importantly, I now see the
invisible hand of God in everything. Even the incidents appearing
tragic, toxic or negative have all been carefully planted for my soul’s
spiritual progress. So if I were to truly express my gratitude it would be
to My Guru, Lord Shree Ramachandra, Lord Shiv Shankar, Shree
Hanumanji and Narmada Mayya.
I was a householder, both outside and inside when I stepped out for
Narmada Parikrama but today, though I continue to be a householder
on the outside but inside, my heart is slowly becoming ascetic and that
is the only magic I pray would appeal to the readers of this book.
न हर् |

श्री
र्म
दे
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Prologue ......................................................................4
Preface & Dedications: ...............................................5
Tenet 1 - मा भव - Abandon false ego of
being the Doer.. ..........................................................9
Tenet 2 - योग मं ज - Defer Self preservation..24
Tenet 3 - योग मं वहा हम् - Trust in God’s
providence ................................................................43
Tenet 4 - अ याणां गोन ता - Refute all and
surrender to God alone ...........................................54
Tenet 5 - स क ये णे न मृता तेन न दा ।
Understand greatness of Mayya & Parikrama .......74
Tenet 6 - य जये य : :सङ्गोऽप ह: -
Emotionally & Mentally forsake family ...................84
Tenet 7 - ग यानो वा मनुजो राम नात् –
Parikrama without sadhana is like body without
soul...........................................................................114
Tenet 8 - सुर मं र त मूल वास: - Renounce ALL
comfort & rejoice in your Sanyas: ........................137

श्री
नि
च्छं
श्चि
प्त
न्या
मि
क्षे
क्षे
स्ति
त्त
श्र
दि
त्त
ल्प
वि
ष्ठ
त्य
त्रं
क्ष
ञ्छ
रु
म्य
ति
त्या
क्षी
त्त
नि
स्या
न्य
न्नि
र्म
की
र्त
रि
ग्र
Tenet 9 - एको शरणो ताशन: Seek
Solitude & Rely on Begging bowl… ....................190
Tenet 10 - न दातटवा नः स ब नां :-
Overcome dualities................................................282
Tenet 11 - तपः ये र धाना यायोग: - Tapa,
Japa & Samarpan – Three pillars of Parikama .....329
Tenet 12 - मो मूलं गु पा: - Guru Kripa is the key to
Salvation ..................................................................397
Doctrine 13 - मा शुच: - Fear Not thy salvation ....476
Chapter 14 - मनु मुमु महापु षसं यः - The
fourth blessing ........................................................504

श्री
र्म
क्ष
वि
स्वा
वि
ष्य
ध्या
क्त
त्वं
रू
सि
र्कृ
श्व
प्र
क्षुत्वं
भि
द्यः
णि
क्षुर्भै
हू
क्ष्य
रु
नि
द्व
मि
न्द्वा
क्रि
श्र
भ्य
Ram-Charit-Manas - Goswami Tulsidas:
ना हा रघुपते दयेऽ दीये, स वदा च भवान ला रा ।

भ य रघुपुंगव रां मे, कामा दोषर तं कु मानसं च|
Lord Shree Ram, as a dweller of all hearts, you know its true that my
heart desires nothing else but that you grant me ‘ रां भ ’ (devotional
surrender) and rid my being of all desires and other fallacies.
‘ रां भ ’ is at the core and very essence of Narmada Parikrama. I

therefore pray that may this book inspire it in the hearts of all readers.

क्तिं
क्तिं
क्तिं
श्री
नि
न्या
र्भ
स्पृ
प्र
च्छ
हृ
नि
र्भ
स्म
त्यं
दि
मि
हि
रु
नि
खि
र्भ
न्त
त्मा
Tenet 1 - मा भव - Abandon false ego of being the
Doer..
This book has been in the making since 9th September 1973,
the day I was born!
How else does one explain the inner transformation from

wearing a Massimo Dutti to Dhoti, overnight! This journey
from sports car to bullock cart is a curious one, to say the
least. You have dined at the nest restaurants, stayed at
Five & Seven star properties around world, own rst class
and short of owning a plane, perhaps, have experienced
most luxuries and vices that modern life has to o er. There
is perhaps not a single indulgence that has eluded your
grasp and yet, there is within you, a beacon drawing you
towards an unknown force “क इ कृ ”- Karshati Iti
Krishna (That which attracts is Krishna). Each journey thus
made in search of God / Self is unique and for that reason
alone, needs to be told from a fresh perspective because
Who knows, it might trigger you to sell your Ferrari and
join me on my next Parikrama!

श्री
नि
मि
त्त
त्रं
fi
र्ष
ति
ति
ष्ण
fl
ff
fi
None of us, from the most successful to complete
washouts, know exactly how our lives will pan out and yet,
we take credit for all the good that happens to us and blame
everything / everyone else, for all that goes wrong with our
lives. Whereas the truth and reality of our lives is:
सैना संप प को, जो सो कूर।

राई घ न लब , अंकूर॥
Saint Sena says, those who rejoice in wealth and distress in adversity are both wrong!
Whatever God has written in one’s destiny not an iota will be received short nor an ounce
extra!
भा फल स न न च पौ षम्I
Kunti Ma says in Mahabharata - Fate alone brings all rewards everywhere, neither
knowledge nor e ort are responsible for it !
Thousands of stories in our Puranas, Shruti and Smritis

all teach us to embrace our fate with equanimous mind.
This one tenet alone shall lead us faster to God realisation
than all other tenets put together. All our frustrations and
anxieties will cease completely once we accept that we
carry no burden of deeds and its the destiny that is
delivering everything coming our way, good or bad. We will
automatically hold no animosity with any other being nor
will we become deranged from ego of our successes. If we
remain totally honest and refuse to get blinded by our
vanity, we will all come to realise that the innumerable
variables converging and resulting in the desirable or
undesirable situations of life, have never been and shall
never be within our control. Fact is, Life has simply
happened and our ignorance has led us to;
• Attachment,
• Ownership &
• Misplaced causation (person, place of thing).
श्री
ग्यो
टे
त्ति
ति
ति
वि
ff
त्ति
र्व
ढ़े
त्र
वि
वि
धि
द्या
लि
धि
ख्यो
क्के
रू
It is thus our misplaced indulgence with outcomes of life
that causes a ictions. Health, wealth, fame, success,
failure, life and death are all in perpetual ux, the only
constant being ‘भव्’ (Bhava - the existence; eternally self-
manifesting life). The entire manifest world; animate,
inanimate, visible and invisible is eternally at play with the
cosmic power and unknown to us, the continuously
evolving consequences of that play when applied to us, is
what we call destiny! But then again, destiny is a concept
for those who have not tasted the nectar of devotion. Once
true devotion sets in the concept of Kripa (divine grace)
emerges from the deepest recess of our heart. All aspects of
destiny then appear to us as either Leela (cosmic play) or
Kripa (Divine Grace).
It is from this vantage point of Kripa that the contents of this

narrative gush forth as if to quench the thirst of souls parched in the
hot desert of material world. Thus, if this book has been in the
making from the day I was born, it stands to reason that, I
am not it’s author but merely an instrument wielded by the
truth (Sat) that wants to reach out to you, the reader. So lets
start at the very beginning of this story.
As a 70s kid, born in pre-liberalisation India to a middle

class family, modern science and western education left a
deep impact on my thinking and ways of life. On one hand,
modern science was objective, quanti able and open to
scrutiny thus making it a very credible source of truth to a
young impressionable mind. Scienti c discoveries and
machines that helped man conquer the forces of nature
and placed us humans at the top of food chain seemed like
the ultimate truth. India’s spiritual wisdom, on the other
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hand, was getting lost under the debris of unexplained
dogmas, blind faith and complete ignorance of scriptural
wisdom. Epics with deep embedded spiritual messages, on
account of lack of general social awareness, became subject
of utter ridicule. Soon God appeared as a concept emerging
from imagination of ckle and fearful mind. Thus, by the
time I graduated, I was a self proclaimed atheist.
This book is the journey of this self proclaimed atheist on his

way to becoming a devotee, understanding the true essence
of devotion and experiencing irst hand the in inite mercy
and grace of God in all aspects of life.
Atheist in search of God:
Event -1:
I distinctly remember having a discussion with my Dad,

one lazy evening during my college days about the concept
of God. He was making elaborate scriptural arguments on
existence of God and I was trying to punch holes in every
one of those arguments. At that point in time, I was
convinced:
God, simply put, was extrapolation of a man’s imagination arising

from his weaknesses; both physical and mental.
There was no domestic, social or peer pressure on me at

that point in time to move me away from this theological
position. In fact, I felt that being an atheist was more
fashionable, elite and smart.
Event - 2:

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Years passed by and life moved on. I was married and
between jobs when this event happened. Stressed by the
vagaries of life, I was seeking some solitude so as to get out
of my own head and nd me some answers. My search for
solitude lead me to a 12 day Vipassana program at Igatpuri,
near Mumbai.
On the last day of Vipassana, experience of ‘Bhang’ (complete

dissolution of gross physical bodily existence into vibrations), left a
deep impact on my mind.
Vipassana added a new facet to life. Realisation that there

is something beyond gross bodily existence stayed with me
thereafter. I continued to be an atheist but Vipassana as a
meditation technique and Shri Goyenka’s wisdom had
opened my heart to new possibilities. To date, I still believe
that Vipassana as taught by Shree Goenka is one of the
most unadulterated spiritual doctrines as well as practice in
India. If I may be bold enough to say so, I believe that for
those who are more reason driven than emotion driven,
this could even be a path to realisation and for everyone
else, Vpassana can de nitely be a good starting point.
Event - 3:
Battles of survival continued through my late twenties.

After my daughter was born, however, life took a turn for
better. New opportunities came knocking, giving me some
stability and the sweet taste of material opulence. When my
daughter was barely two, I got an opportunity to stay and
work on a gem stone mining fund raising project in
London.

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While in London, I had to spend a whole week in total
seclusion of an apartment at. Complete solitude and
pangs of separation from my young daughter left me
emotionally distraught. During this emotional turmoil, I
chanced upon a book that not only helped me ride over the
said emotional turbulence but also changed my whole
perspective on human emotions:
‘Maturity ’ - A book by Osho Rajneesh.
Osho’s writings were fun to read, easy to impact and at

the time seemed to make a lot of sense. Strangely, Osho in
his own way introduced me to the preachings of Indian
scriptures but on a lighter note. Especially his take on
Buddha’s teachings had great impact on shaping my
thoughts. In a short time, I had read everything of Osho
that I could lay my hands on. Atheist tendencies were now
getting challenged and Shunyakar Vritti (dissolution of self
into the in nite) was emerging as the new realisation.
Event - 4:
After a short stint in London, a very good friend got me

job in UAE. Within Six months though, I moved from UAE
to Africa. I moved a lot between Kenya, Tanzania and
Uganda during that period. Life had now become
comfortable and materially satisfying. However, by God’s
grace, material well being did not dull my spiritual longings
and pursuits, in fact, good times only fuelled my aspirations
further. One evening, while in Dar-Es-Salaam, I was looking
for something di erent to read. Totally alien to my reading

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culture back then and completely o chance, I picked up a
devotional book written in my mother tongue.
biography of a saint who lived in Shirdi, near Mumbai, ‘Shree Sai

Baba’
Till that night, I was under the impression that my

spiritual exploration was adequately covered with
Vipassana as a practicing tool on one hand and Osho as
complete source of spiritual knowledge on the other. I had
already done about 5 6 Vipassana programs both in India
and Africa combined and also read most of Osho’s books.
However, biography of a saint, especially written in the
vernacular completely disrupted both my ideolo y and
language preference for spiritual readings. That night, I
realised, I was mentally and emotionally predisposed towards bhakti
(devotion) more than Dhyan (Meditation) or Gyan (Wisdom). I had
never experienced before crying in anguish for something I
did not even understand; separation from God. The book
and experience of reading it also opened a whole new
world of spiritual literature, which so far, I had kept at bay,
purely out of vanity. The emotional connect, ability to
convey deeper meanings and the richness of spiritual
terminolo y, I realised, is far better in vernacular as
compared to in English. So from that day onwards, I started
devouring all the available spiritual content in vernacular.
God men had thus entered my conscious space but God
itself was still not a certainty.

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Event - 5:
A few years later, I was in India on vacation. A friend had

requested me to get him some book in written in my
mother tongue. While looking for the said book, I
fortuitously came across the book that changed my life
forever. It was a very small paperback with an absolutely
nondescript name and cover. To date, I have no idea why I
picked it up or why I started reading it, but the very rst
chapter of the book, which I nished reading standing in
that shop, convinced me that I had found my path. This
book eventually led me to my faith in Ram Naam and Ram
Bhakti, but most importantly, introduced me to my Guru:
Shree Bramha Chaitanya Maharaj of Gondavle, AKA GONDAVLEKAR

Maharaj.
A few years after discovering my Guru, I had sudden urge

to go and visit the samadhi mandir of my Guru at Gondavle
(a remote small village near Satara in Maharashtra). Acting
on the impulse, I got into my car and drove o . After an 8
Hour long drive, I reached Gondavle late in the evening. A
tiny village, it had just one Bhakta Niwas (Lodging facility
for devotees) and a very small run down hotel at that time.
But both were fully occupied and so I ended sleeping in my
car. I couldn’t sleep well in the car and spend better part of
the night chanting राम जय राम जय जय राम. At around 3:30
AM, I stepped out of the car and walked towards the temple
just to ex my sti ened body. To my surprise, I found
people already queuing up outside the temple.
Out of curiosity, I asked what the early hour rush was all
about. To my great surprise and joy, it turned out that it

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was Guru Poornima. I knew right then, Shree
Brahmachaitanya
Maharaj is my
Guru. I took Mantra
Diksha the same
day. It’s been more
than 10 years since
and I have steadily
walked the path of
devotion as taught
by Shree
Brahmachaitanya
Maharaj.
Shree Bramhachaitanya Maharaj of Gondavle

Event - 6:
Chanting Ram
naam had thereafter become my inveterate habit. I made
best possible e ort to follow My Guru’s preachings for
spiritual growth and the journey continued. Then one day a
CD that had been oating around in family circles made its
way to our house. Despite my initial reluctance to watch
the CD, I ended up watching it:
It was a home made CD giving a heart warming narrative on

Narmada Parikrama by a lady and her husband in their late 50s.
Though the experiences shared by the lady were

spiritually very inspiring, it mentioned an impractical
period of 3 years 3 months and 13 days. The whole episode
was soon forgotten but had left a lasting impression and an
unspoken desire to attempt it some day in life. It took

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approx. 8 years for the idea of doing Narmada Parikrama to
germinate and actually come true.
Event - 7:
A few years later, my best friend, and a well to do

businessman, asked me to join him at work in India. So
taking that as my Guru’s inspiration to get me closer to him,
I decided to move back to India for good. My move back to
India, intensi ed my spiritual e orts but at the same time,
made me realise that an untrained and unrestrained mind,
nancial comfort, a healthy body and company of friends
steeped in material enjoyment can and does adversely
a ect one’s spiritual aspirations. Despite best e orts to
grow spiritually there was a continuous nagging feeling that
I was not doing enough. The internal struggle to wean away
from the over indulgent material life kept getting stronger.
Finally two years before my Parikrama in Feb 2020, I
decided to take a leap of faith, risk it all in pursuit of higher
goal of life and I took:
A three month sabbatical from work, observing vow of silence to

chant Ram naam.
These three months were, so far, the most productive

days of my spiritual journey. At one point, after an intense
day of chanting, as I was about to fall asleep when I started
chanting involuntarily. Meaning, I had no control over the
Ram Vijay Mantra of राम जय राम जय जय राम ! continuously
happening within me. At rst, I liked the feeling but after a
while, I was sleepy and wanted the chanting to stop. To my
utter disbelief and scare, I couldn’t stop. This autonomous
chanting continued for two and half hours until I nally
panicked, ran to the shrine at home and holding my Guru’s
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idol in both hands, prayed him to make it stop. To date I
regret that prayer. If only I would have let the autonomous
chanting continue, who knows what would have been the
experience.
Event - 8:
Two years had passed by since that break and I was back
to the grind. All the four pursharthas; Dharma
(righteousness, moral values), Artha (prosperity, economic
values), Kama (pleasure, love, psychological values) and
Moksha (liberation, spiritual values, self-actualization) were
being attempted, with utmost focus on Artha and least on
Moksha. Suddenly, out of the blue, a rift started developing
between me and my friend, who I was working with. The
rift grew rapidly to unprecedented levels and it became
impossible for me to continue under the growing toxic
environment. I tried hard to stay put despite the rising
hostilities but nally something simply snapped inside. I
decided to go someplace far and secluded to escape the
situation and dedicate that time for my spiritual pursuit.
I did not realise it in the moment, but I was about to set out for Ma
Narmada Parikrama!
In the story so far, I have only handpicked a few critical

events of my life, that I believe shaped my spiritual destiny.
None of the above mentioned events were by my design or
desire. It was as if, the force of destiny (prarabhdha) was
guiding the trajectory of my life through series of events,
that when seen individually felt as if being executed by me
but when viewed from a distance told a very di erent story.

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Bha wat Geeta - Chapter 3 - Verse 27
कृते: यमाणा गुणै: क स श: |
अहङ्कार मूढा क ह म ते || 27||

All activities are carried out by the three modes of material nature. But in ignorance, the
soul, deluded by false identi cation with the body, thinks of itself as the doer..
My Guru’s and Ramji’s Krupa had thus brought me to a

point, where, at a very short notice, I had to decide what to
do for the coming three to six months. A situation not to
my liking or of my choosing but a situation all the same that
had to be addressed.
Broadly speaking I had four options in terms of manner

in which I could spend the ensuing three to six months:
1. Gondavle - Plan being to stay at the Bhakta Niwas and

chant Ram naam.
2. Tryambakeshwar - Tryambakeshwar is a Jyotirlinga
about 150 odd Km from Mumbai. I have had some really
inspiring experiences here in the past and still is one of
my go-to places as a spiritual retreat. If Gondavle did not
pan out for some reason, Tryambakeshwar was to be
my next choice.
3. Sajjan Gad Math - I had never been to Sajjan Gad
before, but it is the resting place of late Shree Ramdas
Swami, Guru of the great Shivaji Maharaj. I was told that
if convinced, the math (a place for Sadhus and Seekers)
might allow the stay.
4. Narmada Parikrama - Some lingering memories from
the CD perhaps found their way back. However, I had
no clue how to go about doing it. I wasn’t in the frame of
mind to research and plan. o the cu was more up my

प्र
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क्रि
वि
त्मा
नि
र्ता
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मि
र्मा
ति
णि
न्य
र्व
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alley. Undertaking a 3,500 Km walk, on an impulse, felt
little risky and hence was the last option on my list.
Towards end of Jan 2022, when I was evaluating all these

options, India was slowly emerging from the second wave
COVID lockdown and my requests for accommodation at
Gondavle, Tryambakeshwar as well as Sajjan gad were
politely turned down. I was determined not to spend this
break time in Mumbai. If Narmada Parikrama was the only
option left, I was going to take it.
Negotiating through approximately 3,500 Km of

unknown terrain with zero training or information,
however, seemed like a far fetched idea at the time. I was
almost convinced that I would fail but then I had nothing to
loose even if I did. I had no information, no preparations,
no guidance and the di culty level involved seemed to be
an overkill for the simple and singular agenda of chanting
राम जय राम जय जय राम. Such simple task obviously did not
call for something so extreme. Despite all the doubts and
challenges, I wasn’t dissuaded at all and continued with
mental preparations for Parikrama. Here, I am reminded of
a line one of my fellow brother parikramawasi loved
repeating.
आप यहाँ अये न हो, आपको यहाँ लाया गया !

You are not here on Parikrama of your own accord, you have been brought
here
Thus by logical extension, you have not chosen to read

this book, the book has chosen you! Where you go from here is
a mystery which only time will unravel. All that I have
narrated so far is only to bring home the rst tenet:
श्री
श्री
हीं
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है
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BHAGWAT GEETA - CHAPTER 11, VERSE 33
त मु यशो लभ श ङ् रा समृ म् | मयैवैते
हता: पू मेव मा भव स सा न् ॥33॥
Therefore, arise and attain honour! Conquer your foes and enjoy prosperous rulership.
These warriors stand already slain by Me, and you will only be an instrument of My work, O
expert archer.
We have been given a body, a mind and a temperament

along with their respective dharmas (tendencies) duly
aligned to the fruits of our past karmas. Hence we will
conduct ourselves into actions which will only lead to
ful lment of our prarabdha. These actions are our
prerogative, however, the fruits of these actions are not in
our control, they are outcome of Kripa alone. All our
actions are thus:
मा भव !

नि
नि
श्री
स्मा
मि
fi
त्त
त्व
त्रं
र्व
त्ति
ष्ठ
नि
मि
त्त
त्रं
स्व
जि
त्वा
व्य
त्रू
चि
न्भु
क्ष्व
ज्यं
द्ध
Inspired Life hacks:
1. Yoga, Dhyan, Karma are all sadhanas (paths) leading

to Bhakti the sadhya ( nal destination). Bhakti,
however is both; ‘sadhana’ as well as ‘Sandhya’.
2. Absolute Contentment = Ultimate Bhakti
3. Forgetfulness of God, is the original and only sin. All

sins are born in forgetfulness of God, no sin can
germinate in wakeful remembrance of God.

श्री
fi
Tenet 2 - योग मं ज - Defer Self
preservation
At some point, every seeker must take (take - as in action

and not as the doer) a leap of faith, in search of truth where
she / he has to leave behind the ‘Prapancha’ (material
pursuits of life) and instead seek ‘Paramartha’ (spiritual
pursuit). As one of the most potent precept in this e ort,
she / he must either relinquish permanently or suspend
temporarily all e orts of self preservation. This tenet
logically follows the rst tenet and is critical for achieving
any sort of spiritual progress by a sincere seeker. For a
householder like me and perhaps you, my reader, Narmada
Parikrama is the ONLY spiritual undertaking that not only
allows a householder an opportunity to do so but in fact
enforces this tenet. As a per-condition, a parikramawasi is
forbidden from carrying any cash or cash equivalent on her
/ him while on parikrama, except what is received before or

श्री
क्षे
ff
fi
त्य
ति
ff
during parikrama by Mayya’s devotees as Dana (charity).
Thus by forsaking house and family and at the same time
forbidden from carrying any source of self sustenance, a
parikramawasi fully embraces the tenet of forsaking all
actions of self preservations through material undertakings.
The seeker must then shun all doubts and equipped with
nothing but faith, step out in search of truth. In order to do
so, she / he must:
1. Transfer unconditionally and sincerely, one’s burden

of survival to God.
2. Renounce all possessions (perpetually or for the

duration of active renunciation).
3. Distance oneself from everyone and everything

considered mine.
4. Mentally and physically depend on nothing or no-one

but God for sustenance and / OR desires &
5. Dedicate all possible time and e ort to performing the

Sadhana as prescribed by one’s Guru.
January 29th 2022; I took such leap of faith. Completely

clueless as to what my next action point would be, I
stepped out of house without any cash or cards, barring
one debit card with an intentional balance of INR 5,000
only. This amount I thought would be required to take me
till the point from where I would start my Parikrama. No
family or friends would be accompanying me, so penniless
and without any human support to rely on, I stepped out

श्री
ff
completely relying on राम जय राम जय जय राम ! (Shree Ram
Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram), my Guru Mantra.
I was leaving behind a life full of indulgences and

luxuries totally aware that my body and mind that had
been weakened by years of overindulgence would be
subjected to hardships of physical penance. Modern life
amenities were about to get thrown into the furnace of
‘Vaira ya’ (renunciation), even if only for a few months. My
life would soon be turning upside down. Taj A’ La Carte
meals would be replaced by tikkads, Zara threads by Lungi,
Five Star Luxury resorts by temple verandahs, luxury car
rides would soon turn into endless walks or best case
scenario, bullock cart rides. All of this, however, was in
future. That evening, I just needed a place lay my head and
time to carefully think through what lay ahead of me.
From this very moment of absolute uncertainty began

the manifestation and showering of God’s ‘अ तु
कृपा’ (causeless benevolence). My Guru would often say this
in his discourses, ‘if you simply transfer your burden of livelihood
to God with complete sincerity, God would then have no option but
to provide for. It is a principle that will hold true for every need and
desire in life, alas, no one is brave enough to try’. True to his
words, as soon as I handed over the reigns of my life to the
almighty, everything started falling in place with utmost
precision. Ramji (my Ishta Dev) and my Guru had from that
point onwards, handed me over to the protective care of
Mayya (Mother, as the Holy river Narmada is fondly
referred to by Parikramawasis and devotees).
Every help provided during the journey was carefully

aligned and sources primed well in advance to make their
श्री
g
श्री
है
की
help available and credible at the time of requirement. The
physical, mental and nancial capabilities of those
rendering the help had to be planned way ahead of time so
as to meet the need of the hour. In some cases I could
clearly see just how many events had to happen in the past
and positioned in a very speci c way in the present for that
resource to prove productive in that particular instance. All
in all, none of what happened was my conscious or sub
conscious manifestation, from here on it is all God’s अ तु
कृपा and nothing else at play, starting with nding a place to
sleep the very rst night.
A few phone calls and lo-behold I had a place all to

myself, not just for one night but for as many nights as I
wanted to. I could have chosen to spend next three months
in that place, if I were destined to or lets say if I wanted to,
but something held me back from doing it. Mayya it seems,
had a better plan. Next morning, I started re-evaluating my
options, and once again called Gondavle, Tryambakeshwar
and Sajjan Gad, with same results. By evening, I was back
to square one, it was going to be Narmada Parikrama, all
other options were denied, at least for now. However, I
hadn’t the slightest clue as to where to start from or what to
do. A quick google search did not yield much at that time.
However, there was no turning back now. I spend the
evening working out a few details on where to start
parikrama from, how to get there etc. I started making
rough plans for my journey ahead. My initial thought was
to head straight to Amarkantak and start my parikrama
from there.
I must admit here, I was punching way above my

spiritual weight when planning for Narmada Parikrama. I
श्री
fi
fi
fi
fi
है
की
realise now that it is not just some travel adventure. It is
one of the holiest pilgrimages done in India. Apparently,
Narmada Mayya happens to be the ONLY river that is
circumambulated as a pilgrimage in all of India. Much later,
when I got to read parts of ‘Reva Khanda’ of ‘Skandha
Puran’, dedicated to the glory of Narmada Mayya did I
realise, just how spiritually intense and meritorious an
a air this was going to be. One must truly consider it a
privilege to be able to walk on the same shores, where
innumerable saints have undergone penances in the past
and continue to do so even today. It is therefore my belief
that, one should not undertake Narmada parikrama as one
would undertake any ordinary travel. Due process
prescribed by the shastras for undertaking such
meritorious spiritual undertaking must be followed with
complete sincerity, like;
1. Seeking blessings and permission from one’s Guru.

2. Blessings of one’s Ishta Dev / Devi.
3. Blessings of Gram Devta (presiding deity of one’s
native).
4. Blessings of Kula Dev & Devi and most importantly
5. Blessings & permission of one’s parents.
However, in my spontaneity and spiritual ignorance,

none of the above had occurred to me. If not for Mayya’s
divine intervention, I would have simply started my
parikrama as I would any normal journey. Mayya, however,
knew what was best for me and she ensured that I followed
the due process.
Next day as I was preparing myself for Parikrama, a

friend made a suggestion about taking a few extra days to
श्री
ff
think and plan through. A preparatory week perhaps, just
to get my ducks in a row before I begin. One discussion lead
to another and before I realised, a trip to Gondavle during
this preparatory week was proposed. Further realising that
I did not have the means or the resources, a car and
expense money in terms of a generous donation was
o ered to me. Practically broke and resourceless, I couldn’t
have imagined a trip to Gondavle at that time. But when
you truly transfer the burden of existence, Krupa
(blessings) starts pouring. Every hand that comes forward
to assist is divine providence and every hand that takes
away from you is also God’s way of getting you where your
spiritual upliftment is best assured. Without realising, I had
ticked the rst two check boxes in the list of things one
must do before starting Narmada Parikrama - seeking
blessings from Guru & Ishta Dev.
I immediately drove down to Gondavle and was there for

one and half days. During the period, every garland I
o ered at my Guru’s Samadhi (sepulchre) and at the Ram
mandir, got put on the samadhi, photo frame of my Guru or
at the feet of Ram durbar. Gondavle attracts hundreds of
devotees on a daily basis and it is quite rare for such
coincidence to recur 3 4 times consecutively. I took these
auspicious occurrences as blessing by my Guru and Ishta
Dev (Shree Ramji) for successful completion of parikrama.
From Gondavle, instead of coming back to Mumbai, I was
inspired to take a small detour and also visit Pandharpur.
Pandharpur, one of the most prominent spiritual

powerhouses of Maharashtra is hardly 90 Km from
Gondavle. Shree Vitthal, considered as Bha wan Vishnu
incarnate and Devi Rukmini a Laxmi incarnate are
श्री
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-
g
considered the most Jagrut (conscious and cognisant)
deivats (Bha wan) in Maharashtra. Almost all the saints
from Maharashtra have considered Pandharpur as a Jagrut
Devasthan. Thus inspired by Mayya, I quickly drove to
Pandharpur, however, taking darshan (able to see the idol
in person) in Pandharpur is always a challenge, the temple
is always ooded with devotees and average time for Sparsh
darshan (where one gets to be inside the inner sanctum and
touch the feet of the idol) is 3 4 hours on a good day and
12 14 hours on auspicious days, while Mukha Darshan
(viewing the idol’s face from a few meters) may take
anywhere between 20 25 minutes to a few hours. Since, I
only had a few hours, I opted for Mukh Darshan. As I
reached the spot from where to take mukh darshan of Lord
Vithoba, I was instantly and unceremoniously pushed
ahead in order to allow other devotees behind me a chance
to take darshan and to keep the long queue moving. Last
couple of days that I have been away from home and
absorbed in devotional chanting had made my heart very
sensitive and tender. As I got shoved ahead without being
able to even catch a proper glimpse of Shree Vitthal’s idol, I
felt as if a child had been harshly pulled away from mothers
embrace. My soft and vulnerable heart protested with tears
of anguish. However, I had to keep moving along with the
queue; with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. As
the queue approached the darshan spot for Devi Rakhumai,
suddenly the queue froze and the doors to inner sanctum
ung open giving me view of the idol in all its glory. A VIP,
it seems, was making a special o ering and until the ritual
for the o ering made was over, our row was frozen at that
spot. I stood gazing with moist eyes, the enchanting idol of
Devi Rakhumai for a good 10 minutes, before the queue
moved again. It was a beautiful moment of devotional
fl
श्री
-
ff
fl
g
-
-
ff
grati cation. If there is even an iota of sincerity in devotion,
I have seen, God must respond.
I came back to Mumbai from Pandharpur and spend next

few days buying myself good quality camping gear,
including back-pack, a trekking stick, sleeping bag, water
bottle etc. I now felt ready for parikrama. Some of my
friends were keen on seeing me o to the nearest airport,
so we made a plan to y to Raipur and then take a cab to
Amarkantak from there. All my friends were excited and
the general environment in the war room was very
charged. A few Punjabi friends suggested that I should also
do Golden temple before starting Parikrama. So a new plan
was drawn up, according to which, we were to y to
Amritsar, spend a day and then y to Raipur. At Raipur, I
was to take the cab to Amarkantak and the rest of the gang
would come back to Mumbai. I had always wanted to go to
Golden Temple but never had the opportunity before, so I
quickly agreed to the new plan. Next day we were on the
ight to Amritsar. After spending a beautiful day at Golden
Temple we arrived into Raipur the next day, my nal stop.
The evening we landed in Raipur we went and prayed at
the beautiful Ram mandir in the city centre. Next day early
morning, a local cab driver took us to the only Kausalya
Mata (Shree Ramji’s mother) Temple in India, about 35 40
Km from Raipur. After seeking blessings at the Kausalya
Mata temple nally it was time to take the cab ride to
Amarkantak.
So in the 12 days since I had left house with INR 5,000,

Mayya had taken me to Gondavle, Pandharpur, Amritsar,
Raipur and nally put me in a cab to Amarkantak. The little
money I was carrying was used up for the trekking gear,
fl
श्री
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fi
fi
fl
fl
ff
fi
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-
everything else was provided for by caring and giving souls
who Mayya chose to channelise her benevolence through.
Although, I am immensely grateful to every soul who
contributed to my journey, not a nger would have been
lifted, I am convinced, unless it was in obedience of her will
and Kripa. The underlying tenet here is best explained by
Shree Tulsidas Goswami’s chuapayi (four liner poems) from
Ramcharitmanas (Ramayan by Saint Shree Tulsidas):
जा पर कृपा राम होई, ता पर कृपा क हर कोई

Everyone Indulges and favours him, Who is blessed by Shree
Ram!
I don’t remember exactly when, but somewhere during

the cab ride from Raipur to Amarkantak, I felt truly
liberated, as if I had no care left in the world. The life and
worries I had left behind as if obliterated into the ocean of
awareness of Kripa shielding, protecting and providing for
me. I felt completely at peace. Nothing was required of me,
there was nothing left for me to do, in terms of karma. Like
a dry leaf tossed around by the winds of pararabhdha. I was
in a state of involuntary surrender! Even before I began my
Parikrama, I had imbibed the singular most important
precept of Parikrama, Unconditional and loving surrender
to her will! All that was left for me to do now onwards
was…. राम जय राम जय जय राम !
From the point I boarded the cab, my mind chatter

started ebbing. Subconsciously, I started withdrawing
within and the tendency of outward ow of conscious mind
through the sense organs started reducing. The sights eyes
were seeing, aromas and smells coming through the
nostrils, every solid and liquid exciting taste buds, every
touch on the skin, every sound falling on ear drums was
श्री
श्री
की
रे
fi
fl
losing signi cance and most importantly the mind that
evaluated all of it and resulted in either aversion or craving
was losing its intensity. A subdued mind automatically
enhanced the quality of ‘नामः रण ’ (fond remembrance of
God’s name) of my Ishta Dev ‘Shree Ramji’. All the troubles
and woes dissolved in e ortlessly disengaged state of mind.
This state of suspended engagement remained more or less
intact from here on for reminder of Parikrama. Perhaps it
was the outcome of the habit acquired over various
Vipassana programs to quickly withdraw from the world,
that automatically kicked in and got activated like a saved
program. Once in this state, all the mind chatter and noise,
reduces signi cantly, may not die completely but is almost
inaudible. So with a very calm and peaceful mind, I closed
my eyes and drifted away. There was not much to watch
anyways, most of the times we were passing thorough
rural, narrow and dusty roads of M.P. I would occasionally
peep out the window of running car and go right back to
relaxing in the back seat.
I kept dozing on and o during the six to eight hour long

ride. During one such snooze, I abruptly rose to an
unknown stimulus, a loud horn or a hard ditch perhaps, I
don’t know. I opened my eyes and lazily gazed about from
the moving vehicle. We were passing through narrow lanes
of a small village in remote MP. Finding nothing of interest,
I was about to go back to sleep, when my eyes fell on a
temple and on the archway of the temple was written,
‘Khandoba Mandir’. I could hardly believe my eyes. Reason
being, Khandoba is our Kula Deivat (Deity prayed to mostly
by the Maratha clan) and its temples are not very common
even in Maharashtra.

श्री
fi
fi
ff
ff
स्म
It would be di cult to spot a temple of Khandoba out of
a moving car even
in Maharashtra let
alone some
remote village in
MP and yet, there
it was right before
me, a Khandoba
temple. I couldn’t
help but smile in
admiration at the
extent of Mayya’s
Krupa on me.
With folded
hands, I bowed
down to Lord
Shree Khandoba Mandir - Darshan of our Kula Dev Khandoba until
the temple stayed
in my vision. I had
barely recovered from the rst the shock, when our car
passed another temple, this time, it was ‘Tulaja Bhavani’,
our Kula Devi (goddess of our clan).
Now I was wide awake, not able to believe my eyes, I kept

staring hard at the temple and even pinched myself just to
make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I bowed down in reverence
with my eyes glued to the temple until it receded out of
sight. These darshans of Lord Khandoba and Goddess
Bhavani were nothing short of a miracle.

श्री
ffi
fi
Reva Khanda - अ य 227 -
ती ग न् राजन् वा तृणाम आकाशगतान् अनुव । ते तं
अनुग महता ह ण।
Whenever one steps out for a Tirtha, O King, know that the Gods and Ancestors follow
with great joy
Even if we assume that these temples were built during

the Maratha rule in MP, what was the probability of me
catching their glimpse out of a speeding car in-between my
naps. Referring to Google map, I have found out that these
two temples fall approx. three quarter of my journey from
Raipur to Amarkantak. If this is not a sign of Kripa then I
don’t know what is. Thus, my second last check box,
seeking blessings of Kula daivats had gotten ticked and once
again, without any conscious e orts on my part.
So my Guru, Ishta
Dev, Kula Dev and
Kula Devi, had all
graced me with
their blessings
voluntarily of
their own accord.
I did not realise it
then but I had
missed out on one
very important
blessing and
consent, that of
Tulja Bhavani Temple - Darshan of our Kula Devi m y p a r e n t s .
Without their
blessings and
consent, my Parikrama would have been rendered

श्री
र्थं
प्र
च्छ
ति
न्ति
च्छ
र्षे
ध्या
दे
पि
पि
ff
र्त
न्ते
incomplete. Even
though I was
completely
unaware and
ignorant of this,
Mayya was
keeping a
watchful eye and
Location of Ratanpur en-route Raipur to Amarkantak
was providing for
everything lacking
or mi ssing . By
now even you would have guessed she wouldn’t let me start
Parikrama without my parents blessings and consent.
The nal leg of the drive to Amarkantak was through

dense forest and as we approached the ghat, it had started
getting dark. The forest looked very intimidating in the
twilight. For a moment, doubt surfaced and I wondered if I
would survive walk through such dense forest. I
immediately intensi ed my chanting and by the time we
reached Amarkantak my fears and doubts had all but
disappeared. We reached Amarkantak very late, the small
town was practically deserted with no human in sight. After
a brief search, the cabbie located a small motel along the
main market road. My friends had left me cash rich at
Raipur, so checking into a hotel was not a problem. I
checked in to the hotel that assured only two basic
necessities important to me at the time; 1. Western styled
commode and 2. Hot running water for bathing.
Next day I woke up early to explore Amarkantak. Set atop

Maikal Hills, Amarkantak is situated at the junction of
Vindhya Range on one side and Satpura Ranges on the
श्री
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other, with Maikal Hills being the fulcrum. Narmada Mayya,
Sona and Johilla, all three rivers originate from this
beautiful mountain range. Amarkantak has rich spiritual
and cultural heritage, many Rishis and deities have done
penance here in these very mountains. Mentions of
Amarkantak can be found in various puranas. Apart from
being spiritually woke,
Amarkantak has equally
gifted architectural heritage
too. A government
maintained heritage site,
has some beautiful old
architecture from the
Kalachuri period. Known as
Trimukhi temples, these
archeological master peaces
are located on the slopes of a
small mount pitched against
the sacred, Narmada Kunda
(Narmada Pond).
Another structural master
peace in the making called
‘Shree Yantra Mandir’ and
though not open for visitors
yet and incomplete, it is still an interesting site to watch
even from the outside. This mandir, I understand, gets
build only a few days every year, during the Guru
Pushyamrut Nakshatra. Brainchild of Swami
Sukhdevanadji, the temple has been under construction
since 1991 in accordance to strict tenets laid down by
ancient Agam Shastra. After passing away of Swami
Sukhdevanandji, the construction is now overseen by his
disciple Swami Sharad Puri. Once constructed, this will be
श्री
a unique, one of its kind,
temple in world.
Narmada Kunda, also known

as the Ugam Kunda is the source of Narmada Mayya. Within
this compound is a cluster of temples surrounding the
Kund on all sides. Narmada Temple, Shiva Temple,
Annapoorna Temple, Durga Temple, Ram Temple, Radha
Krishna Temple and Suryanarayan Temple etc. are build
around the Kunda. Small and whitewashed, these temples
re ect very beautifully in the still algae green waters of
Narmada Kunda. Though a lot of people come here for
religious and spiritual purposes, there is also a lot of tourist
tra c. Families loaded in busses and tourist vehicles come
ever y day. Though it’s
beauty and architecture was
mesmerising, I was here for
Parikrama, so with the little
bit of site seeing, I got back
to on-ground research on
how to begin Parikrama.
While making enquiries, I

found out that a government modal o ce within the
premise issues certi cate to parikramawasis, which was
necessary on two counts:

श्री
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1. It becomes an o cially registered information at a
nodal government
o c e t h at you
were present
there on such and
such date with an
intent to start
parikrama by
your free will.
2.P a r i k r a m a i s
also a largely un-
monitored, free
spirited activity
Parikrama Certi cate u n d e r t a ke n b y
anyone. This
s o m e t i m e s
f a c i l i t ate s a n t i -
social elements to hide from the law. Certi cate is a
government record maintained on furnishing of a valid
photo and address ID.
So I applied for my Certi cate at around noon of 14th Feb

2022 and collected it the same day at about 4 PM. Next
stop, Ram Mandir, where I met the head pundit of the
temple and requested him to initiate me into Parikrama by
helping me make a sankalpa (pledge or vow made to
complete parikrama while observing the necessary tenets
involved). The pundit agreed to meet me the next day at
7:00 AM for making the sankalpa. Having got my certi cate
on the Valentine’s Day of 2022, I was all set now for
Parikrama to begin the next day. However, in the list of
things to do before commencing parikrama, there was one
श्री
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check box left unchecked. Permission and blessings from
my parents and then just out of blue, I received a what’s
app message on my phone with a pic of a small
handwritten note by my Dad giving me approval along with
blessings from him and my mom. Interestingly enough, no
one knew where I was or about my progress at Parikrama.
When I abruptly quit my work commitment, I knew every
possible e ort would be made to track and get me back on
work. So I had to make sure no one knew where exactly I
was at any point in time which made this communication
from my Dad so phenomenal. I couldn’t help but admire
just how precise
God’s work was. I
had no conscious
thought of
s e e k i n g
permission and
blessings from my
parents and yet it
materialised with
such immaculate
timing. Whatever
doubts I may have
had till that point,
now in the light of
Note of approval & blessings by my parents
this new evidence
of absolute Kripa
on my humble
being, dissipated completely. Mayya had made sure that
nothing went amiss up until now. I knew in my heart and
was convinced completely that none of this could possibly
be my doing and if Shree Raghunath Ji, Shivji, my Guru and

श्री
ff
Mayya had got me so far, I will fare well through the rest of
Parikrama too.
So nally there I was, next sunrise would mark beginning

of the biggest spiritual adventure of my life. Starting with
no plan, giving up on my only source of livelihood and
carrying very little money on me; I was inspired to take this
plunge 15 days back and since then, without my desire or
will at play; some force, some power, some greater will had
brought me to Amarkantak, the very source of Narmada
Mayya!
Narmada Bhakti Sutra - Chapter III Sutra 47: Tells the

prerequisite for crossing Maya.
यो नं, सेवते, योलोकबंधमुनमुलय गु भव , योग मं

ज !
The one who resorts to a holy, solitary place, roots out all attachments, transcends the
three gunas and gives up all e orts to acquire and preserve alone becomes quali ed to
cross over Maya!
योग मं ज !

त्य
श्री
वि
fi
क्षे
ति
वि
क्त
त्य
स्था
ति
ff
ति
नि
स्त्रै
ण्यो
ति
fi
क्षे
1. In Paramartha as opposed to Prapancha, Purhsartha

is not a per-requisite to attainment. God is unattainable
with pride in one’s purshartha in sadhana and sulabh
Sadhya (easily achievable) with faith.
2. In spirituality mountains are not moved by e orts but

with faith alone.
3. Don’t do too many things for spiritual growth, don’t

read too much, don’t listen to too many viewpoints or
don’t try di erent sadhanas at same time. Once
convinced of a spiritual principle, make that principle
single pointed focus of your life.

श्री
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Tenet 3 - योग मं वहा हम् - Trust in God’s
providence
योग मं ज ! Cannot work without the corresponding

canon of योग मं वहा हम् (I, the Lord, shall be the provider
and sustainer in matters, both spiritual and material). A
Mumukshu (spiritual seeker) may at times be consciously
unaware of this tenet, but is somehow convinced of it in
her / his heart. Her / his actions may outwardly appear
spontaneous, irrational and naive but are based on
complete faith in this promise of God to all seekers, in fact
to all of mankind. Hundreds and thousands of seekers all
across India have from times immemorial walked out of
their safety nets, literally penniless, at times even giving up
empires, not knowing where their next meal would come
from and have come to realise through experience that; this
tenet is infallible. A Mumukshu is not a Siddha (realised
soul) so he has no direct rst hand knowledge or

श्री
क्षे
त्य
ति
क्षे
क्षे
म्य
म्य
fi
experience that God will provide, but one who is blessed by
Guru, somehow, nds the necessary assurance in her / his
heart. It turns out with hindsight now, that I happened to
have such conviction and consciously unaware of it too
when I stepped out for Parikrama.
I left the hotel room that morning, without slightest clue

of where to go next or what to do next. It was enthralling
and perplexing at the same time. I began my fateful walk to
Narmada Kunda, a quick 10 minutes walk from the hotel.
Since the pundit had
suggested we meet at
7, I reached Narmada
Kunda, quarter to
seven just to ensure
that I nish the ritual
of Sankalpa in time
and start parikrama.
When I entered the

Narmada kind
complex, sun was just rising on the horizon. The soft rays
of sun oating on the still waters of Narmada Kund made
the mayya look like liquid gold. The
empty premises of the Kunda and the
white washed walls of the temples
glazing in the soft yellow haze of
morning sun gave it a magni cent
look. There were no devotees
around, no tourists, no kids or busy
pundits trying to make through yet
another day. As I strolled across the
empty premises, I discovered that Ma
श्री
fi
fl
fi
fi
Narmada temple was open for cleaning. For a good 10 15
minutes, it was just me in the temple. For the very rst time
I had Mayya’s Vigraha (idol)
Darshan, I was all alone in
her presence. I stood at the
door of the inner sanctum,
silently chanting Ram naam
feeling very tranquil and
blessed. I stood there at her
chaukhat (threshold) my
heart and soul absorbed
in devotional love that I
was just beginning to
feel but not able to
completely understand.
It was my rst ever
darshan but still my
heart felt an instant
connect. After spending
a good 10 15 minutes inside, I stepped out to see if the
pundit had arrived but he had not.
So I started roaming around the
compound praying at all the temples
that were open. By 7:45, I had
nished praying at every temple that
was open for darshan but the pundit
was still nowhere in sight. That’s
when I realised the mistake of not
giving pandit any advance. Finally at
around 8sh, I saw the pundit walk
through the gates. I did a namaste
and could tell he had all forgotten about our engagement. I

श्री
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-
fi
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reminded him of our conversation, especially dakshina
agreed upon and immediately I had his full attention. He
gave me list of paraphernalia required for the Sankalpa
Pooja. The market too had started opening, so I got all the
items required and took them to him for the sankalpa
Pooja.
The pundit then walked me down the tiny stairs leading

to the Narmada Kunda and sat me one step above where
Mayya’s jal (sacred waters of Narmada Mayya) touched the
stairs. He recited a few Sanskrit mantras, made me o er a
coconut, owers, coloured rice and a few other items into
the Jal and then tied a sankalpa Dhaga (colourful thread
tied around ones wrist as a reminder of ones spiritual vow)
around my wrist signifying the sankalpa bandhan. I was
then asked to ll the Jal (water) in a plastic bottle I had
brought along. This jal, I was told to carry on me at all
times throughout the parikrama. He then gave me some
general instructions for my upcoming parikrama like;
1. Bear Mayya’s shore to your right at all times during

parikrama.
2. Stepping into the river for bathing or any other

purposes is strictly prohibited for a parikramawasi.
3. Avoid meat and alcohol at all times during parikrama.
After our ritual at the Narmada Kunda, we went to the

Ram mandir to o er my prayer and seek blessings of my
Ishta Dev. I prostrated to the pundit and sought his
blessings too. Then asked him for speci c directions from
that point onwards. The pundit told me that I was to exit
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through the Dakshin dwar (Southern gate / exit) and once
outside, start walking leftward, thereby ensuring that
Mayya’s bank stayed on my right. I thanked him and
hurried to the dakshin gate.
I was already late, my initial plan was to leave Narmada

Kunda by 7:30 AM and now it was almost 9 AM. I rushed to
the gate as told, only to nd it locked. I went back to the
pundit and told him that the gate was locked. The pundit
then went around the Kunda looking for the person who
had keys to the gate. Finally by 9:15 or so, having found the
gatekeeper, I was able to step out from the Dakshin Dwar
and I took my rst step of parikrama out of dakshin dear.
The spirit of a renunciate all red up inside me, I was
excited to nd out what lay ahead for me.
सुर मं र त मूल वासः,

श भूतल म नं वासः।
स प ह भोग गः,
क सुखं न करो रागः॥१८॥
Reside under a tree or at a temple, Sleep on ground, renounce all possessions, give
up material indulgence and then experience the joy and bliss of renunciation.
I walked out of that gate, a di erent individual

altogether. My past as if completely dissolved and future
rendered irrelevant. Though I knew nothing about
Narmada Mayya or the signi cance of parikrama, faith and
adoration for her as a deity had started sprouting in my
heart.
Sitting under a tree and putting on my shoes absorbed in

those emotions, I still had no clue where to go from there.

श्री
र्व
य्या
स्य
दि
रि
ग्र
रु
fi
जि
त्या
ति
नि
fi
वि
fi
fi
fi
ff
Just then a short person wearing colourful clothes, carrying
tattered bag over his shoulders, a wooden sta in one hand
and a stainless steel container in the other, passed me by.
Instinctively I got up and hastily started following him. 500
meters of walking closely behind him, he looked back over
his shoulder and raising both his arms uttered the magical
words for the rst time, ‘न हर!’ - Narmade Harr. I did not
know the appropriate response to that greeting back then,
so I just repeated ‘न हर!’. Turns out, that was the right
response. He asked me if I was on parikrama, I nodded and
just like that, without knowing anything about each other
we started walking together as if we were best friends.
Meeting this parikramawasi, that day at that particular time
was a pivotal moment in my entire journey. If not for this
apparent chance meeting, my whole experience would
have been very di erent. Now when I think back, it wasn’t
a chance meeting at all. Even if I wasn’t to consider the
trajectory of my entire life journey leading me upto that
spot on that particular day and time, just my journey from
the day I left house itself made an interesting case in point.
I had stepped out of house on 29th Jan but was able to

start my parikrama from Amarkantak only by 15th Feb.
Even on the 15th, at rst I was delayed by the pundit and
then by the locked gate. I was able to exit the gate precisely
when this one person would cross my path, not a moment
earlier and not a moment later. Similarly, I found out that
this parikramawasi, I just crossed path with had been in
Parikrama over last two years. On that particular day, he
had left the ashram where he had stayed the previous night
at 4 in the morning so as to reach the spot precisely at the
time that we were meant to cross paths. So many
interdependent things in uenced by a complex algorithm
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र्म
fi
दे
fl
र्म
दे
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of utmost precision would be required to fall in place for
this one meeting to happen. I did not know it then but
nothing in God’s plan is just happenstance, everything has
a speci c outcome as per the plan.
When I stepped out the Dakshin dwar, in my heart I

knew only two things, Ram naam and complete surrender
to the will of Mayya. How I came to so totally trust Mayya’s
grace, so early in the journey, I do not know. I only
remember thinking to myself with a certain level of
amusement, Mayya I transfer burden of this body to you.
As much as possible I will not ask for food or even
directions, if someone suggests something strongly, I will
take that as your will and accept it. I am no more worried
about my karma, because none of this is my doing, you are
the sole doer, this body is a mere puppet and you hold all
the strings.
To make the readers understand the gravity of this

sentiment, I think it is important to understand the
background rst. I am not a trained athlete or even an
enthusiast walker. To top it, my mind and body have been
weakened by uncontrolled indulgences over the years. I
have had quite a comfortable life and yet, here I was,
without thinking twice or worrying about how I might fare
through this ordeal, walking with approx 15 Kgs on my
shoulder. Please understand, this is not normal, it took me
good 3 5 years to understand devotion to Shree Ramji and
e cacy of chanting Ram naam. But, here I am, rst day of
my totally unplanned parikrama and my bhav is already
one of pure devotion. No background, no planning, no
preconceived notions, just a miracle of heart called
Narmada Parikrama!
श्री
ffi
fi
-
fi
fi
After walking a few kilometres through dirt road nestled
by small huts on both sides, we soon arrived at a clearing.
Ahead of us was a tar road, that probably descended
downward through the forest ahead. I was all excited about
the prospect of walking through the forest. However, my
fellow Parikramawasi, Mr. Deshmukh, a very con dent man
and a renunciate as well, it seems had other plans. After a
few informational exchanges, I silently retreated into my
space and with Ram naam chant going on followed him as
he lead the way. We reached the junction, where the dirt
road met the tar road and Mr. Deshmukh turned around
and without slightest of hesitation and with full authority
too, suggested we take a bus till Dindori!
I lost him at the word bus. My mind

went into confused state, I am here for
parikrama, this is my rst day and so
why is there even as much as mention
of a bus journey. All the explanations
given by him, fell on deaf ears. I went
silent and for a moment doubted what
to do next. I prayed to Mayya for a
signal. Only a minutes back, I had
transferred reins to Mayya and minutes later, I am fumbling
with them again trying to get a grip on this new situation.
Should I follow him or my instincts screaming at me to
abandon him. Just as I was trying to resolve this matter in
my mind, two sadhus, clad in white dhotis and white kurtas
with sta and kamandalu, came and sat on the pavement
opposite, and it seems they were going to take the bus too. I
took that as my signal and putting my agitated mind to rest
started chanting. My primary purpose behind parikrama, I
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reminded myself, was chanting Ram naam everything else
is up to Mayya. So Mr. Deshmukh, I decided, would be my
guide and I will follow without doubting until Mayya sends
me a signal/s to the contrary.
Over next two days, Mr. Deshmukh covered quite a

distance using mostly transport. I felt very bad every time
we sat in a bus, rickshaw or hitchhiked a truck, but
eventually made my peace. Much later I realised why it was
so important for mayya to rush me through those parts. I
had started my parikrama very late, most people nish
their parikrama by the time I had begun mine. In about two
and half months from the time I began, I would be hitting
peak summers in MP and MP summers are not easy to
negotiate. There was also the looming threat of Chaturmas
(four months of rainy season when parikrama is prohibited)
and I was blissfully unaware of any of this. I had not even
heard the word chaturmas before, forget the implications
of it. So there was a possibility that if I were to walk those
early days I would have run into chaturmas, thus making
me either give up parikrama half way or extending it by
four months. I also realised that all the encounters I had
during the parikrama that cemented my belief in God
would require me to stick to the time frames ordained and
any interference would have perhaps completely change
the experiences. Though it felt very wrong to get into the
bus and though I regretted his company at that time, the
internal struggle stopped the minute I closed my eyes and
started chanting. I also asked myself, what my true
objective here was, walking or chanting? Whether I sit in a
bus or I walk, my primary objective is to chant Ram naam
and so I shook away all negativity building up and started
chanting. Why am I trying to interfere into Mayya’s
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planning, I reasoned to myself. Just relax and enjoy
everything that comes your way, whether it be as per your
expectations or not. Human reasoning has limits, Mayya
must know what’s best for me… कं रजाइ चलना .. नानक या
नाल् (Walking as ordained, is what will set you free says
Guru Nanak). So thus on my very rst day, I met a
parikramawasi who was to shepherd me for two more days
of my parikrama.
Thus began my experience of the tenet of योग मं वहा हम्।

which remained true not only during parikrama but
continues to remain true even to this day. Every
householder whether he be a devotee or not, must
remember this promise and she / he shall never again fear
the vagaries of life nor will she / he be inclined to steal, rob
or coerce anything that does not come naturally in due
course of life. A parikramawasi, on the other hand, will
during the course of parikrama get proof every step of the
way that this tenet is an absolute truth.
Geeta Chapter 9 Verse 22:
अन य मां ये जनाः प पासते।

तेषां यु नां योग मं वहा हम्।।
Those who are absorbed singularly in me at all times and worship me, I
undertake to provide for and secure their spiritual as well as material needs.

श्री
न्या
नि
श्चि
त्या
भि
न्त
क्ता
न्तो
क्षे
र्यु
म्य
हु
fi
क्षे
म्य
लि
खि
1. Inadequate desirable occurrences and undesirable

befallen are the root causes of human sorrow and
neither are in our control.
2. It is therefore wise to remain content with everything

that comes to us as a result of our past karmas.

श्री
Tenet 4 - अ याणां गोन ता - Refute all and
surrender to God alone
Giving up all other support, except the one almighty, is the

essence of true devotion.
Standing in the battle ground of Kurukshetra Lord Shri

Krishna was engaged in the process of awakening true
knowledge (सत् ) in the heart of Arjuna. Almost the entire
Geeta had been expounded but Arjuna was still not
convinced. He knew it in his heart, Bha wan was eloquent
and forthcoming about all the di erent paths that will lead
mankind to Moksha. But something wasn’t right, he knew
that the ordinary mankind steeped in material world will
nd it impossible to reach the ultimate goal using all the
elaborate paths expounded in Geeta. With compassion for
this majority of mankind, he continued to frustrate Krishna
by repeatedly asking for simpler ways to achieve liberation.
A way so simple, he kept insisting, that it will require no
great spiritual quali cations or extra ordinary e ort. A way
fi
श्री
न्या
श्र
fi
त्या
ff
न्य
g
ff
so simple, any human of any caste or sex or nationality
would be able to achieve without any hindrance. A way so
simple that it will not require continued e orts, a simple
e ective spiritual practice that if done only once will still
yield complete emancipation. Knowing that it was
compassion driving Arjuna into prodding so hard, Krishna
smiled at him and said, yes there is one such way. Any
human can do it, it requires no preparation, it has to be
done only once and it will yield everything that Dhyan,
Gyan, Yoga or Bhakti can provide; absolute liberation from
all bondage.
It is the simple act of ‘शरणाग ’ - Sharnagati (surrender) to

me and me alone. Anyone can surrender, surrendering
requires no quali cations, it has to be done only once and
that act of complete surrender will free human from the
bondages of Maya, in the very instant of surrender.
However, though there is no prerequisite for sharnagati,
there is an ongoing rider to it. Sharnagati cannot tolerate
adultery or in delity (It cannot have more than one
master), it has to be absolute, entrusted only in one source
and unshakable. A Sharnagata (one who has surrendered)
then cannot seek support in anything else; Men, Money,
Power, Knowledge, E ort or even any other spiritual
doctrine. Surrender thus has to be absolute and singular,
said Lord Shree Krishna. This tenet, though simple and
powerful, again is extremely di cult to practice in every
day material life of a householder. However, once you start
parikrama, you have an opportunity to put all your faith in
God and test the limits of his mercy. By sheer compassion
bestowed on me, I innocently put all my faith in Mayya’s
providence and with a calm composed mind decided to
follow Deshmukh Maharaj.
श्री
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ति
ffi
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I got into the bus along with Deshmukh, took a corner
seat, closed my eyes and started manas jaap. Since Mayya
had left me cash rich, I decided to pay for all
parikramawasis who may need help and so I paid for both
our tickets. The bus moved through beautiful ghat and I
silently enjoyed the view from the speeding bus. After half
an hour, I started feeling hungry. I have been up since
05:30 AM and have had nothing to eat since. My stomach
was producing enough Ghrelin (hunger hormone) to
convince my brain that I was famished and not just hungry.
However, as a soft promise made to myself, I was going to
refrain from asking or buying food for myself. So I decided
to wait and watch Mayya’s leela in this situation. I had
barely nished thinking about my growling stomach, when
Mr. Deshmukh asked me if I would care for some bal bhog
(Sadhu’s term for breakfast). The term was new to me and
honestly, I did not even know what it meant, so I just
smiled back at him. He asked me to pass his backpack.
Soon, there were two disposable plates emerging from it
along with some snacks made of rice akes. Without having
to ask or even wait for it, mayya had provided. From that
moment onwards, hunger never bothered me for rest of
parikrama and Mayya ensured that I never went hungry.
This was just beginning of manifestation of what I call

Mayya’s mystic loop of devotion. Though such devotion
enhancing incidents have been occurring from the time I
left my house 15 days back, the loop was now spinning
faster. One after the other incidents kept occurring until the
obvious was staring at me right in my face; God’s ‘अ तु
कृपा’ - Ahetuki Krupa - causeless compassion, is always
owing.
श्री
fl
fi
fl
हे
की
After riding the bus for a few hours, we got down at
Dindori and decided to go to the ghat for Mayya’s darshan. I
was excited as that would be my rst glimpse of Mayya as a
owing river. As we scurried through a narrow lane, an old
lady called after us asking if we would care for lunch. It was
nearing noon and I was delighted at the thought of having
Mayya’s prasad o ered for the rst time. However, Mr.
Deshmukh did not quite like the kitchen or the food being
served, he thought they were serving us stale and leftover
food. So he turned down the lady a bit harshly and yet
again, I did not say a word but simply followed him to the
ghat. He showed me how to use Kamandalu on the ghat for
bathing in the holy waters of Mayya without stepping into

fl
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her waters. His rst lesson to me on parikrama and it
stayed true for the rest of my parikrama. So we both
sprinkled holy water on us using his Kamandalu and began
our journey onwards. During this travel with Mr.
Deshmukh, I learned just how careful one needs to be
when taking a public transport to ensure that one doesn’t
cross mayya. He spend a whole lot of time making sure that
the bus conductors understood it very clearly, which they
did as we weren’t the rst nor the last parikramawasis to
take a bus ride. That whole day went into riding private
busses, auto rickshaws and small amount of walking till we
reached our destination. After being on the road for good 12
hours, we nally reached Maharajpur by 6:30 in the
evening. I was told that we would be staying the night here
at an Ashram at the banks of sangam of Banjara river and
Narmada Mayya.
I was going to step into an ashram for the rst time in life.
These are not the ve star ashrams run by the likes of
Goenka ji or Sadguru or Shree Shree Ravi Shankar. These
Outside view of Ashram at Maharajpur

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are charitable ashrams catering to the renunciate sadhus,
fakirs and parikramawasis who belong to a very di erent
social strata. The sight of the ashram and the
parikramawasis came as a economic and socio-cultural
shock to me. Tattered and soiled clothes, stinking bodies,
unkept demeanour and complete disregard to personal
hygiene. My rst thought as I entered the ashram and took
in the sight was to run away and get myself a hotel room. If
it wasn’t for Deshmukh Maharaj, I would have perhaps
done just that. Suddenly, Deshmukh appeared to be the
most presentable parikramawasi to me. He took me inside
holding me rmly by my hand, I think he sensed my unease
and tried to make me comfortable in his own way and I am
extremely thankful to him that he did so. There were thin
but rm mattresses made of Extruded Polystyrene (XPS)
Thermocol sheets piled up in one corner. Deshmukh laid
out one for each one of us next to each other and said,
‘Maharaj apna Asan Laga do’. ‘Asan Laga do’, is a very
speci c term in parikrama, it means to secure your bed but
it also means a seat for Mayya you are carrying along for
performing arti. He could see the confusion on my face. So
he showed me how its done. First one has to lay out the
mattress provided, in case a mattress is not provided, then
e v e r y
parikramawasi
carries one with
him a white rolled
up Thermacol
sheet, light in
weight but rm
enough to make a
Mayya’s Durbar that I carried
decent sleeping
mattress. Then
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place your backpack where you wanna lay your head and
secure some additional space where you would arrange
Mayya’s durbar for performing Artis twice every day
without fail, once early morning and once before dinner.
We laid out the mattresses for us, covered them with a

thin hiking mat I was carrying, secured our backpacks
against the bed and we were set for the night. As I looked
around me, I could tell right away just how ill adapted my
mind and body were to this sudden change of lifestyle. The
sheer level of poverty at display overwhelmed all senses;
sight, smell, touch, taste and sound. For a moment there, I
even felt I was so not ready for this. Years of unbridled
lifestyle indulgence and complete removal from the lower
rungs of society had made my system little intolerant to this
sudden exposure. The worn out faces of parikramawasis,
most of them aged 60 plus, in their tattered rags for
clothes, unkept hair and a general stench in the air was
appalling. Abrupt and high pitched arguments over
someone’s feet touching someone else Mayya Jal made me
think, whether and if I was gonna nd peace for my
Sleeping arrangements inside the Ashram

श्री
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meditation and chanting. But when ominous clouds of
doubt start gathering and threatening your faith, I have
experienced, mayya’s Krupa comes to rescue and restores
your faith, instantly.
As if sensing my discomfort, Deshmukh Maharaj asked

me to join him outside for a small walk to the ghat. We
stepped out and washed our hands and feet at the tap
outside the ashram and made our way to the ghat, only a
few meters from the ashram. It had already started getting
dark and the sandy bank at the bottom of ghat was
completely deserted. Deshmukh decided to perform his
daily artis at the ghat. I did not have a lamp, wicks, nor oil
or ghee with which to ll the lamp. This requirement had
never occurred to me during shopping for parikrama.
Deshmukh after years of living a renunciate’s life had
become resourceful in his own ways. He took me to the
‘Shani Temple’ at ghat, rummaged through large pile of
earthen lamps used and discarded, picked up one that
looked least damaged, cleaned it with his ngers and
handed it to me. This will be your lamp for arti until you get
one for yourself, he declared with a smile. Having taken
care of my requirement of lamp, he then told me that we
would be o ering plastic lamps to Mayya as well and setting
them a oat downstream after our prayers. So standing by
the lonely deserted shores of Mayya, I heard him sing
Mayya’s artis for the rst time. First one was in Hindi and
followed by the Sanskrit Narmada Ashtak written by the
great Shree Shankaracharya himself. I had never done artis
regularly at home, except on festivals and auspicious
occasions. So this was new to me and at rst my mind tried
to resist but somehow as the singing proceeded, all the

श्री
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resistance dissolved itself with me realising. Not a day went
by in Parikrama, when I did not do my artis.
As we were about to nish our Artis, we saw three elderly

women, dressed in colourful sarees and covered with gold
ornaments from head to toe, walk past us and start singing
their artis right next to us. It was dark and deserted, there
was no one else but us, so I did nd it a bit weird that three
women dressed so opulently should come to the shore and
this late, just to sing the artis. After nishing our artis and
setting our lamps a oat on mayya’s water, Mr. Deshmukh
suggested that we join them in their artis and so we did.
Together we nished singing their artis too, were given
prasad and began returning to the ashram. climbing back
the steps, when I looked behind, the ladies had gone just as
abruptly as they had come. For a minute I hesitated to walk
and tried to spot those ladies but in next instant lost the
train of thought and joined Deshmukh maharaj.
As we walked back to the ashram, we noticed that a bus

full of parikramawasis had just landed and the tour guide
was delivering a small sermon on Narmada Mayya in a
shade constructed nearby. We decided to join in for the
discourse and caught us a bench in far o dark corner. My
mind soon drifted from the sermon to sight of calm waters
of mayya right in front. Moon danced on the tiny ripples on
the surface and the soothing moonlight made mayya look
very serene and beautiful. The view had such calming e ect
on me that my being got into a meditative state. The
sermon went on in the background as my mind and heart
were far removed from it. Focused on tranquil waters of
Mayya I suddenly heard the word ‘Ram’, echoing from the
speaker. The word Ram reverberating through my
श्री
fi
fl
fi
fi
fi
ff
ff
meditative being broke open my emotional oodgates. I felt
extreme anguish in my heart, an unbearable su ering on
account of separation from my Ishta, ‘Shree Ram’. I have
known pangs of bhakti in the past too, I had cried a bit a
few times but this was nothing like anything experienced
ever before. I had absolutely no control over these
emotions. The heart was literally being churned to squeeze
every tear from its deepest reserve. In a moment, there was
utter despair at the separation and next instant, joy of
realisation that Bhakti had entered my heart, uninvited.
The rollercoaster seemed to be going on endlessly. In that
moment, I realised how the saints in India must have felt
when they unashamedly cried out for lord. This pain, I was
experiencing, was not the normal pain one feels when
separated from the loved ones, that pain has a sting. This
excruciating pain had an after taste of bliss. The more I
cried, the more blissful I felt. I could not control the
emotional outburst, clearly there was a structural damage
to the walls of emotional dam we all construct to keep our
emotions in check. I do not know for how long I kept crying
the tears of ecstasy but we sat till the sermon nished and
my devotional oodgates remained open the entire time.
When we nally rose, after the sermon was over, I had
become parikrama worthy. All my doubts, fears and mental
rejections of the situation were completely dissolved in the
agony of separation and bliss of devotion. Nothing in
parikrama bothered me thereafter.
Narad Bhakti Sutra - 52

मुक दनवतI
Just the way a dumb person is unable to express taste of something delicious, so is the
experience of a devotee.

श्री
स्वा
fi
fl
fl
fi
ff
Dinner Served at the Maharajpur Ashram
We headed back to ashram for diner after the sermon.

The meal was a simple staple diet consisting of Roti, Saag
and Rice. Rice was optional, roti unlimited. The meal was
made and served by the volunteering devotees from the
neighbourhood. The meal was very tasty and I would have
loved to hog a lot more but I knew that there was no
enclosed toilet and we were supposed to manage our
business out in the open. So I smartly avoided the risk of
over eating. These oodgates, I mused, better remain rmly
bolted and well within my control. Just before sleeping, I
made Mr. Deshmukh promise me that there will be walking
involved the next day and he agreed.
We were up early by 4:30 AM the next day. He attended

his call of nature, outside in the open. I turned down the
generous o er to join. Kamandalu, I realised, served
multiple purposes after all. Soon we were out of the ashram
and after much pestering, Mr. Deshmukh gave in to my
repeated pestering to walk, at least while it was still cool.

श्री
ff
fl
fi
We must have walked for a good hour and half, as we
climbed a small ghat and entered what looked like forest
area. We came across a dhaba and I o ered to buy some tea
and snacks for Deshmukh while I abstained from eating
with the money I was carrying. After the tea and snacks we
managed to walk another half hour before it was my time to
give in to his demand to hitch hike to closest town or
marketplace. He went on and on about the dangers of
walking through the forest and lonely roads in that region.
Finally I gave in and we managed to hitchhike an empty
ATF (aviation Turbine Fuel) truck on its way to refuelling.
Despite my mental resistance, it was a fun ride in the

large container truck with remote speed control and geo
fencing monitoring. I had some interesting time explaining
to the driver just how the lady speaking over the speakers
in his truck gets to know his speed and nds out every time
he makes detour to his home, only a few miles o the
highway. The driver took a special liking for me and an
acquired distaste for Mr. Deshmukh. We kept each other
entertained where he nally found out why people with
wooden sta and white dhotis and sarees keep walking
down the highway for larger part of the year and we got to
know a little about the ATF transport business. Initially, we
were supposed to be dropped o at the closest market
place but the driver kept extending the drop o point every
few kilometres and it was nally decided that we would get
dropped o just before the bridge over Narmada Mayya at
Barman exit. Barman ghat is a very famous ghat on the
shores of Mayya. On our way to Barman ghat exit, the
driver very magnanimously o ered to buy us an early
lunch. I told him that would be unfair and that he should
allow me to buy everyone a lunch instead and he can only
श्री
ff
ff
fi
fi
ff
ff
ff
fi
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ff
pay for me since I don’t want to pay for my own food. My
proposal to pay for food was ridiculed and quickly thrown
out the moving truck. We stopped at one of his usual dhaba
where the driver and cleaner got fresh and a hefty brunch
was ordered for us. Mayya had, once again, taken care of
my meal, without having to ask for it. Not only did we not
have to pay for our meal but when the owner of dhaba
found out that we were parikramawasis, he refused to take
money form the driver and the two had a small verbal
tussle over who should earn the merit of feeding the
parikramawasis. Dhaba owner won and did not take any
money for our food. I don’t know where else in the world
would you nd two men, one relatively poor and other
relatively richer ghting over who would feed two
absolutely unknown and useless nomads. Only in India, I
guess. This Sanskar (mental attribute) to provide food,
clothing and shelter to a renunciate in search of God,
deeply embedded within us as a society and spread across
it’s entire socio economic spectrum, is unparalleled.
We arrived at the Barman exit at about 3 PM. Here the

highway crosses Narmada mayya and an exit goes inside
into Barman, known for the famous Barman ghat. We bid
good bye with an out loud Narmade Harr to our friends and
started walking in the general direction of Barman ghat.
After walking about a kilometre, we came across a metal
gate with a small banner of ‘Shree Durgaprasad Choubey
Smruti Dharamshala’, hung over the gate. We opened the
gate and entered the ashram. We were greeted by a
caretaker who showed us to the rooms meant for
parikramawasis. The caretaker o ered us tea and left us to
relax in the room. We explored the ashram and it turned
out to be quite a decent one. The best part about this
श्री
fi
fi
ff
ashram was a WC toilet; my joy knew no bounds. After
freshening up, I washed clothes with my hands, another
rst for me. Mr. Bhaskar Choubey, if I remember correctly,
owner of the ashram came around in the evening and
called us over for general chit chat. After a brief tete’ a tete
with the owner, Deshmukh maharaj and me, we decided
walk upto Barman Ghat. Idea being, never to miss an
opportunity to take Mayya’s darshan and prokshan
(sprinkling of holy water where bathing is not possible).
Mayya’s clear waters at Barman Ghat
In the evening, after our return from Barman ghat,

caretaker informed us with a heavy heart that the cook had
taken o for the day and rations will be made available to
us for cooking if we can cook for ourselves. Deshmukh
Maharaj graciously o ered his help, I was utterly useless
since I cannot cook but o ered my help with chores before
and after cooking. Deshmukh Maharaj with the assistance
fi
श्री
ff
ff
ff
of caretaker prepared a simple meal of daal, rice, rotis and
potato curry. As a parikrama rule, Mayya’s arti must be
done before dinner, only then is dinner served. I already
had my Diya (lamp meant for God’s artis), I borrowed oiled
wicks from Deshmukh maharaj and together we did our
artis. He taught me Mayya’s Hindi arti and thus I did my
rst parikrama arti. After the arti, dinner was announced
and a few more parikramawasis who had arrived also
joined us. I helped with serving and washing. The owner
personally came over and thanked us for our service. After
dinner and cleaning up, I went back to the room and
retired to bed, Deshmukh Maharaj stayed back talking with
the owner and caretaker. I was more interested in my jaap,
so I came back to room, closed my eyes and started
chanting silently. I had just nished my Mala of 1,080
prayer beads a second time over when Deshmukh Maharaj
came into the room and asked me to quickly join Mr.
Choubey, the owner, on the porch. That was a weird
request but there was no time to question, so I followed
him. What happened next changed the course of my
parikrama from that point onwards.
The owner apologised for calling on me so late and then

explained the reason. He was expecting a very important
visitor who wasn’t good at Hindi but spoke Marathi, which
happens to be my mother tongue. My attendance was
required for translation, if required and also for
entertaining the guest by giving him company. I was only
happy to oblige. The visitor soon arrived and we were
formally introduced. His name was Raju Tailor. I found out
much later that he is a name to reckon along the parikrama
paidal (walking) route, especially in the Shulpani sector.
The backstory to this meeting was as follows. The owner of
fi
श्री
fi
the ashram had himself done paidal parikrama a few years
back. During his parikrama, he had some serious problems
passing through Shulpani (the ill famed mountainous sector
of parikrama) and Raju Tailor had gone out of his way to
assist him and ensured his safe passage through reminder
of Shulpani. A few years later and for the rst time in his
life, Raju Tailor himself stepped out for a paidal parikrama
(Parikrama strictly done walking without use of any mode
of transport). Choubey ji found out that Raju Tailor was
only 20 Km away from his ashram and as a way of
expressing his gratitude invited him over for dinner. At rst
Raju Tailor refused since he was too tired from the days
walk. Choubey ji insisted that Raju Tailor come and visit his
ashram and to that end arranged for a car and driver for
him. Tailor maharaj nally gave in to the persistent and
loving summon and agreed to come.
Every meeting and every separation during parikrama,

no matter how trivial or important, is meant to serve a
purpose and this meeting turned out to be crucial for me.
Raju Tailor had to start parikrama on a certain day and
progress at a certain pace to reach the meeting point. He
had to start it approximately two and half months before
me, I had to meet Deshmukh Maharaj and get here in two
days, which technically speaking should have taken me at
least 20 25 days of walking. Then, three years back when
Choubey ji did his parikrama, he had to get stuck at
Shulpani and no one else but Raju Tailor had to come to his
rescue. Later on Choubey ji had to get inspired to open up
an ashram himself and despite our initial hesitation, me
and Deshmukh Maharaj had to choose to come and stay in
this ashram out of at least 7 10 other ashrams in the
vicinity. Finally, Choubey ji had to nd out about Raju
श्री
-
fi
-
fi
fi
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Tailor’s parikrama and just how close he was to the
ashram, insist on him coming over and Raju Tailor had to
agree to the invite for this small meeting to take place. Most
importantly, the two of them had to have communication
troubles and Deshmukh Maharaj had to be present at that
critical point to suggest that I could help with the
communications, thereby inspiring Choubey ji to bring me
in as a translator. Call it being at the right place at the right
time, I call it ‘Kripa’.
After initial introductions, me and Tailor broke into

conversation in our mother tongue, Marathi. He asked me
few basic questions, where was I from, where and when did
I pick up the jal from (starting point of my parikrama) etc.
When I told him Amarkantak and that in two days I was in
Barman, he looked puzzled. He asked me if I was doing my
parikrama by car. I gave him the entire story about how
Deshmukh maharaj was in some kind of mad rush and just
wouldn’t stop taking rides. He smiled and with a very warm
but authoritative tone, told me, ‘get rid of this baggage
(meaning Deshmukh) and start walking alone’. I told him
just how utterly unprepared I was and had no clue what to
do or where to go. He looked me straight in eye and told
me, don’t worry Mayya always takes care of her children.
Forget getting lost, Mayya will not even let you take a wrong
turn, he assured me. So have faith, lose your insecurities
and dump Mr. Transport, get on your bloody feet and start
walking alone and see for yourself what happens thereafter.
His second piece of advice that night was, no matter what,
you are walking through the Shulpani jungle. Do not to take
outside road or use transport, you MUST walk through
Shulpani. I said, Yes Sir, I shall do both dump Mr. Transport

श्री
as well as walk through shulpani and I did not even know
back then, what was shulpani.
Next day morning, we woke up early and were out of the

Ashram by 4:30. This time, there was no discussion on
transport but the directions sought by Deshmukh maharaj
were not of parikrama marg (route) but to some
neighbouring village. We stopped a couple more times for
direction to this particular village and at one spot we got
stopped for tea with the usual, ‘Narmade Harr Maharaj!
Chai Paoge’ (Care for some tea Sir). At the tea stall we got
into a small political debate and I took a position, out of
sheer jest, that irked Deskhmukh Maharaj. He somehow
tolerated my transgression while at the tea stall but as soon
as we started walking again, he started hurling abuses at
me. The foul language didn’t bother me one bit but I saw it
as an opportunity to cut him loose. So I walked up really
close to him, straightened up to my full height which was a
good two feet taller, added some extra steel to my voice and
staring at him menacingly told him, ‘not another word from
your foul mouth’ and stormed o determined never to look
back. But after a few steps I remembered that my sleeping
bag was with him. Alas, I had no option but to tolerate him
some more. So after a few minutes I made amends with
him and we started walking together once again. Another
opportunity came knocking very soon. I could get from his
request for directions that we were headed to some village,
which I found out, was where he had some personal
business. I told him, I can’t be involved in his personal
business while on parikrama, so it was best we split. After
some more discussion, he realised, I was not going to
change my mind and the business he had couldn’t be
foregone, so we amicably decided to split and go our
श्री
ff
separate ways. He handed me my sleeping bag and I started
walking alone. The purpose for which Mayya had planted
him into my path was perhaps served and it was now time
to go solo.
I had found the true spirit of parikrama. I had found my

three S of parikrama.
1. Surrender (शरणागती )
2. Solitude ( )&
3. Study (साधना )
अ याणां गोन ता
There is after all, no crossing of Maya (God’s power that

keeps us invested and engaged in this material world)
without giving up ALL support, except the divine, Narmade
Harr!

श्री
न्या
श्र
वि
त्या
वि
क्त
न्य
1. Every person who comes into your life journey serves

a purpose and departs once the purpose is served.
2. That which I don’t have now (object, person,

situation), once had will make me happy is the biggest
lie we tell ourselves.

श्री
Tenet 5 - स क ये णे न मृता तेन न दा ।
Understand greatness of Mayya & Parikrama
Mrkanda Rishi gazed at his young son pensively, only 3

days left for him to turn 5 and 3 days left for his death, he
thought to himself. He remembered the fateful day when
Lord Shiva after years of penance for progeny, had asked
him whether he wanted a kuputra (dishonourable son) or
Suputra (honourable one) and that while the kuputra
would live long, a Suputra who would live only till the age
of 5. Mrkanda Rishi had wisely chosen for a Suputra but the
tenure of ve years passed by so quickly and now within
three days, he would be losing his only son. He had done
everything in his power to alter the course of destiny but
Lord Shiva’s writ, he knew, could not be altered by anyone
but by Lord Shiva himself. In any case, over last two years,
the father son duo had been administering the only
remedy recommended by a siddha called ‘Mrityinjay Yoga’, if
not to overcome the eventuality, then at least to accord his
son salvation. They were advised to do a dandavat Pranam

श्री
fi
प्त
ल्प
क्ष
क्षी
र्म
(obeisance) to every living being they would encounter
bearing in mind and heart the bhav (emotion) that it had
the same Shiv Tattva that pervades entire cosmos. The
siddha had told Rishi that, if anything in this world could
help his child, it was this spiritual recourse and so they
have followed it with complete honesty of heart, mind and
body.
The father and son duo had woken up on Brahma

Muharta (48 minute auspicious period that begins one hour
and thirty six minutes to sun rise and ends at 48 minutes to
sunrise), as a ritualistic practice, for a dip in the holy waters
of Ganga at Kashi. On their way back from manikarnika
ghat, they saw a procession of sadhus passing by and out of
practice and reverence, the father lay prostrated in their
path. The sadhus noticing Rishi laying prostrate in their
path, graced him with the customary "सुखीभव" (May there be
eternal Happiness in your life). The boy followed suit and
looking at his young age, the Rishis were inspired to bless
him " रंजीवी भव" (May you Live for Ever). The Rishis who
blessed them were none other than the famous celestial
beings called the ‘Sapta Rishis’. When Mrkanda heard the
blessings, he lay prostrate once again and requested the
Rishis to take back their blessings, since both the blessings
were doomed to fail. Explaining further he said, the boy
had only three days left of his life, so he can’t be a ‘ रंजीवी’
and at the impending death of his son, chances of him
being ‘सुखी’ were remote too. The Rishis were perplexed by
this situation, they knew that as celestial beings they
couldn’t be spotted by any ordinary human without
enough merit and secondly, their blessings were अमोघ्
(amogh - infallible). They wouldn’t be inspired to bless

श्री
चि
चि
unless the blessing was already destined to come to pass.
So just to clarify the matter, they asked Miranda Rishi as to
how can he be so sure about the death of his son. Mrkanda
explained that the son was a boon and at the time of giving
the boon, it was ordained that he shall live not a day more
than ve years. So the Rishi’s further enquired about the
name of the God or deity responsible for the boon.
Mrikanda however, refused to tell them Lord Shiva’s name
fearing his wrath. After all, Lord Shiva had been fair to him
and had explained the terms clearly. Mrikanda thus had no
business attempting to defy the terms of the boon already
granted out of ‘मोह’ - Moha (attachment). After
contemplating for a bit, the Rishis requested Mrkanda to
hand over his son to them so they could nd a resolve to
this complication. Mrkanda Rishi did as he was told praying
and hoping that his son might live a long and content life
under the shelter and blessings of such exalted Rishis.
The Rishis who could access all three realms, took the
young boy to Brahma’s court the very next day, hoping
Lord Brahma would have a solution. Brahma on seeing the
Sapta Rishi walk into his presence, blessed them " जयी
भव" (May you Succeed in your Errand or Work) and seeing
the young child in their tow, blessed him " रंजीवी भव". The
Rishis told Brahma that both his blessings were going to fail
him and Brahma wachan (brahma’s utterances) would be
tarnished. Because, neither are they likely to succeed in
their errand nor was the boy going to live forever. Now it
was Brhama’s turn to be astonished, it cannot happen. A
Brahma Wachan cannot fail, so he asked the Rishis to
explain. The Rishis explained that the boy only had two
days left of his life. Brahma knew, bringing something to life

श्री
fi
fi
चि
वि
is his portfolio alright, but death belongs to Lord Shiva. He
told Rishis to leave the boy with him.
Next day, Brahma walked into the presence of Lord

Shiva, who was meditating atop mount kailash. Seeing
Brahma, Lord Shiva blessed him " जयी भव" and seeing the
young child in his tow blessed him " रंजीवी भव". Brahma
smiled and said, O Lord of Lords Shree Shiva, only you can
make those two blessings come true. The boy here has only
one day left of his life and the Sapta Rishis and myself, we
have blessed him " रंजीवी भव" too but the power to make
that happen my lord, rests only with you. Nothing is
impossible for you my Lord so please save Brahma Wachan
and Sapta Rishi’s blessings from going futile. Shree Shiva
entered samadhi and instantly realised the young man
standing in his presence is his boon to Rishi Mrkanda. He
asked Brahma to leave the boy in his protection and care,
assuring that all the blessings this boy received were
conferred upon him because of Shree Hari’s Leela.
Shiva now looked upon the boy with love and

compassion and with a single glance of Kripa freed the
boy’s soul of fear as well as cycles of birth and death.
Though he had already liberated the soul from the clutches
of death, mayic leela of Shree Hari had to be enacted. There
was a jyotirlinga in Lord Shiva’s courtyard, Lord Shiva then
asked the boy to sit by it, chant ॐ नमः वाय and with every
chant, o er the Linga one Bilwapatra (wood apple leaf ).
The boy continued to do as he was told and soon enough it
was time for ‘Yama’ (God of death) to come and fetch his
soul. But as soon as Yama approached the boy Lord Shiva
appeared in his Rudravatar to protect his devotee. Seeing

श्री
ff
चि
वि
शि
चि
the erce
manifestation of
S h iva , Ya m a
quickly retreated
and humbly
bowed down to
the Lord and his
m a s t e r. W i t h
folded hands, he
a w a i t e d
instructions on
what was
expected of him
a s re g a rd s t h e
boy’s soul. Shivji
asked Yama what
Caption
was the time

frame decided for
t h e b o y ’s l i f e .
Yama replied 5 years. Shivji further asked, which ve years,
human, Brahma’s or mine. Yama was stumped at the
question and pleading complete ignorance, aske, his
master, to kindly elaborate. Shiva then explained with a
twinkle in his eyes. One Kalpa, my dear Yama raj, is made
up 4,320,000 human / solar years each (Kreta/ Sat Yuga is
1,728,00, Treta is 1,296,000, Dwapar is 864,000 and Kali
Yuga is 432,000 years). Hundreds of such Kalpas make up
life span of One Brahma and countless lives of many such
brahmas makes just one day of Shiva. I had granted the
child, ve Shiva years. So please do come when his time is
up in Five Shiva years. Yama smiled at his Lord’s cleverly
delivered boon of immortality to the child, bowed with
reverence and left.
श्री
fi
fi
fi
This young child who grew up to witness multiple Kalpas
and लय (parlay - apocalypse’s / annihilations) came to be
known as the famed Markandeya Rishi, of the Bhrugu
lineage. Markandeya Rishi then lived through many kalpas
(one life cycle of manifest universe) and at end of each
kalpa also witnessed the act of pralays (cosmic annihilation
by lord Shiva). As he continued to witness the Pralay’s and
re-emergence of the manifest universe along with earth
after those pralays, he couldnt help but notice a very
peculiar phenomenon. During and after each annihilation,
he always saw Narmada Mayya in her celestial form of an
elvish damsel surviving seven such pralays one after the
other. Not understanding this phenomenon, where even
river like The Ganga that has divine origin is annihilated
how is it that only Narmada survived every parlay.
Determined to nd out Narmada’s secret Sage Markandeya
then did deep penance to uncover this mystery. With Lord
Shiva’s blessing Markandeya soon discovered the origin,
greatness and qualities of Ma Narmada. He narrated these
qualities and greatness of Narmada Mayya through a
discourse in ‘Skanda Purana’, under ‘Avantya Khanda’
dedicating a whole section for detailing her glory named as,
‘Reva Khanda’.
ननु लोक ताय अयं वा नदी पा श वेन शरीरात् ता

Certainly, for the sake of the welfare of the world, this Revā, a power in the form of a river, has been
caused to issue forth from his own body by Lord Śiva.

श्री
प्र
हि
fi
रे
रू
क्तिः
शि
स्व
नि
र्ग
Chapter II Verses 51 58 called Reva Mahatmyam varnam:
मा य उवाच:
Thus spoke Shree Markandeya…
एता स तःस पापहराः ताः

_तु ते कारणं तात! व नृपस म! ।
समु स तः स क क यं गताः ॥५४॥
These and other Rivers (Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati etc) are remembered as
destroyer of all Sins,
But, that reason, my son, I will tell you; you who are the most virtuous king
(referring to Yudhisthira)
All Seas and Rivers get destroyed at the end of each Kalpa (Time period after
which the world gets destroyed)
स क ये णे न मृता तेन न दा ।
न कैव राजे ! परं रा ॥५५॥
Seven Kalpas have passed, but Narmada has not perished

Narmada is indeed the only one, O best of kings, the excellent river which has
stayed beyond (the seven kalpas)
Further describing the boons given to Maa Narmada by

Lord Shiva himself the Rishi listed them as below:
1. She alone, amongst all the pious rivers, shall remain

imperishable through all the Pralays.
2. Devotees taking bath in her holy waters are absolved
of all sins, major or minor.
3. All the merits accorded at ALL the tirthas across the
world shall be accorded to the one, taking bath in her
holy waters.
4. Those who adore and pray to Lord Shiva while on her
shores shall reach his abode.

किं
श्री
श्री
र्म
प्त
दै
द्राः
श्चा
र्क
ल्प
ण्डे
न्या
रि
क्ष
श्च
न्द्र
क्षी
र्वाः
रि
ति
ल्पे
र्व
ष्ठे
क्ष्या
-
त्स
मि
ल्पे
रि
द्व
क्ष
र्म
स्मृ
त्त
5. Both Mahesh and Parvati shall forever reside by her
shores.
6. All living beings who die in her waters reach Amravati
(abode of the deathless).
7. The water of Saraswati cleanses soul in three days,
Yamuna in Seven Days, Ganga instantly but Narmada
does so by mere sight.
8. Whatever Japa, tapa and Dāna is o ered, if done so on
the banks of Narmadā, shall become everlasting.
Meaning, the rewards of those deeds shall not make the
deed defunct, ever.
9. All the deities along with Vishnu and Brahma shall be
stationed along the northern shores of Narmada while
Shiva and the Pitras shall reside on her southern shores.
10. Embodied beings attain spiritual progress after
investing great deal of time and ener y, in places other
than the banks of Narmada, but on her banks, spiritual
progress is attained very quickly.
Sage Markandeya himself, for the rst time in human

history and in order to glorify the greatness of Narmada,
then decided to circumambulate the great river; thus
pioneering the great custom / tradition called, Narmada
Parikrama!
The reason behind elaborating this story is to emphasise

the tenet of choosing the right location for pursuing one’s
spiritual pursuit. In my case, for example, after leaving
home I was free to go anywhere and pursue my Sadhana.
Sitting at home, at a friends apartment away from the
family or at a resort even. However, in my opinion and
experience too, none of those places would yield the same
result as doing the same sadhana in a sacred place like
श्री
ff
fi
g
banks of Narmada Mayya. Such places, apart from the
merit they confer upon devotees also provide super
charged ener y elds left behind by Sadhana done
previously by Sadhus and Siddhas. Jyotirlingas, Dhams,
Sacred river banks, Sacred mountain tops, Shakti piths,
Places where Vishnu & Shiva have reincarnated in various
forms & tapasthalis of great saints have all become spiritual
powerhouses. The ener y elds in such places remain
spiritually charged for thousands of years and assist the
sadhaks for generations to come. A small portion of these
energies, commensurate to one’s intensity and period of
sadhana done in such places, gets automatically transferred
to the sadhak thereby helping the sadhak make great
strides in a very short time. The holy banks of Mayya have
been ground of penance for thousands of sadhaks, siddhas,
Desities, Gods and even avatars. So the most important
tenet to bear in mind while doing parikrama is that all the
sadhana done at her shores will yield hundred times merit
and hence it is critical that a parikramawasi does parikrama
for augmenting his spiritual progress by bringing her / his
sadhana to Mayya’s shores. Trust me, she will ensure
immeasurable extra merit.
न दातटवा नः स ब नां अ च धा पासा महत् भयं च

मु भव
The residents of the banks of Narmada are rid immediately of many dvandvas
(con icting dualities) and also the great fear of hunger and thirst.

श्री
र्म
क्ताः
fl
न्ति
सि
द्यः
g
हू
fi
द्व
न्द्वा
भ्यः
g
fi
पि
क्षु
पि
भ्यः
1. Spiritual deeds are best when they happen and not

when they are done. Doing involves a subtle ego,
happening is pure grace or Krupa.
2. Every human possession has only two outcomes;

Either the acquisition will part with you OR you will be
rendered incapable of enjoying the possession.

श्री
Tenet 6 - य जये य : :सङ्गोऽप ह: -
Emotionally & Mentally forsake family
It is impossible for a householder to gain any serious

spiritual traction without rst mentally and emotionally
distancing from family life or the material world. Here the
word used in the shloka is ‘Sangoparigraha’, which literally
means, giving up company and has a very wide import, a
whole fable of Sukhdevji meeting King Janak has been told
to elaborate on the concept of giving up sanga. However, as
a rst step for householders like us, the minimum we can
do is distance ourselves mentally and emotionally from
family, its members, its assets and entailing responsibilities.
One is recommended to take leave of family and live alone,
maintaining body and soul together by begging alms and

श्री
fi
श्चि
त्त
वि
fi
त्त
स्या
न्नि
रि
ग्र
eating only as much as required to keep the body alive.
When one steps out for parikrama, house is automatically
distanced, at least physically. However, due care ought to
be taken that mobile phone doesn’t keep us tethered to the
life left behind. All the sacri ces made by the
parikramawasis, their families and the society will be
rendered futile if a parikramawasi does not put her / his
100%. So, shun all company and walk alone! Stay away
from phone as a communication tool.
With the resolve of ‘सङ्गोप ह‘ - Sangoparigraha (giving

up all company) strengthening in my heart, I nally
decided to part ways with Deshmukh Maharaj and nally
be on my own. What happened in those two days was
Mayya’s will and whatever was going to happen from here
on would be her will too. As soon as I split company and
was alone, I realised that true surrender cannot happen
unless one is left without any support whatsoever.
Unknowingly, Deshmukh Maharaj had become my support
and with this nal support forsaken, I was free of all
shackles and completely surrendered; mind, body and
spirit. Strangely, throughout parikrama, I hardly looked at
my phone or used google map, thereby giving up
technological support too. The phone lay buried at the
bottom of my backpack and would surface for taking
pictures from time to time. I take no credit nor hold myself
guilty of any actions or inactions during parikrama,
because quite honestly, all my reasoning and diligence were
temporarily suspended. My actions were as much mine as
that of a dry leaf in the path of a tornado.
Having parted company with Deshmukh maharaj quite

unceremoniously and abruptly, I found myself standing in
श्री
fi
रि
ग्र
fi
fi
fi
the middle of nowhere, completely lost. I hadn’t the
foggiest where to go from the spot we parted. I was a
complete rookie so instead of asking for ‘Paidal Parikrama
Marg’, (route for parikrama done walking) which would
have been the right thing to ask, I asked for directions to
closest Mayya’s tat (shore) from where I stood. This
erroneous query and India’s rural GPS send me walking to
Khulri, a village roughly 12 Km from where I was, thereon
to Bhorjhir, another 4 odd Kms, village closest to the banks.
I barely caught the names of the villages mentioned but
stepped out in the general directions pointed out to me.
The morning walk alone was total bliss, awesome weather,
perfect solitude,
company of Ram
naam and no care
in the world. Legs
doing their job,
heart completely
still, chatter free
mind and Ram
naam on the lips,
what more could I
a s k f o r. I w a s
about to do a
good 15 17 Km on
my rst day and it
felt good! Every
now and then, a
loud Narmade
Harr! would be
heard coming
Khulri to Bhorjhir lonely Walk
from somewhere
deep inside a
श्री
fi
-
eld. I would joyfully raise both arms and respond with an
equally loud narmade Harr! Sometimes children would run
up to me and playfully scream Narmade Harr, giggle and
disappear into the elds. These narmade Harr cheering
kept all the tire and fatigue at bay. I walked for a few hours
without break until I reached Khulri.
By the time I reached Khulri, hunger had set in. I

realised, I hadn’t had anything to eat except a few biscuits
at the tea stall early in the morning. Up until now,
Deshmukh Maharaj used to look after food arrangements
and generally we would eat at an ashram or even a stall that
would invite us to eat. But now, I did not know what to do
and to top it, my resolve not to buy or ask for food was
making the situation very interesting. I wasn’t worried, just
curious as to how this arrangement with Mayya’s
providence going to work. I was walking with these
thoughts through the village when I reached a junction
where the road forked. I stood at the junction confused,
some young boys standing there read my confusion and
asked where I was headed. I told them and they
nonchalantly told me I could take either of the roads, they
both ultimately meet the same road that will take you to
Bhorjhir. I took the right turn and started walking. I must
have hardly taken a few steps when I heard, ‘Maharajji chai
paoge?’(would you care for some tea). I remember thinking
to myself, I am hungry Mayya, tea is not going to of much
help. However, knowing that the bhav (emotion) behind the
o er is one of Bhakti and Dana, I accepted the o er. I sat on
a clean metal bench outside a small restaurant and piping
hot tea was served to me with great reverence. The
gentleman then asked me if I would like to have something
to eat. At rst, I refused feeling a bit shy but after a little
fi
श्री
ff
fi
fi
ff
more coaxing, I agreed. One plate Samosa and onion
fritters were served. As if to prove her point, Mayya’s
providence did not stop there, despite my humble but
vehement refusals, I was force fed a plate of hot Jalebis
made from jaggery, a delicacy of the restaurant. Initially, I
would be overwhelmed with each experience but then it
became a daily a air. After all, she had to feed me three
times a day, take care of my sleeping arrangements and
keep me t for walking. Her plan, it appears on hindsight,
was to instil in me unshakable faith in God’s providence
and by logical extension, in Gods existence.
After nishing my sumptuous breakfast, the gentleman

knowing I would get lost in the streets of village proposed
to drop me to the main road on his bike. I agreed. He
further asked me to wait, so he could get me a map for
Narmada Parikrama. Hunger, directions, confusing alleys,
all my problems solved in one single shot and that too
without having had to even ask for any of it. By the time I
nished my bal bhog, the gentleman was back and
apologetically told me he couldn’t nd the map but he will
keep looking and whats app it to me as soon as he gets it,
which he did 15 days later and he did what’s app me the
same. He then rode me through the streets of Khulri and
dropped me at the junction meeting the concrete road
leading to Bhorjhir.
Walk from Khulri to Bhorijhir a distance of roughly 8 Km,

was totally uneventful and lonely. The sun was hot over
head and most people were either deep inside the elds or
at home, I was the only one walking on the road. Every
now and then, a kid would be heard bellowing Narmade
Harr and that’s the only human interaction I was getting.
fi
श्री
fi
fi
ff
fi
fi
One thing I have never quite understood is my total lapse at
making good use of technolo y at hand. I was carrying
iPhone 12 Pro Max and of course I knew how to use google
maps but somehow it just failed to occur to me. Such a
huge lapse in making conscious e ort cannot be explained
logically. I do believe that if I had started using map
extensively, somehow it would have diluted my sense of
dependency on Mayya’s grace and made my parikrama less
spiritually ful lling. I now believe, this was Mayya’s way of
enriching the parikrama experience, I have no other
explanation for such an obvious miss.
Anyways, after walking an hour or so with zero human

interaction, I nally saw a young man walking ahead of me.
I could tell from his gait, he was in no hurry to reach
anywhere. In one hand he held a sugar cane stalk which he
gnawed at in random intervals, while his other hand swung
lazily by his side and his feet dragging aimlessly, he looked
picture of a man without a care in the world. As I walked
past him, I could tell I caught his attention, so he sped up,
came up to me and asked where I was headed. I told him I
was a parikramawasi and headed to Bhorjhir. Incidentally,
this young friend belonged to Bhorjhir. Next 45 minutes we
spoke on random topics but towards end, he told me to go
and stay at the Ram Janki temple, he was sure they would
host me there. As we entered the village, he stopped at a
tea stall and o ered me tea and introduced me as a
parikramawasi from Mumbai planning on staying at
Bhorjhir Ram Janki temple to all the villagers seated
around. That information turned me into instant celebrity
and almost everyone sitting at the tea shop wanted a sel e
with me. I was o ered tea, biscuits and samosas. Thus by
2:30 PM and having walked some odd 18 - 20 Km since
श्री
fi
fi
ff
ff
g
ff
fi
morning, I had
n a l ly re a c h e d
Bhorjhir.
I walked to the
temple but it was
deserted in the
afternoon and the
pundit who was
supposed to be
my host was not
to be seen
a n y w h e r e .
Ex h au s t e d a n d
sleepy, I decided
to roll out my mat
on the front porch
Ram Janki Mandir - Bhorjhir of the temple and
straighten my
back a bit. The
pundit came by at
about 4:00. I brie y told him about myself and my plans for
staying the night at the temple. He looked at me calmly and
with a straight face, asked what caste I was. The question
took me by surprise, so much so that, I could not come up
with an answer before taking a lengthy pause. No one in 48
years of my life had asked me this question to my face, I
had written that information on hundreds of government
related forms, but I had not been asked to my face ever. But
before I would start sounding suspicious or foolish, I
blurted out Kshatriya. That information kind of put him at
ease and I realised, rural India was still not completely out
of grips of caste system, especially now that I was going to
fi
श्री
fl
Calm waters of Mayya at Linga Ghat near Bhorjhir
sleep in the temple premises. Throughout the parikrama I

would come across many encounters that would tell a very
clear picture that the state of MP still remains steeped in
caste system. I requested him to take custody of my bag so I
could quickly go for Mayya’s darshan at the Linga ghat
roughly 3 Km away. He told me to put my bag inside the
inner sanctum of the temple at the feet of Ram Darbaar,
which I did and left for Linga ghat.
The task of doing another 6 Km round trip was a bit

daunting but I decided to do it all the same. Bhorjhir was a
tiny village and within minutes of walking the meandering
tiny roads I came out on the road connecting Bhorjhir and
the village situated at the banks of Mayya by the name
Linga. Lush green elds elds of sugarcane on both sides of
the road and till the eyes could see made the walk very

श्री
fi
fi
scenic. Anxious to make time, I was brisk walking when a
motorcycle rider headed in the same directions stopped by
me and o ered me a lift. Who was I to refuse, so in another
10 minutes I was dropped at the village Linga, close to the
Linga Ghat mandir. I prayed at the Linga ghat mandir and
then walked down the slope to Narmada Mayya’s pristine
waters. Here Mayya basin is still small but very secluded
and calm. I went close but did not step into the water and
with cups of my hand, sprinkled some water over my head
and body. Feeling rejuvenated, I decided to return back as I
didn’t want it to get dark before my return, even the pundit
had warned me to return before it got dark. As I started
walking back, another biker stopped to o er me a ride
back. Just like that, Mayya had me gone and back in an
hour. I now had the reminder of the day to myself.
At around six, the pundit told me, he could get me the

ration supplies and utensils but I will have to cook for
myself on the hearth. I had to really control hard from
bursting out laughing. With a straight face though, I told
him, Sir I cannot cook but if required am willing to pay for
someone to cook for me. The pundit thought for a minute
and then said, never mind, I am cooking for myself I should
be able to accommodate one more person. I thanked him
and then nally after 12 hours of physically exhausting day
was able to lie down. I rolled out my mat on the temple
verandah and resting my head on the backpack, closed my
eyes and drifted o doing my manas jaap. The evening was
thus spent lying outside the small sanctum of the temple
and chanting. No one to disturb, people from village would
come, pray and leave. At around 8sh, Maharajji (temple
pundit) served dinner consisting of Tikkad and spicy brinjal
curry. A tikkad is a really thick Indian bread made by the
श्री
ff
fi
ff
ff
sadhus who do not like to waste their time making thin and
perfectly round rotis. Generally for an average guy like me,
one tikkad should su ce for a meal, but I have been
walking all day and my body demanded food, lots of food.
So I had four tikkads, not a good idea while on the road. I
asked Maharajji what facility did we have for the morning
business, he replied matter of factly, that there was dense
forest all around and I could go and do my business
wherever it may please me! Now I really regretted having
four tikkads.
Post dinner, just before I would call it a night, few

villagers came by for a chit chat. During our chat, everyone
who had gathered was of an opinion that I was o by a bit
from the main paidal parikrama route and I should not
continue walking from Bhorjhir or even Linga ghat as the
road is not well treaded by parikramawasis. Very rarely do
they get a parikramawasi passing by and mostly by mistake.
so I asked for their suggestion and they suggested that I
head for Gardawara. Strangely enough, I still did not bother
checking Google maps and putting my trust in Mayya’s plan
decided to follow suggestion given by the villagers. Her
loop of conviction was taking another turn generating
scenarios that would test my faith and deliver experiences
that would turn my faith into conviction. I could harness
technolo y or I could create situations for myself that
cemented my faith, Mayya wanted the later perhaps.
Bhaja Govindam - Verse 18 - Shri Shankaracharya


श्री
य्या
दि
रु
g
जि
नि
ffi
ff
Reside in a temple or below a tree, sleep on mother earth as your bed, stay
alone, relinquish all your belongings and give up all comforts, then witness what
bliss renunciation brings to you.
I woke up early morning next day and was out and about
by 06:30. I covered some distance walking and after a few
cups of tea from devotees and a bal bhog I thought it was a
good time to take a public transport. I reasoned that I am
yet to hit the paidal parikrama marg, the sooner I reach
there the sooner I start progressing along. So a short
distance before Gardawara, I boarded a private bus. I got
in, wanted to pay for the ride but the conductor refused to
take money from parikramawasi. So I sat in one corner,
chanting to myself and looking out the window. As the bus
neared Gardawara, the streets started getting busier but the
bus still maintained its pace even through the busy streets.
I was continuously looking out of the window just to ensure
that the bus does not cross Mayya over a bridge and
suddenly out of blue, I saw a major river bridge
approaching really fast. Before I could react, the bus was
already on the bridge and crossing it. My heart was sinking
faster than a leaky boat and I couldn’t help welling up in a
strange anguish. I could barely see through the misty eyes
now. I was completely convinced in my heart that I just
crossed Mayya over to the other bank and technically my
Parikrama was over before it even began. I wanted to
scream and yell at the driver, who did not take money from
me because I was doing parikrama and then drove right
over the bridge. But words refused to come out. The bus
entered main city after crossing the bridge and stopped at

श्री
र्व
स्य
रि
ग्र
त्या
ति
वि
the main Gardawara bus stand. I stumbled out of the bus
distraught not knowing what to do. The emotional turmoil
in that moment cannot be described in words. I thought
maybe I will go back to the bridge, cross back over and start
all over again. However, the bus stand wasn’t exactly close
and I hadn’t quite gotten the road in my head to be able to
get back to the bridge. Regardless, I started walking in the
direction I thought would lead me back to the bridge, there
I would at least get to read the name of the river and know
whether or not it was Narmada Mayya the bus crossed.
There was still a small hope in my heart that it wasn’t
Mayya. I picked up a little pace and started to jog towards
the bridge, or what I thought was the road to the bridge. At
one point, I got confused which way to go and right in the
middle of the road started doing this little back and forth
dance. I did this silly dance once or twice on the same road
until I heard, ‘Maharajji aao chai pao’. There sitting outside his
small hut built on the sidewalk was a man in his late forties,
looking at me with amused expression. He patted at an
empty spot opposite him and asked me to sit and have a
cup of tea. I was in no mood, so I thanked him for the o er
and tried to refuse as nicely as I could. He insisted, I still
refused, thats when he went for the big guns. In a slightly
o ended tone, he told me that he belonged to an upper
caste and it was ok to have tea at his place. Not the caste
thing again, I thought to myself a little irritably. I had much
bigger problems on my mind. But then again, the
parikramawasi in me didn’t want to hurt his feelings and
nally accepting his o er sat outside his hut on the
sidewalk. He called his wife and asked her to make tea for
both of us, she did a quick Narmade Harr and disappeared
inside the hut. He then asked me what was I doing running
up and down the road. I hesitated but blurted out that I
fi
श्री
ff
ff
ff
think I have made a big blunder and crossed over Mayya’s
bank. He asked me where I was headed, I told him, towards
Hoshangabad. He looked at me like I had lost it and then
speaking to me as if to a ten year old, he said, ‘I see anywhere
between 10 to 100 parikramawasis every single day going down this very
road, so whatever your confusion, forget it and just keep walking down this
road as you were before you began your little dance’.
There still was a
nagging doubt, maybe I would end up walking the wrong
direction then. I told him as much, he smiled at me and
said, do not worry I assure you, you are on the right road.
At that very moment, his wife peeped out of the doorway
and regretfully told us she did not have milk in the house. I
told her I love kali chai (black tea), so please get me black
tea. This broke the ow of our conversation and I forgot to
ask him the name of the river that the bus had crossed.
After about a minute, his wife was back with a cup of black
tea. As I put the cup to my lips, strangely, all my doubts and
fears vanished. After that cup of tea, I felt no need to ask for
direction or further clear my doubts, I just knew in my
heart everything was ne. I got up and started walking as if
nothing at all happened, the turbulence was over just as
abruptly as it had occurred.
With the new found con dence and spring in my steps, I

started walking down the road to Hoshangabad or
Narmadapuram as it is called now. I must have walked half
hour when I realised, I needed a washroom break urgently.
Yesterday’s tikkads had started giving me trouble. I had just
come out of one panic situation and it was sad to nd
myself getting into another so quickly. I also needed a good
shower, sprinkling water twice a day did not count for
bathing and I was yet to discover the joy of hand pump
bathing. So instead of waiting for Mayya’s divine

श्री
fl
fi
fi
fi
intervention, this time around, I decided to take things in
my own hands. I will check into a hotel, I thought to myself,
even if for an hour or so but buy myself some respite from
this day in day out trouble of looking for hygienic
bathrooms. There’s bound to be a hotel in this relatively
decent sized town, I thought to myself. Money was no
object either, why bother Mayya with such things on a daily
basis, she has given enough money in charity from well
meaning friends, might as well use it for Parikrama related
activities. My ‘अहं ’ (Ego as a doer of things), no matter how
veiled and without me realising, was trying to overpower
my state of absolute surrender. Why depend on the divine,
when it has provided you with cash, reasoned my ego. For
a moment, I was convinced too and began looking for a
hotel. After a good 15 20 minutes of walking in that frame of
mind, I saw a glass building, the exteriors of which looked
like that of a 2 or 3 star small town hotel. However, there
was no sign-board outside stating that it was a hotel, so it
could just as easily be an apartment building or a
commercial complex. There was only one way to nd out. I
crossed the street and asked the two gentlemen standing at
the entrance of the building whether it was a hotel. They
told me it was not a hotel but an apartment building. At
that point I did not look like a typical parikramawasi at all,
so they asked me if I was out there on some business. When
I told them about my predicament and just how
desperately I needed a place to freshen up, they smiled at
me and with folded hands told me, ‘Maharajji Aiye upar pura
rst oor humne parikramawasi ki sewa mein lagaya hai, aap Naha dho
(you are
lo, aram karo aur chahiye to chai Nashta karke hi age Jana’
most welcome Sir, the entire rst oor is dedicated for
parikramawasis, please feel free to freshen up, rest, stay as
long as you want all arrangements shall be made). My face
fi
श्री
fl
-
fi
fl
fi
lit up at those words, they called up a chotu (typical errand
boy in India) and told him to take me to the rst oor. As I
entered the long empty hall, I could see typical Thermacol
mattresses stacked up at one end, a huge stack of pillows
and bed sheets next to it and some mattresses strewn
across the hallway by parikramawasis before me. I hastily
put down my backpack, took out my toiletries and dashed
to the washroom. A clean WC toilet, fresh running water,
well lit non stinking bathroom welcomed me. Little things
in life that we take for granted had now become luxuries. I
nally attended the long due nature’s call, washed up,
stood under the shower for a good half hour and stepped
out totally rejuvenated. I even took a Power Nap of 15 20
minutes before getting back on the road. Mayya, it seems,
was reminding the very basic precept of Bhakti (devotion),
one that of ‘अ याणां गोन ता ’… Chapter 1, Verse 10 of
Narada Bhakti Sutra states that a seeker in order to attain
singular focus in God MUST give up all other support,
except that of the beloved God. For a moment there, I had
put my faith in money over Mayya, and had gone looking
for a Hotel but she got me into the ashram that provided for
everything I was yearning. This is the magic of parikrama
as a sadhana. While all other Sadhanas work on you from
inside, only Parikrama works outside in. This is the ONLY
sadhana that uses material stimuli to fortify faith. With
experiences like this, one’s faith in God’s benevolence
automatically strengthens leading to ‘Sahaj
Vaira ya’ (e ortless detachment). Truth be told, her
benevolence has no limits and though it is healthy for a
mumukshu to expect it only for survival, she may just over-
indulge you. No one can make you feel so special,
particularly because she expects nothing of you, not even
devotion. It’s pure ‘अ तु कृपा ’ (unconditional grace).
fi
श्री
g
ff
न्या
श्र
हे
की
त्या
न्या
fi
fl
-
I got back on the road all freshened up and charged. I
was expecting a long uneventful walk passing through
Gardawara. Everyone looked busy and no one really
bothered to notice a man walking through the market with
a backpack. Passing through villages is a very di erent
experience, there people have time and lot of empathy.
City life dries up the empathy from within its dwellers and
makes them very materialist. The goals and objectives of
living are amassing more and more, everything else
becomes secondary. Ignoring the city chatter and chanting
happily, I kept walking through the town until I reached a T
junction. Here I needed directions, so I asked a passerby
who hesitantly pointed to the right. Not able to completely
trust the guidance, I asked another fellow on the street who
came up with same but equally vague response. Putting my
faith in the direction provided, I took the right and started
walking still uncertain. Just then I saw a white CRETA pass
me by and stop a few meters from me. One guy neatly
dressed, most probably the owner got out of the car and
began crossing the street. Passing him by, I decided to ask
one nal time if I on the right road to Narmadapuram. He
gave a curt nod and walked past me. A few seconds later I
heard someone saying, ‘Narmade Harr Maharajji, bhojan
paoge?’ (Care to have lunch sir). I turned around to nd it
was the same gentleman who had gotten down from the
car. I bowed humbly and accepted the proposal. However,
we were in the middle of a busy market street with no
restaurants in sight, so I asked him, where would we be
having meal, since there wasn’t any restaurant in sight. He
told me he would like to invite me to his house, if that was
ok with me as a parikramawasi. That’s a rst, I thought to
myself, not only am I being o ered lunch but also being
श्री
fi
ff
fi
ff
fi
invited to this gentleman’s house in the city of Gardawara.
By now, I had stopped getting amazed at Mayya’s leelas. But
to imagine a
complete stranger
i n v i t i n g
parikramawasi
home to have
meal with his
family was an
interesting
ex p e r i e n c e f o r
me.
I followed him to
his house. A neat
one storey row
house in a decent
neighbourhood, I
could tell he was
nancially sound.
As soon as we
entered, he
Me with my generous host at Gardawara announced in a
very high but
warm and
welcoming tone, that he had a guest along. Even without
seeing me, I could hear a Narmade Harr, Maharajji coming from
inside the house, as the lady came out with folded hands. I
was very humbled and said Narmade Harr back with folded
hands. This was my rst experience of a householder giving
seva (service). I sat comfortably in the living room with my
host who shared his spiritual experiences as we waited for
the lady of the house to make last minute food adjustments
fi
श्री
fi
for the unexpected guest. Lunch was served on a table
placed near the kitchen. Lady served us pu ng hot rotis
dripping in desi ghee, two savoury vegetables, Daal and
rice. I was having proper home food after almost a month
now and it felt really good. Soon after lunch his daughters
arrived from school, both daughters were asked to bow
down to me and take blessings. Seeing his young daughters,
I was inspired to do Kanya poojan (girl child worship). I had
seen Deshmukh Maharaj do it and he had explained it to
me as well that if you come across a maiden girl and if your
bhav is formed, pray to maiden girls as Mayya’s roop
(form), o er whatever you feel like o ering and bow down
to them. So I o ered a small cash o ering to their youngest
daughter, bowed down to her and touched her feet praying
to her as a roop of Narmada Mayya. Bowing down and
touching feet does two things, one; the action itself
humbles you and keeps your ego in check and two; the
person who is being bowed down to, instinctively releases
positive energies that ow from him to the person bowing
down. It is a spiritually as well as energetically a very
healthy practice. After spending some more time with the
family, it was time for me to move on. I stepped out in the
scorching sun and began walking towards Narmadapuram.
Before leaving, my host had told me to be on a lookout

for a shortcut, which would save me a good 4Km of walk. I
came across one such road that felt like a close t of the
description and so decided to take it. I must have walked
about a hundred meters on that road when a biker came
and stopped by me asking me where I was headed. In the
general direction of Narmadapuram, I told him. He told me
that I had taken a wrong turn, this road will lead me to a
re nery and I should go back to the main road and keep
श्री
fi
ff
ff
fl
ff
ff
ffi
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walking. It seems this guy saw me taking the turn while
riding on his bike and realising that I could be a
parikramawasi who was headed down the wrong road, he
decided to follow me and put me back on the right path. I
thanked this complete stranger for his timely help. Raju
Tailor’s word echoed in my mind, ‘forget getting lost, Mayya
will not even let you take a wrong turn even’.
Walking on the tar roads in hot sun was challenging.

After about an hour of walk my body had started feeling the
strain. Legs
started paining,
s h o u l d e r s
carrying backpack
weighing roughly
15 Kgs were
hurting too. But
ignoring all the
pain, I kept
trudging on. I
took the right
shortcut this time
around that went
through a small
village and as I
was crossing
through the
village looking for
some place to sit
down and relax, I
came across a
Hanuman Mandir where I rst forged an emotional small Hanuman
connection with Ramji & Hanumanji.
Temple which I
श्री
fi
thought was a great spot to relax. I put down my backpack,
took my shoes and socks o , with my back resting against a
wall stretched out my legs and closed my eyes. I passed into
a tranquil meditative deep sleep, I do not know for how
long but I woke up with a beautiful inspiration.
चाचू (Chachu - Father’s younger brother) is a very

a ectionate relationship across India. Your chachu will
make concessions your father won’t. Happily allow you
transgressions he nds acceptable but still discipline you
where required. Its someone you can be stubborn and
demanding with but also respectful of his decisions. It’s a
sweet spot where love and discipline meet. Waking up to
the magical moment in that temple, I forged two beautiful
relationships; one with Ramji as my Father and second with
Hanumanji as my Chachu. Where Ramji now evokes
revered adoration, Hanumanji stirs a bhav of mischievous
and forgiving a ection. Once you forge a personal
relationship, communication becomes more real, you are
not singing bhajans or expounding Sanskrit shlokas but
talking like you would to a real person, esh and blood.
There’s loving demand, there’s sulking, there’s chiding,
entitlement, mocking and every other emotion one can
deploy in a personal relationship founded on love and
respect. So I slowly got up from where I was seated and
moved to sit facing Chachu (Hanumanji), I felt naughty and
smilingly complained to my chachu that I have been out on
the road since morning and now I was tired. look I even
have a blister on my pinky toe, I told chachu. I have no clue
where to stay for the night and I do not know how much
more walk I got in me, so all of this is your problem. It was
no more a request made to an idol in a temple but more of
a demand made to someone you love and someone who
श्री
ff
ff
fi
ff
fl
loves you back equally and unconditionally. I liked the bhav
(pious emotion) so much that I adapted it for the rest of
parikrama and have continued with it ever since. I got up
and started walking with a slight limp due to the blister but
there was a wicked smile on my face, I knew Hanumanji
had to provide for, I had caught the very nerve of bhakti.
I nished walking the shortcut and met with the highway

again. After a few kilometres of painful walk, I passed an
empty school bus parked on the road-side. The driver was
sitting next to the fuel tank, with a stick in his hand. I
looked at him from some distance and knew the fuel
indicator on the bus was broken, India and it’s Jugad (hack)
always amuses me. As I walked past the driver, he greeted
me with Narmade Harr, I responded back and kept walking.
I must have walked a few steps when I heard him saying,
Maharajji bus bhi usi taraf ja Rahi hai Kaho to thodi door chor dun.. (The
bus is headed in the same direction you are going, if you
wish, I can drop you someplace ahead along the road). I
turned around, smiled a nod at him and thought to myself,
so Chachu thats how you do it! The bus ride not only saved
me a few miles but also gave my aching feet some much
deserved rest. However, most importantly, it accelerated
my journey to intersect with that of another parikramawasi
to shape my parikrama in future.
The bus dropped me after a ride of 15 20 minutes at a

junction from where it parted the highway. I got down from
the bus and realised It was nearing 5 PM and still had no
clue where to spend the night. I hurriedly put my backpack
over my shoulders and started walking a little faster. As I
hurriedly walked on, I could see a few refreshment stalls on
my left but I was in no mood for refreshment. I hurriedly
श्री
fi
-
walked past a few parikramawasis huddled at one of the
refreshment stalls clearly in mood for interaction. But I did
not succeed because no sooner did I pass them that I heard
‘Maharajji, aao hamare saath chai nashta pao’ (come have tea and
snacks with your fellow parikramawasis). With folded
hands and smile, I politely refused the invite and without
breaking my pace continued my walk. Then someone, who
I could not see in the group said, ‘aree Rane Maharaj itni bhi kya
jaldi hai’ (What’s your rush Mr. Rane). Who would know me
by my name here, I stopped dead in my tracks and turned
around only to nd the smiling face of Raju Tailor waving at
me from back of the group.
I had not expected to meet Tailor Maharaj again and yet

here we were. But I was glad he did, after the long walk, a
good company of my liking brought a mental certain relief.
Besides he was great deal more informed than I was and
probably even had planned entire parikrama. I did not have
to worry about tonight anymore, I rightly assumed. I
walked up to him, had tea there and then we all started
walking together. Tailor maharaj and me instantly liked
each other’s company. First thing he asked me was if I had
gotten rid of Deshmukh Maharaj and when I told him I did,
he once again explained to me the importance of walking
alone. He shared some of his personal parikrama
experiences, which were very inspiring. We then spoke a
bit about his family, how his father had started serving
Parikramawasis and had passed down this lineage to him.
Tailor Maharaj worked the most di cult sector of
parikrama, called the ‘Shulpani Jhadi (forest). He stayed in
Dhadgaon, a small town in Shulpani, but provided service
to parikramawasis within radius of 100 Km around
Dhadgaon. I was very impressed by this history and
श्री
fi
ffi
tradition of serving Parikramawasis for over two
generations. As we kept walking discussions turned to
family life challenges and about his two sons, his worries
about their careers and future. Given my years of corporate
background, I gave him a few pieces of advice and assured
him that I would speak with his sons when I get to
Shree Siddha Nagdhari Mandir at Panagar
Dhadgaon. I liked his sense of gravity about everything he

undertook. His simplistic but reasonable views on issues at
hand. I could tell, he liked my company too, we almost
walked next hour and half together talking to each other.
During our walk, I noticed that he kept referring to some
book and reading out names of the villages passing by. It
was nearing 06:30 and we were concerned about nding
the ashram referred to in the book he was holding. Finally
we reached the temple that was to serve as our shelter for

श्री
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the night. We took o our shoes and entered from the back
entrance, the door opened into a large rectangular hall of a
seemingly well known Mandir, Shree Siddha Nagdhari Mandir,
in Panagar.
Four tired and exhausted bodies entered the temple

parlour. The Sthan dhari (sadhu in charge of an ashram)
was a slightly arraogant sadhu in his late forties. He sat
there, arms extended on the sofa that was his asan and
welcomed us without a hint of humility in his demeanour.
We walked in and sat in one corner of the hall. He asked if
we would like to have tea and then sent one of his assistants
to get us all tea. We chatted brie y and then he told us that
they provided sadavrat facility only (which means
providing the supplies and means of cooking but not
cooked food) at the temple, so we will have to do the
cooking. Twelve anxious eyes exchanged a quick glance,
each pair wanting to see in the other either the will or at
least ability to cook after the long and tiring walk. I
sheepishly accepted my inability and the rest of them
already knew they couldn’t cook either. Tailor Maharaj took
the lead in negotiations and told the Sthan-dhari maharaj
than none of us could cook. The sadhu got all agitated with
the answer and asked us to immediately walk to the next
ashram. The rudeness of his tone and utter disregard to our
discomfort caught us blindsided. To my utter surprise, I felt
nothing. The old me would have taken o ence at being
treated so lightly but this new me in parikrama felt nothing.
If he feeds us, so be it, if he doesn’t, a nice evening fast for
Mayya, was all that passed through my mind. Almost like
the verses from Dhanyashtakam by Adi Shankaracharya,
where describing qualities of truly blessed ones, he writes;
‘मानावमानस शाः समद न ’ (He who remains impartial in

श्री
दृ
र्शि
ff
श्च
fl
ff
face of praise and
insult is truly
blessed). This was
my rst encounter
with behaviour
o r d i n a r i l y
considered
insulting by a
sadhu who was
supposed to be
serving the
parikramawasis.
H o w e v e r ,
strangely enough
it did not bother
me one bit. I did
not even feel like
part of the group
Sleeping arrangements at the Nagdhari Temple
whose dinner and
comfort were at
stake. At one
point it almost looked like the sadhu would win and throw
us out of the temple but Tailor Maharaj persisted in his
arguments. Finally it was agreed that we would assume a
fast that evening, thereby absolving the sadhu of any sin of
not feeding parikramawasis. Tailor whispered to me asking
if I was ok with skipping a meal. I told him, I was at Mayya’s
mercy and was not bothered one bit. So we told the
Maharaj we cannot walk any further and would be
assuming fast for the day. This settled the argument and we
were shown a long vacant corridor behind the parlour that
would serve as our dormitory .

श्री
fi
We quickly settled and set up our asanas for the evening
Artis. I was getting a hang of all the Artis except
Narmadashtak which was in Sanskrit. I would start with
Ganpati arti, followed by Narmada Mayya’s Hindi arti, then
Ram Raksha Stotra and end it with Arti of Datta Guru
traditionally sung in our family. As we were about to nish
our artis that night, fully prepared to go to bed hungry, the
metal doors that served as direct outside access to the
corridor, ung open and a loud voice asked, kitne murti hai
bhojan ke liye (how many good souls for meal?), we replied
and then the announcement, ‘Bhojan banana ya Lana nahi aur
Sona nahi, bhojan ki wyawastha ho Rahi hai, adhe ghante mein parosenge
(Please don’t cook or make arrangements of your own, or
fall asleep, dinner will be served in half hour). There was a
smile of victory on all our faces. The unspoken emotion
being, who does the sadhu think feeds us parikramawasis,
its not him, its Mayya. A roar of Narmade Harr echoed
through the corridor after the announcement. I no more
felt awed or humbled by these experiences of Mayya’s
divine grace but only loving gratitude. Even gratitude felt a
bit arti cial after all which child feels gratitude towards a
doting mother. A child simply responds back with love not
gratitude.
The dinner arrived as promised and the whole group had

sumptuous dinner. After dinner, Tailor asked me to join
him outside and secretly told me that he had gone outside
in the evening to a dhaba next to the temple (Madhuvan
Dhaba) and had vented out his frustration to them. The
dhaba owner, hearing the plight of Parikramawasis had
then made the dinner arrangements. Now Tailor Maharaj
felt indebted for the dinner and thought we should perhaps
pay the Dhaba owners. He indirectly asked me if I would

श्री
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fi
foot the bill and I told him I would only be too happy to
oblige. So together we walked over to the dhaba to discuss
bill. However, I did warn Tailor that people do this mostly
as service and I have known them to take serious o ence if
o ered money. I was right, the minute we mentioned
money for the meal, the dhaba owner exploded deeply
o ended at the very thought. We quickly apologised for
hurting his sentiments and walked back to the temple. As
we were entering the dormitory from outside, I saw few
parikramawasis gathered around a hand pump with their
clothes and soap dishes. The sight of hand pump brought
back memories from childhood, we used to have one at my
native place. I remember bathing at the hand pump,
drinking water from it, while my cousins pumped the
handle. Those days were back again. I now had a solution
to my bathing problem, the hand pumps were a common
sight along the route and a parikramawasi is not only
allowed to use them but expected to use them. From that
night onwards, my bathing problems were resolved.
Tailor Maharaj had perhaps noticed the slight limp in my

walk in the evening, so before retiring as we sat on our
mattresses chatting with each other, he held my foot in his
hands and carefully examined the newly formed blister on
my toe. I was touched by this act of humility and simplicity,
one has to have certain amount of innocence to be able to
hold someone’s foot. With a very serious tone and nality,
he told me to get rid of the shoes and get into sandals
instead on an immediate basis. Sandals are open to air,
your feet need to breathe when you walk long distances, he
advised further. The approaching summer will only make it
worst, so once you reach Narmadapuram, get yourself a
p a i r o f s a n d a l s , I wa s i n s t r u c te d . T h e s e c o n d
श्री
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commandment for me that night by Tailor Maharaj was to
get myself into the parikrama dress code; white dhoti and
kurta, a wooden sta and kamandalu. In a very patronising
tone he requested me to get rid of my t-shirts and printed
harem pants I was wearing. Though he did not explain why,
much later, on retrospection, I realised that his suggestion
made a lot of sense. The entire householder ecosystem that
works round the clock in support of parikramawasis is built
upon faith. They are simple rural folks, they believe what
they see. When they see simply clad dhoti kurta
parikramawasi, their faith and emotions are reinforced. If
people start doing parikrama in denims and shorts, the
sight will stop resonating with their belief system and might
destroy the delicate ecosystem. Most of the parikrama is
done through remote villages and e ort must be made by
city dwellers like us to stay relevant to that culture and
mind set. But most importantly, I now realise that dressing
up in ordinary dhoti and kurta just like the poorest of
parikramawasi will also help level the economic di erence
between rural and urban parikramawasis and stem the ego
or vanity arising out of that nancial superiority shown in
the di erence in their attire.
As the last act of kindness to me and realising that I was

completely lost and clueless, Tailor Maharaj explained to
me in detail the system used by paidal Parikramawasis. He
showed me pages of some book that he carried on him at
all times, which mapped village by village and ashram by
ashram route of the entire paidal parikrama marg. So
referring to the name of villages and ashrams mentioned in
the book, one can seek directions and plan the journey
ahead. This time, he jotted his number at the bottom of one
of the pages and asked me to take pics of all the pages till
श्री
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Omkareshwar with my phone camera and use it during my
walk. I did as I was told, since we were to split up again the
next morning. He had a very strict and rigorous walking
regime, I wasn’t sure I was up to it and besides, I had
started preferring walking alone. Tailor Maharaj also made
a passing reference at trying to get to Omkareshwar by
Mahashivratri, which was quickly forgotten because I did
not know anything about Omkareshwar and had no idea
how much time was left for Mahashiratri either. All in all,
after taking the pics of the pages I bid Tailor Maharaj
goodnight and goodbye. That night I realised I was actually
living the tenet of Srimad Bha wata - Canto 7 Chapter 15,
Verse 30:
य जये य : :सङ्गोऽप ह: ।
एको शरणो ताशन: ॥ ३० ॥
One who desires to conquer the mind must leave the company of his family and live in a
solitary place, free from contaminated association. To maintain the body and soul together,
he should beg as much as he needs for the bare necessities of life.
These verses are beautiful, sound profound and appeal to

your heart as a seeker. However, once you have lived them,
even for a few months, you are then able to experience the
truth that is expressed through them. Until they are
validated by your own personal experience, they just
remain words and that is what Narmada Parikrama o ers,
opportunity to personally validate the utility and e cacy of
every tenet laid down by our shastras for seekers in search
of truth. Every precept laid down by the Rishis and
followed by lineage of saints in this country can be followed
and experienced on a personal basis, without having to
carry the burden of a liation to a sect or cult. Similarly, the
extent to which one adheres to these precepts, a direct
realisation in terms of experience is received. This alone is
truly the grace of Narmada Mayya.

श्री
श्चि
वि
त्त
वि
वि
क्त
त्त
स्या
भि
न्नि
क्षु
र्भै
क्ष्य
ffi
मि
रि
ग्र
g
ffi
ff
1. We have only imagined joy to be in consumption, there is

bliss and freedom in renunciation. A lot of baggage we
carry is due to imaginary happiness through sense
grati ication only because we haven’t experienced the
freedom in sense deprivation.
2. Material wellbeing alone cannot be the objective of

human life.

श्री
f
Tenet 7 - ग यानो वा मनुजो राम नात् –
Parikrama without sadhana is like body without soul
Let’s see, so far we have made a very sincere e ort to

abandon false ego of being the doer, stopped worrying,
thinking and working towards self preservation, have put
c o m p l e te f a i t h i n G o d’s p rov i d e n c e , su r re n d e r
unconditionally to God, realised the greatness of mayya
and mentally forsaken our family. If after so much work,
one does not know what to do with our time here,
parikrama might just turn into an adventure trip or endless
walk to brag about later on. I have witnessed
parikramawasis come without sadhana and spend entire
time while in Mayya’s kingdom, gossiping, watching you
tube videos hours on end, talking to wives, partners or
girlfriends, complaining and hankering about facilities etc.
Why leave a perfectly ne household, put our body and
mind through the hardships of parikrama and then do
exactly the same stu you could have done sitting in
comforts of your home. What sadhana one practices here is
not important; read spiritual texts, write God’s name or
श्री
च्छं
स्ति
ष्ठ
ff
fi
ञ्छ
की
र्त
ff
chant, do yoga, meditation or chant Narmade Harr with
every step you take, do whatever your chitta vrittis attract,
but now that you are here, please do not wile away your
time in any activity other than spiritual or religious.
Fortunately for me, my Guru had outlined my sadhana:
रामे रजपः स पापापनोदकः ॥

ग यानो वा मनुजो राम नात् ॥ ६.२५६.४० ॥
Chanting of the two syllables Ram mantra washes away all the sins
Whether walking or standing or lying down one should chant the holy name of Lord
Rāmachandra!
So whether walking or sitting or lying down, I was always

doing my jaap sadhana and it intensi ed whenever I was
alone. I had started loving the solo un-scheduled and
unplanned walks through the remote parts of MP. Solo
walks gave me a lot of opportunity to continuously chant
Hari naam without having to worry about the distance
walked or the scheduled stops being missed.
यदी परं नं ना परमं पदम्।

तदा य न महता कु ह नम्।।
Garudpuran states that if one seeks the ultimate knowledge and supreme conscious state
then one must practice Hari naam kirtan with all of one’s might…
Lush green elds on both sides of the road, sporadic

showers and sweet hospitality accorded by simple village
folks made the walk to Narmadapuram a beautiful
experience. After a day or so, I reached Narmadapuram on
a scorching hot afternoon. Narmadapuram is a relatively
bigger town, here you can feel the hustle and bustle of city
life. Busy streets, busy people and the vibes of the whole
place so commercial, I suddenly felt out of place.
Gardawara though a small town, it still had a native avour
श्री
च्छं
ति
च्छ
स्ति
त्ने
द्व्य
सि
ष्ठ
क्ष
ञ्छ
ज्ञा
fi
ज्ञा
रु
र्व
श्री
च्च
रि
की
र्त
की
र्त
fi
fl
A beautiful morning during Gardawara to Narmadapuram walk..
to it. Narmadapuram however was just another city

without a soul, almost like Mumbai or Delhi in vibes but
much smaller. It reminded me of life back home, devoid of
any serious spiritual pursuits, existential and ego centric
living. No time to think or attempt anything outside the
narrow realms of me and mine. My heart and mind
revolted and desperately wanted to get out. However, I was
really tired and needed an ashram and a day’s rest. I was
not in a physical condition to walk any more. I was tired,
fatigued and hungry. I knew it from Deshmukh Maharaj
that Narmadapuram had an ancient and one of the most
beautiful ghats. So after seeking directions, I reached
Sethani ghat. It truly is one of the largest and most
colourful and magni cent ghats along the shores of Mayya.
I did not spend much time on the ghat but quickly started
looking for an ashram. There were at least four

श्री
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Dharamshalas around so I decided to try my luck there.
However, it was marriage season and every single room in
every Dharamshala I went to, was booked. After getting
turned down at every Dharamshala, I had no heart to go
exploring further in search of an ashram. For the rst time
since I began parikrama, I pulled out my phone and typed,
‘Hotels close to me’ on google. Turns out, it truly was
marriage season, two out of three hotels I tried were fully
booked. Finally Narmada View resort had only a suite
available. Money was still no object, So I hung up and
walked up to the hotel lobby looking like something that cat
Sethani Ghat @ Narmadapuram
dragged in.
I walked up to the reservation counter and I have a

feeling the lady at the reception thought I had come for
some charity. I could feel her discomfort, so I hastily

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reminded her of the conversation we had about the suite.
She smiled awkwardly and was unsure until she saw the
cash and thus I had a suite overlooking Sethani ghat and
huge expanse of Mayya from the french windows of the
suite. At rst, I felt slightly con icted about this whole
staying at a hotel while on parikrama decision. But then I
realised I did need a bit of comfort to bounce back. A little
relaxation in my austerity only felt good. Hot water bath
after days, soft bed, food of my choice. Regardless, that is
how Mayya planned it for me, after all she send me into
parikrama quite loaded with the daan (charity) cash. I
utilised my time at Narmadapuram to stock up on washing
powder, soap, sun
screen, mosquito
repellant, ghee
and cotton wicks
for lamp, a pair of
white dhotis and
most importantly
a pair of
w o o d l a n d
sandals. The next
morning, leaving
my baggage and
Mayya’s majestic View from the suite cash in the room,
clad in white
dhoti and
carrying a mug from the hotel, I nally got a chance to
bathe in Mayya’s holy water. Sitting on the steps of Sethani
ghat I enjoyed a long bath using the mug. I knew then that I
must buy a Kamandalu for myself if I don’t want to miss on
this spiritual treat in future. After resting, stocking up and

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revitalising, I left Narmadapuram equipped with me new
sandals to combat long walks in hot summer.
The next major stop on my way, I researched a bit was

Omkareshwar. It was one long haul from Narmadapuram to
Omkareshwar with paidal parikrama road leaving the banks
of mayya and taking a long detour around the dam’s back
water. There were stretches of roads where walking by the
banks has been rendered impossible because of dam
construction and various other constraints. Here
parikramawasis walk for miles and miles with mayya not
even in sight. With my limited knowledge, where I felt such
walk was implied, I chose to use public transport and reach
the roads that took me closer to the banks. However, this
was a choice made by me, most parikramawasis try and
make the entire distance strictly on feet. I was inspired to
go hybrid and really let my instinct tell me where to go
walking and where to hitch hike. For most parikramawasis,
walking throughout is a form of ‘Tapa’ (penance). I
appreciate that view point too, however, I had not started
with such a determination and my de nition of Tapa is
explained in detail under tenet 11. All these thoughts were
not my own, I just followed inspirations I received from
time to time. There were times, where no matter what, I
wouldn’t want to even see a transport and only walking felt
right. There were times when walking felt futile and as if by
intuition, I was determined to use the days / time saved
using the transport for chanting and meditating at the next
spot found ideal for my spiritual practices. Walking close to
mayya and through remote parts of MP was always thrilling
and brought di erent type of joy to my being. But a walk
far away from the banks was agonising, even though
chanting was incessant, body would give up very soon.
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Perhaps because I was doing it all alone. Doing parikrama
alone had its own advantages and disadvantages. When you
are with a group, your spiritual experience is hampered but
you are able to walk longer distances. When you are on
your own, your spiritual experiences peak but your ability
to walk miles and miles without losing heart and physical
endurance is hindered. While I wanted to walk as much as
possible, I had to be very careful that I don’t fall sick due to
over exertion or do not lose my heart totally. This is a post
facto analysis, in that moment, I was just following my
heart. I was attuned to my energies so much that every
decision was made for me, I do not remember ever
contemplating the pros and cons of whether I was walking
endlessly for days on end or I was sitting in a bus. What
really mattered was that:
o Vaira ya (dispassion, detachment and renunciation)

came e ortlessly and automatically.
o Titiksha (Forbearance) blanketed whatever acrimony
my heart harboured and kept me equanimous in all
situations. Respect or insult, comfort or hardships,
everything became Mayya’s grace.
o Bhakti (devotion) came knocking at heart’s door
uninvited.
o Ram naam chanting automatically intensi ed and
with Mayya’s grace I felt content, peaceful and happy at all
times.
Anyways, partly walking and partly using transport, I

completed the long arduous journey from Narmadapuram
to Handia (on the opposite bank is Nemawar), considered
the nabhi sthan (navel spot) of Mayya. The Riddhanath
temple is considered very ancient and believed to have
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been built by Kuber, the God of wealth. The journey from
Handia to a place called Mundi was a long detour so as to
avo i d t h e hu ge
reservoir at the
Punasa dam near
Omkareshwar. I
skipped most of
this journey and
used public
transport to get to
Mu n d i . Jou r n ey
from Mundi to
O m k a r e s h w a r,
however, turned
o u t t o b e ve r y
interesting one.
Like in life,
Shivlinga darshan at the ancient Riddhanath Mahadev
temple in Handia Parikrama has its
own high points
that more or less
de ne the whole journey and set the trajectory for events
to follow. Walk from Mundi to Omkareshwar was one such
day in my Parikrama. The distance of about 53 Km actually
calls for 2 3 days of walk, depending on how much distance
one is able to put behind on a daily basis. I obviously wasn’t
calculating days or bearing in mind the distance, to me,
every day was a mystery I did not want solved in advance.
Every day began with a hope of walking another glorious
day chanting Ram naam. Temples were spots of
rejuvenation, ashrams places to rest, take meals and retire.
Most days meals did not require an ashram, some days it
would be labours in the farm o ering you lunch,
sometimes a temple in a village or a householder on a
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lookout for rendering seva. At times there was long arduous
walking involved and at times a lift from an eager passerby
would make the distance for the day. So of all these
journeys a few stand out because of their uniqueness and
their relevance to shaping of the remaining journey.
In the days leading up to my walk to Omkareshwar the

ashrams were lled with chatter on making it to
Omkareshwar on or before Mahashivratri. Most
parikramawasis are by default devotees of Lord Shiva too
and Mahashivratri that too at a jyotirlinga as religiously
acclaimed as Omkareshwar was obviously on top of
everyone’s mind. I was, however, totally unaware of the
date and / or distance to Omkareshwar and was not really
gunning to get there for Mahashivratri. My mastmaula
(carefree) attitude didn’t allow me to put any deadlines to
my walking. There was no place I would rather be, except
where I was at any given point in time. I remember even
Tailor Maharaj had planned to get to Omkareshwar by
Mahashivratri. So by the time I reached Mundi, , I gathered
from the chatter that Omkareshwar was still 4 5 days away
while the distance to be covered, odd 53 Km. So I was
hoping to get to Omkareshwar in time for Mahashivratri as
well. I left Mundi early morning that day around 5:30 and
was following the signs along the highway to Omkareshwar
as I began my march. I was about to hit the highway, when
a young man fell in step with me and as he brushed his
teeth advised me not to use the highway but instead take
the by-pass through the village saving me, I think, good 6 8
Km of walk. Mayya’s guidance was at work again. I thanked
him and took the Mundi Sanawar road instead of the
highway.

श्री
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I was walking alone on an already lonely road with only
the occasional Narmade Harr as my companion. I had left
Mundi very early without tea or breakfast and my guess
was it was about 7:30 or 8:00 when a local shepherd after
greeting me with the customary Narmade Harr, asked me if
I had my bal bhog. When I told him I did not, he told me
that I had just missed an ashram about 50 meters behind
and if interested in Bal bhog, I should retrace my steps. I
thanked the shepherd and taking a narrow dirt road
disappearing behind thick bushes, as instructed, reached
an ashram called the ‘Narsing Bha wan dham, Kenud’. If I had
not taken that advise, a very important chapter of
parikrama would have been written very di erently. The
ashram had a small well maintained garden, a small temple
in the compound
and a thatched
roof ashram for
parikramawasis. I
took darshan of
N a r s i n g h
Bha wan and
Narmada mayya
at the temple and
decided to rest a
bit. I could see
t wo murtis (a
s a d h u ’ s
terminolo y for
warm bodies) in
Temple at the Narsingh Bha wan Dham, Ashram -
Kenud one corner, just
getting up. I could
tell, they had
slept in at this
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ashram the night before and were yet to get ready for their
day’s walk. We exchanged Narmade Harr, I rested for a bit
and then got up to leave. As I was about to leave, one of the
two murtis sitting in the opposite corner requested me to
wait some more because it seems that while I was taking
darshan, he had informed the Sthan Dhari mahatma about
my arrival and now tea was being made for all of us. It
would have been rude for me to leave knowing someone
had gone through the pain of making the tea for me, so I
bowed down acknowledging his kindness and sat down,
waiting for tea to be served. Since we were waiting for tea,
the Maharajji who had asked me to wait started talking.
Once again the topic of reaching Omkareshwar for
Mahashivratri came up and everyone seemed very excited
about the prospect of being there for the tithi (auspicious
day). This particular maharaj was a chatty one, I could tell.
He rambled on about a few things I barely paid any
attention to. I waited until the tea was served and after
having my tea I thanked the sthan-dhari maharaj for taking
the extra e ort for me and quietly made it back to the road.
I forgot all about this incident and the Maharajji I met here
but Mayya had got me to this ashram for a reason.
After leaving the ashram, I kept walking non-stop till

noon except for re lling water at a few hand pumps. I was
completely exhausted and desperate for a lunch break now.
To my great relief, I found Hanumanji seated out in open
outside a house on the side of the road. I immediately went
and sat cross legged in front of Hanumanji and started my
Chacha bhatija (uncle - nephew) dialogue with him. I told
chachu that I was tired and needed a break desperately. If I
continue walking without food for too long, I just might
pass out on the road. I sat there out in open under sun with
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him some more in the scorching heat, just to feel how he
felt sitting out there in the open day in day out, rain, winter
and summer. That’s why they say the ‘archavtaar is also the
most forgiving avatar of Gods’. Meaning, every idol ever
made is an avatar
but it is the most
accommodating
and forgiving, so
when people
make Hanumanji
sit out in the open
with no shade,
they are forgiven
for their
thoughtlessness.
A ny ways , a f te r
spending 15 odd
minutes with
Hanumanji, I was
back on the road
10Km Milestone from Mundi - the morning walk but now I knew,
my break would
come soon. 15
minutes later, I could see a small village approaching. My
hopes were up and I picked up pace. As I was about to
approach the village limits a bike passed me by in the
opposite direction and the next moment I heard it
screeching to halt and then the sound of bike approaching
me from behind. The biker came up close and told me
‘Narmade Harr…Maharaj aap sahi samay par aye ho, age gaon mein baye
haath pe ashram padega.. bhojan pake hi age jana’ (you have
reached just in time for lunch, on your left as you enter the
village is an ashram, please have food there). This is the
श्री
beauty of parikrama, I would have obviously seen the
ashram and most de nitely had my lunch there, but this
little Leela that Mayya does; making the biker turn around
just to inform and insist on having food at the ashram, is
really the sweetest reward a devotee can get for her/his
heartfelt devotion. I reached Ahilya Ashram, just as the
long colourful mats were being rolled out for sitting the
parikramawasis for the meal. I quickly freshened up, came
in and sat for lunch. There for the rst time I realised what
a great delicacy
‘Mahi’ (plain
buttermilk) is for
a tired and
p a r c h e d
parikramawasi. I
had a nice meal
and plenty of
buttermilk, all the
thirst and
t i re d n e s s a s i f
vanished. Though
it was just lunch
time, I think I had
done about 17 18
odd kilometres
already and had
no intention of
stepping out in
the hot sun again.
So I pulled a
mattress and hit
Memorable lunch @ the Ahilya Ashram..
the sack, thinking
I will sleep the
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night at the ashram. But mayya had other plans. After
resting about 45 minutes to an hour, my peaceful nap was
disturbed by sudden urry of activity at the ashram. There
were about 8 10 parikramawasis, who going by their looks,
must have been sixty plus in age, along with me. I saw these
old folks suddenly getting ready, full of ener y for the
second leg of walk. I felt a little ashamed since I was the
youngest of the lot there and it felt weird to continue
sleeping while the oldies were all set to go. I fought against
my instinct to rest and out of shame decided to get a move
on.
I soon realised, I had made a huge mistake. The oldies, I

had not realised, were all village folk and their labour
hardened physique was accustomed to the hot sun and
walk. Plus they were walking in group, chatting, laughing
and keeping each other engaged, while I was walking solo
chanting Hari naam endlessly. The sun was still blazing hot
and my ener y level depleting rapidly. I should have
listened to my instincts and stayed back but it was too late
now, I was already out. The real challenge in doing
parikrama alone is when you have to ght mental and
physical fatigue when doing a long stretch. Even chanting
doesn’t help during such testing times. Your mind just
wants out of the situation and body feels frail and
unreliable. Only one thing I have known over the last
month or so is that when Mayya really tests mettle like this,
the reward waiting at the end is always very sweet. The
next two hours of lonely walk in the heat was sheer trauma
and the next ashram always elusively 8 Km away. My legs
were ready to buckle under and I now truly hated the
decision to leave the ashram. I put the last reserve of my
ener y and chanting more intensely, started walking a bit
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faster. Just to kill my monotonous walk, Mayya send a
random guy who walked with me for 15 minutes engaging
me in some small talk and then he too had to go. I made a
mental note, I should not take di cult challenges when
walking solo. Anyway, as I was walking, I heard a bike
coming up from behind and I turned head hoping he might
want to give me a ride to the ashram ahead. But he passed
me by, no luck. I put my head down and started walking
when I saw the bike stopping just a little ahead. Turning
back in his seat and looking at me, he yelled, Maharajji thoda
age tak chor de? Meaning, may I drop you a little ahead. I
nodded and walked up to him, thanking Mayya for the
help. I was only anticipating ride till the next ashram but
once again, I was in for a big surprise.
Riding behind the bike, I could hardly hear the biker

trying to have a lively conversation with me. So most of the
times I just kept nodding my head to everything he asked
which got me into a totally unexpected and interesting
predicament. Firstly, during these discussions which I was
hardly party to, it was decided to skip the rst ashram that
fell on the way and it was decided that we keep going till
perhaps the next ashram. Then, at one point he asked me if
I would be interested in taking darshan of local deities that
had gotten submerged in the backwaters of dam and are
now being rehabilitated near his village. I nodded and
smiled, not having the foggiest as to what I was agreeing to.
A bit later, to my surprise and bit of a concern, the bike
went o the main road and entered the narrow dirt roads
winding through mud houses of a tiny village. Not knowing
what my nal destination would be, I asked the biker if I
would be able to nd my way back to the highway, if I
wanted to continue my walk. My benefactor thought I was
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ffi
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getting worried about my safety and tried to assure me that
I was very safe but if I wanted, we could turn around and
he could drop me at some ashram along the highway. I
could feel a hint dejection in his voice, so I assured him that
I had complete faith in him and am glad to be taken
wherever it is that he wanted to take me. We continued our
journey now passing through elds, sometimes bouncing
over the levees, crossing ditches and ponds till we nally
arrived at the site where the temple was being
reconstructed. I was amazed to see that every pillar and
every idol was carefully marked and placed exactly as per
the original temple layout. Totally o track, in middle of
nowhere I was in the presence of a heritage temple that got
almost submerged in the dam reservoir. Amazed and
reconstructed temple along with all the deities

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humbled at the same time, I prayed to the deities and
thanked Mayya for this rare darshan. Every temple, every
darshan while on parikrama, I believe, is a calling
redeeming the merits of ones spiritual wealth. I see no
other reason or logic behind me getting to that temple, so
far o my route. After sitting in the mandir for 15 20
minutes, we decided to leave. Next he asked me if I wanted
to be dropped at an ashram on the highway or somewhere
really close to Omkareshwar. A paidal parikrama route very
few parikramawasis take, I was told, will bring me as close
as 12 Km from Omkareshwar. I was in no hurry, neither was
time of so much essence but I was already impressed with
the restoration site of the temple and some more
exploration wouldn’t hurt, so I agreed to be taken through
the paidal parikrama route. The entire area we were driving
through, I was told gets submerged during the swelling of
Paidal Parikrama route through the back waters

श्री
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Mayya’s waters in monsoons. On our way, I was getting free
introductory lessons on various crops being grown in the
area along with sampling of delicious hand picked farm
fresh tomatoes, chickpeas, green chilies etc. Overall I was
really enjoying the joy ride. On our way our dear friend
invited me over to his house of a cup of tea. Initially I
resisted the idea but then he pulled out the caste card and I
had to agree. So I met up with his parents, wife and kids,
had a nice warm cup of milk at his house. After spending
half an hour I requested him to give me directions to the
ashram. Instead of giving directions, our friend decided to
drop me outside a Shiva temple in a village called
Khan wara, which served as an ashram for parikramawasis
too. When I had started in the morning, Omkareshwar was
about 50 plus kilometres and by the time, I retired for the
day, I was barely 12 km away. After experiencing such
At the Shiv Temple in Khan wara

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encounters, I would be a fool to claim Parikrama as my
doing. I was really overwhelmed by the day and its events
as I entered the temple. The only reward of bhakti after all
is, bhakti reinforced and rejuvenated. I was about to collect
the reward for my bhakti here.
A really old man probably in his eighties welcomed me

inside the temple. He made me feel comfortable and even
got me a pot full of mahi (buttermilk) for refreshment. The
temple had a beautiful vigraha (idol) of Narmada Mayya on
the rst oor, I went and took darshan. Since I was the rst
one to walk in that day, I secured a nice corner, laid out my
asan and caught a quick Power Nap. By 6 in evening, the
temple had a dozen parikramawasis who had decided to
retire there for the day. Young boys from village soon
gathered and decided to throw us parikramawasis a feast of
a local delicacy called, Daal Ba a. While the food was being
cooked, parikramawasis started doing their evening Artis.
All the Durbars were laid out, lamps lit, some sang Artis out
loud, some to themselves. Soon we had all nished our
artis and were busy wrapping our durbar back for travel.
Only one elderly maharaj with his Asan laid out right next
to me was still engaged in an elaborate outlay of his durbar.
He was taking his own sweet time, engrossed in his
devotional service. After setting his durbar to his
satisfaction, he lit the lamp, closed his eyes and with a
voice that lled the entire temple, started singing his artis.
He had such heavy and yet such soothing voice, suddenly
the whole crowd in the temple stopped doing whatever
they were doing to listen to him sing. He sang all his artis in
that magical voice of his, while we sat enraptured by his
voice and skilful singing. There was a loud cheer of
Narmade Harr after he nished. Everyone cheered him for
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the enthralling performance. Soon after the artis, dinner
was served. The youngs boys from village served us
insisting that we keep eating until we could eat no more.
There was a lot of customary Indian persuasive feeding till
we were totally gorged and had to beg not to be served
anymore.
After dinner, cleaning and closing of the kitchen, one by

one men, women and children from the village started
pouring into the temple. Soon the small hall was packed to
its limit with villagers. The night started with requests for
bhajan singing made to the maharaj with the enchanting
voice. Inspired by his melodious and devotional rendering,
the villagers started singing their own bhajans. The whole
mandir was lled with devotional vibes. A Chaitanya
mahaprabhu like moment of my life, of course I wasn’t
dancing and singing but it was one of the most immersive
moment of bhakti bhav of my life. I was asked to sing a
bhajan in Marathi and I sang one dedicated to Shree Datta
guru. It was spiritually one of the most ful lling evenings
during parikrama for me. The temple was intoxicated by
devotional fervour, the spiritual atmosphere was charged to
its limit. By 11:30, slowly we started reminding each other,
that we had an early start the next morning. The Bhajans
however went on till mid night and thus came to end one of
the most glorious days of parikrama. That night I could
visualise the true culture of India as it must have been
before advent of the Muslims and British. A small, self
su cient and religious village where pilgrims were fed at
the temples, the youth willingly participated and enjoyed
feeding the pilgrims and sadhus. A society that comes
together to sing glories of Lord every evening. The true
spirit of a temple as the house of the lord, dedicated to
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serving devotees and singing of his glory. It was one of the
most peaceful sleep I had during parikrama, this one
evening was perhaps everything I ever wanted to
experience when I stepped out for parikrama.
‘ मद् भागवत’ (१२.३.५२)

कृते यद् यतो तायां यजतो मखैः ।
प प च यां कलौ तद् ह नात् ॥ ५२ ॥
Dhyan of Vishnu, in Satyug, Great Yagnas in Treta, Due and Ritualistic worshipping of God
in Dwapar, and Hari naam kirtan in Kali, yield the same result…
Or in words of Shree Goswami Tulsidasji….
"कलयुग केवल नाम अधारा, मर- मर नर उतर पारा"

In Kaliyug there is no other way to transcend the ocean of samsara, except chanting God’s
holy name…
I had thoroughly enjoyed my devotional evening and my

heart felt so much love for mayya. My parikrama was
guided and inspired by Mayya. She ensured that I stayed
focused, healthy, did not lose my precious time and ener y
on mindless gossip mongering and utilised almost all my
time in chanting lord’s name. My phone was used mostly
for taking pictures which have remained private so far and
shared only in this book. No social media, no videos, no
endless phone calls only critical communication is what the
phone was used for. Even the mind chatter had died and
nothing of my life left behind distracted me anymore. This
is one true miracle of Narmada Parikrama. In Mayya’s lap,
like in a doting mother’s, there is no yardstick measuring
one’s spiritual worthiness before granting fruits, this was
simply pure play of love. A mother does not think whether
or not the child deserves her care and love, her love is
हिं
द्वा
श्री
श्री
रे
रि
ध्या
र्या
वि
ष्णुं
त्रे
रि
सि
की
र्त
सि
g
unconditional. Every parikramawasi experiences this
unconditional love of Mayya as per her / his chitta
pravruttis (persona, that’s as close as English language can
come to explain) but the common denominator of all
experiences remains realisation of her undeserving
indulgence in each and every parikramawasi’s welfare.

श्री
1. Every desire ful illed will bring with it: A. Fear of losing it
B. Fear of someone else having the same or better object
& C. Replacement desire for better or completely
different desire.
2. Worry is faith gone bad.

श्री
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Tenet 8 - सुर मं र त मूल वास: - Renounce ALL
comfort & rejoice in your Sanyas:
‘वै रा ग र स स्
Dispassion Renunciation Indi erence Asceticism
Detachment will lead to renunciation, renunciation to

indi erence & indi erence will ultimately bring true colour
of asceticism to chitta (conscious being). When a
parikramawasi steps out of the house, she/he cannot do so
without rst having some वैरा (dispassion) in heart.
Leaving the comforts and attachments of the household,
she/he is now actively engaged in ग (renunciation /
sacri ce). Depending on the readiness of heart and depth
of spiritual wisdom, she/he will soon experience र
(indi erence / detachment) and once the detachment is
ripe, she/he will enjoy the true bliss of a sanyasi (renunciate

वि
त्या
श्री
न्या
क्ती
ff
ग्य
ff
ff
fi
fi
दि
ff
रु
नि
ग्य
त्या
वि
क्ती
/ monk). Parikrama, is the quickest and most assured route
to asceticism for a householder. In my opinion, no serious
spiritual growth is possible without following through these
steps by a honest seeker.
The privilege and power one feels in white dhoti and

wooden sta is incomparable. I would, however, like to
make a humble suggestion here to all my fellow
parikramawasis that never complaint about the quality of
food and service being provided by the devotees of mayya.
Never ask for more unless o ered, never complaint about
the shortcomings and respect the boundaries of your host.
Always be smiling and extremely humble in receiving. I
have witnessed really smug parikramawasis who think it is
their birthright to receive service from society. The rule of
sanyas is, one can expect nay demand from God but only
receive with utmost humility from the society. If one as
much as even attempts to renounce, Mayya will saturate
one’s being with Vaira ya (detachment) of a siddha yogi.
Thus equipped with as much Vaira ya as Mayya thought I

deserved, I walked into Omkareshwar. I had even managed
to reach a couple of days before Mahashivratri and there
was no way then that I would want to miss the auspicious
night. We went straight to the Shree Gajanan Maharaj
Bhakta Niwas, an ashram run and maintained by devotees
of a saint from Maharashtra Shree Gajanan Maharaj. A
special dormitory is maintained only for parikramawasis.
After resting a bit, I stepped out to get a feel of
Omkareshwar in the evening.
Omkareshwar is one of the most prominent jyotirlinga

situated on the con uence of Narmada Mayya and Kaveri.
श्री
ff
fl
g
ff
g
The ghats, the ancient temples, Mamleshwar Jyotirlinga
itself are all continuously feeding spiritual ener y into the
devotees chitta. No one goes empty handed from here:
Skandapuran, Reva Khanda, under chapter 29, called

‘the Kaveri Narmada Sangam Mahatmayam’, states:
‘य गङ्गायमुनासङ्गमे आचम पु यवानां यवानां भारतु म् अ

चेत् , कावेरीन दासङ्गमे त व अ गुणा कं ते ।’
The importance of ablution at the con uence of Kaveri & Narmada is eight times that of
ablution done at the con uence of Ganga and Yamuna
Chapter 232, Verse 8:
ष को ष सह ती प प सं ताः
O excellent ones, sixty crore sixty thousand Tīrthas are established along every step of
both her banks, referring to Narmada Mayya.
Further व (shiva), manifested here as two

Shivalingams. One named as Mamleshwar or Amareshwar
and the other as Mandhata Omkareshwar. As a
parikramawasi though, you are allowed to personally go
only to Mamaleshwar, since to reach Mandhata one has to
travel through or over Mayya. Mamleshwar is on southern
banks of Mayya, while Omkareshwar is situated on the
mount which cuts the con uence of Narmada Mayya and
Kaveri. So parikramawasis cannot take darshan of
Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga during parikrama. Adding to the
greatness of Omkareshwar, every Parikrama must end with
o ering the parikrama Jal on top of Mamleshwar and
Omakershwar jyotirlingas as a completion ritual. So
regardless of where one begins Parikrama, after completion
श्री
ष्टिः
ff
दि
टिः
श्री
र्म
ष्टि
शि
fl
स्रा
णि
दे
र्थाः
स्य
fl
ष्ट
fl
दे
ण्यं
दे
धि
स्थि
स्म
र्य
श्रे
ष्ठाः
ल्य
g
स्ति
of the circumambulation one has to go to Omkareshwar
and perform two rituals to mark completion of Parikrama:
1. O er the Parikrama Jal to both the Shiva Lingas;

Mamleshwar and Omkareshwar &
2. Circumambulate the Mandhata Mountain itself, which
is shaped like the word ॐ.
Me reaching Omkareshwar only few days shy of

Mahashivratri, without having thought or planned for it,
was yet another sign of Mayya’s krupa. My entire parikrama
experience can be condensed in just one line in Hindi:
साधना असाधन के गमा , केवल और केवल कृपा से होती !

All spiritual practices are only to rid one’s self of unscrupulous elements within,
Ful lment, on the other hand, is due to grace and grace alone.
Every delay, every shortcut made, every transport taken

or missed, every stay extended or cut short, I felt as if was
just to get me here and now. This was as true with
Parikrama as it is with life, we just don’t see it that way until
Guru Krupa provides us with the insight. Mayya’s sacred
waters were continuously dissolving the impurity of ego
within and once precipitate of ego is washed, pure residue
left in heart is realisation of uninterrupted ow of krupa.
Sitting in one place now for two days, I could rest my

body in the positively charged space of the holy tirtha.
Chanting automatically intensi ed in that ener y eld and
as a result the perennial thought ripples on the surface of
consciousness abetted signi cantly. All of this lead to, I
believe, a bit of chitta, atma and sharir shuddhi (cleansing
of mind, soul and body) in preparation for what lay ahead
श्री
ff
fi
त्या
त्र
है
प्रा
प्ति
fi
fi
fl
g
fi
है
on the day and night of Mahashivratri. My true bhav of
surrender on that auspicious day was:
मं हीनं याहीनं भ हीनं जना न।

य तं मया व! प पू तद मे॥
I lack knowledge of mantras,rituals and I am devoid of devotion my Lord
But I still pray to you my God, please accept my prayers and grant them ful lment.
On the day of Mahashivratri, I had the privilege of

participating in a Laghu Rudrabhishekh as a Yajman (host)
along with a venerable fellow devotee inside the sanctum of
revered Shree Chandramauleshwar Mahadev mandir. As
the powerful voices of 11 pundits echoed in the small
sanctum of the
t e m p l e
overlooking
Narmada Mayya’s
Gomukh ghat, the
vibrations of
those mantra
incantations were
as if preparing my
whole being for
the night to come.
During Laghu Rudra Abhishek inside The head pundit
च मौले र मं र
who organised
t h e
Rudrabhishekh,
also turned out to be one of the priests in charge of
Shringar aarti at the Mamleshwar Temple. Following laghu
rudrabhishekh, the same pundit and his team o ered to do
150,000 recitations of Mahamrutyunjay Mantra on the eve
of Mahashivratri. Thus with fully cleansed and primed

श्री
न्द्र
त्र
त्पू
जि
श्व
क्रि
दि
दे
क्ति
रि
र्ण
स्तु
र्द
श्री
fi
ff
body, mind and soul, we started the Mahamrutyunjay Jap at
second prahar of Mahashivratri, which started at 21:27 Hrs
and the jaap continued well into the fourth prahar that
started at 03:39 Hrs next day morning. Parallel to the jap,
the pundits also initiated the ritual of praying to a thousand
tiny shiva
lingams, c alled
the Sahastra
Lingarchan Pooja.
A ritual that
became more
prevalent in MP
due to Ahilya
Devi, who made
this pooja her
annual ritual. The
Ya ya and Pooja
went on till the
last prahar of
Mahashivratri.
After the
completion of
Ya ya and
Mahamrutyunjay
10,000 recitations of Mahamrutyunjay Mantra & Japa count, we
Yagnya
went inside the
inner sanctum of
Mamleshwar
temple and I was given the privilege of doing Narmada Jal
abhishek on the Mamleshwar shiva Lingam with my hands
on such an auspicious parva (auspicious time and
occasion). We nally retired at about 04:30 AM the next
day. As I hit the sack, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed
श्री
g
g
fi
at being given so much against such small e ort from my
side. I felt like the luckiest person on earth. No personal
resources, nor any planning, or even intent was at play
here and yet there I was at a Jyotirlinga, that too on an
auspicious parva of Mahashivratri doing Jaap, Tap, Ya ya
and lingam Pooja. God’s Krupa is limitless and is eternally showered
upon everyone, personal manifestation, however, comes only through
having unshakeable faith in that Krupa.
Divine providence works
unbiased, just the way, Sun does not distinguish between a
pious and sinner. God’s krupa knows no distinction, we just
need to understand its true nature and we will witness it in
every thing. Through his preachings, My Guru showed me
the path whereas Parikrama and Mayya’s grace were now in
the process of providing me with the experiences that
Leaving Omkareshwar early morning

श्री
ff
g
would forever cement that path for me. My Guru’s
preachings were becoming my experiences.
After an absolutely gratifying experience at

Omkareshwar, it was time to move on. Mayya had planned
plenty more soul satisfying experiences for me, I just had to
follow her plan. One last time, I roamed the magical ghats
of Omkareshwar capturing some magical moments on my
phone camera in the early morning. The calm waters of
mayya and the red ball of sun rising over the swinging
bride, the colourful motorboats moored by its shore, the
cha ed rocks looking like matted of hair of व made my
heart swell with love. Taking in that majestic view one last
time, I turned around for the journey onwards.
My next stop on the way was to be Siyaram Baba Ashram,

Teliya Bhatyan. A saint I had heard a great deal about from
every parikramawasi I had met. When the decision to do
Narmada Parikrama became certain, a subtle desire to be
able to meet and talk to at least one siddha purush (a
perfected soul that has attained liberation) arose within and
kept getting stronger with every passing day. I only had one
question for every parikramawasi I met, are there any
liberated souls still residing by the shores of Mayya and are
they accessible to us parikramawasis. There are many, I
was told, but most are not accessible, many great ones have
departed but one name is a legend and is accessible to one
and all, Siyaram baba. So from a very long time, I have
been waiting for this day and time to arrive when I would
be face to face with Siyaram baba. I was so excited to meet
this mahatma that I missed two very interesting places on
the way; one, a small village called Bakawan which is the
largest producer of, ‘न र्’ - Narmadeshwar (colourful
श्री
ff
र्म
दे
श्व
श्री
शि
rolling stones found in Narmada Mayya’s basin or shores).
Every stone found in the river bed of Narmada Mayya, is
believed to have ‘Shiva Tattva’ (Shiva Consciousness) in it
and hence does not require ‘Pran
Pratishtha’ (Consecration). At Bakawan, a whole industry
has evolved
around shing
t h e s e
Narmadeshwars,
rounding up and
poli shing them
and selling them
all across India.
The whole village
does just that and
depending on
designs found
naturally on these
stones and their
size, each stone
fetches di erent
market value. The
price could range
from a couple of
hundred bucks to
a few lakhs. The
second place I
missed was the
resting place of
great Maratha
View of Siyarambaba’s ashram and the tree under King, Bajirao
which he did penance
Peshve at
Raverkhedi. A
श्री
fi
ff
samadhi in his memory is constructed here and is
considered a heritage site.
I was very excitedly as I walked down the dirt road

leading to Siyaram babas ashram. A narrow dirt road that
goes through a small village at rst and then opens up to
the banks of Mayya with small stalls on both sides selling
trinkets and Prasad. At the very end of this road is a single
storey building where Siyaram Baba has resided for over a
few decades now. The door to the ashram opens into a
small parlour on the ground oor where Siyaram baba is
found sitting and blessing devotees from 7 AM till about 9
PM, seven days a week, 365 days a year, without exception.
Baba generally retires to his chambers very late and is up
by Brahmā Muhurat for his legendary dip in Mayya, which
only the fortunate ones are able to witness. Another legend
Siyaram Baba in his money counting Leela…

श्री
fl
fi
has it, that he only makes tea with his own hands, once a
day and then the same tea is served all day long from the
same kettle which never runs out no matter how much tea
is served. I was also told that Siyaram baba only takes Ten
rupees from every devotee who wishes to o er him money.
He returns the balance money, which most devotees then
keep as prasad for good luck and prosperity. In his youth,
Siayaram Baba performed very intense penance for 12
years, standing in one spot and reading Ramcharitmanas.
He was supported under his arms by a small wooden frame
hanging from the branch of the tree underneath which he
did his penance. The spot where Baba stood and did this
penance was right by the banks of Mayya and practically
every monsoon Mayya would be ooded and water levels
would rise taking baba completely under the roaring
mayya. The villagers would move to safer high point but
Siyaram Baba would un inchingly stay rooted to his spot.
Many a times, he would be completely submerged under
water lost to the sight of villagers for days on end, only to
re-emerge unscathed. I was told endless stories of this saint
and his Siddhi’s throughout Parikrama. In my mind, there
was no doubt that he was a God realised saint and I
considered myself extremely lucky to be sitting there in
that parlour.
When I stepped into the ashram, I could see a long frail

and bend gure of Siyaram baba, sitting on his Asan,
absorbed in some activity. His devotees welcomed me
inside and made me comfortable. I was lucky, it was just
me, Baba and one assistant that morning in his parlour. I
had left my backpack at the door as I walked in, so I
squatted in front of Siyaram Baba at a distance of odd 8 10
feet from him, closed my eyes and started chanting, राम
श्री
fi
fl
fl
ff
श्री
-
जय राम जय जय राम ! The assistants did not bother me either
and let me continue. I think I must have sat chanting at his
feet for a good hour before opening my eyes to survey my
surroundings. A small chamber, with Siyaram baba’s bed at
one end, the door on the opposite side, small sitting back-
less benches placed along the other two free walls for
devotees to sit and then there was that famous kettle on a
stove. The original structure seemed wooden but
reinforced with concrete at a later date. Baba did not talk to
anyone, except his close devotees. In front of him, on a
wooden stand lay spread out, what I think, was a large copy
of Goswami Tulsidas’s Ramayan. Once in a while, Baba
would turn the leaf of the Ramayan and then get back to
doing what he was. At the time I visited his parnashala
(wooden shelter), I was told, he was 100 plus of age. From
the looks, I believe he must have been more than average in
height and very fair in his youth. He was, however, not very
mobile anymore but totally conscious of his activities even
at such an advanced age. Upon closer observation, I
realised that Siyaram Baba has been actually counting
money all this while. At rst, I found the sight a bit strange
and thought of it as perhaps some eccentric way of an aging
holy man to keep himself busy. Much later, however, it
occurred to me that perhaps sensing my weakness for
hoarding money, maybe he was showing me the futility of
counting money in his own way. It made me ponder over a
very pragmatic advise given by my Guru, with regards to
money. He used to say, ‘it is ok to save some money for a rainy day,
especially for a householder but care must be taken that one does not feel
the support of money. One should rely for everything only on God’s grace
and nothing else’.
I have since called his entire day’s money
counting drama as a Leela to curb my Id’ee xe for money.

श्री
fi
fi
At one PM, one of the attendees told me to go inside for
lunch. A small back door to the parlour opened up into the
backyard of the ashram and immediately after that was a
small ashram that could easily sleep 15 20 parikramawasis.
Sitting mats were rolled out for us parikramawasis for us to
sit on and have lunch. By now there were 4 5 of us
parikramawasis having arrived at the ashram. The lunch
was simple roti, sabji and dal chawal. After lunch, as I took
out my plate for washing, a young energetic voice said, न
हर महाराज, प चाना (Recognise me)? I turned around and
looked at a young face, thick black beard and moustaches,
soiled clothes, a turban like head-wrap and a boyish smile. I
tried hard but nothing, nada, zilch. Out of modesty, I
smiled back as genuinely as I possibly could, assuring the
young man that his face was familiar but couldn’t quite
recollect his name or where we had met. I am Shiv, he said
introducing himself, we had met at an ashram one early
morning, odd 40 Km from Omkareshwar. I once again
faked recollection of our meeting and though I
remembered the incident itself, I couldn’t place the face. I
made some small talk with Shiv and went back into the
parlour where Siyaram Baba was sitting. Shiv, I noticed
went back to the ashram, got on his phone and started
talking to someone.
I kept sitting at the parlour till 4:00 after which a steady

stream of day visitors started pouring in. A few tempo
tracks with 10 12 passengers, a bus with 40 45 passengers,
then some bikers showed up in a brief period of one hour.
It was now getting very crowded in the small parlour, with
frantic sel es, videos and pics being taken by enthusiastic
devotees. Realising that I am occupying precious space in
an already over-crowded parlour, I stepped out and sat on
श्री
fi
हे
-
-
-
-
र्म
दे
the steps of the ghat overlooking mayya and was lost in my
chanting in no time. I had all forgotten about Shiv’s
introductory brief during lunch but apparently Shiv hadn’t.
As I sat peacefully, eyes closed Shiv came and sat next to
me and started conversing innocently assuming that I
wanted to have a conversation too. Amused at the ability of
this boy to chat up just about anyone, I realised I had
started to take a liking at his innocent and witty rambling.
We had some tea and in half an hour, Shiv had given me a
download on his entire life sketch. Eldest son in the family,
a farmer by profession with a large ancestral farmland on
the outskirts of Narsingpur, Yadav by caste, he had started
his parikrama from Narsingpur and was a paidal
parikramawasi (those who prefer walking it all the way and
refuse to take transport at all). He went on to tell me how
before starting parikrama he had a weakness for beer, but
had given up booze since he decided to come for
parikrama, and how no matter how hard he tried he still
couldn’t get rid of his addiction for Bidis. I could gather that
he had very little or no formal education, his younger
brother was studying but did not show much promise in
academics, whereas his youngest sister was very ambitious
and was prepping herself for UPSC etc etc. Most of the time
during this monologue, he kept me laughing at his innocent
and silly humour. After some more gossips, he got a little
serious and wanted my opinion on whether or not he
should start walking, now that he had taken the darshan of
Siyaram Baba. This struck a cord of concern in me, though
every parikrama was unique just as is every parikramawasi,
I did not quite understand this concept of just walking as if
it was some race to nish. Every parikramawasi I had met
till now seemed to be in a hurry to nish. Walking seemed
to be the only thing that mattered. There was no thought
श्री
fi
fi
process involved, no ‘sadhana’ to be practiced, no faith to
be nourished and enriched. Daily Km logs were exchanged
with as much zeal and competitiveness as sales targets
achieved in weekly corporate meetings. Generally, I would
ignore such observations and not get judgemental at all but
somehow, this boy did not deserve my indi erence. So I
decided to give him some elderly advise on how he should
slow down a bit to actually experience parikrama as a
spiritual undertaking and since we were in presence of
such a holy saint, he shouldn’t make haste. He should try
and stay in the spiritually charged atmosphere generated
by the intense penance done by the saint in this very place.
Heavy penance done by such remarkable saints, create
ener y reservoir for seekers like us, who have very little
merit of their own but when they come within range of
such epicentres of spiritual ener y, get charged simply by
contact.
Skanda Puran - Reva Khanda:
यद् जपं कृतं दानं च न दाती कृतं चेत् शा तं भवेत!

All the Jap and Dana done at the shores of Narmada becomes imperishable, meaning one
cannot exhaust the merit earned, through bhog.
A great percentage of parikramawasis that I came across,

would do the Artis religiously twice a day but the rest of the
time was spend doing exactly what they did back home.
They would be glued to their phones or they would wile
away the entire time gossiping and doing small talk with
fellow parikramawasis. Torturing body by making it walk
endlessly cannot be the ultimate objective of parikrama.
Since, in most cases, the parikramawasis are simpletons
from villages, the walking brings in them feeling of

श्री
g
र्म
रे
श्व
g
ff
entitlement to food and shelter. They complaint bitterly
about the food being served or facilities provided. They
engage in snide conversations about each other and watch
you tube videos hours on end. To me it all looked like such
a waste of once a lifetime opportunity for making spiritual
advancements. Not being judgemental but just out of
concerned love, I strongly recommended Shiv to stay the
night at Siyaram baba, seek his blessings and then start
walking the next day. After much discussion, he nally
relented.
At night after the Artis and dinner, Shiv shared the same
pages from the guide book for paidal parikramawasis as
Tailor Maharaj. I gladly took the pics on my phone but for
some strange reason, throughout the journey, I either
depended on whoever I walked with or Mayya’s concealed
guidance. At about 09:30, I was coming back into the
ashram after a leisurely post dinner walk when I found out
that Siyaram baba was still in the parlour. I quickly took the
opportunity to sit at his feet and chant some more. The
atmosphere now was much more relaxed as Baba’s
devotees cum volunteers were packing the place up for the
day. Baba gave instructions from time to time and I could
see they were carried out verbatim. Soon it would be time
for baba to retire. In the entire day, no one seem to have
asked baba a single question on adhyatma (spirituality) and
that somehow pinched my heart. Even though his blessings
were enough, how could I part the company of such an
accomplished soul without getting some satsang. So I
enquired with one of the volunteers if Baba ever responds
to any spiritual queries made in person. I detected a spark
of enthusiasm in his eyes. All the sevaks (devotees o ering
him personal service) got excited and send me a message
श्री
ff
fi
back that they would signal me after asking Baba his
permission. Eventually one of the sevaks very coyly asked
baba if I could have his satsang on adhyatma. Baba smiled
generously and said why not and all eyes turned to me. I
went and sat really close to his feet, I had rehearsed one
question in my mind but out of respect and humility, I
couldn’t nd my voice. I whispered so softly Baba could not
hear my question. Since he could hear nothing, he looked
at his assistants for help. I again tried my level best but
couldn’t bring myself to speak too loudly, I just felt very
embarrassed to raise my voice. So the volunteers came to
my rescue and asked him on my behalf. Baba smiled and
responded very kindly. My question to him was, ‘no matter
how hard I try I am unable to nd focus in my sadhana’. I did not tell
him what my sadhana was but his answer suggested he
knew. He did not look at me directly but was more focused
on his hands when he spoke. He told me that it is di cult to
x ones mind on Japa for a long time and mind tends to
wander a lot, instead, I should try reading one page of
Ramayan every day. While reading, the mind remains
focused and absorbed thereby keeping it from getting
distracted. Even if one reads, one page of Ramayan every
day, one would progress very rapidly along the path of
Paramartha. I have followed that advise to the best of my
abilities till date and it has worked. I could see child like
delight in the eyes of all the village folks as Baba spoke,
must be a rare occasion I thought.
Once baba retired to his room, the attendants came and

thanked me for asking Baba a question. At least they could
hear some satsang from him. The simple village folks
around him were so overwhelmed by his presence that
they had no courage to ask him anything themselves but
श्री
fi
fi
fi
ffi
they really craved to hear his satsang, hence all the
excitement and gratitude. Later we all moved to the ashram
to share more legends and experiences of Siyaram baba.
The legends narrated before in this chapter were gathered
during this session with the old village folks, who had
witnessed his intense Sadhna rst hand. One elderly person
told us that before all the dams were built, Mayya used to
ow ercely and would swell up during every monsoon.
For many days, the whole village would relocate to a safer
place on a higher ground. Siyaram baba, however, would
continue his penance at the same spot. The water would
ow with such
ferocit y that it
would take
everything in it’s
path, except
Siyaram baba.
Every year, there
would be at least
a few days, when
water would rise
to the levels
where the
villagers would
lose sight of
Siyaram Baba and
every year they
would fear hi s
death and every
ye a r h e wou l d
Shiv taking break at a village during our walk e m e r g e
unscathed. After
this long and
fl
श्री
fl
fi
fi
arduous penance, when he rst spoke to the villagers, his
rst words were, Siya Ram and hence the name Siyaram
baba. Siyaram baba has become so famous in last 20 30
years that if he had wanted to, he would have built dozens
of ashrams around the country and overseas, made tons of
money and lived like a king. Instead, he chooses to live like
a fakir, clad only in his langoti (loincloth), blessing
thousands of devotees day in and day out. Whatever is
o ered here is either given away in charity to other
ashrams or used in service of parikramawasis like us.
I slept content that night knowing that I had an

opportunity to spend a whole day and night at the feet of
such an accomplished soul.
पु व ल ते सुकृ स ग भा॥
Company of enlightened souls is very rare indeed and only comes
through great merit of pious deeds..
I woke up slightly late the next day and as I stepped out

of the ashram for freshening up, I could see some
parikramawasis staring at the rst oor balcony of the
Siyaram baba’s parnashala. Upon enquiring, I was told that,
no one has really seen Siyaram baba go and take a dip in
Mayya but he appears washed and clean every morning in
his balcony clad in a Langoti (loincloth) with ashes smeared
all over his body. We have been up since 05:30 and are
waiting for his darshan. Around 06:30, his frail body
appeared walking along the balcony, exactly as described.
He is believed to have crossed 100 and owing to his old age
and extreme penance, he is no more able to stand erect but
even at this age and frail physical state, he still came down
the stairs, looking bathed n groomed, wearing a fresh

fi
श्री
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ण्यै
रे
हि
भ्य
ति
भिः
त्सं
ति
fi
र्दु
र्ल
fi
fl
-
loincloth and smeared in ashes. We all prostrated at his feet
with a loud cheer of Narmade Harr, he looked at us with an
angelic smile and walked inside the parlour to start his day.
I left with this image of a great soul imprinted in my heart
and mind. As I started my day, I had company after many
many days of solitary walking.
Mayya had planted Shiv in the journey for purposes not

known to me yet. But he was a great company to have.
Talkative, funny, a little lazy and tardy but overall a good
company during parikrama. I could leave him alone
whenever I wanted to chant and he would nonchalantly get
on phone with his GF, parents or brothers for hours at end
and whenever I felt I could use a break, he would be back,
keeping me entertained. Shiv, I amusingly decided, was
going to be my lead. He referred to his book and declared
that we should try and make it to a village called Lepa for
lunch. We had left Siyaram Baba’s ashram without tea or
bal bhog and that to me wasn’t a big deal, I left most
ashrams like that in any case. However, ve minutes into
the walk I realised just how desperate Shiv could get for his
rst cup. I looked at him with those eyes of wisdom and
told him Mayya will arrange for tea, don’t you worry. Five
minutes after I said those words, we spotted the
Ramkrishna Hari seva ashram and Shiv got his life support,
tea. The walk through villages that were not poor was a
good experience, people though not very rich were content
and happy. Every village we passed through would have
one or more temples and I had made it a habit to stop at
every temple, put down my bag, take o my sandals, step
in and pray for at least a minute. This exasperated Shiv at
times, he would childishly complain, ‘are Abhi to ho aye
Maharajji kab pahuchenge hum Lepa’ (You have barely nished

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praying at the previous temple and now you want to go into
this one too, God only knows when will we reach Lepa). He
would never say no to tea and I would never pass a mandir
without stopping. But we still made it just in time to Lepa
for our lunch. Lepa has a very beautiful Ram mandir, the
premises of which also serve as ashram for parikramawasis.
Ram mandir come Lepa Asrham for Parikramawasis
I took the opportunity to sit alone inside the Ram mandir to

chant as we waited for lunch. After nishing the chanting as
I got up to go for lunch, I noticed a small picture frame of
Neem Karori baba and Ramdas (his famous disciple from
the US) kept inside the shrine at Ramjis feet. Neem Karori
baba is a famous Ram bhakta saint from Kainchi near
Nainital and yet, here I nd his photo frame in a small
temple, in a remote village in MP. Faith works in mysterious
ways, barely 8 Km away from Siyaram Baba’s ashram, there
is no photo of him in the temple but there is one of Neem

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Karori Baba
thousands of
miles away and
not even alive.
After lunch, Shiv

went o to sleep
and I sat on the
doorsteps of the
room for
parikramawasi s
clicking some pics
and observing the
q u i t e
Female devotees o ering milk to Nandi
neighbourhood.
Suddenly there
was clamour at
the small Shiv temple in front of me. It seemed there was
this rumour in MP that day that Nandi at the doorsteps of
Shiv temples is having milk given by devotees and the
rumour spread like a wild re over what’s app. There were
women dressed in colourful sarees and carrying milk bowls
trying their luck with Nandi at all temples in and around
Lepa at least. I could tell from the loud discussions and
frenzy that the Nandi I was witnessing wasn’t being very
cooperative thereby disappointing most ladies who had
come to see him drink milk. Boys were making fun of their
mothers, elder sisters and anyone else who came trying
their luck. The frenzy lasted for an hour and died just as
quickly. India and its super charged belief systems can be
hilarious at times.

श्री
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fi
While I was witnessing this interesting facade, Shiv
nished his siesta and I could tell he was itching for his
cuppa. But the pundit had closed the kitchen after lunch
and taken o for his afternoon nap too. Just then a bubbly
character, walked up to us, enquiring if we had lunch and a
good rest. Young and charming, he got comfortable with us
in under a minute. It was nearing 4:00 so he even o ered
us tea and I just couldn’t help but turn around to see the
expressions on Shiv’s face, priceless! Content and satis ed
by the cuppa, we heaved bags on our shoulders and were
about to step out when this young man asked if he could
The Mangilal Verma Sel e recovered after a year
take a sel e with us, we obviously agreed and left Lepa no

more thinking of this young man or the sel e he took. A
year later, I had a chance to do parikrama by bus and
incidentally the bus stopped at Lepa again for lunch. I
immediately knew I had been here before and as a happy
coincidence, that young chap, whose name now I found out
was Mangilal Verma was our host. A year later when I met
Mangilal, I reminded him that he had taken a sel e with us
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about a year back and after tracking the exact date we were
able to dig the sel e on his phone. Viola! right there on his
phone screen appeared Shiv, myself and Mangilal.
We left Lepa at about 4 but the hot sweltering sun was
still beating us down. We were being forced to take break
every half hour or 45 minutes and progress past noon time
The open to air ashram
was now becoming tardy. Stopping under trees and bushes

at times, we passed the yet un-commissioned dam and
reached the bridge crossing the Beda river. We must have
barely walked two hours and were already looking for place
to rest or at least another cup of tea for Shiv. Past the bridge
as we came up a slope, we could see sa ron ags uttering
on top of a small mount adjacent to the road. The hike was
not much and it seemed worth an attempt to get there and
try our luck for some refreshments. So we got up the

श्री
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mount where an elderly lady, probably in her late sixties
welcomed us.
The kind lady o ered us tea and also insisted that we stay
at the ashram for the night. Though we still had an hour of
daylight to get to the next ashram, our hostess pressed hard
and we didn’t have the heart to say no, so we stayed. The
ashram was run by the lady and her husband. As we
relaxed, nourishing our refreshing piping hot cup of tea,
our host started narrating story of how she and her
husband started the ashram for parikramawasis with
absolutely no resources and no plan. I am a sucker for a
good story of Mayya’s Krupa and was all ears. She and her
husband had left home 7 years back. For about 5 years,
they remained in Parikrama staying and o ering their seva
at various ashrams along the banks of Mayya. Ashrams are
always on lookout for volunteers to provide Shram Dana
(Seva o ered in terms of physical labour). Wife would cook
and serve, while husband would keep the ashram clean and
also go get whatever charity in terms of food and money
from villages neighbouring the ashram. They nally
nished their parikrama some two years back and were
inspired to open an ashram for parikramawasis themselves.
With no resources or land, they wandered for a while and
chanced upon this spot of land where the villagers o ered
them the land and necessary support to start an ashram. Its
been two years now, she told us, they have been serving
hundreds of parikramawasis and Mayya has not let a single
parikramawasi go hungry from their ashram. Tears rolled
down her cheeks as she narrated Mayya’s divine grace.
Sometimes days would go by when they would have barely
enough ration to feed themselves and yet, just before a big
group of parikramawasis were to arrive they would receive
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random supply from unknown donors just in time to serve
the parikramawasis. The supplies would always be
provided ahead of time to meet the requirements, not once
have they been required to go asking around last minute or
turn down the parikramawasis for lack of ration. Once
again words of my Guru rang in my ears, ‘All one has to do is
transfer the entire burden to God and he will have no option but to
provide’.After the lady had nished narrating the heart
warming story, I decided to utilise the remaining time
taking a nice bath under the tap out in the open and
washing my clothes. When we had arrived at the ashram,
the husband had gone to collect some donation from a
village nearby and was back by the time I nished my
chores. White owing beard, slim and looking extremely t
for his age he had a look of a sadhu. His being radiated
peace and wisdom. After listening to a few more stories of
Mayya’s leelas from the couple, we slept peacefully under
the sky. The extra nip in the morning air woke us up at
around 04:30 the next day.
We had initially planned on leaving early so we could

maximise on the more pleasant rst half. However I had
begun to realise that Shiv was clearly not an early morning
person. Even if he did get up as promised, he wold move
around so slowly that it would be exhausting just to watch
him get ready and god forbid if he got o ered tea, he would
not budge from the place, unless that promised cup of tea
went down his throat. It was my second morning with Shiv
and I realised, it would be impossible to push him any
more, I will just have to be patient with his mornings. So
instead of leaving at 5:00, we left at 6:00. This delay too
was for a reason. Morning walks were usually brisk and
easy, so we kept the pace up. Soon, we came up on one of

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Captive shores of Mayya
the most beautiful and walkable stretch along the banks of

Mayya so far. The view was scenic and the walk on the
green grass comforting. We must have walked for about an
hour on the beautiful shore when Shiv found a fresh
blanket fallen on the ground. We knew instinctively that the
blanket belonged to a parikramawasi and it was dropped
quite recently given its state. In order to catch up, we
started walking a little faster hoping to catch up with the
poor fellow who had lost the blanket. Soon enough, we
could see a tall silhouette gure of a parikramawasi in some
distance, we yelled Narmade Harr at top of our voices and
when he turned around, waved the blanket at him. He
pulled around his back pack to see if it was his and waved
back at us con rming our doubt. We caught up with our
new friend and handed him his blanket. Our fellow

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parikramawasi, a retired government servant had come all
the way from Haryana. Tall, fair with matted hair he looked
very elegant like a Rishi muni. He told us how one day
sitting at his house in Haryana a few years after his
retirement, he had a sudden urge to come for Parikrama.
He had been on parikrama for almost three years now. If in
about a month I felt so connected with Mayya, I could only
imagine how he must be feeling after spending almost three
years. However, when we met, he was really desperate to
get back home. He was su ering from some stomach
ailment and was on a strict milk and fruit diet. His health
made parikrama di cult and now that he was so close to
completing it, he wanted to nish it as quickly as possible
and head home. He walked very slowly but consistently.
Listening to a few of his experiences and some health woes,
we arrived at the Shalivan Shiv temple. On our way to
View of the opposite shore from Shalivan

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Shalivan temple ashram, I caught view of a very captivating
shoreline on the opposite bank. A heritage river waterfront
with enchanting view of a beautiful ghat and what looked
like a large heritage fort. There were also plenty of temples
all along the coast and colourful boats plying along the
mesmerising ghat. The moment I laid my eyes on that
structure, I knew, I wouldn’t want to miss this one spot
during my journey on the other side of Mayya. I pulled out
my phone and clicked as many pics as I could. I did not
know just how long it would take for me to get to the other
side or whether or not I would get to visit the place but I
was in love with the place already. It was perhaps the only
time during Parikrama when I felt like a tourist. I did not
know it then that what I was seeing was the famous ghat of
Maheshwar. However, since both the Haryanvi and Shiv
knew of Ahilya Devi Fort, they couldn’t get my excitement
View of the Shalivan Ashram expanse

श्री
and literally dragged me inside the Shalivan ashram. We
had reached Shalivan at about 10 AM and the sthan dhari
graciously treated us to nice bal bhog, even had fresh fruits
cut for our Haryanvi friend due to his strict diet
requirements. The ashram was spread over at least a few
acres of land along Mayya’s shore. It had all the basic
amenities like enclosed bathrooms and western toilets. I
took an instant liking to the place and decided to stay
overnight and relish the beauty of ashram. Shiv however
had other plans. He wanted to keep walking and did not
want to waste a day, so him and our friend from Haryana
decided to leave. Shiv promised to keep in touch over
phone before he left and thus we parted ways a second
time. I stayed back, until lunch time but now the sadhus
who had provided us our breakfast were missing. There
was no one at the ashram, just me and one other
parikramawasi. I was beginning to get a feeling, that lunch
and dinner might not come easy here and so after resting a
bit, taking a video of the view on the opposite bank and
retrieving dried clothes o the clothes line, I decided to
leave for the next ashram as well, only a few hours behind
Shiv.
During parikrama, just like in life, people come to play a

very speci c role and when they depart that too is to ful l
a very speci c requirement of that role. Incidentally, Shiv
was going to play a very critical role in my parikrama
experience in coming days but his going away at this
juncture too was about to give me one of the most exquisite
experiences of, not just parikrama, but life. So now with
Shiv taking o with our new friend, I was back to walking
alone. Walking alone in parikrama, as rightly told by Tailor
Maharaj, is very conducive to experiencing God’s Krupa
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(divine intervention). When you are alone, your
vulnerabilities are heightened and that leads to intensi ed
dependency on God’s Krupa as you have nowhere else to
look or no one else to depend on. Moreover, since you are
by yourself, the experiences of Krupa become very
personal, establishing a one-on-one relationship with God
and that leaves lasting and often times life changing impact
on your being. You are most likely to get your moment of
epiphany when you are alone and not when in company.
I left Shalivan ashram by noon and tredging through

endless elds I continued my chanting not realising it was
nearing lunch time already. Though the morning breakfast
was decent in quantity, it wasn’t going to last me till dinner.
Hunger had
started troubling
and the endless
elds I was passing
through were
c o m p l e t e ly
unmanned. The
farm hands had
either left for
lunch or were
resting after lunch.
I kept passing
villages after
villages with no
human contact, so
obviously no food
Container o ered for drinking water from @ the Nag was being o ered.
temple😂 Though hungry, I
wasn’t too
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disturbed by it, my faith in Mayya’s providence still
unshaken. After a while, I could see a very small temple
built in the middle of a large eld. If not anything else, I
would at least have found a place to rest in the shade of the
temple, I told myself. But as I got closer, I could see a group
of men sitting behind the Nag temple having their lunch.
As I came closer and was about to pass them, I got greeted
by the customary narmade Harr! Followed by ‘Maharajji
Bhojan paoge, Lekin lasan pyaas wala hai, apko chalega’ (Care to have
lunch but its got garlic and onion and if that’s ok with you,
please have). I told them it was Mayya’s prasad and if
o ered with devotion, I would de nitely eat. I was then
given a small plate, covered with a heap of rice and a hot
pungent curry. Sitting in the mandir that hot afternoon, I
had one of the tastiest meals of my life.
Once again, Mayya timed it so well. One minute earlier,

the group would be busy eating and wouldn’t have noticed
me pass by and a bit later, they would have gone to work in
elds. I thanked mayya for the meal and started walking
through endless elds again. I did not know, where or how
far the next ashram was. Though I had the route, I did not
feel like referring to it, so I kept walking blindly. By 3:30 I
was feeling a bit tired and decided to rest on a makeshift
swing, when a passing tractor o ered me a ride to the next
village. I couldn’t have asked for more and quickly jumped
into a very tiny seat next to the driver. There was no place
to keep my backpack on the tractor, so we left it hanging
between the tractor and a bogey attached behind. The
tractor dropped me at a junction of tar road which I hoped
would lead me to an ashram. I thanked my benefactor and
jumped o the tractor and began walking. I reached out for
my water bottle to take a sip and realised I had dropped my
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water bottle during the ride. That was a bad loss, walking
without a water bottle was dangerous. Anyways, I couldn’t
do much so I kept walking.
By 4:00 I was still lost with no ashram in sight, so I

stopped a passing bike to ask for directions to the nearest
ashram. He started explaining but changed his mind mid
sentence and decided to drop me there himself instead.
After all, the ashram was hardly a Km away. The ashram
was actually a small patio with pony walls and a tin roof on
top. Green nets ran from the walls to the roof for protection
against insects and stray animals. I had no intention of
staying at the ashram, a quick cup of tea, a bit of rest to my
tired feet and shoulders, directions to the next ashram and
I would move on. Two gentlemen sat outside the ashram on
plastic chairs and I made myself comfortable on the
mattresses strewn on the ground outside the ashram. I
found out that the next ashram was barely 4 Km and
immediately decided to get up and leave, I still had the time
and ener y to make it to the next ashram. I thanked the
two gentlemen for their hospitality and was about to swing
the backpack on my shoulders, when a strong commanding
voice boomed from inside the ashram, ‘ क जाओ महाराज,
इतनी भी ज | आज रात क जाओ हमा यहाँ | (what’s the
rush Sir, stay with us for tonight). I hesitated for a minute
but considering the request as Mayya’s command, decided
to stay.
The sadhu whose voice commanded me to stay back, I

found out later, was in fact responsible for setting up of the
ashram. He had a very interesting back story, he originally
came from some remote village in Maharashtra and was
once a successful businessman. One night in a vision he
श्री
क्या
g
ल्दी
है
रु
रे
रु
saw himself dying
with a large heap
of currency notes
on his chest. A
voice addressed
him coming from
everywhere and
nowhere in
speci c asking
him if he wanted
to die a death
with all the
money in the
world or did he
want to get to the
source of it all,
from where there
is no return to
thi s mrut yulok
(abode of death).
Next morning, he
gave up his
Sadhu maharaj at Dhalkheda Ashram b u s i n e s s ,
property and all
belongings and
just walked out
penniless to become a sadhu. He has walked the length and
breadth of India since and had just nished his second
parikrama. He had returned to this ashram only day before
I arrived. While on parikrama, he set up two ashrams, one
on each bank, I was sitting at the second one. I instantly
took a liking to this sadhu. Very few sthan dhari sadhus, I
have seen, work themselves. Mostly they have a team to
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Maharajji in conversation with the Village sarpanch
command while they themselves live a very sedimentary

life. Not this Maharajji though, he was man of action, I did
not see him sitting idle even for a moment. He made us tea,
the second time. Then he got down to cooking the dinner
himself. After cooking, he started his puja. In between, he
even had some visitors whom he personally entertained
and then got back to cooking. All in all, I was taking a liking
for this maharaj. During his sadhana, he told me later, he
roamed all over India and nally came to Mayya’s banks for
parikrama. Here he built, operated and transferred one
ashram on the Northern bank and was now in the process
of doing the same with this ashram on the southern bank.
One of the rare sadhus I witnessed who served the
parikramawasis with a lot of seva bhav and enthusiasm. He
would sweep the ashram, make tea, cook or do whatever it
took to serve a parikramawasi. The Dhalkheda villagers

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supported him equally well. During our chit chat in the
evening, Maharaj asked me out of curiosity about my
Kamandalu, or rather lack of it. I explained that I was
carrying a water bottle instead of Kamandalu but lost it a
few Km back and without missing beat, he picked up his
own Kamandalu and gave it to me. I tried to refuse but he
wouldn’t listen and made me take his Kamandalu. I was so
amazed at Mayya’s providence at work, it had not even
been an hour since I lost my water bottle and Mayya had
come providing me with a Kamandalu. Neither had
anybody asked me before nor did anyone ask me after this,
the only time I was asked and o ered Kamandalu was when
I had lost my water bottle. This Kamandalu that I received
got lost during parikrama but I since I had a water bottle
Mayya didnt bother. Maharajji and his assistant cooked a
nice savoury dinner. It must have been around 8:00sh
when as I sat chatting with Maharajji outside the ashram,
the young boys from Dhalkheda village started coming to
the temple. Within minutes there were a dozen young boys
outside the ashram and in no time a phone was hooked to
the speaker lying at the door and karaoke songs started
streaming.
Music, especially amateur singing has been a passion of

my life. In last month or so, not only had I not listened to a
single song but I did not even sing to myself. I was absorbed
completely in chanting, even while doing the chores I
would be chanting. The music streaming from the speakers
got me really excited, suddenly I was my old self, tapping to
the rhythm and humming to the tune. Out of fear of being
judged, I suppressed my excitement and continued my
conversations with Maharajji. But then, the boys who were
trying to sing were so out of tune and rhythm that after 15
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minutes of listening to their cacophony, I could bear no
more. I excused myself, got up, requested for the mic and
asked them to play one of my favourite Kishor Kumar
karaoke track. It was an instant hit and requests started
ooding in. I looked at Maharaj worrying he might nd it
inappropriate, but he looked just as excited as everyone
else and encouraged me to keep singing. I sang my heart
out for next hour or two. Only a doting mother would give
her child toys in right proportions. After singing that night I
did not feel the need or urge to sing for the reminder of
parikrama. I really felt like Mayya’s prodigal son who gets
everything he lays his eyes on without even having to ask. It
is one thing to provide for basics and necessities but to be
pampered to this extent, all I felt was immense love &
gratitude.
Splendid view of Mayya @ the Mauni Baba Ashram ghat

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I woke up early morning the next day to leave the
ashram. Maharajji had already gotten up and even had tea
ready for me. He asked me one last time to stay a few more
days but I turned him down very humbly and thanking him
and everyone else at the ashram was out of there while it
was still pitch dark outside.
All the singing from the previous evening had kindled a

new spirit. By 9 I had already reached a very beautiful
ashram called the Mauni Baba ashram, Balgaon. Spread
over a few acres of fertile land, the vast ashram has
sprawling trees, a
large open room
that can hold
about 100
parikramawasis,
clean well kept
gardens and one of
the most beautiful
shores of Mayya.
Remote and
unpolluted, the
clear blue waters
ow over the
colourful stones
giving it a coral
Enjoying the bullock cart ride
reef feel. It was
very di cult to
overcome the
temptation of stepping into the cool waters. But I just sat
there on the shores, meditating and chanting for a good
hour all the same. It was soon time to start walking and I
left the ashram after having some tea. Instead of water
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bottle though, I was lling up my kamandalu now, which
was slightly inconvenient to carry. Bottle I would simply
shove into one of the side pockets of my backpack but
Kamandalu, I had to carry in one hand.
Walk from here on was delightful, it had authentic rural

feel to it. Narrow tar roads, elds on both sides, almost zero
tra c. No blaring horns or speeding vehicles, in fact, I
would hardly get to see even a single car in an entire day.
Bullock carts still ruled the track here. I have had my fair
share of bullock cart rides during my childhood but in last
thirty odd years, I haven’t as much as seen one, forget
riding one. Mayya
ful lled this
hidden desire too.
On one of the
lonely roads, a
bullock cart
stopped and asked
if I would care a
ride to the next
village. who was I
to say to turn
down such an
incredible o er.
Shiv Trident under the Banyan tree - enchanting view
Early few hours
that day were good
and exciting but
soon ener y started sapping rapidly. I don’t know the
reason, perhaps the day was too hot or I had perhaps
caught something. By the time I reached Khalbujurg, I was
already very tired and hungry. Luckily I saw not one but
two ashrams adjacent to one another, one slightly modern
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Ram Janki Mandir and the other outright heritage and
dilapidated Shri Shani Mandir. For some reason I was
biased against the concrete built modern ashram and hence
walked into the old dilapidated Shani Mandir ashram. As
soon as I stepped in, I got very strange vibes from the place.
The sthan dhari
sadhu was
nowhere to be
seen nor were
there any other
p a r i k r a m aw a s i s
here. A few
y o u n g s t e r s
loitering around
not entirely in
their senses, gave
the place a bit of
an eerie vibe. I
ignored the feeling
and climbed the
Maruti & Bhilat Dev overlooking Mayya
stairs leading to a
slightly raised
concrete platform.
I saw a huge banyan tree with a big shining Shiv Trident at
its base. The site was very powerful and brought some life
back in me. I put down my backpack and decided to
explore the place some more. The ashram was on top of a
small hill overlooking Mayya. As I walked deeper inside, the
view opened up to Mayya’s owing gorgeously some odd
20 feet below. Along the edge were idols of Shri Hanumanji
and what I could guess as local deity called Bhilat dev.
Further ahead and going down the slope there was another
square platform with a large black stone of Shri Shani in the
श्री
fl
middle. The temples and surroundings now looked more
appealing and so I managed to spend half an hour enjoying
the rich heritage of the place. Not being able to meet any
sadhu or caretaker, I was about to head out to the Ram
Janki Temple when a sadhu walked upto me. He was the
sthan dhari sadhu of the ashram. He quickly gave me brief
history of the ashram, how till about 10 years ago, his was
the only ashram there and parikramawasis would stay and
get fed regularly.
Then the new
ashram opened
and slowly
started preferring
the new ashram.
Over the years the
old ashram lost all
it’s glamour, the
fundings started
drying up and
now the ashram
Shani Maharaj Stone Idol
had no sustainable
s o u r c e t o t a ke
care of
parikramawasis. So now unless parikramawasis make
speci c request the ashram does not prepare any meals in
anticipation. Instead, he suggested that I go to the ashram
next door. I thanked Maharajji and went to the
neighbouring ashram as suggested. This ashram had a
beautiful Ram Janki temple on rst oor as well as a
separate hanuman temple on the ground. The premises
were clean and well maintained. As I was going around the
ashram, I came to the spot where the sthan dhari sadhu
श्री
fi
fi
fl
was in
conversation with
one of the guests.
As a polite gesture
I did a Pranam 🙏
from distance and
received a curt
nod in
acknowledgement
almost dismissing
me. I felt a bit ill
t re a t e d i n t h a t
moment but
before my old
tendencies would
a r e u p M ay y a
inspired ‘ वेक ’ -
Chandi Mata idol at the Shani Mandir Vivek (wisdom) of
being:
च सम पप षु
even-mindedness amidst desired and undesired events in life
It seems, for true devotees of Mayya, the following

holds true:
न दातटवा नः स ब नां
Devotees seeking her refuge, are immediately rid of duality of Maya (Joy
& Sorrow, Heat & Cold, Praise & Insult etc).
Lunch was served in time. A full meal consisting of Sabji,

Roti, Daal, chaval and also fried mircha (green chilly). I was
famished and really hogged. Lunch did not help me feel
better as expected as I was still low on ener y and perhaps
running slight fever. I went through my emergency medical

fl
नि
श्री
र्म
त्यं
सि
चि
वि
त्त
त्व
द्यः
मि
ष्टा
हू
नि
ष्टो
द्व
न्द्वा
भ्यः
त्ति
g
pouch, found me a paracetamol, popped one and went o
to sleep. I woke up
around 3:30 PM,
feeling slightly
better, tired but
better, the fever
had subsided
giving me the false
con dence that I
could get on with
the walk. Its all
mayya’s doing, if I
would have stayed
back at the ashram
I would have been
ne next day
Beautiful Ram Darbaar at Ram Janaki Mandir
morning, but she
inspired me to get
up and walk for a
reason and so I did. I picked up my bag and started
walking.
I must have barely walked a Km and I realised I had made

a mistake. Fatigue had already set in, making the solo walk
more and more unbearable. The worst part being, the next
ashram I was told was at least 7 8 Km ahead and this
distance for some strange reason remained constant every
time I asked, regardless of how distance I put behind. The
small road that I was walking, suddenly opened up at a
junction on a major state highway, on my right I could see
Mayya and a bridge over her. I could see from across this
major highway that the road I had taken entered a small
village. so I had three options; one take left and hope for a
fi
श्री
fi
-
ff
bus or a free ride to Barwani, my nal stop before Shulpani
or two, go right, nd a path under the bridge start walking
by the banks of mayya hoping to nd an ashram or three
continue along the road I was walking on and nd the
ashram in 7 Km. Bus or any other transport to Barwani was
not going to work because in my state I wasn’t sure I will
have the ener y to explain to the driver not to cross mayya
and besides I had no clue where to take the bus from. So
much confusion and still not once did it occur to me that I
should refer to Google maps. I was acting so dense in that
moment, it really makes me laugh when I look back but I
guess it was all for a reason. After asking a few times and
making the signature dance moves of going back and forth
on highway, I nally decided to follow the small road going
through village. As I started walking on the small concrete
road I started feeling really sick as if I would collapse any
minute. If it was a village, perhaps someone would have
noticed but this looked a bit like city, no one cared or
bothered. I kept dragging my feet until I simply couldn’t
walk no more. There was no place to sit or rest either. I had
reached far end of the road, where the concrete road
turned into dirt road and disappeared into bushes. I sat
down on a small wall outside the last house on the road not
knowing whether or not to risk further walking. This time I
truly prayed to mayya for help. I got up and started
walking on the dirt road surrounded by bushes. In
approximately 100 meters the road opened into a small
clearing of no more than 8 10 feet long after which the road
disappeared into bushes again. In this moment of complete
hopelessness and desperation I suddenly saw a mayya (all
females are form of Narmada mayya to a parikramawasi),
clad in white saree coming down the slope of a small
mound on the left of the clearing. We crossed each other's
श्री
g
fi
fi
-
fi
fi
fi
path and exchanged a quick Narmade Harr. She looked at
me with concern and sympathetically asked me why I was
walking in such heat. I told her that the next ashram was
about 7Km ahead and I had to make it to the ashram in
time. ‘Jao upar jao aur thoda vishram karo, upar kuch sadhu baithe hai
unke saath satsang karo, kuch jal aur bhog palo r chale Jana’ (go up
this slope, you will meet some sadhus on top, sit with them
take rest have some refreshments and then you can go) she
almost commanded. Saying this, she left I have no idea
where. She walked past me after our brief talk, going
neither left nor right but straight on where there was no
road just more bushes. Anyways, she gave me a hope that
perhaps the sadhus on top were parikramawasis and I may
get some company till the next ashram. It was a steep climb
on soft and loose soil, I wasn’t sure if it was worth the e ort
but still decided to take a chance. I climbed up the
hummock to emerge on a large plateau of land which by
the look of it had just recently come under construction
and levelled out. As soon as I reached the top, I was met
with by this overly enthusiastic person who told me that
they had gathered for laying foundation of an ashram for
parikramawasis and here I was their rst guest and a
parikramawasi as well. He then took me to where the
sadhus were sitting with, what appeared to be the owners
of the ashram. I was very graciously asked to sit down with
the sadhus who had come all the way from Chitrakoot and
to have some bal bhog.
When I heard Chitrakoot (dhaam where Ramji spent 11

years of exile) and two sadhus, I couldn’t help but think of
Ramji and Laxman ji and to my devotion lled eyes they
even looked the part. Tall, fair, jata-dhari (matted hair
locks) and soft spoken they would refer to everyone as
श्री
fi
fi
fi
ff
Ramji, as if bearing witness to Ram Tatva residing within
everyone.
ई रः स भूतानां शेऽ न ।
Hey Arjuna, Lord resides in the hearts of all living beings.
In a matter of seconds, my whole being relaxed and I

started feeling better. The darshan of two sadhus evoked
very Satvik bhav (pious emotions) and I sat there for good 45
minutes. Not only did Mayya save me in my moment of
utter despair, she even brought me face to face with two
sadhus from Chitrkut. My heart was overwhelmed by
emotions of gratitude, love and devotion. After 45 minutes,
I remembered that the gentleman who I had met rst had
promised to drop me to the nearest bus station. I could see
his car being pulled up close to where we sat and he waved
at me asking me to come and join him. I thanked everyone
profusely for their hospitality and with a bow of reverence
to the two sadhus got into the car that was waiting for me,
literally in the middle of nowhere.
भ नं भवबीजानां अ नं सुखसंपदां।
त नं यम तानाम राम रामे ग नं।।
The roar of Ram naam, annihilates the seeds of sanskars and hence rebirth,
while granting all the pleasures and scaring Yama’s (God of death) messengers..
On our way to the bus stop my benefactor made

enquiries, not just once but twice, about the exact spot
where to drop me o . On our way there he insisted that I
have tea and then gave me a water bottle to take along. I
thanked him and with a heartfelt Narmade Harr! bid him
good bye. As I got into the bus for Barwani, I asked the bus
conductor if our route crossed Mayya at any point during
the journey and once assured that it wont, sat back relaxing
and pondering over the long wonderful day I had.

श्री
श्व
र्ज
र्ज
र्व
दू
हृ
द्दे
र्ज
र्जु
ति
ff
ति
र्ज
ष्ठ
ति
fi
As the bus sped on it’s way to Barwani, I had some time
to re ect on the events of the day, especially where I met
the Mayya. It would have taken me 30 seconds to pass the
mound and within that 30 seconds, and destiny or Mayya’s
Krupa had that small time frame in which to make things
happen. Even if we were to pass each other in those exact
30 seconds or less, something must have inspired within
the kind mayya to suggest that I go and take some rest at
the feet of those sadhus from Chitrakoot. It wasn’t exactly
life and death incident per se but it would have de nitely
impacted the rest of my journey.
Incidents and events, I clearly understood, are simply

interaction ensued by meeting of two or more variable
components of life at a particular time, be they humans,
animals or resources both natural and manmade. Man is
the only animal we know of that is capable of consciously
evaluating events and by extension also the one to
experience vanity, Ego, jealousy, greed, anger and
attachment as the outcome of his / her wrong evaluation of
the events OR if wisdom dawns then assigning underlying
Bha wat krupa to all events. Sitting in that bus, for the rst
time in life, I could clear as day light, see that all incidents
are God’s playful stimulation (Leela). All your choices,
talents, looks, cunning, intellect are merely strings in the
hands of the puppeteer. Suddenly, you realise the
di erence between action and doer. You do actions as
ordained and so long as you have a working body and
mind, you will remain engaged in actions but you are no
longer the doer, the stress of responsibility and worries of
outcomes are no more yours. You are here only to witness
and not actively participate in this drama. Cosmic events
are already in motion, and being born into this drama, you
श्री
ff
g
fl
fi
fi
Partial view of Raj Ghat at Barwani
are invariably drawn into this never-ending magnum opus.

God is the only tool you have to satisfy your curiosity to
know the whole despite being the tiniest spec of this cosmic
construct. I could feel a stillness encroach my being,
worries dissolving into knowledge, pain and su ering of
being alive transcend into bliss of devotion. Narmada
Parikrama, I truly believe is a lab made available to
experiment with truth and experience the results of those
experiments.
As I was coming out of this reverie, the bus entered

Barwani city, the sudden onslaught of noise and city clutter
broke my silence, abruptly pulling my conscious back into
the mundane worldly existence. I got down from the bus,
hailed an auto, got into a decent hotel, entered my room,
took a shower and started chanting with renewed faith and

श्री
ff
clarity I had not known before. It was apt too, because from
Barwani, I was about to enter Shul-pani the most exciting
and dreaded part of parikrama. By the time, I would nish
Shul-pani whatever little doubts I may have had, would be
dispelled too. I would come out on the other side of it, a
pure believer and so would you, if you stay with me. That
last bus ride covering approx. 40 odd Km saved me two
days of walk. So Shiv who was marching ahead of me was
now behind by a day or two. I had those two days to get
ready physically and mentally for Shul-pani. I had heard
stories of the region. In the old days, being mostly hilly,
uninhabitable tribal area lacking resources and prone to
human hardships, certain tribes had started looting every
parikramawasi to the last cloth on the body. In my view, it
was a beautiful tradition of teaching sarva sanga parityag
(sacri cing every ounce of attachment left). I do honestly
believe that every parikramawasi would emerge a
‘dwiga’ (born again) on the other side of this experience. It
stands to reason too because in those days, less than 1%
parikramawasis would be a ‘grihasta’ (householder) the rest
would all be sadhus and sanyasis. Their last attachment
would be to the loincloth or whatever kamandalu or
wooden sta they would be carrying with them. Once
robbed of that too, they would come out a complete and
absolute renunciate to continue their parikrama. However,
this has changed to now, hardly 1% of total parikramawasis
are sadhus now and the rest are householders. So Mayya, I
believe made this beautiful custom redundant in the
modern world. Thankfully the terrain still remains utterly
harsh and unforgiving providing an element of shararik
tapa ‘bodily penance’ to parikrama. Parikramawasis now
have a completely safe passage through Shul-pani. About
50 70 years back, a saint by the name of Lakhangiri
श्री
-
fi
ff
fi
Maharaj, whose
Ashram is at
Ghongsa in
Shulpani, worked
on the upliftment
of the tribals in the
area and under his
in uence the very
people who
previously robbed
started giving
them service.
L a k h a n g i r i
Maharaj continues
to be a legend in
the region.
Getting physically and mentally ready for Shulpani
I called up Shiv
after checking in
to the hotel to get a status update on his whereabouts. He
told me, he would take maximum two days to reach
Barwani. I shopped for a few essentials in Barwani, ate
street food and generally relaxed my body and mind getting
it ready for the gruelling Shulpani. I also wanted to go visit
the famous Raj Ghat of Barwani, so I used the next day
touring Raj ghat. It is a well constructed ghat but during
monsoons, most of it remains submerged. The old, heritage
temples have also become ruins now. It has a rare ek Mukhi
(single faced instead of three faced) Dattatreya temple and
cluster of various small temples including Shri
Rinmukteshwar Mahadev, Hanuman mandir, Narmada
Mayya mandir amongst others. As I strolled Raj ghat
श्री
fl
praying at all the temples I walked past two very old and
frail ladies in white sarees sitting on the verandah of a small
house. As I walked past I did the customary Pranam due to
their age. The two mayyas very lovingly called me close to
them and enquired about me. I told them that I was a
parikramawasi and would be beginning my Shulpani walk
as soon as my
f e l l o w
par ikramawasi
joins me. Both
mayya’s blessed
me for my
journey and told
me not to worry
at all. They told
me that they had
themselves
walked through
the Shulpani
bushes 20 years
Tiny White House where the two mayyas sat and back and it had
blessed me with Rudraksha taken them just
14 days to pass
through. Young
as I was, I therefore should have no reason to fear or worry.
One mayya then o ered me a roasted sweet potato as
prasad, which I accepted and then bowing down to their
feet, I o ered them a small dakshina (cash o ering by a
devotee). As soon as I o ered dakshina, one mayya scurried
o into the house and came out with a small plastic
container. She kept rummaging through the container
feeling the objects she was touching, probably couldn’t see
the contents very clearly with her eyes. Finally she pulled
श्री
ff
ff
ff
ff
ff
out a small Rudraksha and handed it over to me as a
blessing. I carried that Rudraksha through the reminder of
my parikrama as an object of prayer and even today it is
kept safely in my personal shrine at my house. Receiving a
simple Rudraksha from the old mayya, gave me con dence
for the upcoming journey.
Shiv took his promised two days to reach Barwani but did
not reach till late in the evening. When he did not turn up
by 5, I stepped out to clear me head and possibly nalise
my strate y for shulpani. I stopped at a coconut water
vendor and was pensively sipping on a fresh coconut when
out of corner of an eye, I actually saw him walking down
the same road. I was really glad to see him turn up, but,
there was one problem. I noticed with some dismay that he
had company, which was not to my liking because more
company meant more talking and more distractions for me.
Anyhow, I couldn’t do much about the situation now, so I
asked Shiv and our new friend if they would be ready to
move tomorrow morning or needed a day’s rest at Barwani.
Both of them agreed on starting the next day morning.
We agreed to meet up at 6:00 AM and start our journey

through Shulpani. It was truly time to bring complete
sanyas in our lives as we would negotiate our way through
the rigours of Shulpani.

Reside in a temple or below a tree, sleep on mother earth as your bed, stay alone, leave all
the belongings and comforts, such renunciation can give all the pleasures to anybody.

श्री
र्व
य्या
स्य
दि
रि
ग्र
रु
g
जि
त्या
ति
नि
वि
fi
fi
न हर !
1. No action or deed on the path of Paramartha is ever

wasted, it is immutable law of spirituality.
2. No action or deed done in Prapancha (Worldly activities)

will yield happiness.

श्री
र्म
दे
Tenet 9 - एको शरणो ताशन:
Seek Solitude & Rely on Begging bowl…
Importance of solitude and necessity of a depending on a

begging bowl during parikrama cannot be emphasised
enough. Solitude will generate opportunities of bonding
with God and begging bowl will destroy the only enemy to
this union, Ego. When you are alone, you have no option
but to depend on God for everything and that automatically
enhances your sharnagati bhav (attitude of complete
surrender). Begging bowl will quickly destroy all ego. There
is no better tool to destroy one’s ego than outwardly
depend on society, just as a sadhu or sanyasi would, to
provide for your food and shelter. A begging bowl will
expose you to utter ridicule and utmost honour, once you
learn to take both with equanimity, Vaira ya and Vivek are
already yours.
श्री
वि
वि
क्त
भि
क्ष्य
g
मि
Hankering internally for solitude and equipped with a
begging bowl, I was now about to begin the Shulpani
adventure. Fortunately, Shiv had turned up at Barwani last
minute thereby saving me from having to brave the journey
all alone. Though next time, if there is a next time, I would
de nitely want to do this sector alone too. If in entire
parikrama, there is a place where one can nd perfect
environment for sadhana, it’s in Shulpani. Shiv and our
new friend were at Siddheshwar Mahadev Mandir Ashram
not too far from where I was. Since I am such a stickler of
time, I left for the ashram sharp 05:30 and reached their
Ashram quarter to six sharp. Shiv however was nowhere
close to even getting ready. With a coy smile, Shiv said,
‘Maharajji abhi to chai ane mein time hai, thoda rukna padega’ (There’s
still time for tea, we have no option but to wait). I couldnt
help but burst out laughing at his innocence. Our other
friend was getting ready too and with some amusement I
noticed, he appeared as tardy, if not more, as Shiv in the
process of getting ready. Since I had time now, I decided to
explore the ashram. It was clean and beautiful ashram with
an enchanting Hanumanji’s murti right in the centre.
Parikramawasis were given right hand corner space and a
shade to retire. A beautiful Mahadev temple was on the left
of the main courtyard. People had already started
gathering for morning prayers and I decided to sit in the
Shiv temple and chant while waiting for our Shiv to get
ready. Hanuman chalisa was being played on loudspeakers
and the whole premises exuded devotional fervour. I took
time to pray to Shivji and have a small tete-a-tete with my
chachu, while boys were getting ready. Finally the much
awaited tea arrived, boys had their early morning quota
and we stepped out. Coming out on the road none of us
knew where to go, so we started asking people on the
श्री
fi
fi
streets and nally
got onto the road
that would take us
to Shulpani. Our
boys had received
a pamphlet at the
ashram the
previous evening,
listing ashrams
and names of
villages along
Shulpani route
which would serve
as our guide.
According to the
pamphlet our rst
Enchanting Hanumanji’s murti
stop was at a
village called
Jamda Pichodi,
approx. 8 Km away. Hardly a target for us anymore, so
instead we decided to do another 8 Km and reach a village
called ‘Bhavti’. As the day progressed, the size of farms
started shrinking and general state of nancial wellbeing
started declining. However, it is di cult to judge happiness
quotient of a region strictly basis it’s nancial wellbeing
alone. I did not see a single unhappy or crying child during
my entire walk through Shulpani. People I am sure must
live and die here too just like big cities, some more painful a
death than others, just like in our cities, some must su er
through life and pray for death here too, just like in cities
but here they had less to care for and less to sell their souls
for. No two lives are comparable so better leave it at that.

श्री
fi
fi
ffi
fi
fi
ff
Before we began
the journey
though, it was
unanimously
a g re e d t h at we
should carry with
us small treats for
kids in Shulpani.
So I picked up a
few packets of
hard sugar candies
and poured them
out in my
Kamandalu lling
it to the brim (I
had bought myself
wate r b o t t l e at
Glimpse of life in Shulpani area Barwani). Sealed
or half empty large
packets of candies
went into the backpack and my Kamandalu became the
happiness dispenser. Since it was day-1 and we were all
excited, I made an exception to my rule of walking solo and
chanting. Shiv introduced me to our new friend, Mr.
Avadhut Farley, or Avdhut Maharaj for us from here on. So,
apparently, Avdhut Maharaj had su ered a major setback at
his government job and needed to get away from all the
stress. A bit of a God fearing and tirtha roaming enthusiast,
he already knew great deal about Parikrama and by the
time we met he had nished a good 60% of his parikrama
already. Though 10 years younger to me, he was the most
well informed of us three. So we kind of did an informal
portfolio distribution, I was Mr. Deep pockets, Shiv Maharaj
श्री
fi
fi
ff
the court jester and Avdhut Maharaj our Head PR. Avdhut
had terri c PR skills and I owe a huge percentage of my
heightened experiences of Parikrama to him. He was thus
given the charge of the pack from now until his Parikrama
got over and post that, responsibility to assist remotely over
phone for reminder of my parikrama. Anyways, so as we
walked together, we were rapid re exchanging information
with each other, when Avdhut told us he is from Gujarat
and I responded
v e r y
nonchalantly, ‘oh
yeah, my native is
from Gujarat too, in
fact at the border of
Maharashtra and
Gujarat ’. Avdhoot
Maharaj just froze
in his tracks, so
we stopped too
and as if waiting
for biggest
surprise gift to fall
in hi s lap, he
asked me the
name of my
native. I told him
‘Umargaon’ and
Avdhoot & Shiv Maharaj - early Shulpani days
the minute I
mentioned the
name, he just
completely lost it. He started jumping in the air, clapping
his hands, laughing like a complete lunatic, shaking his
head like a mad man. We were both puzzled at this weird

श्री
fi
fi
outburst but kept watching him do his little thing. Finally
he gathered himself and said, ‘boss, I am from Umargaon
myself, born, raised and living there even as of today’. It
was the most incredible coincidences of all, even for me.
What followed was frenzy of information sharing, he knew
my entire family there. I had a lot of memories of the place
to share too, places, people etc. Come to think of it, just a
day before, I had begged Shiv not to bring company with
him because I thought more people would only mean less
time for my chanting. But then again, Mayya knew better.
All the hits and misses between me and Shiv since the
ashram just before Omkareshwar, my disappointment at
seeing additional warm body the rst day in Barwani
everything was arranged by Mayya to carefully plant
Avdhut for this journey and ahead. I am sure that just the
way Shiv and Avdhoot were lling up roles in my journey, I
was lling up the role in theirs too.
Shiv and Avdhoot were alike in many ways. Both had

di culty keeping time or getting up early and getting ready
as planned. Both loved tea. Both were endless yapping
machines and between the two of them, they could keep a
small town entertained. After the evening puja, Shiv would
get on the phone and talk to his GF till cows come home
and Avdhoot would get busy listening to comedy shows,
volume turned up to maximum. I, on the other hand would
reside in one corner as far away as possible from both of
them and chant. I always kept as much possible distance
between mine and Avdhut asans, knowing his need for
listening to comedy shows. During the walks too I had
devised a mechanism to allow me to focus on my chanting.
I would walk either ahead of them of behind them, very
rarely with them. All I could hear was giggling and once in a
श्री
ffi
fi
fi
fi
while ‘Maharajji you gotta listen to this’. Both of them had
tons of stories about the parikramawasis they had met so
far and since they knew I mostly walked alone or in silence,
they would share only the best moments and memories
with me. I was getting the best of both worlds, I was getting
my solitude as much as I wanted and my break times had
now become very entertaining. Thus began our Shulpani
journey together.
The rst sixteen km as per the pamphlet weren’t hard or

even exhausting. We had started from Barwani around
08:00 Hrs and
managed to
reach Bhavti by
18:30 Hrs. We
had managed 16
km in roughly
ten and half
hours which was
not bad a speed
by Parikrama
standards. I was
the eldest and
carrying the
heaviest of the
bags, so I was
really beginning
to stretch my
limits while
walking with the
Night stay at Bhavti… welcome to Shulpani boys. Shiv and
Avd h o o t we re
s m a r t l y
श्री
fi
travelling very light while I was carrying backpack weighing
14 15 Kgs. The walk so far was easy, there were no
mountains to scale or valleys to descend into as yet. The
roads though very lonely with almost zero vehicles passing
by, the tar and sometimes concrete single road passed
through various small villages and elds. One thing we
noticed the very rst day was the on-going Holi Dahan
preparation. I had never seen so well protected Holi
rewood.
Dare touch my Holi rewood !
When we reached Bhavti, it had started getting dark and

there was no ashram in sight. We could only see a temple a
bit far from the main road and a small shop nearby.
Confused, where to go, we asked the owner of the shop /
our mill for the way to the ashram. Without bothering to

श्री
fl
fi
-
fi
fi
fi
explain himself, he just asked us to sit outside his shop for a
bit while he went about nishing his business. After 15 20
minutes of waiting outside his shop, he came out and
walked us to a small enclosure with three walls and tin roof
outside the back of the shop and what looked like his house
wall. We got served tea and dinner through the back door
of the house.
एको शरणो ताशन:

Living in a solitary place and eating whatever received in alms..
Due to increase in altitude, there was a slight nip in the

air and we also realised that we had nothing to protect us
from wind, cold or animals. I was beginning to get a picture
of what lay ahead of us. But so long as we were getting our
food, we weren’t complaining. The night passed without an
incident. Next day, lunch was planned at Morkatta and
dinner at Borkhedi, combined distance of 18 Km. First day
was relatively easy so we were a bit upbeat about the next
day too but one shouldn’t predict parikrama.
First night at Shulpani in the semi-open place, with only

a small re for our protection against wild life, was
thankfully uneventful. I refused to take bath early morning
out in the open under a hand pump, I preferred to do that
in the afternoons. Knees and below, Elbow to palms and
face and neck constituted my hand pump morning bath. I
rather follow the doctrine of:
ॐ अप प वा स व गतोऽ वा ।
यः रीका स बा रः शु ॥
Om, if one is Apavitra (Impure) or Pavitra (Pure), or even in all other conditions, ...
He who remembers Pundarikaksha (Another name of Sri Vishnu, literally meaning with
Lotus-like Eyes), becomes Pure outwardly as well as inwardly.

श्री
स्म
वि
रे
त्पु
वि
वि
ण्ड
क्त
त्रः
fi
वि
त्रो
क्षं
भि
र्भै
क्षु
र्वा
ह्या
क्ष्य
भ्य
स्थां
मि
न्त
fi
चिः
पि
-
Given my body fat content, I have been averse to cold
showers since my childhood, even in peak Mumbai
summers, I would prefer to start showers with Luke warm
water ending it with cold shower. In parikrama, I had
graduated to absolute cold showers, so long as the space
was enclosed and it was in afternoons. Avdhoot and Shiv on
the other hand were perfectly ne taking cold showers in
the morning, even the sight of which spend shivers up my
spine. But both were miserable without their morning tea
and would keep cribbing until rst cup was served. They
would without blink of eye, sacri ce one hour of early
morning walk just to wait for their rst cuppa. Today was
one such days, we had started our walk without their rst
cup. The village along the way had just started rising and
beginning the day’s business as we were walking through. A
man, standing by the gate of his house that opened on to
the road, did the customary Narmade Harr as we passed
him by! I could see a tinkle of anticipation in the eyes of
Avdhoot and Shiv but what followed was, ‘Jal paoge
maharjji?’ (would you care for some water sir). Disappointed
at heart both humbly excused themselves and started
walking ahead. But I stopped thinking to myself, if we can
stop for tea, bal bhog and bhojan, then why not water, even
this is Mayya’s prasad. I also admonished the two rogues
with me for not taking Mayya’s prasad and so we ended up
drinking water there as Mayya’s prasad. As we were about
to move the lady of the house appeared at the door and
admonished her husband for making us stand on the road
and not inviting us inside for some tea and bal bhog. Very
humbly and kindly she addressed us, ‘Maharaj Wahan kya kar
rahe ho, andar padharo, chai aur bal bhog pake r age jana’, (what are
you sirs doing standing on the road, please come in, have
tea and breakfast please). I swiftly turned around and gave
श्री
fi
fi
fi
fi
fi
fi
A captivating pic at the beginning of Shulpani
them the triumphant look, as if my faith in Mayya’s

providence had just won against their myopic, doubting
and needy attitude. We had one of the most exotic
breakfasts of our parikrama in that house. Along with tea
came a shallow cauldron of roasted fresh chickpeas. That
was followed by platter of mixed fruits and berries, a local
treat collected from the bushes around. Some of the berries
and fruits that were o ered were known to us from our
childhood days, while some were new even to us. What
started as water break turned out to be an exotic breakfast.
As we marched on, the terrain slowly changed. Instead of

mounds, there were hills in our path and soon enough we
were negotiating our ways through mountains. The fresh
mountain air and pollution free atmosphere gave a new
lease to our lungs. As a cherry on the cake, the pics I took

श्री
ff
in Shulpani were some of the best I could during the entire
parikrama. As we started trekking mountains, the bag on
my shoulders started becoming an issue. It was one thing to
walk plain lands
with 14 Kg and
quite di erent
heaving the same
14 Kg against
gravity. Gravity
hath no mercy,
but I wasn’t
willing to give up
so soon though. I
was walking the
same di st ance
and matching
the pace of boys
half my age and
was proud of it.
Deep within
though, I knew I
wasn’t going to
last too long. The
Endless lonely walks through Shulpani
next test of our
e qu a n i m i t y i n
the face of
adversity came very soon. Our target was 18 Km and we
had barely done 8 by the time, the heat began beating us
down. The dry and arid climate all around was new to our
body. Walking on the plains, close to Mayya or sometimes
even a bit far, still had some moisture content in the air,
here it gets very dry and hot, leading to rapid ener y
depletion. To top it, between two ashrams, there was
श्री
ff
g
hardly any civilisation, and never close to the road we were
walking. All the houses could be seen at a distance, some
on mountain top, some in deep valleys but nothing easily
accessible. We had started feeling Shulpani e ects now. By
now we were also running low on our rations which
constituted mostly of ‘Parley G’ biscuit packs received from
various devotees along the way. Though we had learned to
use our rations and water wisely, the distance between two
ashrams was so much that we almost invariably ran out of
food and water by the time we reached the next ashrams.
Thus walking for hours in the arid heat, we nally

thought we had reached Mortakka where there was
supposed to be an ashram as per the small pamphlet
handed over to us. But we could spot nothing; no temple,
no house, no shop which could potentially be an ashram.
Discouraged and disappointed we decided to keep walking.
After another 5 10 minutes of walking, we saw ochre
coloured ags and a temple like dome on top of a small hill
by the side of the road. Our hopes soared but the prospect
of climbing all the way to the top of that small hill in that
heat was disheartening. After all we weren’t 100 percent
sure that what we saw on top was actually an ashram that
would serve us our meal. After deliberating for a bit, we
came to the conclusion that we had no choice but to climb.
Hu ng and pu ng we got to the top and as feared, there
was no one to attend to us. What looked like a temple was
locked. Frustrated and out of luck, we sat under a tree
nearby waiting for someone to turn up. To our luck, the
maharajji who was incharge of the temple arrived within a
few minutes, re-kindling our dying hopes. But the minute
he saw three parikramawasis stationed at his door at lunch
hours, he lost it. He exploded in our faces, demanding an
श्री
ffi
fl
ffi
-
ff
fi
explanation as to what made us think we could just about
stop anywhere and demand food. Who do you think is
going to provide for so many of you and who told you, this
ashram provided for parikramawasis, he kept barracking at
us. We showed him the route guide and that only made the
matters worst. Now he was agitated at the guys who printed
that route guide. He almost succeeded in chasing us away,
except he did not know Avdhoot’s tenacity and cunning at
surviving such situations unscathed and nor did we. I was
the rst one to give up and claim mayya’s protection, she
will provide, not my circus not my monkey, I said as I
heaved my back pack. My philosophy of parikrama was
simple:

मु भव ।
Devotees residing by the banks of Narmada or seeking her refuge, are immediately rid of
duality of Maya (Joy & Sorrow, Heat & Cold, Praise & Insult etc) as well as mortal fears of
hunger & thirst.
Shiv reluctantly submitted to the rage of the sadhu and

sat dejectedly under the shade of the tree outside the
ashram trying to nd ener y and courage to start walking
again. The only person who had not lost all hope was
Avdhoot. He looked at me and said, ‘Maharajji you guys relax
and let me work my magic. I have had such experiences in the past, so
before we give up, let me give it one more shot’.
Saying so, he
followed the sadhu into the ashram and did not show up
for another half hour. Next we saw him emerge from inside
of the temple all victorious and proud. The key, he told me
much later was to just listen. These frustrated poor souls
lead a hard life and do not even get enlightenment for
which they work so hard. When you listen to their woes
and problems, their humanity surfaces and you have your
श्री
र्म
क्ताः
fi
न्ति
सि
द्यः
fi
हू
द्व
न्द्वा
भ्यः
g
पि
क्षु
पि
भ्यः
win. The sadhu had seemingly agreed for sadavrat,
meaning, cooking gas, utensils and supplies for khichadi
will be provided but cooking and cleaning had to be done
by us. That’s great
Avdhoot, but who
will cook both
Shiv and me
spoke in unison.
Avdhoot told us
he was a
rudimentary cook
at the best but he
can de nitely
manage khichadi
for three of us. We
were relieved and
asked him to get
on the job, we
were famished.
He disappeared
for second time
only to reappear
i n 1 5 m i nu t e s .
Sadhu who almost drove us out without food and water
That’s too quick
for anything to get
cooked, I thought
to myself. The smile on Avdhoot’s face had gotten bigger
this time. The sadhu now was willing to even cook for us,
thanks to the listening and cajoling capabilities of Avdhoot.
The two of us were also invited inside for resting in the cool
of his antechamber. I was very impressed and so was Shiv,
patting Avdhoot’s back, we entered the ashram and
dedicated the next hour before lunch to the monologue of
श्री
fi
the sadhu. Within hour or so our lunch was ready.
Protection program of mayya was active and working, I
thought to myself and smiled.
कौ य जानी न मे भ ण ॥’
my devotee shall not perish.
After the lunch, reminder journey became easier. It was

still 18 Km of walk through the wilderness and we realised
we need to start making adjustments to our overly
ambitious targets while in this region. The climbs ought to
get tougher and terrain more treacherous as we entered
deeper into Shulpani. But as of that day, we were still going
to make our 18 Kms. We shared some light moments and
had some good laughs, Shiv and Avdhoot wouldn’t stop
sharing funny stories about other ashrams and
Moment of relaxation in jungles

श्री
न्ते
प्र
ति
हि
क्तः
प्र
श्य
ति
parikramawasis. Both Shiv and Avdhoot, I guess considered
walking and two times arti as the only spiritual activity
undertaken during parikrama and about these two they
were pretty religious. I had by now begun my disciplined
approach to walking. I would stay a few steps behind or
Gang arriving at the Borkhedi Bridge
ahead of the two and focus on my chanting. During my

break, I would rejoin the two full on entertainment packets.
The rest of the walk that day to Borkhedi, post the lunch
incident, was pretty uneventful and we reached our
destination by 6sh. Our second night was once again, at a
householder’s home / shop at Borkhedi, known as Hira
Mama. That’s when it occurred to me that perhaps there
wasn’t going to be any ashram to stay at in this jungle. its
going to be only householders serving parikramawasis and
that got me thinking about Mayya’s Leela. That night it was
just three of us but during peak season, I am given to
श्री
understand that there could be as many as 50 or 100
parikramawasis in a day and every day for good 4 6
months. How does this even work, I thought to myself.
Only in India and only on the banks of Narmada mayya.
The kind owner of the shop nished his dealings of the day
at the shop and then with Avdhoot Maharaj’s assistance got
to cooking. Here I was reminded of the highest dharma of
the four brothers, Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughna.
Ram the eldest of the four and also embodiment of
parmatman himself, the dharma he manifests however, is
of the lowest order, the Manav dharma. This is base dharma
that every human must follow for humanity to sustain in
this world. Next to him and slightly loftier is the dharma as
evident in Laxman’s character. A combination of
Knowledge and Bhakti, where there is slight domination of
knowledge and here the right and wrongs overpower God’s
will and there is sweet nectar of obstinacy of a devotee to it.
A step above that is the grand dharma of Bharat. Bharat is
epitome of Loving devotion and single pointed
unconditional surrender to the will of God. The most
exalted is the dharma of all, however, is expounded by the
character of Shatrughna, the youngest of the four and most
unsung of the four brothers. But his dharma is highest, his
dharma is to provide and protect devotees of Shree Ram.
His dharma is not to love Shree Ram or stand in protection
of Shree Ram or Sita Mayya but to provide for the devotees
who need protection. Every householder who provides
service to parikramawasi or any devotee anywhere in the
world with pure heart is thus indulged in the highest
dharma, that of Shree Shatrughan; providing for the
devotees of the lord who may present themselves at his
doorsteps.

श्री
fi
-
Thus well fed by our Shatrughan maharaj, we were
provided place to sleep in the small open to sky backyard of
the house. There was a small protective fence wall around
us but to my amusement, even dogs and goats jumped over
the wall and roamed all around us. There was no threat of
wild animals here, so we weren’t too terri ed with our
sleeping conditions. However, something else was
bothering me. I haven’t been doing my morning business
since Barwani because I did not want to go out in the open.
I knew now though that I would have to learn and adapt
very soon. Shiv and Avdhoot had been egging me to get on
with it since Barwani but I haven’t had the will, so when I
told them tomorrow might be the day, they got all excited
and decided to give me crash course on how its done out in
the open. It was so funny the way the guys described it,
with full sound e ects, drama and ener y of a ravishing spy
thriller. So a spot was designated for me either close to the
dry river that ran close to the ashram or near the road that
connects to the bridge. It was pitch dark at 5 in the
morning, I used the ashlight on the phone to nd a
comfortable spot and nally almost after forty years, I did it
out in the open. I was nally inducted fully in the ways of
parikrama I thought with the exception of bathing under a
hand pump early morning. After my escapade with
morning business, I was suddenly feeling very brave and
decided to get over with the bathing business too. Bad
choice, there’s a ne line, they say, between bravery and
stupidity and I had just decided to cross over from bravery
into stupidity. Shiv and Avdhoot were trying to convince
me with stupid lies like, ‘Maharajji the water coming from the
ground is literally warm and you wont feel a thing, we promise’, and I
fell for that bad promise. The temperature that morning
must have been 16 degrees and with gentle cold breeze
श्री
ff
fi
fi
fl
fi
g
fi
fi
owing in an open high altitude wilderness the e ects cold
water would have on my body was going to be insane. The
water coming out of the hand pump wasn’t lukewarm but it
was de nitely warmer than outside temperature, so it felt
nice at rst. However, the guys had not factored in the
e ect of the chilling gentle breeze might have on wet body
out in the open. Both Avdhoot and Shiv, come from villages
and region where temperature drops as low as 5/6 degrees,
I guess they were just used to bathing in the open under
such inhuman
conditions and
hence recovered
from their baths
i m m e d i a t e l y. I
was a bit inspired
by seeing them do
it so easily and so
went under the
hand pump, while
they pumped the
water on top of
me. So long as I
was sitting under
the water, it was
ne, but the
minute water
stopped and as
soon as rst chill
of breeze touched
Silver hue of Mayya meandering through mountains
m y w e t b o d y,
every bone in my
body rattled. My
teeth chattered so viciously I thought I would lose a few. It
fl
fi
श्री
ff
fi
fi
fi
ff
took me approx 5 10 minutes to recover, but those 10
minutes seemed like eternity. Never again did I try the stunt
again, I would wait till it got all sunny and hot and then
went under the hand pump for the reminder of my
parikrama.
After the shower incident we started that day even before

the sun up. There was no tea coming from Mama’s kitchen
that morning and so we headed out with literally zero
visibility. Mayya owed somewhere in the background not
visible to us. But by sunrise, we had gained a bit of altitude
and from a vantage point, we caught a most amazing sight
of mayya meandering through a maze of mountains over
the horizon. She looked like molten silver owing through
the rough terrain, the view was majestic and breathtaking. I
clicked some beautiful pics but the memory of that view, is
still fresh and lucid in my mind’s eye. Early morning walks
were always the nicest, ener y was at its peak, the weather
at its best but most of all, the surroundings were very
picturesque.
As we passed multitude of small villages, one thing struck

out with great clarity. There is no such thing as absolute
poverty. If one has a roof over one’s head, basic clothes to
cover the body and protect against weather and enough
food to not starve then there is no poverty. The houses
were small, mostly thatched roofs, clothes just the bare
minimum and nothing I saw suggested absolute starvation
amongst the population. It was poor and backward India to
the myopic educated city view but the people seemed
happy, at least from a distance.

श्री
fl
-
g
fl
Mayya was now owing through the valleys of large
mountain ranges.
We were gradually
getting closer to
the real Shulpani
experience.
Getting water at
these mountain
tops was always a
challenge for the
locals but the
beauty of India
and its people can
be seen only in
challenging
terrains. We only
had to climb a
steep mountain
and reach the top
when out of
Two cute Mayyas bringing us water on a mountain top
nowhere we
would have at
least one young
Mayya (young girls - even they are mayyas to a
parikramawasi) aged barely 10 12 bringing water in small
steel containers for us. The same water, their mother had
to probably walk a few km to fetch was distributed freely
and with so much love and devotion. That’s not all, the
Mayya’s themselves would walk a few Km from their houses
to reach the parikramawasi paidal marg visible from the
house over a distance. These Mayyas and their parents
knew that parikramawasis were mostly penniless and there
was nothing expected in return of this seva, except perhaps
श्री
fl
-
Our rst Sherpa with my bag while Avdhoot searching for signal
earning some punya (spiritual merit). Interestingly it was

always Mayya’s who came running with the water jugs
never nanne bhole babas (young shivji).
Fortunately for us, we could o er these mayya’s and

other kids the candies that we were carrying. I had lled
my kamandalu to the brim with candies and we were
literally looting them out. The joy and smile on the faces of
the kids was priceless. You would literally have kids
running down a small hill or up a dell, just for a single
candy. There are two ways to look at this; one is to pity
their plight by comparing our lives with theirs or the other
way is to simply participate in their joy and feel it within
you too. I prefer the later. However, on a sadder note, the
entire Satpuda mountain range, it seems, has unusual level
of Gutka consumption. Gutka packets were found strewn

श्री
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ff
fi
around everywhere we walked. On more investigation, we
found out that even kids, as young as 10 are addicted to
Gutka. The only thing we could do to stop this was
refraining from giving money. Sometimes, you would run
out of candies and instead of disappointing the kids, give a
ten rupee coin for them to go buy candies, but the minute
we found out about the Gutka rampage we completely
stopped giving out money, it was strictly candies from there
on.
By day 3 the climb had begun getting steeper, though we
Just endless mountain range as far as eye can go
were still walking on roads, there would be an occasional

shorter path that would take us through the mountains
through steeper and slippery climbs. I had decided by now
to loosen my resolve of not spending money received in

श्री
donations on food while in Shulpani. I could see that we
were sharing a plate with people who barely managed to
make the ends meet for themselves. Thus by spending on
our basics, like bal bhog or evening snacks I argued that we
would be putting lesser pressure on an already weak
support system. So from time to time, we would also pick
up something for us like packets of crisps or biscuit
wherever we found shops. At one such shop while we
picked up goodies for the bal Gopal’s (little Krishna) and
supplies for us, the shopkeeper told us that his shop was
the last where tempo delivered the goods. From here on,
things would become tricky and we should stock up. When
the shop owner said that, I realised the terrain will get very
rough from here on. I knew, my shoulders and knee won’t
take the harsh terrain stress for too long, perhaps, it was
time to get assistance for my heavy bag. So I got Avadhut
Cool blue waters of Mayya nestled amidst huge mountains

श्री
working on prospecting a porter for me. He worked his
magic and soon enough we had a porter for my bag. If I
wouldn’t have been inspired by mayya to hire a porter at
that point in our trek, I think I would have ended up
damaging my knees permanently. Because from there on, it
was just days and days of climbing up a mountain and going
down only to climb a steeper and bigger one. This was to go
on for next 10 days. Merciless terrain, scorching sun,
slippery and death inviting trails one after the other.
Whoever was scared of being looted, I would have loved if
someone just took away everything I was carrying, it would
then be fun to walk this toughies out.
So now that we had our rst Sherpa tenzing, we started

our trek through the wild. I realise it now, but every time
we had a porter, we su ered on two accounts, one they
made us walk their pace and two they took on the trails
which were the shortest ways to the next village and also
the most treacherous. We were perpetually walking on the
edge of mountains, with slippery sandy mountain slopes on
one side and steep drop into the ravine on the other. Now
as far as our eyes could see, there were just barren
mountains. I had never seen before such endless
mountains in my life. For 12 days of our lives, the only thing
visible to naked eyes were mountains. You would come
across a village every hour or two, kids would come
running in 10s and 20s to grab as many candies as they
could and run away. Only region where Narmade Harr
Maharaj is the sweetest, because, it’s the kids yelling it from
every direction and as soon as you shout back, ‘aao chocolate /
to e pao chote maharaj / mayya’, (come young sir or mother, have
a candy), all hell would break lose. Screaming and cat calls
going out to the entire village. Even while running for their
श्री
ff
ff
fi
own loot, they would not forget their brother / sister /
friend / cousin and scream every name they knew to come
and get their share too. No one was wasting time waiting for
the other but no one was letting anyone not know either.
To ee distribution was one of the most soul satisfying deed
of Parikrama.
Every once in a while you would get a glimpse of mayya,

a very large blue coloured water body, between mountains.
Most of what one sees in Shulpani is backwaters due to the
catchment area of the Sardar dam in Gujarat. So mayya is
not owing with great force, there are no rapids, no
cascading views, just vast blue lagoon calmly owing grey
mountains. We would stop a few minutes at every citing,
just to take in the grandiose of mayya in our heart and start
walking again. There is a very beautiful lake here, the shape
A lake resembling map of India

श्री
ff
fl
fl
of which resembles map of India. I think it’s a favourite
sel e spot for every paidal parikramawasi going through
here. We clicked a few too.
After experiencing the harshness of the terrain for good

3 4 days, I started
appreciating the
tenacity of our
hosts providing
food and water to
so many
Par ikramawasi s
without expecting
anything in
r e t u r n , e xc e p t
blessings of
Three Musketeers at the India Lake mayya. The
popular belief
here being that,
Mayya could
come in any form and if you miss the opportunity of
serving her, all the punya (merit) would be lost. Of course
their unshakable faith in Mayya’s providence also plays a
major role. The seva is o ered with so much love and faith
that you never feel like a burden. A sadhu at a well to do
ashram may turn you down but these simple and poor folks
would never even dream of neglecting a parikramawasi or
sco at one. It is this innocence and seva bhav because of
which many an enlightened saints roam these parts even
today. In my opinion, after the Dandak Aranya, banks of
Mayya in Shulpani ought to be the second most sought after
place by sadhus to do their Tapasya. I was also enjoying

श्री
-
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ff
ff
meditating and chanting while moving through these
enchanting mountains.
Our rst porter got us till the famous Lakhangiri Maharaj

Ashram. I have mentioned some details about Lakhangiri
maharaj before. Situated by extremely remote shores of
Narmada Mayya, this is visually the most gripping ashram
of the entire 3,500 Km of Parikrama. Mayya in her majestic
blue form with mountains all around. Large boulders, cli s
View of Lakhan Giri Maharaj Ashram from top
and beautiful banks as if carved out of marble rocks.

Sadhus o ering their morning and evening prayers by her
banks. If I could, I would settle there for the rest of my
days, its that beautiful and spiritually charged. Just before
reaching Lakhangiri Maharaj ashram, I had a muscle pull in
my left leg. My left leg as if froze and I couldn’t take another

श्री
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ff
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step. I quickly sat down, hoping that it would give my knee
some relief but when I got back up, it was still the same. I
continued standing there, just a Km up hill from Lakhangiri
Maharaj ashram. I signalled others to carry on to the
ashram, not wanting to let them know of this sudden
development. Taking one excruciatingly painful tiny step at
a time and I made it to the ashram. Then I remembered,
just before we hired our rst Sherpa, we had stopped for a
small break and as we got back on the feet, I planted my left
leg rmly up the slope in order to lift my backpack, putting
undue pressure on the knee. I could hear a rip somewhere
in the knee region. I immediately put the bag down and sat
in order to avoid any further damage. After a few minutes I
started walking without any pain. Probably it was the same
damage acting up and I could only hope and pray that my
parikrama wasn’t at stake here. When I reached the
ashram, I found myself some space in shade, rolled out my
mat and dozed o instantly only to get up for tea by 4:00
PM.
At around 4:30, some ocher and black robed sadhus who

were also on parikrama, gathered in a circle for their
chilam (conical Indian pipe made of mostly clay or stone)
smoking ritual. It is considered appropriate or in certain
sects of sadhus (Shaivites), mandatory to smoke a chilam,
especially near Shiva dhams. After all, smoking weed is
considered Bhole Baba’s prasad. No one was interested in
keeping it low here. We were all called to join in. So far I
had avoided all such invitations but somehow here I
thought I should at least go and sit in the distinguished
circle. These sadhus were doing their parikrama at intense
pace and they freely used cannabis to dissolve physical
pains of such intense Tapasya. All three of us joined the
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circle and watched them smoke chilam at a pro level. We
excused ourselves in the rst round as the pipe was passed.
I asked them to show exactly what it is that they were
smoking, just out of curiosity. I have had some experience
with weed in the past and knew from experience that it
wasn’t a di cult substance to handle. So in the third round
I allowed myself a hit. Avdhoot followed suit but Shiv
refrained. It wasn’t much of an experience in any case, but
for rst time I got to see sadhus do it in their true spirit.
At about 6:00 in the evening, we decided to go for a bath

by the banks of mayya. We walked to the natural bathing
ghat at the base of ashram. The view of Mayya out there
was beyond words. Though we tried to capture it on my
phone camera, it still leaves tremendous lot unspoken and
the pictures hardly do any justice to the natural beauty that
Breathtaking view of Mayya at the base of Lakhangiri Maharaj Ashram

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the eyes behold. A few pics may provide a glimpse of the
beauty and for the only time during Shulpani, I felt robbed
of an opportunity to be alone and meditative in a location
like this. But that was how Mayya wanted it to be, perhaps I
Yet another majestic view of Mayya @ base of lakhangirir Maharaj Ashram
was not physically and mentally ready for negotiating

Shulpani all by myself yet. Carrying our kamanadalus to the
ghat we had the most energising and refreshing bath in
Mayya that evening. Even the surging pain in my left leg,
disappeared, never to surface again during parikrama.
Evening meal was very delicious and we slept out there by
the banks of mayya out in the open. The ashram is so
remote that it gets its supplies is by boat, the road access is
too formidable to attempt. Lakhangiri baba showed the
traits of man and woman in the same body, just like his
ishtha Shivji, ardha nari Nateshwar (half lady and half
man). Not only that, half his moustache and beard would
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grey and the other half remain jet black. The ashram itself
though, was spiritually not so gratifying. Sadhus in charge
of the ashram were very aloof, no discussions on Mayya or
the guru, felt like waste of such a magni cent site. After
staying a night at the ashram, we moved on. The porter
stayed on with us for the night too and next day handed my
bag over to the Sherpa 2.
Sherpa 2 took us through some seriously dense forest.

The mountains were uninhabited for miles and miles. If
you got lost here, without human help, it would be
impossible to get back to civilisation. The view however
had now become almost static, there were just mountains.
During our walk through the endless mountains, we caught
up with a
s a d h u
walking all
a l o n e
through this
unforgiving
jungles. I
could tell
the relief on
his face
New addition to Shulpani expedition - The Sadhu in orange when he met
with us.
walking
alone through these forests was no joke even for a seasoned
sadhu. As the day progressed, we kept going through the
motions of going up and down various mountains, there
was nothing else to do. The trek required focus, so the fun
element in the walk had reduced signi cantly. This helped
my chanting and though physically exhausting the
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satisfaction of being able to chant without disturbance for
hours on end was spiritually very invigorating. After non-
stop trekking for about 2 3 hours straight, we requested
Sherpa 2 for some time o and just like that without giving
any thought for our comfort or lack of it, he put down my
bag exactly where we made the request and squatted down
in the track to relax. We looked at each other not knowing
what to do because he had stopped on a steep mountain
slope. The extremely narrow track we were on that was
wide enough to accommodate only one foot at a time, was
the only level ground we had to manage a relaxed sitting
position in. He looked puzzled at our inability to sit down
like he did and relax. Finally each one of us, in our own
weird way, found a way to sit our ass on the slope and with
the help of our feet and danda (wooden sta all
parikramawasis carry as part of paraphernalia and
thankfully the trekking stick in my case) rmly planted in
our pathway sat down to relax. But our Sherpa was
completely oblivious of our discomfort, he just as easily got
into the Indian squat position, balanced himself and started
resting. Our resting too was tiring with all the balancing and
stick poking to keep us alive. Just an hour before this fateful
break, Sherpa had told us that we were about to pass
through the once infamous ‘मामा’ - Mama (maternal uncle)
infested area where the parikramawasis would be looted
and left practically naked to continue with their parikrama.
He immediately assured us that it was a thing of the past
and there has been no incident reported in many years
now, except some stray episode of a drunken local taking
things and running away. So long as we were walking none
of us felt the vastness of the jungle and its eerie afternoon
silence. Now that we sat down to relax and surveyed our
surroundings, we realised there was no human settlement
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within a radius of 10 miles at least and if anything were to
happen, no one would ever nd out. When we were feeling
most vulnerable in that eerie jungle, we saw two young
boys walking with shiny sickles. They came and sat not too
far from us, intently looking our way or so we thought. For
a moment there, all three of us looked at each other a little
apprehensively not knowing what to expect. I automatically
clinched my grip on the trekking stick knowing it had a
sharp and pointed bottom end. There was a tense moment
there and none of
us knew what to
expect and then
suddenly I felt
inspired to open a
dialogue with
them boys. So I
started talking to
them in Hindi,
asking them,
amongst other
general things,
what were they
doing in this deep
jungle. Their
response was it
was their jungle
and they were out
for an afternoon
The two young boys roaming their jungle stroll. A few
sentences into our
conversation,
they got up and left with a Narmade Harr! We will never
know, if it was a close call or not, but it surely felt like one.
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After the incident, all four of us, the new sadhu added tried
to stick closer to one another.
It was nearing 11:00 AM and we had already done a few

massive climbs. The day had started getting hotter and our
pace slower, when we emerged on top of another mountain
top that had a small village of 8 10 houses. In that small
plateau, right in the middle of nowhere, to our great
surprise and joy, was a Gola ( avoured crushed ice on
sticks) vendor. The view to me was like a throw back from
my 80s childhood. We were all excited like a bunch of kids.
Tons of childhood
summers have
been spent
enjoying the
golas, the
memories as if
came ooding
back. I got
overexcited and
decided to throw
a small Gola party
for all of us. Thing
to remember here
is that I was still
cash rich by
P a r i k r a m a
standards and
happy to spend it
on refreshments
for the tired
The new Sadhu, Shiv, Avdhoot & Sherpa 2 walking
ahead of me
f e l l o w
parikramawasis.
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We were ve murtis and a few more had joined in while we
were there. So announcing the Gola on the house for
everyone, I got two helpings myself. I even started forcing
everyone around to have as many as they wanted, knowing
fully well in my mind that I was going to pay for all of them.
Finally we all had our ll and everyone enjoyed the treat.
After the party was over, I walked up to mayya who had
been making the golas for us and asked her the cost of all
the golas we had. She looked surprised and confused,
pointing at her husband, she told me to ask him instead.
The owner, who stood only a few meters away from us and
the stall was a burly dark man in his early fties. I went and
asked the owner and to my utter embarrassment he point
blank refused to take any money from parikramawasis. I
felt so stupid and awkward in that moment. I looked at
Avdhoot hoping he would come to my rescue and explain
that we went on the binge only because we thought we
were paying for it. After much haggling, our host agreed to
take payment for the golas on two conditions, rst; he
would only take money for the ice because the ice had to be
brought from 8 Km laden on donkey and two, we now had
to have tea, free of cost, as a seva from them. I don’t recall
exactly what the name of the village or the host was but if I
were to guess, Bhadal was the name of the village and
Kaluram Warma our host. After leaving the village, Avdhoot
told me that Kaluram or perhaps his father was once a very
infamous dacoit of the region who used loot the
parikramawasis but having turned over a new leaf, instead
o ers seva.
The uneventful and taxing walk continued through the

shulpani jungles. At a remote pass, we saw a large thatched
house with a huge tree outside and the owers from the
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tree strewn on the
ground. The site
was very pretty, so
I stood there
appreciating the
beauty of the spot.
Avdhoot walked
upto me with a sly
smile and asked if I
knew what tree
was. Turns out, I
was looking at a
Mahua tree,
famous for
notorious Mahua
The Mahua tree in full blossom
owe r s , a ve r y
common source
for local hooch.
Avdhoot further explained that the owers by themselves
are sweet but not so intoxicating. As we were having this
discussion, an old man came out of the house, smiling ear
to ear and holding a large at basket full of the fresh fallen
owers. He generously o ered to give me as many as I
wanted. I thanked him and picked up a few for tasting.
They were really sweet but thankfully not intoxicating at
all. For the rest of Shulpani, I did not miss picking up at
least one Mahua ower every time we passed under a
Mahua tree and there are just so many Mahua trees from
this point up until Dhadgaon that it became my favourite
pass time.
As per our pamphlet, we were to break for lunch at the

coming village. It was a small neat village with a hand pump
fl
fl
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in the centre of the village, a large water tank right next to it
for animals to drink from, a nice tar road running through,
a decent shop with our mill and at one end of the village
was a dilapidated house serving as ashram for
parikramawasis. Once inside the house we immediately
grabbed our corners and stretched out for relaxing. There
was no one in the house, so we did not know who would be
providing us our lunch, but in about 15 minutes a young
girl walked in and asked us, ‘Maharajji kitne murti bhojan paenge?
(What is the count for lunch). She quickly noted the
number and walked away. This assured us that lunch is
being taken care of and each one of us got busy with our
own things and by now readers need to be told what kept
me busy. While we were busy with our own things, about
half hour after we entered the ashram, a skinny young man
of dark complexion with an impressive face clad in nothing
but a red dhoti and carrying a small school bag as his back
pack walked in through the door. In broken Hindi, he asked
if this was an ashram, we nodded a yes. With a broad smile
and a loud Narmade Harr! He came inside sat in one
corner, closed his eyes and without another word started
meditating. From the minute I saw him walk through the
door, I had taken liking for this young man. Guessing from
his broken Hindi and a few unintended but naturally woven
English words in his speech I gathered he was a young
formally educated man out in search of truth from a
traditionally non Hindi speaking state. I was a bit curious so
I asked him about his background. I Don’t recall his name
now but he had come all the way Puri, Odissha. He
belonged to a well to do family and an engineering
graduate himself, he had taken liking for spirituality at such
a perfect age. The best part was, he was out in search of
truth with his parent’s permission and become a sadhu
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with full
knowledge and
permission from
his parents.
Before coming for
parikrama, he
had been serving
as an assistant
priest at a Shiva
temple in Puri.
The two sadhus
from Chit rakut
that I had met
previously would
address every
male as Ramji and
female as Sita
mayya. This
young sadhu from
puri would
Young Mumukshu from Puri
address everyone
as Shiva. His
sentence would
typically begin like, ‘you see Shiva, I come from a educated family’. I
loved the ener y of his youth, his focus and dedication.
Except for smilingly replying to our queries, he had no
other business with us. Not showing any resentment at our
questions and answering them as humbly as he could, he
quickly got back to meditating every time we interrupted
him. My heart swelled up with pride knowing that India is
still producing this material. My heart went out to him and
prayed to mayya earnestly that she help this young man
nd his spiritual path and destination.
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Soon our lunch arrived in thatched cane baskets, 20 30
thick bhakris and a simple curry served on plates made of
dry moduga leaves. Everyone had a sumptuous meal, the
last minute addition of one murti did not matter as the
smart cook knew how to send meal that will accommodate
additional one or two last minute additions. The sun was
blazing hot outside and none of us had the courage to
weather the heat, so we decided to relax until 4 and then
walk. However, our new friend from Odisha was out in
fteen minutes. The spirit of his search was commendable,
he had no time to spare. He had plans to walk the length
and breadth of India and not just stop at parikrama.
Listening to him speak with so much conviction and seeing
his spirit, for a minute I regretted starting out on this path
so late. But then again, who can buy God’s favour with the
might of one’s sadhana, I thought to myself. Complete
surrender, unconditional love and faith in God’s Mercy
were my tools and Parikrama a program to hone these tools
to perfection. I wished him best for his journey with all my
heart as he calmly walked out of the door.
We followed suit at around 3:30. By now, our travel

entourage had gone to 5 murtis, with two sadhus now
added to our original band of three. The sadhus, however,
were very bitter for some reason and wouldn’t stop
complaining throughout about something or someone.
charge was swiftly given to Avdhoot for making sure they
did not disturb my peace and he did a good job of keeping
them at bay. I personally stayed away from them and kept
myself engaged in chanting. Sherpa 2 got us to the next
village by 5sh. The ashram was once again a house of a
grihastha, Nakarsingh Solanki, if my memory serves me
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right. He owned a shop as well as a our mill. In fact,
Ashram was one corner of the our mill itself. As we
entered the room for parikramawasis, we saw our young
sadhu from Odisha already seated in one corner, eyes
closed, meditating. I was happy to see him once again. The
only reason we were able to catch up with him was perhaps
he had taken the tar road while Sherpa 2 got us there
quicker by a shorter route. This would however be the last
time, I would get to talk to this intriguing young man. We
spend some time discussing each others beliefs and
spiritual paths. He it seems was very heavily in uenced by
Autobiography of a Yogi, just as I was at the very my
beginning of my journey too. Some day, I thought to myself,
when I get a chance to go to Puri in future, I would make
e ort to look him up and nd out what spiritual progress
he has made since.
The Ashram had a weighing machine and both Shiv and

Avdhoot were keen on nding out just how much my bag
weighed. To our horror, it weighed 14.5 Kgs. On the scale,
after having given away a lot of dead weight in terms of
warm clothing. Right there a unanimous decision was made
to get rid of the heavy trekking bag and much of its content.
Avdhoot also assured me that as soon as we reach Gujarat
after crossing Shulpani, he will make sure that I got a new
lighter bag and this one couriered back home. We had just
nished our evening Artis when suddenly we heard loud
drum beats reverberating through the small village
accompanied by what sounded like screaming but turned
out to be local folk singing. The drum beats were erratic,
singing clueless and giggling endless, clearly people were
having a not so sober a party. The owner of the house and
shop was a young man in his early thirties. He told us that
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the village was getting ready for Holi (the festival of
colours). From this place onwards, for the rest of Shulpani,
it was only Holi festive season everywhere and he told we
would get to see a lot festivities. The party in the backyard
ended a little late and so we slept late too. When I woke up
the next day morning and peeped out of the window, I
witnessed one of the most beautiful morning of my life. The
sun had not come up yet, but it had dawned. A few trees
outside looked like they have been brought down from
Beautiful morning view outside the ashram window
heaven, yellow leaves and owers strewn underneath the

tree looked like a Persian rug laid out. It was an ecstatic
beginning of a new day. Yet another walk lay ahead of us. A
new Sherpa, Sherpa 3 was given charge of my bag and we
started our march. By now, we were acclimatised to the
terrain and our bodies and minds used to the rigour of

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mountain trekking. Every summit was a conquer of human
grit and Mayya’s krupa. Our Sherpas kept us on our toes
during the walks, they wanted to reach the destination
within shortest
possible time so
did not encourage
too many breaks.
Not too many
houses or people
on the way to
o er us tea or
snacks also kept
us moving at a
good speed. All in
all, we were
Satisfaction of reaching the summit
making good time
and comfortably
too. We arrived at
the Jharkhal river, which we were told marks the MP -
Maharashtra border. We would thus be entering Nandurbar
district of Maharashtra now as we crossed on to the other
side of the river. Funnily, I was going to enter part of my
state, I never knew existed. So from now on we were going
to be trekking the same mountain ranges but in
Maharashtra leaving MP behind us.
By noon we had reached the base of an infamous

mountain called Khapparmal. We have heard many a
stories of this treacherous climb and now had nally
reached its base. Avdhoot had been talking about some
mountain which is the toughest trek in all of Shulpani, we
assumed it to be Khammarmal and it did prove to be the
most treacherous and toughest. There’s a village called
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Amazing view of Jharkhal dry River bed - Gujarat Maharashtra Border
Dhabri at the base of Khapparmal, where an aged Grihasta

by the name Phodla Pavra renders seva to the
parikramwasis at his house. We had two hurdles before we
could take up the Khapparmal challenge, one we did not
have new Sherpa to take us over Khapparmal and two we
needed some rest and food before the journey.
Food and rest got sorted at Pavra Maharaj’s house. But

we still needed a Sherpa, there was no way I would be
daring Khapparmal with my backpack. So we asked our
host to help and without hesitation he promised us our
new Sherpa, putting that worry to rest too. We put out our
asans and decided to relax until lunch. But our host was a
great story teller and kept telling us stories of his life in
Khapparmal from odd 70 years back he had rst moved
there. This gentleman had old time swords, bow and

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arrows, huge drums and even a gun. He told us how in the
old times, he had fought the dacoits to keep his family,
house and lands safe. He was a hardened man in his early
eighties but didn’t look his age one bit. Still straight and
erect with a command in his voice, he was every bit the
warrior he claimed to be. During the story telling, he
ranted on about his being the only house in the region with
a solar pump tted to a borewell and unlimited water
supply, even in peak summer. I jumped from my Asan at
the mention of the pump and unlimited water, took my
dirty clothes and equally dirty being and headed straight to
the borewell. It had almost been four days, since we have
had a decent shower or washed clothes. I literally ran to the
borewell and true to his words, there was no scarcity of
water there, at a switch of a button we had water gushing
out of the borewell / hand pump outlet. After having spend
days without adequate water to bath or wash, nally we
had unlimited water at our disposal. I washed all my dirty
clothes, took a long clean bath, hung the wet clothes partly
on the low roof tiles, partly on a cactus tree and returned to
my Asan a clean and content man. We nished our lunch,
rested for an hour but the promised Sherpa was still
nowhere to be seen. The previous Sherpa refused to
continue even after being o ered a sizeable extra bonus.
Now there was no way we could proceed without our
Sherpa, so we once again urged our host to arrange for
someone quickly. He went out and called out a few names
but no response. Our host calmly walked back and sat with
us chatting, as if the problem would solve itself, which, as a
matter of fact did.
We were all packed and ready to move after the tea at

about 4 but still nothing in terms of a Sherpa. Meantime,
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our host had another local guest who had come visiting
with his son. The guest told us that there is a perfectly safe
tar road, which will take a bit longer but you will have no
inconvenience of climbing Khapparmal. However, we were
all charged up to take on the Khapparmal challenge and so
turned down the idea of taking the tar road and insisted on
getting us a Sherpa cum guide instead. After this
discussion, there was a quick exchange between our host
and his newly arrived guest in their local dialect. The
outcome of that exchange was that the guest was now
willing to o er his services as the new Sherpa for a right
price. The skinny guy that he was, however, looked too
weak to be able to carry 15 Kg up a steep mountain. So I
asked him to pick up my bag rst and then decide. I didn’t
want him to give up half way and leave me stranded with
the bag. He weighed the bag in his hand and agreed, we
negotiated a bit and nally agreed on a price. While all of
this was happening, one of the sadhus who was with us,
decided to take the tar road instead and left ahead of us. So
the four of us, Sherpa and his son Sherpa Jr., began our
climb at about 4:00 PM. Just before beginning the climb,
Sherpa took out two packets of Gutka, poured both of them
out in the cup of his right hand, opened his mouth wide
and just like that, two packets of pure poison went straight
in his mouth. After that, Sherpa never looked back
voluntarily, not even to check on us.
I was in trouble in the rst 100 meters of climb itself. As

we climbed a large steep boulder, I took my eyes o the
path Sherpa had taken and was taking the path I thought
was right. Suddenly I found myself stuck in a place from
where I could neither climb up nor get down. One false
move and I would have simply slipped down the boulder
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and broken a few bones. Everyone except Sherpa and
Sherpa jr., stopped to help me. Shiv dug his danda (o cial
wooden sta , part of Parikrama paraphernalia) rmly
midway between us and asked me to hold on to it and step
across to get to the track they were following. I did as was
told and was back on track without any incident but after
that made it a point never to take my eyes o the path
Sherpa was taking. Sherpa could not understand our
trouble, in his mind, it was one of the simplest and most
uncomplicated routine run. He waited for me to get on the
right path and then started his climb again. With
exasperated expressions on our faces we started following
him. It was one of the most scary expeditions of my life.
Our sherpas scaled the mountain like mountain goats,
completely oblivious of the fact that we were continuously
walking on the edge of the mountain with deep valley on
one side, slippery sand under our feet and nothing to grab
for extra support on the other side to keep us from falling if
we slipped or lost balance during the climb. One slip and
we would fall into the abyss and vanish. I was now chanting
Ram naam, with an intensity not known before. Not a word
was spoken except asking our leader to wait for us or show
us the right trail to follow. Every once in a while, Sherpa Jr.
would show up, walking an even steeper and higher slope
than us, while Sherpa himself was busy playing some game
on his phone during the entire trek. He barely looked up
from his phone, never bothering to check the trail or on us,
who were miserably trying to catch up with him the entire
time. All four of us were fuming at his complete lack of
apathy towards our plight. Every step was a risk of life with
zero room for error. We climbed Khapparmal with our
hearts in our mouth convinced that this was our last day in
this world. Our ordeal lasted about an hour and half. I was
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so shaken by the experience that my hands and legs were
trembling for a while even after reaching the top. once we
reached what we thought was the top of khapparmal, I
wanted to take a video from the top but my legs were so
shaky and I was still so scared that I could barely manage to
hold my phone still.
View from Top of Khappamal and of the track receding into the abyss from which
we surfaced to the top
The minute we reached the plateau on top of

Khapparmal, young Mayyas came running with water jugs
for us. We were so relieved that the ordeal was nally over
and relieved that at least now, we will be walking the at
tableland. But Sherpa had bad news for us, we had to trek
another kilometre or two to get to the road, in words of
Fitzgerald, our hearts sank into our shoes / sandals to be
more precise. But this time, we made Sherpa understand
that we were not born in these mountains and he needs to
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walk a bit slower and show some more compassion. It did
not help much, so after another 15 minutes of some more
treacherous walk, we were nally back on the tar road. The
same tar road, which would have brought us to this exact
point without us having multiple cardiac arrests. However,
we did have an adventure of a life time and were never so
happy to see a tar road before, almost felt like getting down
on my knees and kissing the tar road. As we passed a few
bends and were inching towards Khapparmal village,
Sherpa suddenly demanded that I pay him the money. He
refused to budge without an advance at least, so out of
curiosity I asked him what was the problem and he looked
sheepishly at a small hut at the roadside that was selling
tadi (another hooch but made from sap of palm tree). I
looked at Avdhoot and Shiv. At rst both refused, I was not
even intending to rope in the Sadhu but it was him who
convinced all three of us that tadi can be had during
parikrama. So all four of us ended up sharing one bottle of
tadi near khapparmal village. Our frayed nerves needed
some tending to after all. After the tadi, the fear and fatigue
quickly vanished. I even let Sherpa go and carried my
backpack all the way to the house of one Mr. Hamalya bhai
Pawra.
Yet another shop owner grihasta (householder) o ering

seva from his house. The house itself was fairly large and
the shop was within the house with window in one of the
the walls serving as delivery cum payment counter. One full
length of the main hall, right next to the chickens sleeping
area, was reserved for parikramawasis. Avdhoot literally
slept with the chickens that night, thank god they don’t
disturb much in the night. Here too, the Holi celebrations
were in full swing. We could hear loud drum beats being
श्री
fi
fi
ff
played in the backyard of the house. Singing (if that could
even be called singing), giggling, screaming, the whole
village was on a grand drunken spree. The village
comprising of no more than 12 15 houses, it seems, was
getting ready for a festive night. As we sat and watched,
young boys and girls kept coming in and going out of that
house so we gured something big was being planned. Girls
with loud gaudy makeups and boys in their shiny clothes
smelling of booze were having excited conversations with
each other and getting ready for some gala event. It was fun
to watch the whole show. We were served dinner at seven
and by quarter to eight we were all ready to go to sleep. The
two sadhus decided to go and sleep out in the open
because they felt it was too stu y inside the house. After
the sadhus left, the host approached us with folded hands
requesting us three complete strangers to sleep in his house
while the entire village was to go for Holi celebrations to
another village about 8 10 Km away. He further explained
that the whole village will be practically deserted and the
lady of the house will be alone and she is unable to come
because they can’t lock the house and make us sleep
outside, so he would really appreciate if we stayed in the
house as a matter of security. We obviously agreed to stay
and guard the house. My ever doubting and distrustful
being just couldn’t wrap its head around this simple and
trusting exhibition of human nature. How can anyone leave
one’s family and entire house in trust and care of three
complete strangers, about whom you know absolutely
nothing and who, in my opinion, themselves looked like
fugitives from law. This can only happen when not a single
parikramawasi has ever broken this trust and has remained
pious and loyal in each and every scenario. My modern and
metro upbringing simply couldn’t comprehend this weird
श्री
fi
-
ff
-
unconventional faith. However, that’s exactly what
happened, we slept in the same house as the land lady
behind closed doors for her protection, whereas truly
speaking, all three of us looked like she should be given
protection from us and not by us. The night was uneventful
and the party that the villagers had gone for, what turned
out to be an all nighter, because not a soul had returned by
the time we woke up by 04:30 AM the next day. The lady
of the house got up at about 6, and requested us to have tea
before leaving. Shiv literally stopped getting ready when he
heard her mention tea, obviously there was no leaving
without tea so long as Shiv was part of the group. We had
our morning tea and after thanking the lady for her kind
hospitality, it was time to move on, this time down-hill and
on a tar road. As we walked down the road from
Khapparmal, a tempo full of our host villagers passed us by,
greeting the Narmade Harr! at the top of their collective
drunken throats.
Khapparmal climb and night was indeed very eventful,

however, it had some after e ects too. Avdhoot had a
reaction to either the Tadi we had or the food we had but
he had loose motions the next day. We had 8 10 Km of walk
down the ghat to the next village called Bhamana, the same
village everyone from Khapparmal had gone for the Holi
party the previous night. By the time we left Khapparmal
village by 7sh, Avdhoot had already gone three times and
was now feeling very weak. I was carrying some ORS
pouches in my emergency medical kit and gave him the
ORS and some biscuits to eat. His stomach wouldn’t hold
anything and would pass everything he drank or ate
immediately. Of course, there were no doctors, not even a
dispensary to attend to him, all we could do is pray for him.
श्री
ff
-
About an hour into our walk and four to ve run ins by
Avdhoot, a biker stopped voluntarily to ask if one of us
would care for a ride till some distance ahead. My rst
thought was Mayya had sent the ride for Avdhoot’s and
asked him to go for it. Avdhoot however refused saying he
wanted to complete his paidal parikrama without using any
transport. I tried to convince him that same rules may not
apply during a medical emergency. I tried to explain to him
that as a doting mother, Mayya would only be pained to see
him refusing help she had so kindly arranged for him in his
hour of need. Purhsartha (courage or will to accomplish
something) should only be done for attaining God’s love,
body on the other hand should be submitted to prarabhdha
under God’s loving care and protection. Some mild level of
vanity or ego had started developing in both him and Shiv
about completing paidal parikrama without recourse to
transport and hence the resistance, even when he could
barely walk. I had heard both him and Shiv rant on about
their conviction to not use transport, no matter what. I had
tried telling both of them on multiple occasions, that its ok
to decide not to use transport harbouring ego is counter
productive to the purpose of parikrama. Nar-Mada; Nar –
Man, Mada – Pride, so one of the meanings of Narmada is
one who slays the pride / ego in men. One should hence
feel surrendered rather than aunting deeds done in
service of Mayya. Seeing that he wasn’t getting convinced
and just to make an example out of it, I hopped on the bike
and rode o . The ride lasted barely Km and half before
dropping me o . I started walking again and it felt good, I
was chanting my ram naam, in complete solitude, after a
along time and I was enjoying it thoroughly. I reached
Bhamana ahead of them by about an hour or so. At
Bhamana the Mukhiya’s (village chief ) verandah was the
श्री
ff
ff
fl
fi
fi
ashram. An elderly and happy soul in his early eighties the
mukhiya welcomed me to his house and asked me to lay my
Asan on the open verandah facing the road. Despite his
advanced age, I couldn’t help but notice, he was very agile
and full of life. Not a worry or stress on his face, a few
minutes back I had even seen him carry large water pot on
his head inside the house. He must have gone in and come
out of the house about twenty times in odd 45 minutes. He
reminded me so much of my dad, same rigour and tness
at such an advanced age.
Anyway, I pulled out my Asan and got ready for a Power

Nap. By now I had learned to quickly lie down just about
anywhere on the ground and catch a quick nap. Resting
under the shade of overhanging roof, on a cool, cow dung
evened ground, I closed my eyes and silently chanting Ram
naam, dozed o for a few minutes. I woke up to loud but
distant drum beats slowly approaching me. I got up to see
A still from the video clip I took of this colourful Holiday parade

श्री
ff
fi
one of the most exquisite sight of my Parikrama. What I
witnessed would have put any LGBTQ parade & carnival in
Mumbai to shame. It was a few boys cross dressed as
woman (as a part of religious festivity and ritual), punch
drunk coming home from Holi festivities. So the festivities
had lasted all night and well into morning too, I gured. I
could have never imagined this as culture of some part of
Maharashtra or its traditions in my wildest dreams. I would
soon be getting a thorough expose’ of this tradition very
soon.
As I lay alone in the verandah waiting for Shiv and

Avdhoot to catch up, it occurred to me that the journey
from here on will be mostly tar road and down hill. I had
really enjoyed my fair share of mountains and there was no
point in mindlessly walking on hot tar roads. I was
convinced that putting one’s body through physical
hardships and in the process forgetting God’s fond
remembrance cannot be considered as Shararik Tap
(penance of the body). A mild balance must be struck, so
that the body is not over pampered to the extent that one
gets embroiled in e ort to give it maximum comfort and at
the same time one should refrain from torturing it so much
that it generates ego and makes one forget God.
मूढ णा नो य डया यते तपः।

पर दना वा त मसमुदा तम्।।17.19।।
Austerities performed by a delusional with aggression subjecting oneself to physical pain
and su ering or intended to result in pain and su ering of others is considered tamasic by
nature.
I thus came to the conclusion that I somehow needed to

shorten my trip to Dhadgaon. I was keen on meeting Tailor
Maharaj and then follow his directions from there on.
श्री
स्यो
ग्रा
ff
हे
त्सा
त्म
र्थं
त्पी
त्ता
ff
क्रि
हृ
ff
fi
Going by the route map we had, it seemed approx. 40 km,
roughly two days worth of walking. My mind was already
trying to actively see how best can these two days be saved.
I knew Avdhoot and Shiv wouldn’t play ball on this one.
Besides, I was missing my solitary walks and was keen on
getting there by myself. Interrupting my chain of thoughts,
mukhia maharaj brought me a cup of hot tea. I thanked him
and took the opportunity to ask him if there was a
transport option available from Bhamana to Dhadgaon.
There’s only one bus a day and it leaves early morning
which you have obviously missed. You may however try
hitchhiking on your way and might get lucky. Saying so, he
almost got up to leave when he remembered that there was
another option. A businessman from Dhadgaon does
scheduled groceries on wheels trips to various villages from
Khapparmal to Dhadgaon using his matador tempo.
Incidentally it was his day of weekly tour today. Leaving me
with this interesting information he got back to his endless
chores. Shiv and Avdhoot, in the meantime, were making
their way down, with two additional breaks for Avdhoot.
An hour or so later, the boys were with me. Avdhoot
completely fatigued, barely able to stand even and Shiv
looked hell too. I think, the climb of Khapparmal had some
impact on our health. As soon as they reached ashram,
both were at out sleeping for an hour. Avdhoot was still
su ering from lossies so I gave him the second pouch of
Electral (Oral re-hydration powder to be mixed with mater
and drank) to get some ener y in him. The old man came
out to attend them as well. The other two Sadhus who were
part of our team earlier, were behind by a few hours. I
knew Avdhoot needed a doctor or else he may succumb to
the sickness and may have to, if not discontinue Parikrama,

श्री
ff
fl
g
then at least get hospitalised to recover. If he lost any more
water and minerals, he may get seriously dehydrated.
The situation was delicate, we couldn’t just leave

Avdhoot maharaj behind and he was in no state to walk any
further. So we decided that either we would all stay at
Dhamana until he recovers or take a bus or something to
some place where he can get a doctor. Overhearing our
conversation, the mukhia told us that the state provided
doctors who come visiting once every month will be there
anytime, so don’t worry, your friend will get tended to and
medicine. Avdhoot and me, we both said Narmade Harr out
loud the same minute. The doctor did come as expected,
gave Avdhoot a thorough examination and gave him some
medicines that they carry with them when visiting such
remote locations. He was also handed two more sachets of
oral re-hydration powder. Seeing Avdhoot taken care of, I
felt comfortable sharing my plan to hitch hike my way to
Dhadgaon. Strangely enough, Avdhoot had a sudden
change of heart, he now insisted that he wanted to join me
on the tempo. Now that put me in a spot, I was actually
hoping none of them would approve of my plan and
continue walking while I took the tempo. Shiv, however, did
not budge from his position. That posed another problem
as it didn’t seem right leaving him behind in Shulpani but
he refused to give in. We were at a total impasse. Asking
him to act against his faith didn’t seem right and neither
did leaving him behind all alone. Delaying my plan was the
only option but Avdhoot was not in any position to walk, so
he wanted to reach Dhadgaon and rest or maybe see a
physician. Shiv tried to be helpful by o ering to team up
with the two sadhus trailing us. However, we warned him
that he may not survive long enough in their insu erable
श्री
ff
ff
company and sooner than later, he would be walking all
alone. We had a funny gridlock, I wanted to travel alone,
Avdhoot couldn’t walk and Shiv didnt want to get on the
tempo. I nally gave up my e orts and surrendering it to
Mayya’s will got back to chanting.
As expected, the tempo arrived just before lunch hours

and the owner along with his son disappeared inside the
house of Mukhiya. We had no idea what was happening
inside and weather our case was being pleaded. We got
served our lunch out in the verandah, while the privileged
guests ate inside the house. We quickly nished our lunch
and waited
anxiously for the
tempo owner to
come out. Once
when the old man
had come out to
serve us, I asked
him if he had
spoken with the
owner about my
plan to hitchhike
with them.
Promising to do
his best, he went
back to the house.
We nished our
lunch and were
just lazing on the
ground. Knowing
Open tempo ride to Dhadgaon
that I may have to
jump into the
श्री
fi
fi
ff
fi
tempo last minute, I had kept my bag packed and ready.
Avdhoot had done the same. Avdhoot rushed out into the
woods to attend to another urgent call of nature. As he
disappeared behind the bushes across the road, there was
suddenly urry of activity and the tempo owner stepped
out of the house with his boys all set to go. It seemed they
would start the journey any minute. I reached out to the
Mukhiya and asked him about securing permission to hitch
hike the tempo. Mukhia maharaj immediately went and
spoke to the tempo owner and after talking to him gestured
me to quickly jump in the back of the tempo. As I went near
the tempo with my bag, one of the boys asked how far did I
want the ride and I told him, I wanted to go as far as
Dhadgaon, he smiled at me and asked me to hop in along
with him. I was just adjusting and making some space for
my bag amongst the things that were already loaded in the
tempo, when I saw Avdhoot emerge out of the woods from
across the road, waving wildly at me asking me to wait for
him and pleading not to leave him behind. The scene was
almost comic, his resolve and pride of not using transport
completely vanquished had now turned into despair to get
into one as if his life depended on it. I could not help but
wonder at Mayya’s playfulness in all of this. Shiv, so far
remained adamant and arrogant about his resolve and we
let him be. Avdhoot ran into the house, picked up his bag
and got into the back of the tempo along with me and thus
began our ride to Dhadgaon. Before we left, we made Shiv
promise us that he would keep in touch over the phone
daily and keep us posted on the progress he was making.
We also told him that we would wait at Dhadgaon, in case
he wanted to catch up with us. The tempo ride was not as
easy as I thought it would be. The afternoon sun beating
down on us mercilessly as we rode the open top tempo was
श्री
fl
no less painful than walking. The tempo was doing its
scheduled route and would stop from village to village
dispensing items of necessity to buyers. A lot of goods had
to be moved up and down for sale and along with it our
positions. It was long, winding dusty road through
mountains and forests. Some parts were pretty, some were
barren but overall, as predicted very uneventful except for
a river crossing of a dry tributary of Mayya with an
extensive basin. We weren’t sure the tempo would take so
much of uneven road as it kept getting into position we
almost thought would topple it over but it didn’t. At about
4:00 PM the tempo entered Dhadgaon.
The shop of the tempo owner was right at the beginning

of Dhadgaon, rst small town since we left Barwani. It felt
good to see civilisation after such a long and hard trail.
Though the tempo ride was rough, we weren’t all that tired.
We started walking through the main road of dhadgaon.
After a long time, since we had entered Shulpani, everyone
in the market who saw us was greeting us with narmade
harr! It felt soothing to the soul, to just hear narmade harr
from complete strangers once again. The main road is
barely a kilometre of stretch but within that distance, we
were o ered with great reverence, sugar cane juice, fresh
lemonade, lassi and other refreshments by vendors on both
sides of the road as seva. Two vendors even invited us for
stay. Finally we reached Tailor Maharaj’s shop in the
market, his younger son was manning the shop at the time.
We told him my name and that his father had asked me to
come visit him when I reached Dhadgaon. The son o ered
us tea and called his dad. Tailor maharaj reached us by the
time we had nished having tea. I was really glad to meet
Tailor Maharaj, after all he was largely responsible for my
श्री
ff
fi
fi
ff
parikrama experience being what it was. I consider him to
be my parikrama Guru and would never take his
suggestions regarding parikrama lightly. I had listened to
every advice given by him, except wearing the traditional
white dhoti. Raju Tailor had a one storey house near the
main market, the upper oor of which was used as ashram
for parikramawasis. He made us comfortable in a cozy little
room upstairs and left us to get fresh and some much
required rest.
After resting for an hour, we stepped out with Tailor

Maharaj who treated us to some snacks. I o ered to pay but
obviously he wouldn’t have any of it and the hotel owner as
soon as he realised we were parikramawasis refused to take
any money from either of us. As I witnessed this spirit of
seva, for a moment my rationality tried to kill my feeling of
awe and reduce the magic to logic. Mind wants a resolve
and educated minds are trained not to see miracles but
underlying principle or hypothesis. So an instinct to
Suppress emotions of faith and investigate the rationale
became prominent. My mind then began rationalising by
proposing that the parikrama route over thousands of years
has developed its own ecosystem that sustains this activity
and what is being witnessing is just the functioning of that
ecosystem. No sooner did I start mulling over these
thoughts of rationality, Mayya’s leela got into action. I have
experienced, Mayya will ensure that doubt and pride will
not prevail during parikrama, she will create a situation to
rectify these two enemies of faith immediately. So as soon I
started doubting Mayya’s Krupa, within minutes we
bumped into two other parikramawasis, who were walking
down the exact same road and exact same distance, as we
did when we entered Dhadgaon. Since we were following
श्री
fl
ff
them up close, my mind said, just watch, they will also get
o ered the refreshments and given accommodation
proposals. Strangely enough, they walked the entire length
right in front of us and not one person in the entire market
even greeted them with narmade Harr! Not only that,
when we reached Tailor Maharaj’s house, he too turned
them down as he already had us staying with him. Why
those two were ignored must be their lesson, I do not
know, but my doubts were dispelled instantly. Same road,
same people and two very di erent treatments. The
message was very clear, it wasn’t the functioning of
ecosystem that delivered, the ecosystem was a tool in
mayya’s hand to implement her will and it was her will that
made things happen.
कम् रजाइ च णा , नानक या नाल्

Complete surrender to the will of God is the only way, says Nanak ji
Maharaj
Here I am able to narrate only those incidents, which left

lasting impression, but there were countless other
experiences during parikrama that prove that only Krupa
works and nothing else. We came back from the market
after re-stocking some medicines and basic supplies for us
like washing powder, soap, shampoo etc. I had promised
Tailor Maharaj that I would speak to his son, when I get to
Dhadgaon to give him some yan on surviving and growing
in corporate world, which I did that evening. Post the yan
session, we were treated to a special dinner at Tailor
Maharaj’s house. Nice warm home food was served with so
much a ection, our troubles of Shulpani as if melted away.
After dinner Tailor Maharaj joined us for last tete-a-tete,
since we had already told him we would not be disturb his

हु
श्री
ff
ff
ल्ल
लि
खि
g
ff
g
wife for morning tea and be on our way pretty early. Two
things came out prominently from our last discussion, 1. I
should not miss any tirth up until Garudeshwar on the
opposite bank, which basically meant, no transport in
Gujarat both banks combined and 2. The Holi carnival of
Kathi is very famous and shouldn’t be missed. Fortunately
we were there just in time, so we must take a halt at Dr.
Sahibs ashram in Kathi, stay the next night there and
witness the greatest Holi celebrations ever. We
wholeheartedly agreed to both his suggestions.
We started early the next morning. We must have walked

500 meters when we got our rst tea invite of the day. We
stopped and who did we meet there, the same two
parikramawasis who were instrumental in dispelling my
doubts, of course they had no clue about it. The owner of
this part temple, part ashram, was Somnath Maharaj. Not
n d i n g p l a c e t o s l e e p a ny w h e re e l s e t h e t wo
parikramawasis, in their own words, were lucky to come to
the temple as a last resort and luckily found a shelter, else
they were planning on sleeping under a tree that night. I
could only smile at Mayya’s leelas.
The road from Dhadgaon to Kathi is a decent tar road,

with a couple of small ups and downs. Plenty of Mahua
trees on the way though, I must have eaten almost a dozen
plus tiny Mahua buds, but felt no intoxication, only sweet
taste in mouth and was content with that. Without Shiv and
his tea breaks to slow us down, we were doing good speed.
We were hardly 3 4 Km from Kathi when we came across a
small shop on the side of the road. A young man sitting on
the bench outside the shop greeted us and was curious
about who we were and what were we doing walking on the
fi
श्री
-
fi
road there. So we explained a bit about Narmada
parikrama which got him interested and he o ered us some
bal bhog while we explained to him the whole parikrama
a air in detail. Then as we were getting ready to start
walking again, he asked if we would like for him to arrange
an auto ride for us. At rst we refused, we had hardly 3 4
Km to go and the weather was still pleasant so there really
was no need. But he kept on insisting and we assumed it
was his seva bhav. Not to hurt his emotions, we agreed and
the gentleman went out of the way to stop a speeding
public auto which had kind of passed us by already. He
literally made us
run up to the
auto. We got in
and told the auto
guy where we
were headed. It
was only after a
Km when the
driver started
discussing the
fare with us that
we realised
completely
bizarre nature of
t h i s o e r. We
were supposed to
pay for the ride
ourselves and the
g e n t l e m a n
Gautam Padvi, penniless Householder running ashram l i t e r a l l y o n l y
in Kothi
stopped the
speeding auto for
श्री
ff
ff
fi
ff
-
us. Avdhoot and me, we looked at each other and started
laughing our heads o . Thank God Maharajji you are
c arr ying c ash, else thi s would have been ver y
embarrassing, said Avdhoot with some relief. We got down
on the main road that passes through Kathi and started
asking for directions to Doctor’s ashram. No one we asked
knew who the Doctor was, much less, where any such
ashram was. This was a bit weird, so close to his home turf,
Tailor Maharaj cannot be so wrong. We were in no rush
now, we knew we were gonna be in Kathi for the night stay,
so we eased our pace and were walking leisurely trying to
locate some ashram. That is when Avdhoot started the
discussion probably out of sheer boredom but he had a
point. We had both observed, that ever since we entered
Maharashtra, Narmade Harr! Greetings from locals had
dropped to near zero, except in heart of Dhadgaon. He was
right too and that kind of got me thinking, so in order to
rationalise it, I proposed a theory. I reasoned that direct
bene t Maharashtra as state got from Maa Narmada waters
in terms of agriculture and economic growth has been next
to nothing. The two states that bene tted the most were MP
and Gujarat and are green primarily because of her waters.
Hence there’s a lot of social consciousness about mayya
and devotion to her in these two states. Naturally, since the
common people here in Maharashtra have hardly
bene tted from her waters, she is not uppermost in the
social mindset here. We were still on this topic, when we
reached a small house with a printed banner hung outside
on the fence declaring it to be an ashram for paidal
parikramawasis. We decided to go in and check. It was a
very small house, with an equally small verandah and small
courtyard out in the front, a place that could accommodate
no more than 10 12 parikramawasis at a time. There was no
श्री
fi
fi
-
ff
fi
one at the ashram when we reached there, so as we stood
wondering what to do next when a young man in colourful
costume walked in and told us to get comfortable anywhere
on the verandah. We laid out our mat and positioned our
bags and lying down got back to our discussion. We were
still rationalising devotion to Mayya from materialistic view
point, when Mayya send her ambassador in form of owner
of the house and ashram just in time to dispel my
materialist viewpoint. As soon as the owner arrived, he sat
down and started chatting with us. As if inspired by Mayya
and in response to the topic as well as negating the purport
of our discussion, he instantly started pouring his heart out
regarding his devotion to Mayya and his experiences of her
benevolence in his personal life as well as running of the
ashram. His father a MPW compounder was very well
known gure in the area and was fondly referred to as
Doctor (now we got the reference of Dr given by Tailor
maharaj), passed down this rich heritage of Parikramawasi
seva to his son and our host now, Gautam Padvi Maharaj. A
trained welder by profession, initially he hardly found time
or inclination to do seva until an incurable malady in his
wife’s feet forced him to accept this heritage. When years of
medical treatment did not cure her, Gautam maharaj then,
as a last resort, decided to surrender his fate to Mayya and
prayed for his wife’s wellbeing. He took a vow that if his
wife were to recover, he would bring her for Mayya’s
darshan and start giving seva to parikramawasis as well.
Within a week of his making the vow, his wife started
showing signs of recovery and within a few months she had
fully recovered without any medicine. He was now a
completely surrendered bhakt of mayya. His profession
required a lot of travel and that would interrupt with his
seva at the ashram, so he gave up his only means of
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livelihood and transferring his burden of survival to Mayya
decided to dedicate his life to ashram seva instead. He had
no income, no wealth but he put his entire burden on
mayya and stayed put at this ancestral house-cum-ashram.
Practically penniless, he and his wife devoted themselves to
rendering sel ess seva in the name of Mayya. As the
number of parikramawasis kept climbing steadily year after
year, Mayya kept ensuring that no one ever slept hungry or
even walked away without some tea and snacks. There
were times, when they themselves did not have enough to
eat but Parikramawasis never went away empty stomach.
He kept narrating stories after stories of Mayya’s grace for
next one and half hour until it was lunch time. My heart
and body, I believe, has been getting cleansed on account
of physical hardships endured during parikrama, which in
turn made the satvic bhav (pious emotions) erupt intensely
at smallest of triggers. While he was narrating stories of
Mayya, I couldn’t help the tears rolling down and I felt no
shame either, I let happen whatever happened of its own. I
could see a trend emerging here during parikrama, Mayya
did not allow two things to linger for too long; 1. Pride and
feeling of ‘I’ being the doer & 2. Negativity, especially
pertaining to Mayya and any aspects of Parikrama. These
two things got responded to at lightning speed. One did not
even have to air the doubts out loud and she would
respond through a situation, rectifying the error of
thought / emotion, instantly. I believed, this entire
unprovoked narrative by Padvi maharaj was a case in point.
Mayya as if wanted to remove the thought from my mind,
that Maharashtra was any di erent, everyone staying by or
close to her banks was, is and shall forever be equally
protected. The stories only stopped coming when his wife
announced lunch.
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Lunch was simple, Flat Indian bread made of Jowar
(Sorghum or Milo), served with a lentils spicy hot curry and
what looked like a green leaf vegetable. I found the green
leafy vegetable very tasty and so within a few minutes I
asked for second helping, the couple looked at me
concerned and asked if I knew what I was eating. Obviously
I did not, what I was eating in large quantities taking it to be
a dry leafy vegetable, was in-fact a very common
Maharashtrian side dish called thecha (pure pulped green
chilly with coriander). We all laughed heartily at the
thwarted possibility of near fatal dose of fresh green chilly
getting consumed by me. Post lunch we took a walk to a
small temple built on top of a small hill across the road
from the ashram that belonged to Gautam Maharaj’s family
as well. We spend some time at the temple and in Mayya’s
satsang before returning back to the ashram for some rest.
On our way back to the ashram we hesitantly asked Gautam
Maharaj if he would be willing to be our host for the Holi
carnival happening tonight in Kathi. We told him that Raju
Tailor from Dhadgaon had insisted that we stay the night at
Kathi for the celebrations. Gautam Maharaj was very kind
to accommodate our request with a lot of enthusiasm and
promised to take us out in the night for Holi.
The Holi celebration at Kathi is called Rajwadi Holi,

meaning, The Royal Holi. The reason being, Kathi was the
seat of the tribal king named Raja Umedsingh Padvi, who
started the Holi celebrations in AD 1264, nearly 775 years
ago. The entire region around follows the same traditional
Holi and since every village proudly and competitively
participates in Holi festivities of its neighbouring villages,
the whole region celebrates Holi for a period of over good
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10 15 days. The traditions are steeped not only in colourful
dressings but also very deep rooted religious rituals. Holi is
essentially burning of re wood, however, its not any
ordinary wood that is burned in this Holi. Elder members
from village go deep inside the surrounding bamboo
jungles, sometimes up to 350 – 400 Km away, to select a 40
/ 50 feet long bamboo, a year in advance. Once located, the
bamboo is them marked by a thread and reserved for the
coming Holi celebrations. A week before the Holi, a search
and retrieve party is then dispatched to the location and
the previously marked bamboo is then cut after due
traditional rituals of praying and singing are performed in
its honour. Once cut, the bamboo then cannot touch
ground until its brought to Kathi and planted directly in a
pit roughly 5 feet deep made for holding the massive
bamboo in place. This bamboo is then covered by other
wood from all sides to make a proper conical shaped Holi.
The traditional dancers who participate in dancing around
the Holi are called ‘Mhorkyas’, these are the men who have
taken a vow to participate in the Holi dance, either out of
Dark Night pic of Mhorkya’s in action at Kathi

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faith or a vow taken in anticipation of ful lment of one’s
desire. They traditionally dress either as an animal or a
female dancer. These ‘Mhorkyas’ follow very strict norms
before participation, like giving up sleeping inside the
house and on bed, forgoing carnal pleasures of sex and non
vegetarian meals etc. for a month before Holi. On the day of
Holi, these men are then painted and dressed in the
traditional tribal gear. The gear that they wear can weigh
upto 10 – 15 Kg and includes large metallic bells, dried
bottle gourd or calabash gourd stringed to the hips, large
fancy and colourful headgear with peacock feathers. The
traditional drums ‘Ram Dhol’ echo into the dark night and
sets the rhythm to which the ‘Mhorkyas’ dance 12 hours
non-stop, starting roughly at 6 PM in the evening, stopping
by 6 AM the next morning. After resting a few hours, they
are then o to another neighbouring village to repeat that
feat and this process goes on for good 10 15 days. Local
hooch then becomes crucial for sustaining the intense
activity over such prolonged period. That night in Kothi
was a few times I regretted not carrying my professional
camera, in fact I wasn’t even carrying my iPhone at that
time. But there’s plenty of stock photography on the
internet already available on Rajwadi Holi and I suggest
everyone go and look up the photos / videos on the net,
they are really awesome. We also had to opportunity to
visit the palace of the king, where the royal e ects still
made available for public display. That night was spend
witnessing the splendour of Holi but we couldn’t be there
for too long, we had an early morning walk ahead of us. We
took in as much as we could and then retired for the night.
Before sleeping Padvi Maharaj, our host told us that we
were bound to come across many drunk men over next few
days but a Narmade Harr will guarantee a safe passage
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without any incident, he assured. As predicted, we had our
fair share of encounters with drunken populace of the
region and every time, it was Narmade Harr! That never
failed to do it’s
trick.
The journey from

Kathi to Vadfalli
was quite
uneventful,
except when one
of my woodland
sandals decided
to give up under
the Shulpani
stress. I got it
repaired at a local
cobbler and to my
utter surprise and
dismay even the
cobbler refused
money from a
p a r i k r a m aw a s i .
Vadfalli fresh.
How much does a
cobbler even
make, I thought to
myself, seeing that I was in a spot, he could have charged
me 1,000 Rs and I would have still paid it. Instead, the kind
soul refused to accept any money and no mater how much
I pestered him, he wouldn’t budge. Making a lunch stop at
an ashram on the way, we reached vadfalli around 03:30 -
04:00 PM. Vadfalli is a very beautiful village nestled
amongst green mountains on all sides. Lush green and very
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remote, all its neighbouring villages are up high on the
surrounding mountains. Though the house, which we
thought was the ashram was locked, the verandah was
accessible and o ered clean bathroom and toilet. At that
time, it was just the two of us, so I used the facilities to the
fullest, all the dirty clothes washed, nice long cold water
bath and an hour of nap. By the time Kuldeep, the owner /
caretaker arrived on the scene, we were all rested and
fresh. He told us to go to a small hall across the street (that
was the ashram for parikramawasis, where we were resting
previously was his private residence) that could easily sleep
about 30 40 parikramawasis and lay out our asans there.
Dinner was to be served at 7:00 PM at his house, which we
initially thought was the ashram. We were lucky to get there
in time, because the ashram had toilet that was dirty and
bathing was at hand pump outside in the open. Luckily we
had nished all our business before Kuldeep showed up at
his residence.
After resting, we went over at Kuldip’s around 07:30 PM.

After a long time I saw a house that looked and felt like a
house we urban people are accustomed to. Nice and
comfortable sofa, chairs, neatly painted walls, tiled oor
and even a small rug in the centre. Across the hall was a
small ante-room, probably his Pooja room. It had beautiful
painting of a saint from Maharashtra hung on its wall, a
spotless white asan laid out in front of the photo frame of
the saint, gentle smell of incense stick emanating and a
single earthen lamp gave it a proper look and feel of a
prayer room. Dinner was hot rotis, nice vegetable curry
and an Indian sweet for desert. We all got introduced
during the dinner, our host was a warm but nonchalant
individual who seemingly loved his life in that remotest
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village in middle of mountains. He had come from another
city in Maharashtra and had been living in Vadfalli for last 5
years. His experience of the local people was very
interesting and throughout the dinner he shared his
experiences. He told us that if one had to survive in a place
like Vadfalli, then one needs to understand the locals really
well. They are very sweet and caring but you cross them
and you will realise they are not the forgiving types.
Extremely possessive about their Lands, Women and silver,
if you mess with either, you might end up dead and no one
will ever nd your body. When asked about how he
manages to run an ashram in a remote location like this, he
told us that he gets all his supplies and funding from his
hometown. He locks up the ashram during the four months
of chaturmas when parikrama is forbidden and then goes
and visits his donours only once a year. He does not ask,
only accepts whatever they give and that not only takes
care of parikramawasis but also at times is available for
entertain the villagers too. Kulkarni maharaj had so many
stories about the locals, how they have reverse dowry and
how easy it is for the women to get divorce in the region.
The process of divorce is called Kadi mod (break a stick).
Literally, any woman or man can by breaking of a dry twig,
con rm separation. No legal proceedings, no laws, no
police, primitive law of the land ruled here. The locals
consider their wood very auspicious and important. After
death of a family member, the grieving members of the
family, give out every wooden article that was used by the
deceased. The bed, the chair, the stick everything gets
stacked on the pyre for the funeral. The stories were very
entertaining but here the bhav had changed slightly, I could
feel. Our host was not a mayya bhakt. He was more of an
NGO than a devotee rendering seva. I believe he does a lot
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of welfare work in the re gion and apar t from
Parikramawasis seva, social work for rural upliftment,
seemed to be the agenda as well. In any case after a very
entertaining dinner, we retired in time for an early start
next day morning. The last leg was long and hard, so
Avdhoot maharaj suggested we start at 04:30 while its still
dark and maximise the morning walk.
As decided we left Vadfalli sharp 4:30 AM the next day.

The walk from Vadfalli to Zarvani we were told was the last
challenge of the region and ‘little’ di cult to achieve in a
single day. Little; as we realised much later to our chagrin,
was not an appropriate adjective here. I no more had a
Sherpa assisting me with the back pack and I would be
carrying it all across Mathesar to reach Zarvani. We have
been hearing it again and again from everyone since
Walking by the moonlight

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Dhadgaon, that once you cross Mathesar, your troubles of
Shulpani are over for good. It was a déjà-vu, we had heard
the same things about Khapparmal too. We instinctively
knew, something giant and enormous was coming our way
but we had become smug and overcon dent since
surmounting of Khapparmal and decided to take on the
might of Mathesar in a single day. No amount of advance
warnings, however, would have prepared us for Mathasar.
Anyways, when we started early in the morning, we were
walking by moonlight trying to make it through mountain
passes and invisible trails. It was an exciting and sometimes
little scary experience because there was no way of
knowing whether or not you were on the right road. You
tend to lose your bearings in the dim moonlight and god
forbid if you came to a fork, you are done, better wait till its
day light. we
continued to walk
in the dark with a
small river
murmuring on
our left in the
dead silence of
early morning
and drums and
clinks of metal
b e l l s
reverberating
from the
mountains all
around us. The
carnival seemed
Morning glory
to be at its peak.
As we walked in
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the dark eerie silence of the lonely road, every now and
then we would hear ru ing of twigs and dry leaves and a
dog or a fox swiftly passing us by, reemerging again after a
few minutes. Whatever be that animal, I thought it was
tailing us or still better, guiding us perhaps. At the rst
break of the day, we found out it was a nice, healthy brown
jungle dog. I was only too happy to have a dog along for the
journey but Avdhoot was terri ed of dogs and kept
requesting me to shoo the dog away. The dog however
d o g g e d l y
continued to tail
us and at times
even lead the way.
We would catch a
glimpse and then
lose his sight only
for him to
reappear a little
ahead.
In about an hour
Are we doing this or not? Come on chap chap… or so, we reached
the Maharashtra
Gujarat border,
yet another river marking the boundary. So far nothing
formidable had appeared before us. We crossed the river
and couple of directions later, we were on the road to
mathasar with the dog still tailing us. At rst we didn’t think
much of the climb but as the day progressed the climbs got
higher and higher and descends steeper. With every climb
it felt like it could be the last one, only to see another
mountain right ahead which was previously not visible. The
biggest di erence between Khapparmal and Matashar was
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The river that marks Maharashtra Gujarat Border
that where Khapparmal was a single very large mountain,

once on top the journey is over. Mathasar on the other
hand was an elusive destination, the more you walked
further away it got from you, or at least thats how it felt. If
you take away the exhilaration behind the risks in climb of
Khapparmal, we had to do about a dozen khapparmal,
going up all the way and coming down to make one
Mathasar. There was no risk of losing life here but risk of
pass out on a hot sunny afternoon was very real. We hit a
few villages on the way and used every hand pump
available to keep the water bottles topped up because
between villages there was no source of drinking water. The
Dog who was still with us managed his trek in a very
orderly fashion. He would rest, when we rested plus he
would always be on a lookout for source of water or
humidity. Wherever he spotted one, he would immediately

श्री
rush to the spot, drink or just take in the coolness of the
spot and then come and catch up with us. We now had
additional responsibility of feeding a dog so he got all the
biscuits we were carrying. At about 1sh we spotted
Nityanand ashram. The string of ochre coloured ags had
become such a welcome sight. It was a nice cozy ashram
with a spacious hall and a small room. We were asked to sit
and wait while lunch was being prepared. As we waited for
the lunch, a Maharaj of some math walked in and was given
a very warm
welcome by all
the members of
the ashram. Later
on we found out
that his math was
responsible for
the construction
and care of this
ashram. A proper
feast was
prepared for the
Maharaj of the
math and we
became the
unintended
benefactor of it.
We hadn’t crossed
Mathasar yet and
that was a big
worry, so without
resting much, we
Endless trek to Mathasar
p i c ke d u p o u r
bags and started
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marching again. As soon as we stepped out, the dog
maharaj was already running ahead of us, as if he knew
exactly where we were headed. The nal few climbs as we
neared Zarvani were very gruelling, a proper road was
being built but it was still all dust and mud. Afternoon heat
and the enormous heights to scale, it was a tough going. We
stopped every hour for 5 10 minutes and then resumed our
walk. Finally we reached Mathasar.
Zarvani ashram wasn’t too far from there. By around

07:00 we reached the Zarvani ashram, legs giving up
underneath us and totally exhausted, we literally collapsed
at its gates. we have been walking non-stop since 04:30 in
the morning till 07:00 in the evening, a good 14:30 hour
walk with just one major break. I am sure, Zarvani ashram
sees dead tired and about to collapse parikramawasis all
the time, their welcome said it all. The ashram in Zarvani
also has a bend towards social upliftment of the
neighbouring villages. Parikramawasi seva is a bonus. The
ashram feeds and tries to elevate the living conditions of
kids from neighbouring villages which seemed their
primary goal. Of course, they served parikramawasis with
equal care and attention, no doubt about that. The ashram
was well built, a concrete structure with multiple rooms,
multiple bathrooms and toilets, in fact one western
commode too, to my utter delight. All three of us (Dog
included) had reached the ashram safe ad sound. We
introduced our fellow parikramawasi from verandah itself,
our hosts who fortunately were pet friendly welcomed our
new friend. A dog tagging with parikramawasi was not a
new thing but most of them would go back from Zarvani
and we hoped that our friend would do the same. Zarvani
is almost the end of shulpani and one gets into proper
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Gujarat from here and that posed threat to our canine
friend. I didn’t want our canine friend to get in trouble with
the local stray dogs in the city.
Mayya had planned a special treat for us at Zarvani,

knowing fully well that we would be completely exhausted
from the days walk. Maharashtrian sweet dish of Puran
poli, Paneer saag, rotis, rice and lentils with potato fritters,
a feast t be served at marriages. Mayya, it seems, wanted
to give us a
celebratory treat
for nishing
ShulpaniI. Going
by sheer number
of dishes and that
too home made,
made that dinner
i n Z a r va n i t h e
grandest meal in
parikrama by far.
The same dinner
was served to all
the kids from
neighbouring
village. It was a
pure joy to watch
20 30 kids
swarming up
Mandir at the Zarwani Ashram
outside on the
verandah, sitting
crossed leg,
singing bhajans and hymns before taking in their rst
morsel. The hosts were all praise for the kids and their
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View outside the Zarwani Ashram
etiquettes. No kid, we were told, will ever eat without her/

his sibling. If one of the siblings liked a particular dish more
and if it were limited in supply, the other would forego her/
his share only to give the sibling an extra portion. Initially
when the kids started coming to the ashram, they would
simply hold rotis in their hand and eat out of their hands
without sitting or taking a plate. Over time now, the ashram
volunteers have imparted all the good practices of
partaking meals. Now they sing small bhajans and artis, sit
cross legged and eat out of their plates. The ashram is also
waging continuous war on insidious gutka culture of the
region. After our dinner, though we were extremely tired,
we sat chatting with the volunteers of the ashram swapping
interesting stories and sharing information.

श्री
The relief of
completing
shulpani without
any serious
incident and the
joy of getting back
to civilisation, at
least for a while,
helped us recover
faster. By the time
we went to sleep,
our body fatigue
had almost gone
and the mind was
already looking
forward to
walking through
Gujarat. I had
heard heaps of
Dinner being served to the kids at Zarwani Ashram praises about the
hospitality in
Gujarat from
Avdhoot and was
excited to witness it. He had also told me about
disproportionately large number of pilgrim spots lined up
on both banks of Mayya in Gujarat. There were temples of
historical, religious and archeological importance here.
Practically every known God and deity from scriptures
seemed to have done penance by the banks of Mayya in
Gujarat. In addition, crossing of Mayya across the
ratnasagar sea was a big curiosity. All in all, the joy of
completing Shulpani was just as big as the excitement of
entering Gujarat.
श्री
We left Zarvani ashram at around 5sh, half expecting the
dog to give up his tail on us. But to our surprise, he
wouldn’t quit. We even tried to chase him away but he
refused to go. So we picked a few extra biscuit packs for
him and started walking. After walking a few kilometres
another dog joined us. This dog looked younger to the one
already with us and was extra enthusiastic too. He would
run way ahead of us and wait for us to catch up with him,
with exasperated expressions, as if we were too slow for his
liking. Initially the two dogs had some trouble with each
other, but soon settled down and started walking along
with us. The rst dog by now was visibly tired and took
frequent breaks, we cooperated with him too and would
wait for him every time he took a break. The walk from
Zarwani was mostly downhill, except a few short climbs.
But nothing challenging had appeared so far. About an
Last view of the massive mountains & small houses of people with Big hearts

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hour and half into our walk, the road descended sharply at
the end of a small hill and we lost visibility of our road. Just
to get a feel of exactly where we were headed, we tried
looking into distance just to get an idea of where we might
be headed. Far ahead of us we could only see one road and
that road was going back into a massive mountain range. I
was so fatigued by the walk through the mountains by now,
that even the idea requiring to walk through mountains
again was unbearable. I put down my back pack and sat in
the middle of the road determined not to get on the road
going into mountains. No matter how much it costs, we will
take a vehicle but I am not climbing another mountain I
declared solemnly to Avdhoot. My tantrum was funny and
totally out of character, even Avdhoot started laughing and
patronisingly told me to just sit and relax right there in the
middle of the road, while he went a little ahead on the
reconnaissance mission for me. So while I sat there
de antly, like a 10 year old, Avdhoot went a little ahead and
discovered that we had nothing to worry, our road did not
enter any mountain range and that within a few kilometers
we would entering Gora colony, rst stop at sea level
Gujarat. Paci ed by the explanation, I started walking
again.
As we continued our descent, the terrain around us

changed. Rocks and red soil gave way to dusty and sandy
soil. Instead of large trees, there were bushes now, the air
became thicker, you could actually feel the di erence in the
air while breathing. At one point, Avdhoot stopped and
screamed, look Vallabhai Patel statue and there it was, a
huge silhouette of the great statue of Sardar Patel, called
the statue of unity. It was then we knew in our hearts,
Shulpani was nally over. We did a small celebratory dance
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and almost started running but realised very soon, we still
had 5 8 Km to cover. The new dog who had joined us, had
stopped following us, so it was just the three of us once
again. Finally, we came out of the dusty road emerging
onto a large highway. It was a moment of mixed emotions,
we knew, we would perhaps never experience such pain
and pleasure or live such a free life with no worries, no
desires; a life full of devotion as we did during our time at
Shulapani. The body seemed broken but spirits soared
high.
We stopped at the rst shop we came across on the

highway selling cold drinks and biscuits. The Dog had his
biscuits and we had a nice lemonade, it was a day to
celebrate after all. After that small celebratory break we got
back on our feet and started walking towards Gora colony. I
noticed that the dog had now suddenly started limping, but
kept on walking without making any attempt to stop and
perhaps lick or just sit and wait for the injury to heal. He
would walk a few steps and hop a few, he had probably
pulled a muscle or something. During Parikrama and
especially during Shulpani, my heart had become so
sensitive that I could not even bear the sight of the limping
dog. Thankfully out of force of habit, Avdhoot and me, we
were walking on opposite sides of the road and he didn’t
witness me crying my heart out at the pain of a dog. The
more he limped the more anguish I felt. I frantically started
praying to mayya. I even gave her an ultimatum that either
she remedies his pain or stop him from tailing us. For the
rst time, since he started walking with us, I felt the dog
had lost the purpose in his walk. Though he walked near
us, it seemed he too was wanting to leave. Finally as we
reached, the famous Shulpaneshwar Mahadev temple our
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friend decided to take a nap under a bench outside the
temple. After two and half days and about approx. 50Km of
walking together, when we came out of the temple half an
hour later, he made no attempt to join us back and
continued to sleep peacefully under the bench on the
premises of Shulpaneshwar Mahadev mandir.
Once we reached shores of Gujarat, Avdhoot was in his

elements, it was his territory after all. He knew all the
places to go to, the spots of mythological importance.
Every known mythological gure has performed penance
on her shores and for some strange reasons they all came
to Gujarat to do so. Sun, Moon, Shani Maharaj, Shree Ram,
Kuber, Hanumanji, Pandavas etc all of them have left
behind consecrated shivlingam on the shores of
Namramada mayya in Gujarat. Once in Gujarat, there are
practically temples every few kilometres that have
mythological signi cance and reference in Narmada Puran.
Thanks to Avdhoot, I was able to do most of them, though I
may have missed out on some and that would be my fault
completely. We started with the Shulpaneshwar Mahadev
near Gora Colony. The original Shulpaneshwar Mahadev
temple, along with it’s syamabhu (self-emerging)
Mahalingam had submerged miles below surface of the
backwaters of the Sardar Sarovar dam and what lay in front
of us was the new temple developed by Government of
India.
The ancient Shoolpaneshwar Temple was located at the

con uence of the Narmada and Devganga rivers, near
Manibeli village (Maharashtra), ve kilometers upstream
from the present Sardar Sarovar Dam. The temple was
considered to be one of the holiest shrines on the banks of
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Picture of the Old Shulpaneshwar Mahadev Temple
Narmada, based on the mythological belief that it was

consecrated by Lord Shiva himself. Various holy books of
Hindu religion like Agnimahapuran, Skandmahapuran,
Vayupuran and many such others describe this
Shoolpaneshwar temple as one of the pious pilgrimages
located on the banks of river Narmada. This temple was
believed to be very close to Bhrigu mountain and was
known for being located amidst dense forest and
picturesque Shoolpaneshwar waterfall. According to
Skandpurana, this sacred temple is like an axe that
exonerates the sins.
After Lord Shiva annihilated demons with his trident,

their blood left a permanent blotch on the trident that
would not get washed by the holy waters of Ganga ji even.

श्री
It is believed that Lord Shiva while roaming around the
forests reached this place, where on hitting the ground with
his trident, a stream of water gushed out which removed
the blood stains from his trident. Washing o of the blood
stains by this gushing water from the trident eventually led
to elimination of anguish of Lord Shiva, and thereby this
temple was named as Shoolpaneshwar. This temple has,
however, gone under submergence of Sardar Sarovar
Reservoir since February 1994. Hordes of legends have
grown around how despite huge government e ort, the
original Mahalingam could not be unearthed from its place.
Men died, heavy duty equipment broke and all the e orts
to restore the original shrine failed. How much of this is
true and how much is myth, I do not know, but I met at
least one tribal, going by whose version and version of his
family members, all the e orts made by government to
rehabilitate the original shrine failed and a totally new
lingam was consecrated for the new Shulpaneshwar
temple. We will similarly come across another heritage site
called Hapeshwar being lost to the the backwaters and will
be narrated later in the book. Some price had to be paid for
a greener Gujarat and Rajasthan, I guess. I don’t want to go
into a political debate here, su ce to mention a rich
artifact and heritage was lost to backwaters of Mayya but so
long as they are safe within her holy waters, I guess it
should be ne.
Government of Gujarat has since allocated a piece of land

on 160 ft raised site on left hand side of Gora bridge for
construction of new Shoolpaneshwar temple. Following
duly prescribed religious traditions amidst chants and
hymns, a new Shoolpaneshwar temple was made open to
public on 07.05.1994. The whole event was solemnised
श्री
fi
ff
ffi
ff
ff
ff
under guidance
and in
consultation with
the then
Shankaracharya
and other
religious priests.
Since then, about
70 ft. high newly
constructed
Shoolpaneshwar
temple has
become a centre
of devotion for
the pilgrims as
well as devotees
circumambulating
Ma Narmada.
On the steps of the New Shulpaneshwar Mahadev
Mandir
This was our rst
parikrama break
after Zarvani. I
reached the Shulpaneshwar temple amidst mixed and
turbulent emotions. It seems that the rigours of Shulpani
had cleansed my heart and soul and rendered me very
fragile from the inside and strong and courageous on the
outside. The temple now built is magni cent in its design
and spread. One has to climb up either ramp or stairs to
reach the base of the temple, which is again a large open
space with marble ooring. Since this is the rst temple you
get to enter after Shulpani, your emotions and devotional
fervour is really peaked. Even utterance of word Ram
randomly heard would bring tears to my eyes and a lump
श्री
fi
fl
fi
fi
in my throat. I had to struggle real hard to keep it worldly
sane on the outside, but inside, I have never felt this clean
and free. My being was in a place where only devotional
thoughts touched me, everything else would just wash o
like water washing o a stone’s surface. I entered the
temple in this frame of being. First, I sat outside, eyes
closed with ram naam jap happening e ortlessly. After
spending some time, Avdhoot shook me and signalled me
to follow him inside the temple in the inner sanctum for
Shulpaneshwar Mahalingam darshan.
I was wearing my harem that had Om printed on it when

I entered the inner sanctum of Shulpaneshwar Mahadev. I
sat close to the Mahalingam eyes closed and kept on
chanting Ram naam now as an o ering to Lord Mahadev
himself. A family and the head priest of the temple were
having a some conversation while I sat happily o ering
Ram naam to Shivji. The priest asked us if we would like to
have tea. There was a di erent command in this priests
voice, that didn’t seem to be coming from any ordinary
priest, either a siddha or a person of authority and power
in the material world alone would posses that strength and
command. Tea was served to both of us right inside the
inner sanctum and while the priest nished his business
with the family that was already there, we nished our tea.
After some time, the priest turned towards me and said, if
you promise not to take any o ence, can I make a
suggestion. I replied instantly, Sir you are elder to me and
in service of Shree Shulpaneshwar Mahadev, your wish
shall be my command. He smiled and said, ‘Son, you are on
such a holy journey of Narmada Parikrama and I really
applaud you for your dedication but, why are you wearing
the thing that has Om printed all over that covers your legs
श्री
ff
ff
ff
ff
fi
ff
fi
ff
ff
and private parts. I nd that tad blasphemous. Why can’t
you just wear white dhoti. Those words felt like a command
from Lord Shambhu himself and I instantly agreed on
giving up wearing the harem I was wearing and promised
getting into a white dhoti instead. However, there was just
one problem I confessed, since I don’t have a dhoti to wear,
my resolution will have to wait till I get a dhoti to wear. The
minute I said that, his voice boomed through the temple
calling out for someone and as soon as the person he
sought arrived, he commanded him to give me at least two
sets of white dhotis immediately. He then smiled at me and
said, you are not leaving this temple without wearing a
white dhoti young man. I was only glad to oblige and used
the restroom in the temple to change into the dhoti, taking
it as Mayya’s prasad and Lord Shivas direct command.
Later on he told us that he was actually one of the trustees
of the temple, that explained his tone and manner of
authority in the dealings. And that my brothers and sisters
was my grand parikrama entry into Gujarat.
ŚB 7.15.30
य जये य : :सङ्गोऽप ह: ।
एको शरणो ताशन: ॥ ३० ॥
One who desires to conquer the mind must leave the company of his family and live in a
solitary place, free from contaminated association. To maintain the body and soul together,
he should beg as much as he needs for the bare necessities of life.
न हर !

श्री
श्चि
र्म
दे
वि
त्त
वि
वि
क्त
त्त
स्या
भि
न्नि
fi
क्ष्य
मि
रि
ग्र
1. Every human acquisition has only three utilities: Daan

(charity), Bhog (Self utilisation) or Nash (destruction).
2. Desires are to happiness, what Mirage is to thirst.

श्री
Tenet 10 - न दातटवा नः स ब नां :-
Overcome dualities
Parikrama o ers a very unique opportunity of getting

continuously exposed to the dualities inherent in this world
of Maya like Heat & Cold, Praise & Insults, Success &
Failures etc. in a controlled and non life threatening
environment while Mayya, at the same time, fortuitously
grants pakramawasis the discretionary abilities to combat
these dualities without losing one’s calm and peace. During
parikrama a parikramawasi will, on occasions, be revered
like a sadhu and at times be treated like a beggar. There will
be grand welcome and VIP treatment at some ashrams and
some ashrams will want to chase you out. You will face the
unforgiving heat and experience bitter cold. You will be
o ered mouth watering delicacies and at times just dry
tikkads. While parikrama o ers these experiences that will
put one’s fortitude to test, Mayya, will provide the calm and

श्री
ff
ff
र्म
सि
ff
द्यः
हू
द्व
न्द्वा
भ्य
peace of mind to bear all such dualities without losing one’s
tranquility. One of the biggest take away from Parikrama is
facing dualities and staying unperturbed. Right from
Amarkantak till safe passage through Shulpani, Mayya had
put me through all the beautiful experiences of both
extremes of duality spectrum and at the same time taught
me ‘ ’ - Titiksha (forbearance) by giving me ability to
rise above these experiences while still maintaining peace
of mind.
Emerging from rigours of Shulpani and having

experienced sweet taste of Gujarat hospitality at
Shulpaneshwar temple, we now walked excitedly to
Haridham ashram in Gora colony. Haridham ashram was a
relatively modern ashram with decent facilities. We had
reached the ashram by 10:30, so enough time to wash
Dormitory Hall for parikramawasis at the Haridham Ashram

श्री
ति
ति
क्षा
clothes, get fresh and rest before lunch. Shulpani had tired
us and everyone at the ashram told us that a minimum of
two day stay was strongly recommended if not mandatory
for all paidal parikramawasis coming through shulpani.
There was a large dormitory hall which, in my opinion,
could easily accommodate about 50 – 60 parikramawasis. I
found my spot, rolled out my mat and in no time was lost to
the world, at rst due to chanting and soon after that
consumed by deep sleep. Avdhoot woke me up for lunch
around 1:00. True to the reputation of Gujarat, lunch was
royal by parikrama standards. The systems and discipline
at the ashram, especially during meals was really
commendable too. First batch of meal was served to local
needy, poor children and grownups, who sat at the back of
the hall and sang devotional hymns before starting their
meal. After the poor, parikramawasis would be invited to sit
on the mats rolled out on ground as Asan for them. A
rhythmic Shree ram Jai ram Jai Jai ram bhajan would ensue
as parikramawasis would be served and once the entire
pangat (all the members who sit together for meal and are
served equally by the host) was served the rst serving,
eating would start with uproar of Jai Shree ram. Meals were
served by young Brahmin kids who were perhaps students
at the Veda-Shala (school teaching vedas in Sanskrit) there
and the end of each serving, an elderly trustee would sit
with a wad of ten-rupee notes and hand one note to each
and every young volunteer or student serving at the meal.
After the lunch, we took another nap to relieve ourselves

from the exhaustion of Shulpani crossing. My sound sleep
was disturbed by soft but excited discussions from a group
sitting across me at the dormitory. I opened eye to peep at
the soft commotion and noticed that, one guy who clearly
श्री
fi
fi
was not a parikramawasi, was pulling out gold bordered
silk dhotis from his bag and a group of parikramawasis
were talking talking to him in rapid undertones. I could not
make out the topic of discussion but my commercial mind
concluded that this man must be wanting to sell the dhotis
to parikramawasis. I liked the dhoti and decided to buy at
least one for myself, now that I had decided to walk rest of
the parikrama in
dhoti. So after the
commotion had
subsided a bit I
walked up to the
gentleman and
told him I would
like a dhoti too,
the one with
golden border. He
asked me to wait,
since a few other
were making up
their mind too and
it was strictly a
rst come rst
serve deal. So I
went back and
Ram Darbaar at the Haridham Ashram waited for him to
let me know. In
another half an
hour, the same guy called me, cut a long dhoti cloth into
two and o ered me one, which was a good length for an
individual dhoti. I was happy to have and asked him how
much I owed him for the dhoti. There again, I saw that look
fi
श्री
ff
fi
of disappointment and instantly knew I had made the same
error of judgement again. Later I heard from Avdhoot, this
man was a cloth merchant from Rajpipra (a nearby town)
and would come every now and then with dhotis and
sometimes Kurtis to give away to the parikramawasis as his
seva. So suddenly, in a day, Mayya had blessed me with two
dhotis, in fact four dhotis, the one given by the trustee was
so large, I could have cut and made that into three decent
sized dhotis. No wonder then, most of my reminder
parikrama was done wearing the traditional parikrama
garb. After nishing the dhoti business, Avdhoot came to
me with a strange request. In order to relieve himself of the
heat, he wanted to have something cold and knowing that
the water dispenser gave out nice chilled water, he wanted
to have a sachet of avoured ORS I was carrying and make
lemonade out of it. I would have loved to give it to him but I
was only left with one and I wanted to reserve it for
emergency until we got an opportunity to restock. I
explained my situation and o ered to buy him some chilled
cold drink from a store nearby instead, which we did. This
incident was soon forgotten and we went about enjoying
reminder of our day at Gora colony.
Gora colony has a very beautifully ghat close to the

ashram. We decided to go sit at the ghat after sun down.
Avdhoot used his PR skills and found out that there would
be a grand mass arti at the ghat in the evening, so we
decided to go and experience it. As we walked down the
stairs towards the ghat, we could see four tables being set
on the ghat, where four young ethnically clad volunteers in
colourful attire stood facing mayya, holding large handheld
multi layered lamps and gracefully waiting for Arti to begin.
Each of the young lamp holder had an assistant who would
श्री
fi
fl
ff
light up all the wicks on the lamp in time for the arti. The
ghat itself was clean and the colourful dazzling lights from
both shores re ecting on Mayya’s calm waters made the
river front mesmerisingly beautiful. The arti began with
loud conch shell blowing and Mayya’s arti started playing
on the large speakers. Young boys holding the well lit lamps
started swaying them to the tune of arti, a very
orchestrated and practiced show followed. By the time all
artis were played, the crowd was thoroughly mesmerised
and thrilled. The audience or devotees sitting on the
staircases of the ghat, participated cheerfully in the Arti. It
Evening Artis at the Ghat near Haridwar Ashram
was a great experience and a grand sight to behold. After

the Arti on ghat, we immediately returned to the ashram
for Arti at the Ram temple. Though not as grand as the arti
on the ghat, arti at the ram temple in the ashram was far
more personal and spiritually engaging. Dinner was served
immediately after the arti. After dinner Avdhoot got busy
with his PR trying to schedule and plan reminder of Gujarat

श्री
fl
parikrama with the help of all the information he could get
at the ashram. I picked up my Mala and went out on the
access road to the ashram for a walking chanting session. I
was about to nish my 1080 beads Mala and return back to
ashram when I spotted a car parked by roadside and two
young boys sitting by the front wheel of a car. One of them
with his head between his legs resting against the wheel
seemed to be in some sort of trouble while the other one
was trying to talk to him. As I approached them the boy
who seemed to be ne started talking in broken English,
perhaps to establish that they were not a threat and soon
broke into Hindi trying desperately to get my help. The boy
sitting crouched on the ground by the car tyre was,
according to them, su ering from low BP and needed
medical assistance. I told them that I was new to the area
and couldn’t be of much help but back at the ashram, I did
have a sachet of avoured ORS that just might do the trick.
The kids seemed to like the idea and so I immediately
rushed back to the ashram, made a bottle full of ORS with
chilled water from the dispenser and brought it back to the
boys. The boy su ering had an entire bottle under 5
minutes and immediately started showing symptoms of
recovery. Within 10 minutes both the boys were back on
their feet and thanking me profusely drove away. When the
boys left, I couldn’t help but think, they have no idea who
they should really be thanking. Mayya made sure I saved
the sachet despite demand from Avdhoot, she inspired me
to go out on the road, made me walk only so that the sachet
she had saved for the boy got to him and just in time when
required. By now, my belief system had started turning into
a series of epiphany events. It was as if, Mayya was
whispering in my ears, how much more evidence do you
need to believe that it is all my doing, you are merely an
श्री
fi
fl
ff
fi
ff
instrument I chose to act through. Everyone you have ever
interacted with, who came within the radius of your circle
of in uence, may it be, man, woman, tree, mountain, sea
or river, they were all there at my will and command. The
incident, thus though very small left a large impact on me.
Leaving Haridham ashram with a new addition - my namesake
Next day another paidal parikramawasi, a young man in

his early twenties from Maharashtra came to the ashram.
Turns out he was my namesake and after spending a day
together, we decided to walk together. After two days of
rest and great food, we were once again ready to start our
parikrama. We started our walk by the banks of Mayya.
Avdhoot told me, Maharaj don’t worry, here you will have
temples and ashrams every hour or two. I have been

श्री
fl
listening to this almost entire Shulpani and of course, the
very rst ashram had given me the taste of what was to
come, but Mayya will let Avdhoot know soon enough, its
not Gujarat, its her grace. I was once again happy walking
by the banks of Mayya and the riverside walk was very
ful lling. True to his words, we were continuously going
from one mandir to another. There are simply so many
temples spread over the entire stretch of both southern and
northern banks of Mayya in Gujarat that there comes a time
when you literally start praying for at least an hours break
before reaching
the next temple.
The temple to
population ratio
here is way
higher than rest
of India I believe
and perhaps
thats why you
may nd some
temples deserted
or lacking
devotional
fervour.
We re a c h e d
Indravarna by
a r o u n d 1 1 : 0 0,
our rst spot of
mythological
impor t ance in
The Shiva Linga Consecrated by king of Gods Lord Indra
Gujarat. It is
believed that
श्री
fi
fi
fi
fi
Lord Indra, mythological king of Gods, after killing
Vritasura a Brahman demon, by deceit attracted the dual
sins of Barhmahatya (killing of a person of Brahman
lineage) and deceit. Finding no resolve for getting rid of this
dual sins in all three realms, he nally resorted to the
shores of Mayya and did a penance for 10,000 years with
complete vaira ya in this spot. Here, at the end of 10,000
years, Lord Shiva pleased by the penance liberated Indra
from the bondage of the dual sin and plus granted him a
boon. Indra wisely sought:
वे रय स ऽ , य मम वरदानं क ,त अ सदा उप तः
सन् स भव। अहम् अ प
O Lord of Devas, if you are pleased, if a boon has to be granted to me, then be pleased to
be present here always. I shall install you here.
गतानां स षां वे राणां शत तुः महा वं जगाम |

After Shiva and all other Devas who had come to bless him departed,, Śatakratu, the
Lord of Devas, installed Mahādeva and went to heaven.
The above description has been taken from Chapter 118

Section 3 - Reva Khanda of Skandha Puran, titled The
greatness of Indra Tirtha. Mythological references are
provided to inspire faith as well as to give certain location
its due importance on account of its spiritual richness. Just
the way large deposits of Gold or Silver or petroleum can
be found in certain locations, these pilgrim locations are
spiritual Gold mines. They are ener y reserves for reasons
not known to us, but the Rishis of past not only knew of
these reserves but could also harness these energies for
their spiritual upliftment through their yogis powers.
Knowing the importance of such cosmic ener y hotspots,
they left narratives behind to attract humans, even after
thousands of years, to these hotspots. Every individual is

दे
श्री
श्व
प्र
न्नः
र्वे
दि
प्र
दे
न्नो
श्व
g
सि
त्र
दि
त्वां
क्र
स्था
यि
दे
ष्या
प्र
मि
र्त
ति
व्यं
ष्ठा
fi
g
प्य
र्हि
स्व
र्गं
त्र
g
स्थि
drawn to these places basis their pre-determined ener y
transfer entitlement. That is why the ones who have
accumulated large amount of merit, come to such locations
and settle for life, while some of us, like me are entitled to
only a few minutes or hours. For example, a sadhu from
south India had been living in this location for over 40
years now and was there to welcome us. He was in charge
of the a airs of the temple and the ashram. Very
symbolically, I received Mayya’s chalice here. A steel glass,
actually, but I fondly call it Mayya’s chalice. A
parikramawasi is expected to carry her / his own plate and
glass to receive food and whatever is o ered for drinking. I
was not aware of it and did not carry, nor did I buy one. I
su ered because of it on many occasions, nally Mayya
decided to give me one. When the sadhu at Indravarna
o ered us tea but asked us to get our own glasses to drink it
from, I had to turn him down because I did not have a
glass. The sadhu went to his kitchen and came back with a
glass for me and putting it in my hands, told me to take it as
Mayya’s prasad. Since then, it has become my chalice from
which I drink wisdom of devotion.
Next major temple was the guru gorakhnath caves and

chandreshwar mahadev temple (penance done by Moon
God). Guru gorakhnath tapasthali is a large temple with
idols of Guru Gorakhnath and Maa Kali, it also has a small
cave not easily detectable to layman. Not only did Avdhoot,
discover its entrance, he even managed to crawl inside and
persuaded me to do the same. It was an exhilarating
experience entering the narrow cave and getting out of it.
The cave has one large stone sculpted Maa kali’s head
covered with Shendur (red-lead) placed inside the small
cave. At rst it is a scary sight but once the senses settle in
श्री
ff
ff
fi
ff
ff
fi
g
the small
environment, Maa
Kali idol merges
with the senses
giving very
peaceful vibes.
Avd h o o t a l s o
showed me
G a r u d e s h w a r,
which is on the
opposite banks
opposite to
@Guru Gorakhnath temple, in Dhoti now
Gorakhnath caves
and temple. Even
from the opposite
bank, Garudeshwar had the same magnetic e ects on me as
the architectural beauty on the bank opposite Shalivan.
While Shalivan tugged at my heart for its architectural
beauty, Garudeshwar called out to the spiritual longing in
me. After doing a few more ashrams and temples it was
lunch time and our body needed some food and rest, so we
actively started searching for an ashram or temple that
would hopefully meet both requirements. Avdhoot was
con dent we will not su er in Gujarat. He was still basking
in the glory of Gujarat hospitality, forgetting underlying
Mayya’s krupa, so obviously it was time to make him
realise too.
As we strolled by Mayya’s shores, we came across a

temple on top of a levee. We decided to try our luck there
and take darshan too. It was a beautiful temple with marble
ooring, two or three smaller mandirs and one major
Ganeshji sanctum. We took darshan and looked around
श्री
fl
fi
ff
ff
hopefully, waiting for a Narmade Harrr accompanied by an
invite for lunch, but none came. One old pundit who was
sitting on a bench at the temple and looked like head priest
decided to totally ignore us. The situation reminded me of
those two parikramawasis walking through the market in
Dhadgaon with no one o ering any assistance. We even sat
on the bench opposite him just to attract his attention but
to no avail. Finally we gave up, got down to the shore and
started walking again. The day was getting hotter and our
energies low. We saw another ashram up on top of the
levee again and once again decided to try our luck. We
were given the same treatment here too, no one would
even bother to look at us. Dejected and very tired by now,
as we walked down the second ashram I looked at Avdhoot
and started laughing. What happened to Gujarat & its
hospitality Maharaj, I asked him. He was speechless, I wish
there was some
way I could
explain to him,
nothing will
happen without
God’s will. It was a
huge lesson in art
o f s u r r e n d e r,
believing that a
situation or a place
or a person is
capable of
s u s t a i n i n g yo u ,
without the will of
God is a Vaishnav’s
A mystic tree where devotees o er clay horses
big gest fault in
bhakti marg. By
श्री
ff
ff
the time we reached third ashram I had declared that food
or no food, I am taking an hour’s nap to recoup before
moving on. Having made up our minds thus, we walked up
and entered the ashram. It was again a well built spacious
ashram. A thin man who worked at the ashram as care
taker, welcomed us. We got fresh at the tap in the
courtyard, drank water from cooler and laid out our asans
for relaxing inside
a large hall within
the ashram
premises. After
10 15 minutes the
sthan dhari sadhu
summoned us to
his room and so
we led in his
room. He
appeared sick
and not in a state
to say much. We
did the
reverential
namaskar and
after a quick
narmade harr, he
Shiv Lingam consecrated by Lord Moon told us, that he
was sick and his
cook had left him.
So unless we wanted to cook ourselves, he was in no
position to o er us cooked meal. He was very apologetic
about it so we assured him that he need not worry, we will
just take rest and move out by 4. Unfortunately none of can
cook, but we also have no ener y to walk any further
श्री
-
fi
ff
g
without resting. I wasn’t too bothered, two days of rest and
good food had provided me enough ener y to tide over half
a days hunger. So we went back to where we had laid out
our mats and tried to get a shut eye. As we comfortably lay
there, knowing in our hearts, Mayya wanted us to fast that
afternoon, Mayya now suddenly changed her will. The
same place, where there was no hope of food, she arranged
for food. A devotee had come with his truck to deliver
rewood for a yagnya to be performed in a few days, he
went inside to notify the Maharaj of this development. The
sadhu, taking pity on our predicament, requested this
devotee to
arrange for food
from a restaurant,
if it was ok with
us. This devotee
then took our
permission and
went himself to
fetch food for us. I
do not know how
Avdhoot and the
other Vishal
processed this
event but in my
mind, but to my
mind the message
was clear, nothing
can happen
unless willed by
God rst. After
Longest stretch of walk by Narmada Mayya
re s t i n g a go o d
hour or so, we left
fi
श्री
fi
g
God’s Doctors Ashwini Kumar’s seat of penance , Adjoining is Vaidyanath Mahadev
the ashram, each one of us with a di erent message

perhaps.
We left in time so we could make it to the next ashram

before dark. Walking ahead we reached temples of
Vaidyanath Mahadev, Pyaseshwar Mahadev & place of
penance of Ashwini Kumars. This compound of very old
and heritage site, is completely deserted and most
probably, some priest from nearby village visits twice a day
to do puja and goes back, leaving the temples completely
unattended. The biggest di erence between MP & Gujarat, I
have found, is that though MP is not rich and has smaller
temples, the devotional quotient is higher. Gujarat, there’s
money and the temple premises are vast but both priests
and devotees are missing. Anyways, so we spend some time
at the vaidyanath Mahadev and moved on. By 03:30 we

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reached a quaint little ashram which was completely
deserted. There were two parikramawasi sadhus already
staying there from past two days who told us that the
ashram is deserted without any care taker or sthan-dhari
sadhu to provide seva. The two of them were probably
planning on making the ashram their chaturmas (four
months of monsoon when parikrama is forbidden) stay and
had comfortably eased into the ashram. There were three
temples inside the premise, a dormitory for
parikramawasis, a large, well equipped and properly
stocked kitchen. The sadhus showed us the hand pump
where we could take shower and wash our clothes. We took
our spots at the
dormitory, laid
out our mats and
decided to rest
after a long day’s
walk. My
n a m e s a k e
somehow was not
liking the pace at
which we were
walking, he
wanted to do
more rigorous
w a l k i n g ,
obviously given
his age and I
wanted more time
with mayya. I
k n e w, I w o n ’ t
Deserted ashram with no Sthandhari mahatma
have this privilege
to roam her banks
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freely for too long and wanted to make the most of my time
here. Not only did I want to walk slowly but spend loads of
time in spots where we got solitude. This ashram was a
perfect spot, so one night was totally called for, Avdhoot
agreed but my namesake wanted to gain some more walk
that day. So after resting a bit, he bid us Narmade harr and
walked on alone. So now it was the two Sadhus and two of
us at the ashram for night stay.
I utilised all the

solitude I could in
that place. Sat in
temples singing
hanuman chalisa,
Ram Raksha
stotra, my regular
jaap. The t wo
s a d hu s s t ay i n g
there were
suggesting that we
st ay at least a
week, give them
company and
utilise the
opportunity to do
our spiritual
practices. I was
very tempted; the
place was exactly
what I have been
To remind me, what tyag really means
w a n t i n g
throughout but
what about food?
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The sadhus told us that the supplies were stocked only
cooking was the issue. One of them suggested we go around
the village and get bhiksha (begging for home cooked food
only), the other one wanted to cook. Finally, they decided
they would cook and continued to convince us to stay
longer. Two nights at the most, no longer, is what we
thought was right for us. Anyways, the sadhus got to
cooking. I thought I should at least o er some help in
cooking and so I
walked to the
kitchen but the
meal was almost
cooked and ready
for serving. The
me al itself was
simple, I could see
a stack of sadhu
style rotis (tikkads)
already forming
and potato curry
being stirred on
the side. The only
problem was our
sadhus could not
locate masala for
Makeshift havan, practice cannot break the curry, so we
were going to have
the most bland
curry ever made in India. The dinner was served and to
spice the curry up, we got ourselves served lanka (Sadhu’s
term for hot and fresh green chillies) picked from nearby
farms. When we sat down for dinner outside under the
moonlight, I could easily declare it to be one of my best
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meals ever. The tikkads and the large cauldron was kept in
the middle, we sat around it and helped ourselves to it,
chatting random things, laughing and making merry of the
moment blessed by Mayya.
The next day, all my time until noon was spent purely
doing sadhana with no disturbance and in complete
solitude. However, at lunch we discovered the sadhus were
having a bit of di erence on the topic of cooking because
one of them was very focused on his Sadhana and did not
appreciate the additional duty, especially with the two of us
piling on. Avdhoot and me, we then decided to not overstay
our welcome and
left the ashram at
about 3:30. We
thanked the
sadhus for their
kind service, I
even got one of
the sadhus
recharge for his
phone. I left this
ashram with a
very heavy heart,
praying Mayya to
give more such
opportunities.
In about an hour,
we reached
a n o t h e r
Ramji ni Mahdi, build by the Pandavas
my thologically
important temple,
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the Ramji’s madhi (Ramjis shack) which is believed to have
been built by the great Pandavas and in the madhi, they
built two temples, one called Dharmeshwar Mahadev and
the other Bhimeshwar Mahadev. It’s really a heritage
monument but once again, totally deserted. There was no
one in the temple, neither a caretaker, nor a priest. The
place looked clean, so morning and evening seva was being
done, no doubt, but it lacked the attention it deserved.
After taking darshan and a small video, we moved on. Next
we walked into Rampara village where a very beautiful
Swayambhu (self
manifested)
Ranchorrai (Shree
Krishna) idol was
found in a farm
close to Narmada
mayya in the year
1913. The idol
looks so shiny and
bright, as if it was
found yesterday.
Except for one
forlorn caretaker,
there was no one
else on the large
premises of the
temple. We used
Svayambhu Murti of Ranchodrai the water cooler
to re ll our water
bottles, splashed
some on face for cooling and refreshing and then moved
on. Next stop was the Dhaneshwar mahadev temple near
Rampura. Dhaneshwar Mahadev is considered to be the
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rst spot where Kuber (Ravan’s brother & also caretaker of
world’s wealth) prayed and did his penance. Opposite to
Dhaneshwar is Lukeshwar Mahadev. As we stepped out of
the temple after taking Darshan of Dhaneshwar &
Lukeshwar we came across a board of an ashram just
outside the temple
and dec ided to
stay the night
there.
The ashram is a
very beautiful and
built around an
old heritage
temple of Shree
R a m . T h e
construction of the
main building is
concrete and
spacious. Next to it
is an old heritage
Dhaneshwar Mahadev Temple
Ram mandir and
d i a g o n a l l y
opposite is a small
low roof house with one long corridor and a few rooms
which makes up for ashram for parikramawasis. The
sthandhari sadhu here had gone for a katha (meaning story
- traditional discourse on Ramayan / Geeta / Bha wat)
leaving the management of ashram in the hands of a Sadhvi
(female sadhu / renunciate). We were given a very warm
welcome by the Sadhvi, who for very rst time in Gujarat
brought back the feeling of ashrams in MP and
Maharashtra. The dinner was prepared by the Sadhvi and a
fi
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few boys from villages around, who would help her with
the chores. The Sadhvi was very generous and kept on
persuading us to stay another 14 15 days until the
sthandhari returned to conduct katha in Rampura.
Listening to Katha is considered one of the sevas or act of
devotion in Vaishnav tradition. I was almost tempted to stay
but for two reasons; Avdhoot was in rush to nish his
parikrama and two the toilet and bathrooms were in
seriously bad condition. Even after so many days, stench of
a bad toilet and bathing early mornings in the open
continued to be an insurmountable challenge. We profusely
thanked the Sadhvi for her seva and left the ashram next
day early morning but she wouldn’t let us leave without tea.
Respecting her seva bhav, we took our morning cuppa
before leaving.
Mornings in rural Gujarat was a di erent experience.

Narrow tar roads winding through the villages, where you
nd only bungalows on both sides of the street but hardly
a ny p e o p l e s t ay i n g i n t h e m o r a ro u n d i n t h e
neighbourhood. Whatever little population there is, is
mostly senior citizens. So the streets were mostly deserted
but instead we found plenty of peacocks in that part of
Gujarat. and you could hear the peacock honking
everywhere. Perched on trees, bushes, house balconies,
terraces, temples, you nd them everywhere, feeding
without a care in the world and trotting around like Royals.
Another impressive thing about Gujarat is Seva bhav of the
Gujaratis. Since they are not providing from scarcity, they
are very magnanimous in their gesture, even when they are
o ering you a pack of Glucose biscuits. As we were walking,
one elderly gentleman who was out for morning walk,
caught up with us and politely requested that we kindly
fi
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accept some seva from him. We obviously were happy to
oblige, so we stopped at a tea stall where tea was ordered
for us and he quickly ran into his house and fetched us a
few packs of biscuits, which he o ered with lot of love and
humility. There is nothing extraordinary about this
incident, except that the pack of biscuit was o ered with so
much pride and dignity that it amazed me. Gujaratis have a
very sweet demeanour, generally speaking and its very easy
to interact with them. We thanked the old man and with a
narmade harr
started walking
again. We passed
many more shiv
mandirs and
some really large
ashrams but the
larger the ashram,
lesser the seva
bhav. Some of the
ashram gates
were even locked
during day time,
which in a way
destroys the
whole purpose of
an ashram. In any
case, we were
enjoying the walk
Just a beautiful view, no story as if we were
walking in a park.
Most parts here
were green and
unpopulated. We kept walking through narrow streets,
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mayya being very close but not visible yet. We continued
walking the small road until we came to a fork where we
saw a sadhu standing with folded hands in the middle of
the road as if waiting to welcome us. Very humbly but
almost out of forceful love he invites us to his hut by
Mayya’s shores for a cup of tea. A little surprised by this
strange invite, we still had no heart to turn him down and
besides his hut was right by the shore, so we thought we
could get back to walking by the banks and in the process
see his hut too. On the way there, we came to a Hanumanji
temple which had a very beautiful antique looking
Shivlinga outside
the temple and a
lot of relics of
old stone idols
strewn outside
the temple on its
ve r a n d a h . My
heart was
saddened to see
the dilapidated
state of such a
rich Hindu
A very unique looking Shiva Lingam with old relics
heritage. A steep
strewn around p at hway f ro m
this temple took
us to the sadhu’s
hut. It couldn’t be termed as a hut yet, all that he had
managed to do so far was to level a space of 10 feet by 10
feet, dig in six wooden poles and lay some bamboos over
half of that area. Originally from MP or UP, he had started
his parikrama and was inspired to settle by the shores of
Mayya for life. He came to the particular spot where his hut
श्री
was being built and was convinced that this is where he
would stay for the rest of his life, render service and
practising his sadhana. I believe most of the ashrams in MP
and Shulpani have sprouted in this fashion. We were
witnessing the beginning of an ashram and struggles
involved, how the locals may sometimes be very helpful
and sometimes be very troublesome. We chatted with the
sadhu a bit and then bid him a good bye. Here though our
side of the
riverbank was
green and
walkable, the
other side was
just sand
drudging cartel
land. After
walking for about
an hour along the
riverside, we
spotted stairs
leading up to
what could
possibly be an
ashram. We not
only needed to
rest but if it was a
good ashram, we
Humble beginnings of a Sadhu’s ashram might want to
stop for lunch, so
we d e c i d e d t o
walk up and nd out. It turned out to be a large ashram
with enclosed bathrooms and toilets, I desperately needed
a bath and laundry. So we stopped there, I nished my
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chores and we decided to go exploring the ashram. There
was a beautiful temple across on a small hill, which we
went to for darshan rst. We explored that temple and then
came back to the ashram. The ashram had various small
temples but its
biggest attraction
was a small hut on
the side which
had a large copy
of ‘Ramcharit
manas’ in a small
room and a large
display window.
The ashram
provided for stay
to parikramawasis
during their
‘chaturmas’, the
only condition
being, every
parikramawasi
who decides to
stay MUST do a
Who wouldn’t want to walk this…… minimum 4 hours
of mandatory
seva every day.
The seva is to fan
the Ramcharit manas, while continuously chanting ‘Sita
Ram’ out loud. I loved the concept and knew just where to
come, if I ever wanted to spend a chaturmas. After lunch,
we gave our back little rest and it was time to move on
again. We got walking through the small roads and villages.
This time, the bu alos were giving us a hard time.
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Something about my gear would scare and excite them.
The minute they saw us coming close they would want to
run away from us and if the road did not allow for them to
run away from us, then they would run towards us to
attack. In those two days, we had about 6 7 episodes of
bu alos panicking and behaving unpredictably. Next big
attraction was a heritage temple by name ‘Vedanath
Mahadev’ in a
village called
‘vandariya’ (literal
translation being
monkey). A notice
in the temple
provides details of
references in
‘ S k a n d a P u r a n’
and ‘Vayu Puran’
to this particular
site. Though the
ext e r i o r o f t h e
temple as we see it
now, is only 450
years old, the
reference in the
The Rustic heritage sites of Mahadev Temples along the
Puranas suggests
banks of Mayya that after slaying of
Ravan, Shree Ram
went to meet
Shivji. Shivji told Ramji that he has incurred sin of
Bramhahatya (Killing of a Brahmin) and needs to be
cleansed of the sin. So it was suggested that Ramji do a
penance by the banks of Narmada and thats how Ramji too
came to the banks of Narmada Mayya for penance.
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Hanumanji, Sugrivji and the entire platoon of monkeys
followed him. The place where Ramji performed his
penance is called Rameshwar, Hanumanteshwar is where
hanumanji performed his, Vanareshwar is where Sugrivji
performed his and where the entire platoon of monkeys
did their penance became known as Vandariya. Vednath
Mahadev was consecrated in this region where the platoon
of monkeys who became Ramji’s warriors did their
penance. Taking in as much of mythological information as
possible, we moved on excited to see what lay ahead.
We continued walking by the shores of Mayya on our to

the next ashram. Most of the walk was pleasant and our
next ashram was
almost within our
sight when we hit
a thick overgrowth
of bushes we had
to go through so as
to reach the
ashram. We
decided to brave
the bushes, I had
seen no challenges
w a l k i n g by t h e
banks of Mayya yet
a n d t h i s d i d n’t
look that di cult. I
couldn’t have
guessed it more
wrong. The half an
Stairs better be your friend, Nani Moti Panvati Stairs
hour of gruelling
walk through the
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bushes proved to be extremely challenging and sometimes
scary even. The bushes were hard and rough, we could not
see beyond 6 feet, and we had no idea how far we had to
walk through these that made the su ering worse. It was so
hot and dense inside them that it became su ocating at
times. The temperature and humidity inside was
perplexing and when we couldn’t fathom how much of that
dense vegetation was left, it became scary. After a sweating
and gruelling 30 to 45 min, we nally emerged unscathed
through the bushes at the base of stairs leading to village
Jior, and a temple called ‘Shani Devi nani-Moti-Panoti
mandir’. It indeed was a very funny name for a deity and
it’s literal
translation
means, “Shani’s
Goddesses of
short term and
long-term bad
luck”. The
temples of these
deities are small
but attract a lot of
devotees from all
over Gujarat.
Essentially a
farmer / business
c o m mu n i t y,
Gujaratis tend to
worry about luck
or bad luck might
bring. Simple and
The best Asan to have….. Nani Moti Panvati
innocent village
folks come here to
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rid themselves of what might appear as running bad luck.
Interestingly, so strong is the pull of these deities that the
Shivji’s temple right behind is completely neglected and
was almost in ruins when we were there. What power can
these deities possibly have that Lord Shiva does not possess
but then that’s how blind faith works.
Diagonally opposite to Nani moti Panauti mandir, on a

platform overlooking grand basin of Mayya is another
temple / house called, ‘Shree Narmadeshwar Shree Laxmi
Yantra Mandir’. This is a single storey part residential, part
temple building where the bottom oor belongs to ‘Laxmi
Yantra Mandir’, the presiding gods of which are Laxmi, Shri
Yantra, Narmada Mayya, Lord Shani, Navagraha Devas and
Lord Shiva. The verandah of the temple serves as an
ashram space for parikramawasis. It was 5:30 already by
Temples at Nani Moti Panoti Mata premises

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the time we reached there, so we decided to stay the night
here at the ashram. Shiv was now just a day away from us
and had
p ro m i s e d to
meet us the
next day. To
catch you up
w i t h S h iv ’s
journey. After
he decided to
st ay behind
and walk
through the
Shulpani, very
next day in the
afternoon we
got a call from
h i m ,
complaining
t h at h e wa s
Captivating Kaal Bhairav Murti
f e e l i n g ve r y
feverish and
extremely
weak. Now, it seems, he too was contemplating using the
transport. We tried to dissuade him from doing so and
asked him to have some courage and patience but by third
day, he was already hitchhiking and taking public transport
wherever possible. We were in touch every now and then
with him and nally going to meet up with him tomorrow.
In the evening, the priest of Laxmi Yantra Mandir and

owner of the house, elder of the two brothers who own the
place came down and met us. He told us how his father, a
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spiritual master in his own right, had come and settled near
Narmada mayya
many years back.
He was a siddha
and have been
referenced by
p r e v i o u s
parikramawasis in
their narratives.
He also showed us
around the
temple and told
u s a b ou t t h e i r
small business of
selling Shree
Yantras. A Shree
yantra is
considered
auspic ious and
also a sacred
Moti Panoti Mata idol object that
attracts opulence
into life. The Kal
Bhairav temple opposite the Nani Moti Panoti temple also
belonged to the same family. The statue of Kal Bhairav here
is almost a sinister looking image, as it rightfully should be
for the dreaded Kotwal of Kashi. Mythologically speaking,
he is the one responsible for punishing soul for the sins
committed by them but at the same time, he is also
supposed to be putting the puri ed soul after punishing
them suitably at the feet of Lord Shiva for their liberation.
This macabre statue resides outside a house in its
verandah. A lot of people o er mustard oil and sesame
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seeds here. Behind this idol, inside the house, is where the
photo and lineage of the man who started the ashram are
placed along with the blessed padukas (traditional Indian
wooden footwear) of Shree Swami Samarth of Akkalkot.
Overall, the verandah, Nani Moti Panuti temples, Kal
Bhairav statue everything was a bit novel, di erent from
what is regularly seen.
Dinner was arranged and served by the owner and his

nephew. Before retiring to bed, the owner of the ashram
handed me a copy of a book that introduced Narmada
parikrama to Maharashtra. I immediately started reading
my rst ever travelogue on parikrama. The book gripped
me in no time and I kept reading well into mid night. After
reading the book, I was highly inspired to once again walk
alone until I crossed over on the other shore at the sea at
the Gulf of Kambut, at least. The book, just like everyone
else I had spoken
to, inspired me to
walk in solitude.
Avdhoot was lying
down next to me,
watching one of
his comic shows. I
looked at him and
told him that I
would not be
joining him and
S h iv t o m o r row,
but we will meet
once again near
Nani Panoti Mata Murti
Bharuch on the
opposite banks. He
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was little disappointed but understood and got back to
enjoying his show. The nights sleep on the verandah
overlooking Mayya with the experiences narrated in the
book plying my mind, was very tranquil.
We woke up with a start due to commotion on the large

courtyard outside the verandah we were sleeping on. A
large group of 40 50 people had arrived very early at the
ghat and the temples for a Arti Rudra Ya ya. Men, women
and children who had arrived for the ya ya had to take
shower and get fresh, so our chances of getting to bath
inside enclosed bathroom quickly disappeared, they were
reserved for the females. Once again, I had to bathe out in
the open with cold
w a t e r. B u t t h e
o u t s i d e
temperature was
bearable and I
managed without
too much of
d i c u l t y. I go t
ready, said good
bye to Avdhoot
and started my
onward journey to
Ankleshwar. I had
picked up one
S h re e Ya n t r a
myself, which
would now
The legendary svayambhu Datta Murti at Bhalod with become part of my
chest of Shree Dattatreya shaped like Cow’s face
Arti ensemble for
the reminder of
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-
g
g
parikrama.
One of the disadvantages of parting company with

Avdhoot was that I missed some interesting spots on my
way to Ankleshwar like, Rameshwar, Lakshmaneshwar,
Kahtabhanjan Hanuman, Neeleshwar Mahadev, Datta
mandir at bhalod, Maninageshwar, Parameshwar Mahadev
etc. ( I was able to go and pray to a few out of these at a
later date but missed them during parikrama).
I was very soon in Ankleshwar, my nal stop before

completing parikrama along the southern bank of Mayya
and also half of my own journey. I would be going to
Vimleshwar from here which is where parikramawasis take
the boat to crossover on the other side of Mayya. I readied
myself at Ankleshwar by replenishing my medicine and
View of Narmada Mayya @ Ankleshwar on the other bank is Bharuch

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other necessities. I also nally got rid of my heavy bag and
most of its unnecessary content to be replaced by a smaller
and lighter back pack. I was now travelling six Kgs lighter
and it felt good. From fourteen, my new backpack now
weighed only eight Kgs. I also used my downtime at
Ankleshwar to rest the body and mind for the rigorous
experience of the crossing. I was told, it took 3 4 hours in a
boat out in an open sea and the experience could be
gruelling. Due to my extra stay at Ankleshwar, Shiv and
Avdhoot caught the ferry one day ahead of me and they
had some rough experience at the sea themselves. They
rode an open boat, plus the sea was rough and thus little
scary for a rst timer at sea like Shiv. Their journey started
around 11:30 I was
told and ended at
15:00 Hrs. With
scorching hot sun
over their head for
three and half
hours in an open
boat they reached
the other side
s e v e r e l y
dehydrated.
According to them,
the experience
was equivalent in
risk and e orts to
that of
Khapparmal climb.
Most mesmerising Picture of Hanumanji @ the Ram Taking notes of
Temple
what to and what
not to do, I
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stocked myself su ciently with water bottles and made a
mental note of not opting an open boat. Finally a day after
Shiv & Avdhoot crossed over, it was my time to now get on
the Northen banks of Mayya. It is believed that when a
parikramawasi walks the southern bank, he gathers merit
for his pitras (souls of forefathers) and secures their
liberation, while the northern shore is meant for acquiring
merit for one’s own emancipation. So technically speaking,
I had done all I could for my forefathers, it was now my
turn.
Visiting Ram Kunda, Balbala Kunda, Hanuman Tekri,

Siddheshwar Mahadev, and few other sites on the way I
reached Vimaleshwar all set to take the boat ride. I had
made all the arrangements in advance from Ankleshwar so
on the day of ride I just had to arrive.
Siddheshwar Mahadev temple near Vimleshwar

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Finally the day for crossing over arrived, for me it
marked completion of half of my parikrama. I had started
my journey from the source of Mayya at Amarkantak and
now was at her mouth, where she meets the sea. When I
did the crossing, I had not researched and so ignorantly
believed that the boat would actually go out in the open
sea, take a long semi-circular path along the coast and
come back to the shore on other side of Mayya. But during
the research of the book I realised that Being a gulf, the
boat never ventures out in the open sea but is safe between
the two
landmasses of the
gulf of Kambhat. It
takes a small run
from a small creek
a t Vi m a l e shw a r
into the gulf and
crossing the
mouth of Mayya,
docks at Dahej,
which is a proper
port. Vimleshwar
is only a small
creek opening into
Gulf of Kambhat
whereas Dahej is a
proper port at the
bay of Kambhat.
Boat route from Vimleshwar to Dahej mapped on The crossing is a

Google maps
very big event in
Parikrama. Here,
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one is supposed to pour half the jal (water) one has been
carrying from the spot where she/he started the parikrama
and re ll it with the water from the sea. For most people
doing parikrama, it would also be their rst experience of
being at the sea. Like everything else in parikrama, the boat
ride has no amenities, the conditions of travel are unsafe,
rough and demanding. There are about four or ve ferries
moored along the muddy creek sandbank. People gather at
the village of Vamleshwar and wait till a quorum is reached
to justify sailing of the entire eet. Owing to the obvious
risks at sea, a single boat never sails, enough
parikramawasis need to arrive so as to ll at least 4 5 ferries
before the eet sets sail. The eet is managed by one
elderly village head called Rama. No boat leaves without
him saying so. You go and register your name and number
with Rama and he will notify you once the eet is ready to
sail. Luckily, I did not have to wait, the eet was ready to go
the same day.
Waiting for the tide to come in

श्री
fi
fl
fl
fl
fi
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fi
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fi
-
One leaves Vimaleshwar by foot and walks the mud ats
till the wooden ramps erected along a small tidal channels
of the gulf. Here on the open mud ats, people are made to
wait for an hour or two in anticipation of tide. You could
see some groups doing bhajans loudly, some organised
parikramawa tours were carrying small speakers that
played bhajans out loud and women danced to the tune of
those bhajan, overall there was excitement in the air.
Though it was getting hotter since we were all gathered
from about 11:30 and it was nearing one and still no sign of
tide. By around 1:30 rst trickle of tidal water started
showing and there was an uproar amongst the
parikramawasis. Narmade Harr came out of about two
hundred mouths simultaneously. By 1:45 the rst boat had
started loading strictly paidal parikramwasis. I had already
heard the experience of an open boat, so I had requested
First Boat is always reserved for Paidal Parikramawasis, good luck charm for the
eet

fl
श्री
fi
fl
fi
fl
Ramji to kindly allow me into an enclosed boat and had
willingly paid extra for the favour. I got into an enclosed
boat and got the much coveted window seat. Quarter past
two, my boat started sailing. When I rst saw the boat I was
a little worried, was this boat even seaworthy, are these
even inspected periodically to check their seaworthiness, I
thought to myself but I also knew the answer, ignorance is
bliss, lets keep it that way, I told myself. Life jackets were
obviously out of question. The captain who was to take us
across from point A to point B in that dinghy, to the best of
my reading was absolutely illiterate. His only quali cation
for sailing our boat was that he was born in and around
Vamleshwar and had enough guts to go into the sea. By the
look of it, I think he was drunk too. Once again my prayers
for a safe passage automatically intensi ed.
The boat sailed with an uproar of Narmade Harr from

throats of 50 odd people onboard. The boat had one
Fleet leaving the creek behind and approaching gulf of Kambhat

श्री
fi
fi
fi
captain, one assistant and one handyman. Three of them
had managed the seating so as to maintain the balance of
the boat. While the captain was at the rudder navigating,
his assistants sat on top of the enclosed boat providing him
with the necessary directions. The boat slowly picked up
speed and was going through the narrow channel at rst.
The greenery around and the small ripples of incoming tide
made the view very beautiful. Soon the seagulls started
ocking the boats, I had been told about this. They come
for food that parikramawasis feed. I had a few biscuit
packets which got o ered to the seagulls following us. The
channel was now getting wider and wider until it opened
up into a full sea view. From that point onwards, the boat
ride started getting
solemn. All the
jolly voices
drowned into
silence. Everyone
realised the
magnitude of risk
undertaken here,
if the motor of the
boat failed or if the
boat capsized or
one of us fell
o v e r b o a rd , o u r
chances of survival
were minuscule.
Window seat on the enclosed boat Soon, we lost the
view of any land at
all, there was just
sea all around. Travelling without homework and
information can play havoc on an uniformed mind. It
fl
श्री
ff
fi
looked like a sea but is actually a gulf so right across is yet
another coast and we were actually sailing close and
parallel to the coast we left behind. However, my
uninformed mind had its own moments of panic. Enclosed
boat saved me from over exposure to sun and made the
journey tad more comfortable. The seagulls kept us
company most part of the sailing, they would y some
distance, sit on the waters, rest and then catch up again. It
was a routine for them. At one point, we even saw two
Seagulls ocking around the boat for food
dolphins swimming parallel to us. Then came the point

where we were supposed to o er the jal to sea and ll sea
water in its place. The attendant, went around the boat and
using a can tied with a rope, he pulled the sea water using
the jerrycan. Sea water from this jerrycan was then poured
into the part empty jal bottles of parikramawasis. This
activity though free of cost to paidal parikramawasis,
money was demanded from folks doing parikrama by bus.

श्री
fl
ff
fl
fi
No land in sight, only sea as far as eyes go…
The activity of re lling the jal distracted us from our

anxious state for about half hour. The tidal waves incoming
into the gulf were getting a bit rough for the boat our size
and the rocking motion was sickening a few on-board.
Chanting, doing bhajan and sometimes sitting silent we
nally reached dahej after spending three hours in that
small boat. It was a tough journey but mostly on account of
unreliable and unprofessional arrangements. The mood
lifted the minute we saw land again, the murmurs
increased, Narmade Harr became louder and when we
nally moored at Dahej, everyone on the boat was visibly
overjoyed that we had reached safe and sound. We got o
the boat and started walking towards the exit, the rst thing
we saw was volunteers inviting us for Mayya’s prasad.
Volunteers stood ready to serve hot khichadi and mango
pickle to the exhausted parikramawasis. The volunteers
were humble and caring, with folded hands and a caring
smile, they ensured that every single parikramawasi who

fi
fi
श्री
fi
fi
ff
Parikramawasi Boat approaching Dahej amidst Narmade Harr roars..
came o the boat was given Mayya’s prasad. The quantity

was no object, one was free to take as many helpings as
required. I cannot imagine parikrama without this seva that
Mayya arranges for her devotees. I had never had such
tasty khischadi and mango pickle.
From here most parikramawasi head to Mithi Talai which

is the rst ashram after Dahej. This ashram has a huge
sweet water well, despite being so close to sea and the well
is ever full. Parikramawasis take their rst bath here after
crossing over the sea. The ashram provides food and
lodging only to paidal parikramawasis.
I was soon in Bharuch. I did my restocking and some

more resting in Bharuch, I was to meet Avdhoot and Shiv
together, but it seems they had parted and were walking
separately. Avdhoot had some important bank work to
nish in Bharuch and so we missed each other but soon
met not too far from there to begin our paidal parikrama
श्री
fi
fi
ff
fi
together once again till Garudeshwar, where Avdhoot
would nish his and I would be on my own.
Through all the incidents and ups and downs, Mayya

kept my mind balanced and my heart free of mortal
survival fears, to me, Titkisha and Abhay are the two most
important blessings of Mayya.

मु भव ।
Devotees residing by the banks of Narmada or seeking her refuge, are immediately rid of
duality of Maya (Joy & Sorrow, Heat & Cold, Praise & Insult etc) as well as mortal fears of
hunger & thirst.
न हर !
1. All material attachment must lead to - strife, sorrow & sin.
2. Faith in God MUST bring with it three bene its - A.

Destruction of all sorrows B. Wiping out all Fears & C.
Complete annihilation of all worries.

श्री
र्म
र्म
क्ताः
दे
fi
न्ति
सि
द्यः
हू
द्व
न्द्वा
भ्यः
पि
क्षु
पि
भ्यः
f
Tenet 11 - तपः ये र धाना यायोग: -
Tapa, Japa & Samarpan – Three pillars of Parikama
Of the three pillars of Parikrama, Japa (sadhana) and

samarpan (surrender) have been covered elsewhere,
however, ‘तप ’ - Tapa (austerity / penance) is one of the
most important and most misunderstood Tenets of
parikrama which, I believe, needs to be discussed in detail.
Let’s understand as to what constitutes as Tapa as per
Hindu scriptures. For most parikramawasis walking itself
constitutes signi cant tapa and then to intensify this tapa,
some chose to walk bare feet. But I personally feel, only
walking may not be enough Tapa, we need to understand
all three forms of Tapa, Shararik (Bodily) Tapa, Mansik (of
mind) Tapa & Vani / vacha (Of Tongue / Speech) Tapa.
Ba wat Geeta Chapter 17 - Verse 14

श्री
g
fi
स्वा
ध्या
श्व
प्र
णि
नि
क्रि
व जगु पूजनं शौचमा वम् |
च म सा च शारीरं तप उ ते
Worshipping of God, Brahmins, Guru. Maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.
Observance of Celibacy & Non-violence is considered bodily penance.
If we notice there is no mention of putting one’s body

through physical torture. Hence, in my opinion, though
walking done with simple and pure heart should constitute
as physical penance, it has very limited application in
spirituality. I would rather follow Bha wat Geeta and follow
the above tenet, instead of just considering walking as tapa
and ignoring other aspects of shararik Tapa.
अनु गकरं वा स य तं च यत् ।

या सनं चैव वा यं तप उ ते ॥ १५ ॥
Austerity of speech consists of speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, bene cial and not
agitating to others while engaged in Kirtan or Japa or Svadhyay.
Most important Tapa that I believe most parikramawasis

ignore but in fact MUST vow to follow is Tapa of Vani. It is
critical to spend time here engaged in either Japa or kirtan
or svadhyay. Avoid lying, only speak soft and pleasing
words, not hurt anyone with one’s speech should become a
parikramawasis garb and not just white dhoti and kurta.
मन: साद: सौ मौनमा ह: ।

भावसं त पो मानसमु ते ॥ १६ ॥
Content Mind, simplicity, gravity of being, self control
& Puri cation of one’s nature is the penance of mind.
Battling all dualities while maintaining calm and

composed mind, simplicity of thoughts and behaviour with

हिं
दे
ब्र
स्वा
श्री
ह्म
द्वि
g
g
द्वे
ध्या
प्र
fi
र्य
श‍
‍ुद्धि
रु
भ्य
रि
प्रा
त्ये
क्यं
ज्ञ
म्य
त्वं
त्त
त्यं
प्रि
ङ्‍म
त्म
हि
वि
च्य
र्ज
च्य
नि
ग्र
च्य
g
fi
no scope for vanity or envy, attaining gravity through self
control and puri cation of ones nature is called penance of
mind. So a parikramawasi should be simple in attire as well
as thoughts, carry oneself with gravity, keep a content
happy mind no matter what the circumstance, such
parikramawasi shall be considered to be rendering penance
of mind.
Now that we know what Tapa to do while in parikrama,

let us see what not to do.
मूढ णा नो य डया यते तप: ।

पर दना वा त मसमुदा तम् ॥ १९ ॥
Penance performed out of foolishness, with self-torture or to destroy or injure others, is said
to be in the mode of ignorance.
Here I only wish to highlight the unnecessary torture

some parikramawasis put themselves through in the name
of tapa to please Mayya. How can Mayya be pleased if her
sons are tortured, if a sadhana involving physical
endurance comes easily and does not distract the chitta,
then physical hardships may not be a problem but a simple
householder has no such will or endurance and hence must
keep his bodily rigour within limit. Please refrain from
doing anything that would de ect your mind and
consciousness from God back to your body, whether it be
because of extra pampering or undue torturing of one’s
body. Distraction, whether it is on account of acute
discomfort or pleasure, is still distraction. Given every
individuals tolerances and inspiration from Mayya every
parikramawasi should then put one’s body through that
much rigour as not to cause distraction from the main

श्री
स्यो
ग्रा
g
हे
त्सा
त्म
र्थं
त्पी
त्ता
fi
क्रि
हृ
fl
purpose of parikrama, mastering one’s sadhana. I must
confess here that I was not aware of any of the above said
maxims, however, Mayya’s inspiration and prudence kept
me grounded throughout my parikrama and I believe she
inspired me to stay true to these tenets.
After Bharuch, I was to walk all the way to Garudeshwar

with Avdhoot as
decided and so I
caught up with
him soon enough
at a small ashram
along the road to
Nareshwar. The
ashram was run
by a householder
(Grihasta) and
though small, the
owner was very
dedicated to his
seva. I had rested
well in Bharuch,
so I wanted to
leave and be on
our way
immediately but
the owner insisted
Reunion with Avdhoot Maharaj
that we rest a bit
and then leave
after having tea.
So we rested a bit at the ashram and left for Nareshwar. We
entered Nareshwar around 4:30 PM. We weren’t too tired
and had no plans to move onwards to the next village on
श्री
the route, so we slowed down our pace and were leisurely
passing market street of Nareshwar. Here, there are
refreshment stalls lined up on both sides of the road and as
you already know, getting invited for a refreshment drink is
quite common for parirkamawasis. So as we passed one of
the sugar cane juice stalls, we got invited for a glass of sugar
cane juice. We nished drinking our glasses and the vendor
insisted that we nish whatever is left at the bottom of his
collection jar, which was another full glass. We were thirsty
and in need of sugar, so didn’t mind the extra glass too. We
thanked the vendor for the juice and got up to leave, seeing
us leave the vendor very sweetly said, ‘Maharajji that would be
30 Rs’. Avdhoot looked at me with that, ‘not this again’, look
and started laughing. First the auto ride to Kathi and now
this. For a minute there he had us believe that he was
o ering us the juice as seva or may be after months of
being o ered things for free even when you wanted to pay
for it, this came as a total surprise to us. Whether it was a
con or an honest sale, we would never know. We handed
over the cash and walked into the Nareshwar mandir for
darshan still laughing at the incident.
A bit about Nareshwar. It is the ‘Karmasthali’ (place of

achievement) of Shree Rang Avdhoot Maharaj, a very well-
known mystic, saint and poet of Gujarat in the lineage of
Shree Vasudevananda Saraswati AKA ‘ Tembe Swami’, who
he met in 1905 and became ardent follower of ‘Datta Panth’
(Sect of Dattatreya Bha wan) and later on preacher of
Datta panth himself. His ‘Datta Bawni’, a poem written in
the praise of Lord Dattatreya in Gujarati is sung all across
Gujarat even today. Born in 1898 at Godhra into a Marathi
family, his name prior to sanyas was Pandurang Vitthal
Valame. A freedom ghter and a social reformer, he
श्री
ff
ff
fi
fi
fi
g
participated actively in social activities throughout his
youth but nally abandoned all these and went to Nareswar
on the bank of the Holy River Narmada for penance in the
year 1925 and lived in tune with In nity since then. Rang
Avdhoot Maharaj with the support of his devotees, turned
Nareshwar into a beautiful township. It has 15 temples,
some ancient and some constructed under his supervision.
Vast and spacious premises, green surroundings and gently
owing Mayya in the background make Nareshwar a very
serene location for stay. However, as in most such large
temples, Prikrama and parikramawasis are not the
highlight. The devotees of Shree Rang Avdhoot and Lord
Dattatreya are the epicentre of all activity. Even so,
arrangements for free food and a dormitory dedicated to
parikramawasi has been run and maintained for the cause.
We were given directions to an old multi storey building
with open hall on the rst oor designated for
parikramawasis. It was a large open hall with washrooms at
one end. The toilets and washrooms were in very bad
conditions and after a few baths, the water would start
clogging and over owing all the way into hall. Stench , I
was beginning to realise, was simply part of semi urban /
rural / poor India’s given. If the people who are catered to
are poor, the place, will be lth and stench ridden.
Anyways, my body sensitivities had started adapting to the
realities of economically challenged strata of rural India. All
parikramawasis clustered in groups around a few working
fans and bulbs in the big hall. Me and Avdhoot caught
ourselves a working fan and laid out our asans. After a few
days, my ears drums would, once again be assaulted with
Avdhoot Maharaj’s heavy-base ‘speaking voice’ do the zero
pitch accuracy singing of artis. The worst part was, he
refused to lower his tone and continued to drown all other
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श्री
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fi
fi
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fi
bhajans with his voice. As Avdhoot spoke last words of his
arti and I heaved a sigh of relief, my ears caught the words
from ‘Ram Raksha stotra’ (A hymn dedicated in the praise of
Lord Shree Ram) emanating from somewhere close. I
noticed a short, heavily bearded parikramawasi with no
Durbar or Diya doing his arti. Mayya would cross our paths
once again very soon but that evening that was the only
observation I made. After settling in, we were soon called
for dinner at ground oor. This one section, no matter
where you are at, is generally good. Food is clean, hygienic
and healthy, no matter, where. The food was Kadhi
Khichadi, a delicacy of Gujarat. We had our lling and slept
a good nights sleep in Nareshwar.
Next day morning we took a walk down to the Nareshwar

ghat. A beautiful rising golden sun made mayya’s waters
look like a river of molten gold owing. We have had our
Molten Gold of Mayya at Nareshwar in the early morning

श्री
fl
fl
fi
shower and morning artis before we left, so dip at the ghat
was not on the agenda. After a lazy walk along the ghat
enjoying the view and ‘ ण’ (sprinkling of the holy water),
we started walking back to get to the highway. On our way a
devotee of Rangavdhoot and residence of Nareshwar,
invited us to his house for a cup of tea and bal bhog. Mayya
never stops taking care of three square meals a day.
We kept asking for

direc tions along
the highway to get
near Mayya’s
banks, of course
that was Avhdoot’s
portfolio and he
did a great job at it.
In about an hour
we saw a beautiful
temple of Narmada
Mayya and decided
to go in for
darshan. Like most
temples in Gujarat,
this one was
expansive too. A
large open area
around the main
temple building,
accommodations
on the right side and overall a magni cent outlay. The
temple itself was beautifully built by craftsmen from
Rajasthan. The sthandhari was an elderly sadhu with a
loose tongue and easy to hurl abuse at anyone who he
श्री
प्रो
क्ष
fi
thought had it coming. Well traveled, with followers in all
parts of India, especially Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai.
The sadhu had an air of authority about him. Sadly, with so
many years of living a life of renunciate and wearing the
garb of one, not too many words of wisdom escaped his
mouth. Steeped in spiritual materialism a rat race for
followers, size of ashram/s, number of cows, political
connect, repute and respect earned seemingly consume a
lot of Babas like him in our country. Busy wooing the
donors, self conceit, defaming and discrediting others is
how they seem to waste their time. The minute they hear
you are from Mumbai, their attitude towards you changes
and it is very obvious. They of course are there to ful l a
certain social need, not everyone is ready for pure
unadulterated spirituality and these Gurus are here to
provide the right mixture of spirituality and materialism.
They appeal to the egos of big donors, tell them fancy
stories and give them the false satisfaction of utilising their
extravagant wealth in the name of God. Small and
digestible spiritual dosages help society remain a bit
spiritually inclined and also less evil. I wasn’t impressed by
his knowledge of scriptures (whatever little he exhibited)
and did not want to bear witness to another soul losing way
in ochre clothes. So, we spend some time at the ashram
having another cup of warm tea, receiving some more
packs of biscuits and then got back on the road.
Some more direction from rural street GPS and we were

back to the small alleys hopefully bringing us closer to
shores of Mayya. When we reached our next ashram, it was
still late morning and honestly, we were not even looking
for an ashram but happened to just see one on the way. Out
of curiosity we decided to explore it. At the end of the
श्री
fi
village, right by a cli , overlooking the large expanse of
Mayya was this peaceful ashram called the Devroli Bakul
Ashram. We instantly liked the place and put our asans in
the verandah of ground oor which was the designated
dormitory for parikramawasis. As luck would have it, the
owner, who stays in Mumbai and very rarely visits the
ashram happened to be there when we walked in. He and
his wife gave us a very warm and humble welcome and
insisted that we stay at least one night there. Unable to say
no to the kind couple, we promised to stay the night but no
more. The owner gave us complete download on how he
has been carrying out seva on his own for many years
without any funding or monetary assistance from other
donors or government. After spending a good 10 15 minutes
with us, he then took us into a small cabin built at the edge
of the cli outside the main building with an air of grand

श्री
ff
ff
fl
-
revelation. There in the small room, encased in a glass
tank,, with aum painted on one side, was a oating rock.
Hindus in India have been praying to everything from
elephants to trees to rocks and boulders and this was a
oating stone, so obviously had achieved a very elevated
status. We were of course not allowed to touch it but the
owner himself pushed the stone into the water a couple of
times over and it verily came back up to oat. At rst I
really wanted to tell him a bit more about the pumice rocks
and why they oat.
These rocks are
created from
volcanic eruptions
and compose of tiny
air bubbles, which
makes them
extremely low in
density and thats
why when placed in
water the se oat
instead of sinking.
But I had no heart to
rob this gentle soul’s
trophy from him, so
instead let him be
happy with his
beliefs. This stone
was found, he told
us, oating
midstream in
Narmada mayya near
this ashram by shermen and was brought was given by
them at his request and promise that he will make
fl
श्री
fl
fl
fl
fi
fl
fl
fi
arrangements for worshipping it on a daily basis. It has
since remained in his possession and is worshipped twice a
day, every day. Every seeker is free to create an archavtar
(formless God given shape only for resonating with one’s
chitta vrittis) that aids her / his bhakti. In this case, the
oating stone
was this
gentleman’s
a rc h av t a r a n d
brought out
devotional bhava
and if
understood in
this fashion, I
have deepest
respect for
everything
honest devotees
w o r s h i p ,
whether it be a
book or a tomb.
These events, in
my opinion, do
not add any
signi cant value
to the parikrama
experience but to many a poor, uneducated simpletons,
this becomes another anchor to rea rm their faith.
Just before the tour to the small cabin, I had noticed

another parikramawasi sitting in the verandah and I had a
nagging feeling that I knew I had seen him somewhere but
couldn’t quite place his face. After some time I realised he
fl
श्री
fi
ffi
was the same guy reciting Ram Raksha stotra at the
dormitory in Nareshwar the previous night, the guy
without Mai ka durbar. We exchanged narmade harr and at
rst I thought he was the reserved types and wont be

getting comfortable with us anytime soon. I couldn’t have
been more wrong, he only needed someone to break the
ice and thereafter he was unstoppable. Thus enters the
nal parikramawasi, I would walk with, at least some
distance, Mr. Amol Salve. Avdhoot and him lost no time in
getting to know each other. Amol, like Avdhoot, was a
government employee and had left his home and work not
just for parikrama but to become a complete renunciate, a
sadhu. His body language, tone of discussion and depth of
his thoughts were not convincing enough to make him a
suitable candidate for living a renunciate life, however, I
kept my reservations to myself. Meantime, I had secured
श्री
fi
fi
the permission to sit in the tin roofed cabin where the stone
was kept for my meditation from the owner before he left
but was rightfully warned not to use it in the afternoon,
since the tin roof got extremely hot making sitting in the
room unbearable.
After the meals, around 4:30 the owner and his wife
decided to leave for Mumbai. We bid them goodbye and no
sooner were the husband and wife out of sight, the
caretaker turned his behaviour 180 degrees. From being a
compassionate, warm and welcoming host he turned into a
hostile irritable man who could barely endure our sight.
The transformation was so sudden and so drastic, we could
not believe at rst. He started by asking us to leave because
it was still too early in the day and we should not stay there
as it was very unbecoming of us as parikramawasis to enjoy
any more hospitality than absolutely necessary. I was in no
mood to handle him, so I looked at Avdhoot and he
gestured me to leave the caretaker to him. Trusting our
friends special skills, I made my way to the tin hut for my
chanting, leaving Avdhoot to face the hostilities. When I
came out, Avdhoot and Amol were waiting to go and
explore the village and the ghat. We stepped out and went
to a nearby Shiv temple in the village. Here we were o ered
tea, biscuits and proposal to stay the night. For a moment,
we were even tempted to consider but Mayya inspired us
not to, so we politely turned down the o er. From there we
went to the banks, prayed to mayya and returned for our
Artis. Amol for some reason refused to light a lamp or carry
his darbar and preferred doing manas Pooja (rituals
generally done outwardly to an idol are performed
mentally without using an idol or phot frame) instead. The
caretaker started fuming because Amol refused to do arti
श्री
fi
ff
ff
and wanted to kick him out of the ashram, however,
Avdhoot interfered and calmed him down. The story of this
caretaker couple is that they had come from some remote
village in MP and were rendered homeless for reasons not
known to me. They had stopped at this place during their
own parikrama, when the owner asked them to come and
take charge of the place once they nish their parikrama.
So after nishing, they came and literally took charge. Now
when the owners are not around, they are the owners and
since they have no seva bhav, they simply want to chase
away all parikramawasis and just enjoy their free stay and
meals. Whatever be their reasons, for me, it was all mayya’s
doing. She wanted to train our minds to treat insults and
praises with equanimity. It was just our lesson and practical
training on spiritual path. If you don’t complaint and don’t
tire, Mayya will bring you very close to experiencing the
truth, that is my personal opinion. So instead of taking
o ence, which I would clearly if it was the old me, I was
simply amused at the old caretaker’s theatrics.
Geeta Chapter 2 - Verse 71

हाय कामा : स मां र : ह: |
मो रहङ्कार: स शा म ग || 71||
That individual attains perfect peace who gives up all material desires for the sense
grati cation and lives free from a sense of greed, proprietorship, and egoism.
Vivekachudamani – Verse 24
सहनं स खानाम तीकारपू कम् ।
लापर तं सा ग ते ॥ २४ ॥
The bearing of all a ictions without caring to redress them, being free (at the same time)
from anxiety or lament on their score, is called Titikṣā or forbearance.
Sometime around 09:30, we could hear pitter patter of

water dropping down from rst oor balcony as though it
वि
नि
चि
श्री
ff
र्म
न्ता
fi
वि
नि
र्व
दुः
fi
न्य
हि
ffl
प्र
र्वा
न्पु
ति
ति
न्ति
श्च
क्षा
र्व
धि
ति
नि
नि
च्छ
द्य
स्पृ
ति
fi
fl
fi
was raining. We all rushed out and after a bit of initial
confusion, found out that one of the owner’s room on rst
oor was completely lled with water and it was now
over owing down the balcony. The caretaker ran upstairs
closed the tap that was left open by owner when he left and
got down to cleaning up the whole room and balcony. Still
unripe spiritually, our hearts took this small incident as
Mayya’s retribution for caretakers wicked behaviour and
slept with a silly grin on our faces.
Next day morning, we left early, obviously there was not

going to be any tea. Now it was three of us, Amol had
decided to join the ranks. The morning walk was beautiful
as always. Nature coming to life along with the rising sun.
Cool breeze on your face, fresh mind and body, every
morning energises your body and soul for the challenges of

fl
श्री
fl
fi
fi
the day. The Shiva temples in the vicinity even this early in
the morning were adorned with beautiful owers. Rural
India still has early morning culture and temples are not
just place where you go as and when you please, God’s seva
is a serious a air.
In the entire
parikrama, there
has not been a
single temple, no
matter how
deserted, which
did not receive the
morning puja seva.
Praying at the
temples in the
vicinity we left the
village. Avdhoot
now had new
company and the
two of them
walked together
w h i l e I w a l ke d
keeping small
distance just to
allow myself some solitude to chant. We were passing
through small villages in Gujarat. Time was no factor and
therefore our pace leisurely. Walking through a village we
came upon a newly constructed Shree Kesariya hanumanji
Mandir. As a cherished rule, we didn’t skip Hanumanji’s
temple without darshan and so stepped inside for darshan.
Sun had just begun peeping out at the horizon, village was
slowly coming to life, kids scurried by to go to school,
elders were at the mandir, the whole satvik (virtuous)
श्री
ff
fl
The elegantly built Kesariya Hanumanji Temple
atmosphere suddenly created an urge in me to sing

hanuman chalisa out loud in the temple. Following my
heart I started reciting hanuman chalisa in the temple.
Avdhoot & Amol joined in, that was our moment of Vani
Tapa at its best. It was a magical moment. I could catch
only a glimpse of how saints like Tukaram, Namdev, Meera,
Chaitanya Maha prabhu and Kabir must have felt when they
sang for their beloved without shame and care of world. It
is a sweet declaration to the world, that this body and soul
no more belong to you and has been surrendered to the
beloved lord almighty. As if inspired by the spirit of our
bhajan, a villager came up to us and suggested that we do
not miss praying at an ancient Shiv temple nearby. We went
to the temple for darshan, as suggested. Build inside a
really ancient and almost broken house, the temple and
Shiva Lingam looked equally ancient. Moving on from this

श्री
ancient structure,
our next darshan
was to be of
Narmada Mayya’s
Shree Vigraha that
refused to get
relocated.
We touched
M ay y a ’s s h o r e s
immediately after
the darshan of the
ancient Shiv
lingam. The
shoreline was
walkable only for a
few Km and we
The ancient Shiv temple nestled within the village
had to climb back
on top of a levee to
avoid the marshy
land. There was a very small mandir here sitting right at
the edge of a small cli overlooking beautiful expanse of
Mayya. The legend has it that the small temple that just has
one idol of Narmada mayya in it, was to be relocated to a
nearby spot. During the process of relocation, when an
attempt was made to remove the Vigraha of Mayya from its
original site, no amount of force could move it even an
inch. All the modern engineering and machinery available
was put to use with no results. Finally the plan to relocate
the de ant Vigraha had to be abandoned. She was still
magni cently and resolutely sitting in her place of liking,
atop the cli , overlooking the shores blessing the simple
folks around. From here, we could walk along the shores
श्री
fi
fi
ff
ff
only for half an
hour before
being forced to
move back to
s m a l l i n ro a d s
running parallel.
H o w e v e r ,
Avdhoot was not
liking walking
along the road,
he wanted to
enjoy as much
as Mayya’s
shores as he
possibly could
and I don’t
blame him for it,
we all felt the
same. So after a
Sweet De ant Vigraha of Mayya that refused to move
while we came
from her seat across a temple
where we sat
down for a small
break and asked the Maharaj there if we should go back
down and walk by Mayya’s shores or should we continue to
walk by the road. The old pundit wisely told us not to go by
the shores, they have not been treaded for a long time and
are too wild for our walking purposes. I would have taken
the advise but for Mr. Avdhoot, the trailblazing enthusiast.
So as soon as we stepped out, Avdhoot insisted we take the
road less walked as if he had not heard a word of what the
sadhu had just told us. Avdhoot wouldn’t give up and now
Amol was softly supporting him too. Memories of walking
श्री
fi
through the bushes at the base of nani moti were still fresh
in my mind. We soon came to a fork from where if we took
right we would hit the river basin and left would take us
ahead along the smooth tar road. We saw two guys sitting
on the bike at the very fork, god only knows doing what at
that hour in that place. As we approached them, Avdhoot
thought we needed second opinion. So he approached our
Rahu and Ketu (two Gods of bad omen) asking them if we
should go by the river banks or road. Both of them told us,
parikrama is for walking by the banks and so must go to the
banks and even told us how to get there. I nally caved in
and decided to follow the young blood.
The rst 10 minutes were ne but after that, the

vegetation just kept getting thicker, the edge of the levee we
were walking on steeper and sharper. At places the bushes
were so thick, even breathing became uncomfortable. But
by now we didn’t even know how to turn back. We
gathered all the patience and courage and kept walking.
Su ering for about half hour to fourth ve minutes, we
came upon a small trail going up to a bungalow on top of
the embankment. So we walked and reached the bungalow
but it was deserted and instead of nding any help, got
shooed by a young man for walking on private property.
But going back to the edge, we now decided to walk along
the harvested farmland. Since we were walking the
harvested land, we had another tough hour walking on
uneven farm land with thick stumps of freshly cut crop
protruding above, making the walk extra painful. With no
end to our su erings in sight, I nally declared that I would
be taking over the reign of this group until we got back to
safety of tar road. Logically, river lay to our right and
whatever road / village we hope to nd can only be on our
श्री
ff
fi
ff
fi
fi
fi
fi
fi
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left, so we bear left keep walking until we reach a proper
road or villages is what we decided. The gamble paid o I
have never been so happy at seeing a road before. Soon
after catching up with tar road, we hit a small village where
the community ran an ashram inside the temple premises.
By 03:30 we had nished our lunch here, managed to rest
for a bit and ready to get a move on. Knowing that we still
had daylight and ener y, we decided to keep walking until
we reached the next ashram. The walk was now smooth
and without any event. On our way I noticed a lot of red
chunnies (a long
scarf ) tied to a
short but full
grown wide tree.
Out of curiosity we
got close to see
what was the
colourful tree
about and the
name of the
temple really
made us laugh.
‘ M a a
Chudel’ (Mother
Small temple of Maa Chudel along the road
Witch), was the
name of the deity.
Gujarat really does
seem to have funny deities. First Nani Moti Panuti and now
Maa Chudel, colourful state indeed. At about 4:30, we
reached Malsar. One of the most memorable village in our
entire Gujarat pass. The village has ashrams lined up from
the minute you enter and they seem to be vying to give
parikramawasis something or the other. At rst ashram, we
श्री
fi
g
fi
ff
were called and given shoes and hats, I had a ne pair of
sandals and cap so I opted none but Avdhoot was in need of
pair of shoes, which he gladly accepted and Amol picked
up a hat. There are about 8 10 ashrams in a single village.
The one we stayed at, ‘Ma Kankeshwari Devi Ashram’, was
a modern building with amenities like clean bathrooms and
toilets, rooms that were tiled and clean, fans that worked,
clean drinking water. What struck me the most about this
ashram was the serene and disciplined atmosphere of the
place. There was warmth and love amongst the people who
volunteered but there was also poise. It felt like my kind of
place, orderly and still live with spiritual vibes. I instantly
fell in love with the ashram. Avdhoot felt the same, the only
thing we didn’t know was whether or not we would be
allowed to extend our stay. A separate room was provided
for the three of us so we spent the reminder of the day,
getting fresh, washing and resting. We were informed in
advance that we have to be at the dinner by sharp 08:00, it
could have been 07:00 exactly time is irrelevant though.
Two odd months into parikrama one tends to loose the
sense of time and besides coordinating amongst three
parikramawasis to get to some place at a particular time
was di cult to say the least. So we were a few minutes late
reaching the dinner hall but when we reached the hall it
was packed with people already. As soon as we entered, we
given our plates in our hands. After making us sit on the
table, volunteers served us dinner on the table while the
rest started having bu et. The chief administrator here was
an old gentleman probably in his late eighties. He ensured
that we were served properly and was extra attentive while
the three of us ate. Post dinner, our plates were taken away,
which was totally new to us, we were used to washing the
our own plates by now and sometimes as a seva of
श्री
ffi
ff
-
fi
everyone else’s too. Here though we were treated as
royalties. After dinner, the chief came to us with two
requests; One - to make it to the meals on time because as a
rule, everyone else is allowed to start their meals ONLY
after parikramawasis present start having theirs and Two -
There was going to be katha starting tomorrow for a week
and even if we weren’t able to stay the entire week, we
must extend our stay to two nights minimum. We were
overwhelmed by the modesty and the shudh seva bhav
(pure spirit of seva). Over the last few days, Mayya had put
us through both the extremes of dualities of Maya (illusion).
At some places we were completely ignored and refused
acknowledgement even during meal hours and some places
we had become dignitaries. Both belonged to her and while
exposing us to the dualities, she gave us the wisdom to
maintain equanimity. I think this is exactly what ‘Mansik
Tapa’ (penance of mind), is all about. Mayya had so far
taken care of all my needs and desires, except a larger roll
श्री
out mat to sleep on. My mat was hardly my size, if I was to
sleep on the mat alone, my hands and feet would always
stick out. I had seen all parikramawasis carry a long roll
made of white thermacol sheets, and had been hoping to
get one myself some day and nally that day had arrived.
While I returned immediately after dinner, Avdhoot and
Amol had gone with the chief administrator and got some
freebies for themselves from the ashram stock. Avdhoot
told me he had seen the thermacol mats too and promised
to secure one for me before we left the ashram. Well fed,
well rested and content, I fell asleep chanting Ram naam
excited about seeing the rest of Malsar, listening to the
Katha (my very rst katha in life) and receiving my brand
new sleeping mat.
Next day morning was dedicated to seeing temples

around Malsar. Panchamukhi Hanuman Temple,
Satyanarayan Temple, Angareshwar Mahadev, Pandeshwar
Old beautiful temples at Malsar

श्री
fi
fi
Mahadev temple are all very beautiful and pristine temples.
Malsar, in my view is spiritual hub of this part of Gujarat.
The temples are lavishly made and decoratively painted, a
lot of donations stream into this village and its ashrams, it
seems. There is
also signi c ant
amount of
in uence of
Dongreji Maharaj.
A saint,
renunciate of
highest order and
B h a wat Kat h a
Wachak (narrator
of Bha wat Maha
Puran), he was
known for his
a b s o l u t e
detachment to
material world.
Where Katha
wachaks used to
charge thousands
of rupees per
Colourful and enchanting Narayan Mandir, Malsar public sessions,
Dongreji Maharaj,
would refuse to
accept even a
penny and the entire collection received during Katha
would be given away in charity, even before he left the city
he would be doing katha in. His last sermon, which was at
Chowpati in Mumbai, he had given away the entire sum of
Rs 1 Crore, received as donation during this katha, away in
श्री
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g
g
fi
donation. Malsar happened to be the resting place of this
great saint. ‘akhanda naam sankirtan’ initiated by him is
continued even to-date at his Samadhi Mandir in Malsar,
devotees take turns to make sure than the naam jaap is
sung day and night, 365 days endlessly without a pause.
This is the beauty of Gujarat.
Evening 4:00 PM, we were asked to gather for the Katha.

Though the Katha was in Gujarati, I was able to enjoy it
with despite my rusty Gujarati. I had not expected, but I
could sit through the entire Katha of that day. Amol not
knowing any Gujarati at all, left the hall but Avdhoot and
me, we enjoyed right till the end. After the Katha, Avdhoot
went to keep his promise and returned with a brand new
white sleeping mat for me. I was really happy to get one.
After spending two nights in Malsar, it was time to say

goodbye but as a seva to Mayya at Malsar, I was inspired to
request for
Kanya bhojan
at the ashram
on my behalf. I
worked out
the donation
m o n e y
required with
a volunteer
a n d
transferred the
necessary
money. A few
Kanya Bhojan at Malsar Ashram d ay s l a t e r I
received pic of
श्री
that Kanya bhojan. Thus ended our most amazing stay at
Malsar.
During our walk from Malsar to Shinor, I lost my left

AirPods. The AirPods were critical because the very last
activity of my day,
just before
sleeping used to
be pravachan
listening. A tired
a n d e x h au s t e d
body may not
chant but would
gladly listen to
p r av c h a n s a n d
inspire my next
m o r n i n g .
However, Mayya
had trained me
well by now, after
making a few
futile attempts of
locating it, my
mind accepted
On the steps of Markandeshwar Mahadev Mandir, the loss like it
Sinnor
would loss of a
tooth brush. After
all we were in the
‘योग मं ज ’ (giving up all e orts to acquire AND preserve)
mode. Within a few hours, we reached Shinor which is just
as rich in heritage as Malsar. Markandeswar Mahadev &
Sankatmochan Hanuman temples inside Sinor village are
very potent and in my experience capable of yielding high
श्री
क्षे
त्य
ति
ff
level spiritual experiences. Within 15 minutes of entering
Shinor, we had found ashram that would be hosting us. It
would also turn out
to be an ashram
that would be giving
weirdest of
p a r i k r a m a
experiences of all.
The loud writing on

the archway to the
ghat down below,
welcomed us to the
ashram. The steps
going to the
ashram / Ganpati
mandir descended
all the way to the
ghat and a small
opening a few steps
Sankatmochan Hanuman at Sinor down the archway
was the entrance to
the Ganpati mandir.
Our initial plan was to just stop for a quick tea and some
rest here but we ended up staying the night. The sadhus at
the sashram were very endearing and their captain,
sthandhari, one of the sweetest sadhus I have met during
parikrama. Not only were we made home at the ashram,
everyone at the ashram insisted that we stay there for at
least a week. When we politely declined their generous
o er, the sthan dhari maharaj told us the importance of
taking ones time doing parikrama. The idea is to maximise
one’s stay at Mayya’s shores and make purushartha in one’s
श्री
ff
sadhana while in
her grace.
Speeding through
ashrams that o er
services is like
turning down an
o pp o r t u n i t y to
spend time at a
small class in
u n i v e r s i t y. I
wouldn’t have
agreed more, I
thought to myself,
but there would
be a time for that.
Af te r sp e n d i n g
some time with
the sadhus at
ashram, it was
Ganpati Mandir, Sinor cum Ashram where we stayed time for lunch.
Again a very
disciplined and
unique approach. First sitting was dedicated for Kanya
bhojan, followed by parikramawasis and nally the sadhus
themselves. I was thoroughly impressed with the
management and caretakers alike. After lunch and an
afternoon siesta, which really was my time for chanting and
deep meditation, we were all ready to explore the Siddhi
Vinayak temple premises.
It is di cult to tell the actual era of construction but by

the looks of it, it must have been a premium temple
construction back in the days. Even the ruins of the temple
श्री
ffi
ff
fi
Kanya Bhojan & Sthandhari Maharaj in background @ Ganesh Mandir
Ashram - Shinor
looked like rich artifacts. The main temple building begins

where the accommodations end. The main temple consists
of two adjacent temple complexes built next to each other
and connected with a common corridor. Both temples and
the vigrahas inside face Mayya. There is an Open courtyard
in front of temples with a few benches that overlook Mayya
owing some 10 12 feet below. The view of Mayya from the
top is simply breathtaking. At the far end of the compound
i s t h e a r e a h av i n g t o i l e t s a n d b a t h r o o m s f o r
parikramawasis. The rst temple has very old but delicate
and beautiful Sri Vigraha of Ganeshji along with Riddhi and
Siddhi (Lord Ganesh’s two wives). The idols appear very
unique in their carving. Adjacent and to the right of
Ganeshji’s temple is an equally majestic shiv mandir. The
structure of the mandir itself and the idols are all very
elegant.
fl
श्री
-
fi
The ashram was mesmerising, the hosts delightful, the
weather and surroundings serene, mood very elated in
b h a k t i b h av,
every thing
seemed so perfect
when Mayya
int roduced the
disruption.
Around 5:00 PM
entered a young
a n d a g g re s s ive
sadhu. He entered
with the kind of
authorit y and
pomp that
probably seemed
to be trait of his
sect of sanyasis.
Within minutes of
his arrival he had
s t a r t e d
dominating and
Lord Ganpati with Riddhi Siddhi, a rare murti in uenc ing the
ashram. I had
only heard of
warrior sadhus, I guess I was seeing one now. He was
correcting everyone in their behaviour, sometimes standing
up for us, simply making fuss about everything. His tone
and mannerism suggested that the ashram seva was ours
and his right, since the society contributed to such ashrams
only to look after the wandering sadhus. Though we tried
to keep our distance with him he became pally where he
श्री
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Riverside View of Ganpati Mandir Ashram
wanted without waiting for acceptance. Though we did not

encourage his behaviour, he seemed to feed o our
curiosity alright. During our chats, he found out I was from
Mumbai and started taking an extra interest in me and
curiously my bag and its belongings. At rst he was being
very generous with small things like a soap bar or a cloth
Asan, giving them away as if they were worth millions.
Somehow, I wasn’t too impressed with his theatrics
because although I had heard of some sadhus being
aggressive and demanding, that behaviour of theirs would
be backed by their Sadhana (spiritual practices) and
devotion to their Ishtha (God of favoured devotion). Here
neither could I see any Sadhna in the talk or walk, nor any
devotion. He also carried around a small shoulder bag,
which remained locked at all times and was NEVER left
behind. His stories had nothing to do with spirituality but

श्री
fi
ff
only aggression and violence committed by him against
others. All in all,
the avour of him
was not suiting
anyone but
everyone was
silently bearing
with him waiting
for this force of
nature to pass,
just the way it had
come. After some
time, we had
enough of his
drama and
decided to step
out to go visit and
pray at other
temples in and
around Shinor.
Beautiful view of Mayya from inside Mahadev Temple Anandeshwar
Mahadev Temple,
an old rusty
temple near the banks of mayya, a very powerful Vigraha of
Ma Durga riding a erce tiger at the Ambaji Temple Tanivas
were the two prominent temples we visited. Shri Ram
temple was closed when we went for darshan, so I couldn’t
do my jaap there. On our way back, we saw our aggressive
sadhu sitting in a jewellers shop and talking animatedly
with the owner. Strange sadhu, I thought, what business
can he have at a jewellers. Anywho, we decided to sponsor
mahi (buttermilk) for the dinner that evening and brought
enough quantity that we thought would su ce for
श्री
fl
fi
ffi
everyone we
knew was at
Ashram. We came
back handed over
the mahi to
kitchen and got
busy with our
artis and Sandhya
Dhyan. During the
artis and bhajans,
we did not see the
aggressive sadhu
participating at
all, he had simply
disappeared for a
dip in Mayya. We
could see him
from the top and
Roaming the temple premises wondered what or
who exactly this
person might be.
A theory was rapidly gaining some traction that he may be
one of those running from law criminals turned sadhus.
After dinner, I took out my Mala and started chanting. After
a few minutes I heard a soft voice trying to humour me.
The young sadhu was trying to nd out why I was carrying
such a large bag and was wondering what was in it. I
laughed it o and told him it had warm clothes that are
supposed to be sent back home. After sitting with me for a
bit, he opened lock of his zoli (shoulder strap bag) and
pulled out a silver coin and a few other items. I wasn’t
interested but couldn’t refuse a conversation and
participated in the monologue by listening and making
श्री
ff
fi
appropriate responses where absolutely required. Then
again he said, now that I have shown you what’s in my bag
why don’t you show me what’s in your bag. Now, this got
me a bit tensed up. There was nothing in my bag that I was
worried of losing but the fact that some small-time crook
was trying to unnerve me, kind of infuriated me. That’s the
rst time, someone in parikrama was able to rattle my cage.
I somehow controlled myself and keeping a straight face
told him to keep his mind away from my bag. After some
time, he started
ru ing through
his rag bag again
and started
complaining that
his precious little
lamp was missing.
Everyone told
him, no one
around here was
interested in his
lamp and either
he has lost it or
forgotten where
he left it last. He
kept getting angry
trying to put us
on ight or ight
mode. This
Sadhu who wouldn’t stop being a nuisance
episode somehow
put me on my
guard. I had a
very strong gut
feeling that either in the night or next morning, he is going
fi
श्री
ffl
fl
fl
to try and make an attempt to go through my bag. I had two
options, not to bother about it and let him do what he
wanted, since there was nothing of any value in the bag OR
match his aggression and teach him a good lesson by
stirring up a ght and not backing out, no matter what the
outcome. My body automatically tensed up at the thought
of such an encounter with him.
As my mind was getting ready for this encounter, a

Bengali parikramawasi walked in seeking a place to sleep
for the night. This was yet another weird individual having
come to disturb peace of the ashram. Somewhere near mid
night, everyone could hear his voice as he spoke loudly on
the phone in Bengali. None of us understood what he was
talking but the voice started irritating all the sadhus. The
sadhus wanted him to talk softly or go to a far o corner
Anadeshwar Mahadev mandir

श्री
fi
ff
and do the talking
but our bengali
friend would have
none of it. Now all
the sadhus from
ashram were
trying to explain to
him to stop talking
on the phone and
out of frustration
the Bengali sadhus
n ow w a n t e d t o
leave ashram in
the middle of
night. This ruckus
continued till 1:00
Am when the
Powerful murti of Durga ma @ Ambaji Temple aggressive sadhus
Ranavas - Shinor
decided to
intervene in his
unique style and
put an immediate stop to this nonsense. True to his words,
the matter was resolved in 5 minutes of him getting
involved. Finally around 1:30 the ashram’s peace was
restored and we all slept. We woke up next day morning
our usual time and started getting ready for the walk. For
some strange reason, my mind and body were all charged
to explode at tiniest of provocation from the aggressive
sadhu. The anticipated moment nally did arrive.
Tentatively at rst, he told me he hadn’t found his lamp yet
and needs to investigate. I was ready and waiting, so I just
told him he had lost his mind. His tone then changed and
he tried to put some steel in his voice to make me nervous
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Mesmerising Blue waters of Mayya
and started demanding that I let him check my bag to

con rm that I had not stolen his lamp. Those fateful words
must have barely been spoken and I turned into wrath
personi ed. Suddenly the charming, polite and warm me
turned into pure spite. The volley of abuse and venom I
spewed at him took him by complete surprise and he didn’t
know what to say or do. I threatened him with police,
threatened him with calling up his master and getting him
dislodged from whatever sect he followed or ashram he
belonged to. It was as if Maa Durga herself had gotten into
me. I knew he was younger but I had the height, so
towering a good feet above him, I threatened him into
submission and until I saw his body language change from
aggression to submission, I did not stop or back out. I just
wouldn’t stop having a go at him, so much so that,
everyone had to calm me down. I made the bully so

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nervous, he had to take o to the ghat for a dip, never to
face me again. When we were facing each other and he
walked up to me with a threatening posture, I sized him up
mentally, a good feet shorter to me, he had his youth on his
side but I had this weird rage in me that could do much
more damage than his youth I thought. But more than
anything else, I could see him inch every time I said
police. I knew right then how to get to him, so I pushed
harder till he
backed out.
Avd h o o t a n d
Amol were totally
confused by the
sudden change in
my deme anour
and could hardly
believe their eyes
or ears. Their
mild mannered,
soft spoken and
apparently
harmless Vishal
Maharaj just
turned into Vishal
Bhai. Finally we
packed our bags
and left, leaving
the sadhu behind.
Temple next door to Asharam we stayed
Avd h o o t f o u n d
out later on that
the Sadhu had
lost so much face due to our small confrontation that he left
the ashram within a few hours of us leaving. It was all
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Mayya’s will, I am not prone to rage but perhaps Mayya
wanted him straightened out and so she did, making me
her instrument. We laughed at the whole episode and the
memory kept us entertained us over the next two to three
days.
We had left the Siddhi Vinayak ashram in hurry without

tea or bal bhog. We got down the ghat and started walking
by the banks. It was a beautiful morning and within half an
hour we had reached yet another beautiful temple cluster.
A very beautiful compound with three di erent temples in
the same premises, Bhandareshwar Mahadev, Kashi
Vishwanath Mahadev, Parameshwar Mahadev. In addition
there was a Kuber Bhandari Mahadev jyotirlinga in the
courtyard. The temple and the ashram was looked after by
a few sadhus from Maharashtra who despite our initial
The Bhandareshwar, Kashi Vishwanath & Pataleshwar Mahadev Temple

premises

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resistance forced us to have breakfast after attending the
morning Arti at the temples. The Arti was done with full
fervour and so much devotion that it was transcendental
just being there. After the arti, fresh Poha (most common
breakfast in Maharashtra & MP) was made for us. It seems
this is yet another place where Kuber performed his
penances. From Shinor onwards, the walk was comfortably
by the banks of Mayya. Majestic, beautiful and calm, just
walking by her was a spiritual experience. In another hour
and half, we were at Mahasati Anasuya Mandir in Ambali. It
is famed and as the legend goes, it is here that the trinity of
Brahma, Vishnu
and Mahesh upon
coaxing by their
respective wives
arrived to test the
resolve and truth
of Maa Anasuya’s
dedication to her
husband. It
seems, once the
fame of Anasuya
Mata as the most
exe m p l a r y s a t i
ever, spread so far
and wide that it
reached Parvati
and Laxmi. They
were jealous and
went to their
husbands asking
Shiva langam & Nandi out in the open them to test her
pativrat. At rst
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Vishnu and Shiva tried to dissuade them by warning them
about the dangers of testing her piousness. However, the
devis wouldn’t give up. So nally, Brahma, Vishnu and
Mahesh appeared as sanyasis when Mata Anusuya was
alone in the ashram near Narmada mayya. As per the
householder’s norm laid down by Shastras it is considered
every householders dharma to attend to the basic needs of
a sadhu arriving at ones doorsteps. Anasuya, by virtue of
this norm, invited the three sadhus at her door to come
inside, rest and demand any service from her as can be
expected from the lady of any house. The sadhus
demanded that they be served meal because they were
very hungry, however, they had one condition, which if not
met, they would leave the ashram empty handed. Mata
Anasuya pleaded that they only have to wish and she would
ful l their every condition. So the sadhus told her that they
Mata Anusuya Mandir

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would have meal at her place only if she served them fully
naked. Mata Anasuya smiled and told them, they would get
exactly what they wanted. Next she picked up kamandalu
of her husband, prayed to her husband and by sprinkling
some water from the kamandalu over the three sadhus
turned them instantly into infants, so she could feed them
naked. Before the trinity knew what was happening, they
were lying helpless in the lap of Mata Anasuya as infants.
Such exalted power did Mata Anasuya and her faith that
she turned the trinity into infants, helplessly feeding at her
breasts. When their husbands did not return for a very long
time, the worried devis went to Mata Anasuya’s ashram
only to nd their husbands turned into infants, powerless
and completely at
her mercy. The
Devis then bowed
down to Mata
Anasuya and
asked her for
forgiveness for
their indiscretion
and transgression
and prayed for
release of their
husbands. Devi
Anasuya was only
happy to oblige.
When the trinity
we re re l e a s e d ,
they asked
Anasuya to ask
Lord Dattatreya Murti
for a boon and
she asked for a
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son born of the trinity itself. And so the trinity blessed her
and thus was born Lord Dattatreya - Incarnate of Brahma,
Vishnu & Mahesh Tatvas combined. Next to Mata Anusuya
mandir is a grand Datta mandir and both Mandirs are very
powerful. After taking darshan at both mandirs we sat
under the shade of a large banyan tree outside in the
courtyard of Anusuya temple when a person came on bike
asking if there were any parikramawasis. After identifying
us as parikramawasis, he then invited us over to his house
for bal bhog. Since, we had just nished our bal bhog, we
thanked him and very politely refused his o er. But we
found out that this young man does this every day, three
times a day, except during chaturmas. Comes all the way to
temple only to invite parikramawasis over to his place so he
could o er his seva. No matter how many times we
Awesome walk by Mayya

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witnessed this seva bhav, we just couldn’t help but feel the
awe, gratitude and love for Mayya over owing.
As we moved on, we passed the Narmada temple,

Chamatkarik Hanuman Mandir, Manmatheshwar Mahadev
to reach the Kalyangiri Bapu Ashram. We were passing by
this ashram and weren’t too hopeful about getting any
assist there but were just looking for some place we could
rest, re ll our water bottles and then move on. Where we
entered from, we could only see a small place where a
Homa had perhaps been done but nothing more.
Nevertheless we went inside and sat there for a bit to relax.
Soon two boys, clothed in colourful ethnic wear arrived
and asked us to follow them to the main ashram. The main
ashram building was huge concrete single storey building
with plenty of rooms. It was still under construction and
the ashram was not yet commissioned for seva but on and
o as the parikramawasis passed by, the ashram sta
provided them with place to stay, wash and also with
meals. Clean bathrooms and toilets, free owing water and
The under construction Kalyangiri Bapu ashram

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a large hall with mattresses to sleep on, dream place for a
parikramawasi. I quickly got to washing my clothes, getting
fresh and then relaxed out in the hall, until we were called
for lunch. We had a good meal and after a brief nap, moved
forward.
Visiting Vadinath Mahadev and Jhankeshwar Mahadev on

our way, we reached Mitranandji Masani Bapu Ashram AKA
Narmada Kutir, at Barkal. It was a relatively small ashram
but the sthan dhari sadhu was very generous and pious. We
had reached there after resting for a bit and still had the
chance to make it to the next ashram. However, the sthan
dhari sadhu berated us at even harbouring such a thought.
He wanted us to stay at his ashram for as many as days as
we wanted to. The underlining thought or bhav being that,
you are blessed to be at Mayya’s feet, near her bank, if you
rush it and just walk without doing some sadhana, you have
earned the merit of her parikrama but the 100 times fruit of
doing penance in her lap is forgone. A saints heart is very
soft, very sensitive, it wants every soul to progress along
the path of spirituality and they out of their kindness and
their unconditional love, plead and beg you to do what is
bene cial to your soul. I could feel the cry of the saints who
kept telling us to go slow. In fact, the way I was inspired to
do parikrama, I realise now, was that everywhere I was not
feeling the joy and spiritual ful lment, I was inspired to
move on, take a transport but reach a spot that yielded the
experience and I would stay without a care in the world.
She made me move, she made me stop, it was all her doing,
she showered her blessings, I kept receiving it because she
had opened my heart to receive everything she was
showering on my being. She kept my heart away from the
ahankar (pride / ego) of doing the parikrama or doing it
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paidal or doing it without footwear. She made it clear to me
from day one, you will go as you are made to. When the
saint heading this ashram told us to stay put and not go
ahead, my heart immediately yielded. The deity of this
ashram was Kali / Chandi Ma whose pitch dark Vigraha
though tends to strike fear in hearts of miscreants, to her
devotees, it is source of eternal compassion and provides
protection from all evil forces. The adytum or sanctum of
the temple is a
colourful seat of
the dark idol of
Kali ma. Shivji on
one side and
Hanumanji on the
other. The place
had very powerful
vibes, I went and
sat just outside the
sanctum, chanting
with much
devotion. The
exp e r i e n c e wa s
overwhelming. My
mind was o all
chatter, only Ram
n a a m
Murti of Chandi Ma @ Narmada Kutir Ashram
reverberating
through my entire
being. Slowly, the
world and its awareness dropped and mind entered into a
state of silence. The crossing over is not controlled, one
moment you are completely aware of your self, your
surroundings, your worldly truth and suddenly, there is
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nothing. There is just silence, a sort of ever expanding
conscious. The enlargement of consciousness is also not
done by you, it is happening, even witnessing this process
at one point stops. For someone as steeped in this material
world as me, this experience may last a few seconds or a
few minutes but for Yogis it may last days, months or even
years. However, even a glimpse of the state is enough for
your heart to rupture into the thousand petals of lotus of
bliss and happiness. The only reason people like me go
back to living the ordinary life is because we are unable to
bear any memory of those seconds and minutes of divinity,
if we were to hold the experience in our heart, we would
never go back to living life of sensual pleasures. So after
sitting in that super charged environment for a brief, I
spend the reminder of time chanting. Around 9:00 PM, we
rolled out our sleeping mats to lay down and were about to
Narmada Katir Ashram - Barkal

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go to sleep when at around 10, there was a sudden buzz at
the ashram. Suddenly there were 10 15 people marching all
around us busy with some activity or other. A pit was being
prepared for a ya ya about 5 feet from where we were
sleeping. The ya ya was to be conducted only from
midnight onwards up until 4 in the morning. I could see my
sleep saying goodbye. Though we did not participate
actively in the ya ya, we were part of it all the same. We
poured the o ering in the re as and when told to. Finally
the activity
stopped at around
3:30 and by 4:00 I
was able to catch
some sleep.
Next day we were

up and about by 6
in the morning,
because it was one
of the most
important days of
my parikrama.
Ram Navmi, the
birth day of my
Ishtha (Prabhu
Shree Ram). I had
A very unique Vigraha of Shivji already told
Avdhoot and Amol
that I would be
fasting as well as keeping a ‘Maun Vrat’ (vow of silence), for
the day. My heart was lled with so much happiness, it was
as if peak of my parikrama experience. First thing we did
was to go to Ram mandir in Barkal. The mandir was still
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Darshan at Ram Mandir in Barkal
being decorated as we walked in and hence were able to

take darshan of the ram durbar from up close. I was so
thankful to Mayya that I was in a place where there was a
ram mandir on this day. As we walked only on cup of tea,
mostly passing through small villages and farms, by 8
hunger had set in and boys were already on a lookout for
an ashram. I was fasting and had no hope of receiving
anything but tea. Mayya, however, always kind at heart,
knew of our hunger and send us a passerby who told us
about a new ashram being constructed not too far from the
road we were walking, called Shree Shiv Reva Dham in
Moletha. We walked up to the under construction ashram
and truly, all it had was a small hut and large open space
around. One elderly mayya (female) was seemingly
incharge of the construction happening and was seated
under a small temporary shade. We approached her and

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she very warmly welcomed us. She apologised for not
being able to o er us much except tea and some packaged
snacks. My friends told her that I was fasting and also under
vow of silence. She o ered the two who were not fasting,
tea and some packaged snacks and I was asked to go rest
inside a tent few meters away where I was given a large
bowl of roasted groundnuts and jaggery. Two large bowls,
one lled with groundnut and other with jaggery powder
we re p l a c e d i n
front of me along
with a glass of cold
water from an
earthen pot. While
my f r i e n d s go t
packets of ‘lays’,
mayya arranged
my favourite
groundnut and
jaggery. I ate to my
h e a r t s c o n te n t ,
drank nice cold
water and after
resting some time,
we moved on.
Going by Shree
Shree Ramji & Shivji painted on Narmadeshwar by a
sadhu at Shiv Reva Dham
Lankeshwar
Hanuman Temple,
Gupteshwar
Mahadev temple, we reached Badrika ashram at
Dariyapura. I had asked Avdhoot the day before to be on a
lookout for any ashram or mandir that would be
celebrating Ram Navmi, which is celebrated around noon
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time. So we had to reach a place where we could
participate in Ram Navmi, Ram Janma celebrations in time.
Here was a huge ashram and one of the sadhus who was
o ering seva
came by to assist
us with our stay.
W h e n Avd h o o t
asked if the
ashram would be
celebrating birth
of Shree Ram, he
told us that there
is a big
celebration
planned and
insisted that we
join in. My agenda
of the day and
p e rh a p s e n t i re
parikrama was
ful lled, I was
going to celebrate
Lankeshwar Hanumanji Ram Navmi near
the banks of
Mayya. Since it
was still early, we were shown to a building that served as
ashram for parikramawasis. I was in a state of devotional
bliss the entire time. Even while I washed clothes or took a
dump or shower, my chanting did not stop. Not talking was
a huge bonus for uninterrupted chanting. As we were
resting an elderly Gujarati couple walked in for
parikramawasi darshan. They were so overwhelmed by our
undertaking, that with folded hands and tears in their eyes
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Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple
they o ered us dakshina of 10 Rs each. It was for the rst

time I realised that for a yearning heart, being able to
witness someone do what they could only hope to do is
such an emotional a air. There a small miscommunication
that brought tears to their eyes though, Avdhoot told them
that I was in maun, which was only for that one day, and
they perhaps thought I was doing the entire parikrama
without speaking a word, which overwhelmed them even
more. I could not correct that error though but silently
prayed for their forgiveness. That day we had at least 4 6
devotees come and give us dakshina. On the auspicious day
of Ram Navmi, Mayya put us on the other end of Maya
(illusionary world) experience spectrum. On this end,
people believed that we were householder sadhus and
bowed down to us and prayed as if we have achieved
spiritual mastery. All that the experience did to me, was

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humble me to my limits. Every bow, was only to Ramji and
View of Mayya from Badrikashram Dariyapura
this body did not exist to receive any adoration. The mansik
tapa (penance of mind) at its pinnacle. It is easy to handle
insult and dishonour but to be able to handle honour
without pride entering your being is very tough. These
were of course baby steps but Mayya was still delivering us
those lessons.
At sharp 12, the bells and drums started echoing through

the premises. In one corner, a small Ram durbar had been
arranged and Ramjis artis were sang in praise of Lord Shree
Ram. Prasad was distributed and some more bhajans were
sung to commemorate the birth of Shree Ram. After the
Arti everyone was requested to join for lunch. The ones
fasting and ones not, were marked by the servers, though
there was no physical segregation of the two. Plates for
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people not fasting were given rst and got served some sort
of laddoo (Indian sweet), Amol looked at me and with
mischievous eyes said, sorry bro, you can’t have the sweet
because you are fasting. I smiled back and gave him a look
that said, wait I am yet to be served. After serving the plates
for people who were not fasting, came our turn and the
rst item they served was Shrikhand (another Indian
sweet). The laddoos were served only once but while
serving shrikhand, they told us, Maharajji, please ask for
more, if you want more. I burst out laughing and Amol with
even more mischievous smile said, I am fasting too from
next time. After lunch, we rested a bit and then started
walking again. By evening, after doing Nandikeshwar
Mahadev temple, we reached Gangnath Mahadev Temple
and Saraswati Gufa, in Dabhoi. Known for its Syamabhu
Shivlinga and con uence of Gupt Ganga Ji (Ganga in
GangNath Mahadev Temple at Dabhoi

fi
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invisible un-embodied form) with Narmada Mayya as per
Chapter 93 - The greatness of Kalhodi Tirtha of Reva
Khanda:
गङ्गा त गवा पेण पु वचनाय । अतः क डीती मु म इ म् ।

Gaṅgā came there in the form of a cow for the purpose of holy ablution. Hence it became
well-known as the excellent Kalhoḍī Tīrtha.
The legend has it that even today, once every year,

Gangaji appears as a black cow here at the con uence to
meet Narmada mayya and cleanses o the sins deposited
with her by sinners taking a dip in Gangai ji. This place has
a mythological reference too, where the famous
Markandeya Rishi, told Yudhishthira to come and perform
penance at this very spot referred to in Puranas as Kahlodi
Tirtha. The minute you put your feet in the premises, you
Captivating view of Mayya from the ashram

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प्र
सि
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can feel the ener y of the place envelope you. I just knew I
had to stay the night, so I made an eye contact with
Avdhoot and gestured that we need to sleep the night here.
Avdhoot, got us a
nice, self content
room with three
beds in it at this
modern ashram
and after putting
down our bags,
we went out to
explore the place.
One Sadhu saw us

parikramawasi s
walking around
and decided to
give us the tour of
all the temples.
He gave us the
h i s t o r i c a l
signi cance of
Beautiful Saraswati Murti this holy site and
some background
on the great yogi
Brahmanandji Maharaj, who settled here during his
parikrama and gave the Gangnath Math, its current form
and stature. From the Gangnath Mahadev temple, he then
took us to a more isolated spot called the Saraswati gufa. A
narrow cave up on a nearby hill, it was seat of many saints.
This place drew me very strongly and I sent a message to
Avdhoot to get me permission to come and sit for
meditation in the night. The sadhu said, you are welcome
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any time but just make sure you are carrying some source
of light on you, since it gets very dark on the road to this
building from the ashram where you are staying. Then he
took us down the stairs to Gangnath ghat, a very beautiful
and small ghat where not too many people come. We
returned form the ghat and retired into the room for some
solitude and intense chanting. After dinner, I was too tired
to walk back to the Saraswati Gufa and that much
anticipated meditation session sittting in Saravati Gufa did
not happen. Next day morning when we woke up I felt sad
about not going and meditating at the Gufa. Then I
corrected my thoughts, who was I to do or not to do
anything, it was all her doing and everything that happened
or did not was in my best spiritual interest too. Who knows
why she did not inspire me to. The sorrow of inability
immediately turned into joy of Krupa.
We left early next morning. We were closing in fast

towards end of Avdhoot’s parikrama. He had started his at
Kuber Bhandari and we could practically see it now ahead
down stream from Ganganath Math ghat. I could see the
excitement growing in him as we came closer to Kuber
Bhandari and also an element of sorrow. However, we were
not walking leisurely anymore, there was a pace in
Avdhoots walk, which was not fast but anxiously swift.
Chanod our next stop, was known as Chandipur in ancient
times. It is also called as Dakshina Prayag, on account of a
Triveni sangam (con uence of three rivers), Narmada
Mayya, River Aursanga and Gupt Saraswati (in her invisible
un-embodied form). Chanod has rich heritage of temples
and ghats constructed by Maratha sardars during the
Maratha regime. Amongst the most ancient temples here is
the more famous and known, Kapileshwar Mahadev
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Temple. As per the scriptural reference, the great sage
Kapil Muni, son of Kashyap Muni, during his Narmada
Parikrama, did a very long and arduous penance here. At
the end of penance, he was granted a personal Linga as a
boon from Lord Shiva, which got named as Kapileshwar
Mahadev. This is a self-materialised Linga in its original
form around which
the temple was
constructed.
There is also a
Sheshnarayan
Temple which has a
really interesting
legend. The Sri
Vigraha in this
temple, is almost
six feet long made
of black marble. It
is slender
horizontal Vigraha
of lord Shree
Narayan in sleeping
Kapileshwar Mahadev Mandir position. As the
legend goes, one
Brahmin of Chanod
had a dream where Lord Shree Narayan instructed the
Brahmin to retrieve this idol from Narmada Mayya and
have it installed in the location where it currently resides.
The Brahmin obviously questioned the rationality of such a
command, since it would be impossible for him to lift the
idol all by himself and carry it on top of a small hill and
have it installed. Lord then told the Brahmin that he shall
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not feel the weight of the idol and it will become light as a
feather while he carried it to the location required. The
Brahmin did as instructed the next day and brought the
idol from the bottom of Mayya’s basin, carrying it all the
way up the hill, placed it in its current location.
The legendary Vigraha of Sleeping Narayan at Chanod
Kashivishwanath Mahadev Temple was a temple

constructed by Kashinath Gaikwad, a Maratha Sardar
during the Maratha regime. Dameshwar Mahadev Temple
was constructed by Damogirao Gaikwad. Ramji temple of
the dudhadhari cult. There is also a Chandika Mata Mandir
and a historical Mallharao Ghat, constructed by Mallharao
Holkar, father of great Ahilyabai Holkar of the Holkar family
of Maratha regimen. Gujarat truly is a state of miraculous
temples.

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As we were rapidly moving from one temple to another,
taking darshan and reading and listening to the legends, a
priest asked us if we were planning a stay at Chanod. When
Kashi Vishwanath Mahadev Temple Chanod
we told that we plan to reach Kuber Bhandari and stay the

night there, he became a picture of disappointment. What
he said next must become a compulsory text to be read by
every parikramawasi. He said and I quote, ‘Narmada
Parikrama is not just walking the ends of the river, the idea is to
maximise the merits of your spiritual practices and thereby progress
on the path of spirituality. The traditional parikrama, required a
parikramawasi to walk no more than 5 7 Km in a day and then nd
an ideal spot by her banks to do ones sadhana of ones liking. She/he
should then continue to stay in that spot until she/he is not inspired
from within to move to the next spot. This inspiration to move on
may come within a day, sometimes week, sometimes month,
sometimes year and maybe never. Her shores are studded with
spiritual powerhouses. The energies that the great sages and
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mythological / celestial beings have left behind after doing their
penances on her shores, assist the seekers only if they reside in the
spot long enough to absorb those energies. Those energies once at
work then multiply the rewards for the sadhana done. Narmada
Mayya herself has been blessed to amplify the e ects of the sadhana
Done by her devotees along her banks but every now and then a
seeker may get hooked into an ener y reservoir she/he is not even
aware of but will in an instant, switch the seekers focus from
external to internal. There are countless examples of yogis, siddhas
and mumkshus alike, who after coming to the banks of Mayya
reach a spot that simply plugs their soul into the ener y reservoir of
the spot and holds it down until the soul nds liberation’. At least
two saints came to my mind, Siyaram Baba and Lakhangiri
Maharaj whose history matched this exact description. I
knew right then, my parikrama had only begun, Mayya will
call me back, as many times as required until I nd my spot
too. We thanked the priest for his insight and promising
him that we will strive to do better, left for Kuber Bhandari.
We could see Kuber Bhandari from the shores but its not
possible to walk to Kuber Bhandari because of the River
Orsang sangam. The sangam can be crossed either by a
boat or an overpass. We had reached the bridge and now
Avdhoot’s destination lay on the other side of that bridge.
As a last seva to Avdhoot, I o ered sugar cane juice to my
fellow parikramawasi before crossing the bridge. It was an
emotional moment for both of us. After nishing our juice
Amol wanted to take rickshaw and reach Kuber Bhandari
instead of walking. Amol was the most irreverent
parikramawasi I had met and sometimes he would to tick
me o real bad with his casual attitude towards this once in
a lifetime opportunity. The man had no heart, no will, was
utterly lost and simply did not know what to do while on
Parikrama. I asked Avdhoot what he wanted to do, though a

श्री
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bit tired he said, it
was the last mile of
his parikrama why
take transport for
such short
distance. I agreed
a n d
e n t hu s i a s t i c a l l y
joined him in his
n a l w a l k . We
send our bags with
Amol and started
walking towards
Kuber Bhandari.
We passed Orsang
river and in an
hour or so, we
we re at Ku b e r
Old Entrance to Kuber Bhandari Temple & Ashram Bhandari. It was
Avdhoot’s nal day
of parikrama, he
was to take a bus and then train to go to Omkareshwar for
his completion rites. I booked an AC room with three beds
for the three of us within the ashram at Kuber Bhandari
ashram, as a parting gift for our dear friend, guide and
in uencer.
Kuber Bhandari is one of the most important pilgrim spot

along the banks of Mayya. The temple and the idols here
are considered to be as much as 2,500 years old. There are
two mythological versions to this place of worship. The rst
one is that once Shiva and Parvati were walking by the
shores of Narmada and when they reached Karnali, Parvati
fi
श्री
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got very thirsty and hungry. Being about 800 feet in height
above Narmada, water was not easily available and there
was general scarcity of food too. With a dual intention of
satisfying the immediate needs of Devi Parvati and
perpetual needs of pilgrims, Lord Shiva decided to himself
become the food and water in the jungles of Karnali. He
thus manifested Food and Water for perpetuity in this
place. It might as well be true, because Kuber Bhandari
even today provides free food and water for all. Every
Amavasya (New Moon) people from all over Gujarat throng
the gates of Kuber Bhandari in thousands and no one goes
back without food or water. The second version tells us that
Lord Kuber, brother of Ravana and keeper of all the wealth
of all three realms, during Ramayana, was attacked by his
brother. He surrendered to Shiva seeking protection from
his brother. Shiva advised him to go and do penance near
Karnali, where he was accorded complete protection from
Ravana. Shiva then himself appeared in the form of Kuber
Sangam spot at Kuber Bhandari

श्री
Bhandari Lingam and Parvati (Shakti) manifested herself in
the form of Kali ma. Kubeshwar Mahadev and Kali Ma idols
adorn the temples here in accordance with this mytholo y.
This is also the only place in India, I was told, where Rahu
is worshipped to pacify his wrath.
Apart from mythological importance, Kuber Bhandari

does have a certain spiritual gravity. I have sat and chanted
in the premises,
the experience
was amazing. Our
three days stay
here was totally
worth. Not only
did we rest well
but the Shakti of
this place
rejuvenated my
spirits for onward
journey. Except for
forgetting my sling
bag on a bench
near the
Final day at Kuber Bhandari
chandramauleshwar mahadev mandir and then getting it

back, our stay at Kuber bhandari was uneventful. We
explored all the ghats, temples and the con uence to the
maximum in three days that we were there.

श्री
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Third day morning, we bid goodbye to Avdhoot and
Kuber Bhandari. Avdhoot took one last promise from me
that I would walk till Garudeshwar without taking
transport. From Garudeshwar onwards, he kind of plotted
important halts and places best explored walking, the rest I
was free to decide whether or not to use transport.
Slowly but surely Mayya was ensuring that our kriya yoga
was being attained during parikrama. The three pillars of
kriya yoga were being imbibed through our actions and
also assimilated as wisdom by her grace.
तपः ये र धाना यायोगः

Austerity, svadhyay (japa, kirtan & satsang) and surrendering to God are called
Kriya-Yoga (Yoga in the form of action).
न हर !

श्री
र्म
दे
स्वा
ध्या
श्व
प्र
णि
नि
क्रि
1. Asha Param Dukkham, Nairashya Param sukham. So long

as there is hope there is sorrow, with despair comes
unlimited bliss.
2. Aversion is root of all sorrows and acceptance key to

happiness.

श्री
Tenet 12 - मो मूलं गु पा: - Guru Kripa is the
key to Salvation
सदा व समार म् शंकराचा म माम्

अ द् आचा प म् वं गु पर राम्
Beginning with Lord Shree Shiva and Shree Shankaracharya in between all the
way to my own Guru, I bow down to ALL in the tradition of Gurus..
Guru-Shishya Parampara (teacher disciple lineage) of

ancient India is the least understood spiritual tenet by even
the modern day sad-gurus. A Guru’s promise is not just to
impart knowledge, like in schools and colleges, where you
attend lectures, assimilate whatever you can and then you
are on your own. A Guru’s promise is emancipation,
liberation, deliverance and not just in one lifetime but
through as many lifetimes as may be required by the
disciple to achieve the ultimate goal of human life / lives.
श्री
शि
स्म
म्भा
र्य
र्य
न्ता
क्ष
दे
र्य
रु
रू
ध्य
र्कृ
म्प
I have no idea, if this is my rst life in which my Guru
appeared to me or we have had this relationship over many
lifetimes, what I do know is that if it wasn’t for my Guru,
Narmada Parikrama would have never happened. That’s
why when I stepped out for Parikrama, I was rst directed
to my Guru’s feet for seeking his blessings and by the end of
this chapter, which will mark almost an end of my
parikrama, I will once again nd myself at his feet. Guru
will never forsake his disciple, whether alive or not.
Now that Avdhoot was not walking with me anymore, I

was back to walking clueless, transferring my existential
burden over to Mayya. Amol was even worst, neither did he
display any faith nor did he take charge and perhaps thats
why I did not expect him to last too long with me. In fact, at
Kuber Bhandari, we had already decided to nd Amol a
suitable ashram before reaching Garudeshwar, where he
could spend his Chaturmas (period of approximately four
months of monsoon starting from Shahaji Ekadashi and
ending with Prabodhini Ekadashi, during which parikrama
is forbidden). Amol was going to opt Chaturmas, while I
wanted to ideally nish my parikrama before Chaturmas.
So our speeds would de nitely not remain aligned for too
long anyways. During our walks, Amol mostly kept to
himself and thus was an ideal partner for me but he
harboured a lot of negativity and so whenever he would
interact he would weigh down my spirits too. All in all, I
wasn’t really looking forward to a very long walking
partnership here.
We had now left Kuber Bhandari behind and started

walking the highway relying mostly on asking for directions
from India’s rural human GPS. First temple we came across
श्री
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was a beautiful
Shree Maruti
Dham temple.
Large premises,
modern marble
styled architecture
and a very unique
as well as
mesmerising
Hanumanji’s
Vigraha. We took a
small refreshment
break there and
then got back to
walking. Walking
in Gujarat is not as
easy for
parikramawasis as
A very unique Hanumanji Murti at the Maruti Dham it is in MP. Here
temple near Kuber Bhandari
the general
awareness is
slightly lower, so
getting information on Paidal Parikramawa Marg is not that
simple. We had to keep asking for directions and mostly
drew blank when asked for parikrama marg. We did not
refer to the guide so as to know which village we were
headed towards and so all in all, we were walking around
like two headless chickens. Fortunately unfortunately, I was
not inclined to planning ahead and Amol was far removed
from the entire process and so walking at the mercy of
India’s rural human GPS, we kept drudging through the
morning not knowing exactly where we were headed. By
noon a realisation nally dawned on us that we were totally
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lost and nowhere near any ashram or even a village. We
had reached such a remote location that neither did we
know how to proceed nor how to back track. No help
seemed available, not even for directions. The sun was
getting hot and our water supply was approaching critical
level. Amol was a picture of despair and I was beginning to
wonder just how long would he last like this with me. After
listening to him complain about a 100th time, I told him, ok
we will stop right where we are in the middle of nowhere
and not move in any direction until Mayya sends us help.
Hardly a few minutes later, a biker came along. We waved
for him to stop, told him we were parikramawasis, had
most probably lost our way and needed his help to nd the
right road for paidal parikrama and if possible also to an
ashram. He told us that he wasn’t sure about the paidal
parikrama route, but he knew of an ashram in nearby
village and gave us directions to that ashram. Satis ed that
Spacious ashram at Moria - Mayya’s timely help

श्री
fi
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we at least were headed to an ashram, we followed the
directions to the T and made it to the Narmadeshwar
Mahadev Mandir and Hanuman Mandir (Moriya) ashram. At the
Ashram, a mayya (endearing term used for females of all
ages) and a young sadhu from Nagpur Maharashtra were
engaged in rendering seva to parikramawasis. Seeing us
come just in time
for lunch, the two
immediately got to
cooking. Once
again, Mayya had
ful lled her
promise, whether
we planned or did
not, whether we
knew where we
were going or not,
she was with us
every step of the
way. Lunch was
ready and served
in an hour’s time
Very beautiful Narmadeshwar Shiva Lingam after reaching the
ashram. After
lunch, we rested
till 03:30 before beginning to walk along the winding and
lonely Varvada road. The roads were now getting narrower
and very dusty. The brown loose soil along the road threw
up a lot of dust and along with the sweltering heat and
humidity, Mayya now added dust to the mix to make things
even more exciting. Within an hour of walking we were
already looking for some respite. We made a turn going
through a village and to our left was a single storey
श्री
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bungalow with a display board of ‘Chaitanya Wadi’. We
didn’t know what to make of it, the name sounded like an
ashram but it was a gated bungalow. We needed some
water anyways, so
we decided to go
inside and ask for
water if not
anything else.
Inside we met with
a boisterous man
who welcomed us
with great warmth
and asked us to get
comfortable on the
verandah of the
bungalow, since
the rest of it was
still under
renovation. Sitting
Under construction ashram cum residence
on the swing, the
proud at heart but
still humble in
manners owner, made us some cold lemonade with his
own hands. He told us that once completely renovated, he
had plans to appoint a good cook and throw the doors of
his bungalow open to parikramawasis. A self made and
super con dent man, he was very straightforward in his
demeanour. He was super excited to have us as his rst
parikramawasi guests and spend good one hour giving tour
of his house and elaborting his plans for the ashram. The
owner was so nice to us, if the ashram would have been
functional, Amol would have stayed here itself for his
Chaturmas. After sharing a few more stories and re lling
श्री
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A washed out soil exposing the roots of a tree by the banks of dry river
bed near Gasinda village
our bottles with chilled water, we bid him goodbye at about

5:30. We needed to make it fast to the next ashram before it
got late. The road now passed through a completely dry
river bed. Even in Gujarat, the area felt an eerie bit lonely.
There were kids playing in the smalls puddles of water
where in monsoons it must be a sizeable river owing. We
really didn’t know whether or not to cross this dry river
bed or what lay ahead on the other side of it. This was as
remote as it could get in Gujarat. We hailed Mayya’s name
and crossed the river bed. It was nearing six now and still
no sign of an ashram. We picked up speed and pulling up
all the reserve ener y walked up the steep winding road
through a small village which during my research for the
book, I found is called Chudeshwar. Chudeshwar seemed to
have a bit of Muslim population, so we immediately ruled
ou t a ny s c o p e o f n d i n g a sh ra m fo r Na r m ad a
श्री
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parikramawasis from our minds and scurried on. Asking for
further directions and walking through the puzzzling roads,
we reached a very small temple along the dusty road we
were walking. It was already 06:30 by the time we reached
this Archoya Maharaj Mandir. We were still in the middle of
Archoya Maharaj Mandir near Chudeshwar where we were refused a night stay -
Picture sourced from internet
nowhere and the sun would soon be setting. In another half

hour, we would have no daylight and I was worried we
might have to sleep under a tree perhaps if we were refused
permission to stay at the temple. We got inside the temple
for darshan and our hopes went up when saw mattresses
piled up, the assumption in my mind was obvious. The
temple did not have any Vigrahas, just stones and the
stones, it seems, were the vigrahas of some local deities.
This is India, even stones acquire deity status and the logic
is simple too, if God is all pervading then he is in the stone
श्री
too, so it’s just human faith that brings out the already
existing Shiv tatva in every atom, stone being no exception
either. The whole purpose of archa-avatar (Archa - image &
Avatar - Incarnation) in any case is to facilitate bhakti and
from bhakti will then sprout the knowledge of all pervading
Brahma. In any case, we had high hopes that the temple
would become our
shelter for tonight
but our hopes
were crushed by
every person who
entered the
temple. I still do
not know the
reason why but we
were politely
asked to go the
temple nearby for
our stay. It was
perhaps the bane
of rural India,
caste issue, still
troubling us.
Chandreshwar Mahadev Mandir However, without

wasting any more
time, we
immediately started walking towards the next temple as
directed by folks at Archoya Maharaj Temple. Following the
directions given we nally reached Chandreshwar Mahadev
Mandir, near the banks of Mayya almost at sundown. When
we reached, the temple was completely deserted but we
found a small shed having asbestos roof just behind the
श्री
fi
temple where we took one corner each and rolled out our
asans. Mine now had a white thermacol sheet extra that
was going to come handy tonight, since there were no
mattresses provided, we would be sleeping on the cold
oor. I thanked mayya for the extra mat. After putting
down our bags, we decided to go for darshan and a quick
stroll around the temple premises. The temple itself is a
modern construct, the shiv lingam though looks dated. The
surroundings were peaceful bordering on eerie quiet. The
temple and
premises were
clean and well
maintained,
though deserted at
that time, perhaps
it was well
maintained by the
villagers. There
was a small garden
which was also
well maintained.
Mayya owed not
more than 10
meters away but
was still not visible
because of heavy
Naturally found narmadeshwar resembling Ganpati v e g e t a t i o n a l l
around. The open

area where we had
put our asan was slightly dirty. There was a square hole dug
out in one corner for dhuni (sacri cial re pit for religious
purposes). We were trying to guess what our night here
might be like, lonely and deserted, it might get a little scary
fl
श्री
fl
fi
fi
too we thought, what with no protective walls or fencing.
While we were discussing our prospects, a sadhu in late
forties walked in with a broom in his hand. He was a
renunciate from Maharashtra, Karandikar Maharaj; if I
recollect his name right. Karandikar maharaj had spent a
good 12 15 years staying at various large ashrams all over
India. The Mahanta (head sadhu) of the last ashram he
stayed at had told him to go for Narmada Parikrama and
experience life of a real sadhu perhaps knowing too well
that the large ashrams with all facilities would only sti e his
spiritual growth. He was advised to step out in the real
world and undertake life of a true Mumukshu, giving up all
comforts and attachments. I forget how long he had been
on the parikrama,
but when we met,
it was his second
or third day at the
Chandreshwar
temple. On his
look out for a
place to spend his
chaturmas, he
found this temple
Sadhu from Maharashtra at Chandreshwar Temple -
to be a perfect
Pic sourced from Internet match for all his
c r i t e r i o n .
Currently the
temple needed a full time pundit and the ashram part of it,
a caretaker. He quali ed for both, he had seva bhav and
being of a Brahmin lineage, knew enough to serve as a
pundit at the temple. The location was also to his liking,
very remote and accessible only to paidal parikramawasis,
this place promised him the necessary solitude for his
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Sadhana. Proximity to the banks of Mayya was a huge
added advantage and most importantly, the villagers were
supportive of the cause. He told us that he had decided to
stay there and give seva for as long as Mayya inspired him
to. Yet another fortunate soul, I thought to myself.
Reside in a temple or below a tree, sleep on mother earth as your bed, stay alone, leave all
the belongings and comforts, such renunciation will bring every imaginable pleasure derived
from complete detachment.
Since it was still too early to have a functional kitchen

ready for self cooking, villagers took turns to provide
cooked food for the sadhu and any other parikramawasis
who might come for the meals. As the night descended, the
area got eerily silent. We could hear crickets, owls and
animal calls I have never heard before in life. If it wasn’t for
the sadhu, the place would have been very scary. After a
quick introductory as well as information exchange the
sadhu walked to one corner, sat in vajrasan, pulled blanket
over his head and just like that, in under a minute, was lost
in meditation until dinner time. Inspired by him, I closed
my eyes too and started chanting on my asan too. I had no
idea how much time had passed or what was Amol doing
during that time but I opened my eyes only when someone
came calling for dinner. Rice, rotis and potato curry were
brought to us in containers. The dinner however had to be
had at the Hanumanji temple, a hundred meters from the
Chandreshwar temple, since it had a light bulb. So we sat
down on the verandah of Hanuman temple and had our
dinner exchanging information and doing some small talk.

श्री
र्व
य्या
स्य
दि
रि
ग्र
रु
जि
त्या
ति
नि
वि
On our return to the temple, Maharaj once again got into
his vajrasan position, pulled a blanket over his head and
was lost in his sadhana. I do not know what time he slept
because I took out my mala, closed my eyes and drifted o
to a nice peaceful sleep.
Next day morning, we bathed in Mayya’s cold running

water pumped through a hose just outside our sleeping
area. Even though it was early morning and the water cold,
there was no nip in the morning air anymore, in fact a bit
sultry already so the cold shower actually felt rejuvenating.
By the time we nished having our shower, tea had arrived
in a thermos along with a few Parley G packs. We quickly
got fresh and
started our walk,
after all, we only
had early morning
hours to make the
m o s t o f b e f o re
we at her tu rn ed
hostile. We walked
some distance by
the beautiful
shores but soon
the banks became
rocky and
treacherous
leaving us no
choice but to climb
up a broken ghat
and back on to
Maninageshwar Mahadev Tilakwada
village tar roads.

श्री
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By 07:30 Am we had already reached Tilakwada. We took
darshan at the famous Maninageshwar Mahadev Temple
whose reference can be found in Skandha Puran. To our
surprise, the
temple premise
was full of
devotees even at 8
AM. On further
enquiring, we
found out, it was
the Uttar Vahini
Parikrama crowd
that had gathered.
Uttar vahini
prirkama is a
shorter version of
parikrama meant
for those who are
incapable of
doing the full
parikrama.
T h e o r e t i c a l l y,
Hanumanji at Maninagehswar Mahadev Temple Mayya ows in a
Premises
straight-up
n o r t h e r n
direction between
Rampura and Tilakwaada, and owing to this unique north
facing ow of mayya, this section is considered highly
auspicious. During a certain period of year, parikrama of
this section, it is believed, yields the same merit as
complete Narmada Parikrama. So the devotees we were
seeing were the ones doing the Uttar Vahini Narmada
Parikrama. People were leaving the Maninageshwar temple
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fl
in groups, taking the back road through elds and coming
up on the tar road. All along this road there were
temporary booths giving out free beverages and snacks to
all parikramawasis. The spirit of both the volunteers and
Uttar Vahini parikramawasis was contagious. Amol and me,
we picked up pace
along with the
o t h e r
and amidst loud
cheering of
N a r m a d e H a r r,
started following
the crowd. The
road came to a
railway crossing
and we did not
know which road
to take, because
the Uttar vahini
crowd was taking
Morning darshan at Tilakwada - Maninageshwar the tar road, while
Mahadev Temple premises
the ones who by
their looks
appeared to be the
normal parikramawasis seemed to be headed towards
railway tracks. Without Avdhoot to do his PR, we were
completely lost but decided to follow the crowd we knew,
most probably the tracks saved a few precious Km of
walking. As we climbed the mount made for the railway
tracks, it took me back to my childhood days. Growing up
in Dombivali, the Diva-Vasai railway track, a very scarcely
used track back then used to be our summer playground. I
श्री
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knew how to walk on railway tracks for sure, though my
muscle memory may have worn o , no sooner did I step on
the track, I instinctively knew what to do to make the walk
easy on feet. Legs instinctively knew the distance between
two sleepers and how to manage skipping alternate one to
match my stride.
The rst 10 15
minutes were
exciting, but
soon the reality
of walking on
barren railway
track under the
s c o r c h i n g
afternoon sun of
peak Indian
summer was felt
with full
intensit y. With
sun blazing down
on us, no shade
to give us respite,
and uneven
rocky surface
Railway tracks is no good place for a walk
under our feet,
by choosing to
walk on the
railway tracks, we had only invited trouble. Mayya’s wish,
no point in ghting the inevitable now. I do not know even
now how much distance was saved but by the time we got
o the tracks in about an hour and half or so, I knew I
wouldn’t want to do it ever again. Hardships aside, a little
physical endurance is also quintessential part of parikrama
श्री
ff
fi
fi
-
ff
and so long as one
doesn’t stretch it
to cause loosing of
focus on sadhana,
its all good. After
walking the tracks
for what seemed
like eternity, we
started looking
ac tively for an
exit. The exit had
to be chosen
wisely too, so we
wouldn’t end up
on some road
with a dead end.
Finally we saw at
a distance a road
that looked liked a
Walking the tracks immediately after Tilakwada
s t a t e h i g h w a y.
Well marked with
white strips in the
middle, glistening tar road and fairly wide not to be an
internal village road, I knew instinctively that this would be
our exit. Luckily for us, there was also an opening through
the fence put by Railways to avoid cattle’s and other
animals entering the track. We sneaked through the broken
fence and got back on the road. Very soon we were passing
through what looked like a small town. Tired and fatigued
to a point of collapse, the sweet sound of narmade har
quickly brought back our hopes. Looking at our tired faces,
the gentleman o ered us cold water from earthen pot to
drink. A chatai (mat) was quickly laid out on the small patio
श्री
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outside his hut for us to sit on. We put down our bags,
rested our backs against the wall and stretched out our legs
in the shade of the
wall of the house.
This man’s
n e i g h b ou r t h e n
came over asking if
he could bring us
some tea. While
we were served
w a t e r, the
neighbour got us
nice hot tea.
S i p p i ng h o t t e a
from a steel plate
while sitting on the
doorsteps of a hut
was such an
intensely humbling
experience. Never
Enjoying my cuppa outside a house by the roadside
again, by my
Guru’s grace,
would vanity or
ego rise its ugly
head in my life and if it did, I would remind myself this cup
of tea. The walls that carefully defend the crafted and self
constructed social image, as if crumbled, exposing the
naked truth that there is absolutely no di erence between
me and any other human, richer or poorer.
Passing through Akeshwar village we arrived at the

Agasteshwar Mahadev Temple, now only a few kilometres
shy of Garudeshwar, my nal leg of Gujarat section of
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Agastyeshwar Mahadev Temple premises
parikrama as prescribed by Avdhoot Maharaj. Agasteshwar

is a small and neat temple of Pauranik importance. Placed
atop a small mount approx. 20 feet above the banks of
Mayya, it is a peaceful and serene location with a nice
panoramic view. The mythological reference to this temple
is that once when Vindhyachal mountain started growing
disproportionately thereby threatening the very existence
of mankind on earth, Agasthya Rishi intervened and
stopped it’s growth at the requests of all Gods. On his way
back to the south, he stopped by the banks of Mayya for
deep meditation that lasted thousands of years. To this end
he manifested a Shiva Lingam and did his Tapasya. It is the
same Shiv Lingam which is now known as Agasteshwar
Mahadev. When we arrived at Agasteshwar Mahadev
temple, it was almost noon and the temple was completely
deserted. We took a quick darshan at both the Shiv

श्री
Lingams, one placed outside in the open and the other
inside the sanctum and were wondering what to do next,
when a sadhu clad in all white suddenly showed up.
Without much discussion or even as much as a Narmade
Harr, he took us to a room behind the temple, told us we
could stay there for
a maximum of three
d ays a n d l e f t . I
noticed that
recently it had
started becoming
very painful for me
to stay at places
where the hosts
displayed no
apparent devotion
to Mayya. The food
and amenities of
stay did not matter
any more, if the
host had no interest
in satsang about
Shiv lingam at the Agastyeshwar Temple
mayya and her
glories, that place
was just useless and
brought no joy. Whereas, if the host was an ardent devotee
and excited to talk about Mayya, even the shabbiest of
places were fun to stay. After lunch and little rest, I left
Amol to his activities and decided to go into the inner
sanctum of the temple for meditative chanting. Descending
a few steps I reached the inner sanctum of the temple
where the acoustics of the dome made the voice echo
softly. I closed my eyes and in a soft voice, started chanting
श्री
राम जय राम जय जय राम| As my voice resonated inside the
sanctum, chanting kept getting more and more meditative.
I was lost to time, with no one to disturb and soft voice
echoing ram naam, I did not know just how long I sat there.
When I got up to leave, I was thoroughly refreshed and
energised. My resolve to walk solo strengthened during my
meditation. Amol had to go, anyways he needed to plan his
Chaturmas, so might as well start from here. So with help
of Avdhoot over phone, I convinced Amol to put up at the
Agasteshwar temple ashram for the period of maximum
stay allowed, i.e. 3 days, while I head out and scout a
suitable ashram for him. I simply had to be alone for
Garudeshwar and ahead. Garudeshwar was where my
mandatory paidal sector as per Avdhoot and Tailor Maharaj
got over. I wanted to experience Garudeshwar in solitude
and hence it was important for me to leave Amol behind.
Samadhi Mandir of Shree Tembe Swami at Garudeshwar

श्री
श्री
To his credit, Amol agreed without putting up too much of
a ght. Evening and night at Agasteshwar was mostly
uneventful with me spending a lot of time inside the inner
sanctum chanting. Next day morning, I bid goodbye to
Agasteshwar Mahadev and Amol, I got down the slope to
reach banks of Mayya and started walking towards
Garudeshwar. The walk along the shore was strewn with
very pretty colourful Narmadeshwars (Rolling Stones found
in Mayya’s basin). It was a lazy morning, I was alone, I had
nowhere to reach
in time, so I spent
a good half hour
scrounging for a
narmadeshwar
that would be
attractive in shape
and colours and
also induce bhakti
bhav in me. After
picking up a good
100 plus
narmadeshwars
and discarding all
of them, I nally
gave up my search
and walked up the
Garudeshwar Mahadev Mandir steps of the under
construction
concrete ghat of
Garudeshwar. Garudeshwar not only acquires it’s
signi cance due to the pauranik references but is also
karma bhumi (land of penance) of Shree Vasudevanand
Saraswati AKA Shree Tembe Swami, a siddha (enlightened)
श्री
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Magni cent view of Mayya from top of a small mountain in Garudeshwar
from Datta sampradaya (Sect that follows preachings of

Bha wan Dattatreya). According to Purans, Gajasur
(Elephant Demon) fought a menacing battle with garud
(Large Eagle) in which the demon lost his life and his
humongous demonic body was absorbed into the ow of
Narmada Mayya. By the virtue of his gross body being
consumed by the waters of Mayya, the soul of Gajasur
acquired a celestial body, using which he then prayed to
Shree Shiva for a 100 years sitting by the banks of Mayya.
Shree Shiva appeased by his penance and devotion,
granted him many wishes. As one of the wishes, Shiva self-
materialised a linga here and Gajasur named it
‘Garudeshwar’ in honour of Garuda responsible for slaying
his demonic being at the auspicious banks of Mayya. Shree
Narada Muni as well, it appears, performed penance here
and established ‘Naradeshwar Mahadev’ Linga. These are
the two Puran references I could nd, now moving to the
modern era saint Shree Tembe Swami. Tembe swami

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The broken structure of an old fort at Garudeshwar
arrived at Garudeshwar for his 23rd and FINAL chaturmas

in 1913. After the summer of 1914 AD, when he was 60 years
old, his health started deteriorating. Knowing that his death
was imminent, Swamiji by his will held back his Pran (life
force) until the passing of inauspicious Amavasya (New
Moon) and the very next day, sitting in Siddhasan (a sitting
posture as per Yoga) kicked his mortal frame with a loud
chant of Om. One other legends of Tembe swami narrates
the story of imprint of his feet on a black stone, which is an
object of great reverence to his devotees even today. A few
days before passing away, Swamiji called upon one of his
close devotees and o ered to give him any object of his
personal belongings as prasad. The devotee, out of pure
devotion asked for Swamiji’s wooden slippers (padukas) to
be received as prasad. Swami told him that as a Dandi
swami, he must remain bare feet at all times and hence

श्री
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cannot wear padukas to give them to him. However, the
devotee wouldn’t budge and so giving up on a child like
demand full of love and devotion, Swamiji performed a
small miracle for this devotee. He asked the devotee to get a
large Narmadeshwar and then stood on the the black stone
for three hours. In three hours, he left his footprint on the
hard black stone, which is kept even today as a sacred
object of worship at the samadhi temple.
When I started my parikrama, I had no knowledge of the

legacy of tirthas along the banks of mayya or just how
spiritually awakening the whole journey would be. Pilgrim
spots like Garudeshwar are also popular tourist spots and
not many who come here even feel the ener y of the place
but when one has achieved even slightest chitta shuddhi
(puri cation of mind), the subtle experience of the place
can be enthralling. That’s why when I reached Tembe
Swami Samadhi mandir, I decided to catch a remote corner
and chant / meditate in the powerful orb of the mandir. I
put down my backpack at the entrance and walked into the
main hall, found myself a secluded corner at the back,
closed my eyes and sat chanting meditatively. Never before
or since my Parikrama have I had the experience of all the
sense chatter dying out so quickly and mind becoming so
absorbed in the chant. Sitting still, lost to space and time, I
felt as if the world around me had disappeared, even I had
disappeared, no trace of memory or recollection of the
moment exists within me. I only remember coming out of
the reverie, thoroughly refreshed and revitalised. It is the
experiences like these that make parikrama truly magical. I
spend the remaining day and the next, exploring most of
Garudeshwar. The rst calling after Dutta Mandir was
Hanuman cave cum temple. Placed atop a small hill, the
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temple is small with a magnetic Hanumanji murti in it.
Adjacent to it is a cave, where I was told Hanumanji did his
penance. Here I met a sadhu who wanted to build a temple
somewhere in MP and was on a lookout for a donor who
would sponsor the red stone sculpted vigraha. Drawn into
his discussion, I ended up promising him that I would try
and secure the vigraha but somehow, never did. We
exchanged numbers but soon I forgot all about it and now I
have this nagging regret of not being able to ful l that
promise. Maybe some day in future, I will be given another
opportunity to make amends for the same. From there I
went to Garudeshwar Mahadev temple, a very quaint
temple located at the base of a small hill. After taking
darshan at the Garudeshwar Mahadev, I decided to trek up
the hill. Sight of a dilapidated old fort gave me hopes there
might be a relic on top. So I climbed the hill to witness one
of the most majestic views of Mayya from a beautiful
vantage point. One can view Mayya’s blue expanse all the
Glimpse of the submerged old Hanfeshwar Mahadev Temple

श्री
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way to the statute of unity from here, the mountain range
as a backdrop only further adds to the beauty. On top of
this hill is yet another small Hanumanji temple and a
cottage of a sadhu from Rajasthan. I wish I was taking
notes, the sadhu had some interesting stories to tell. I was
at Garudeshwar for two nights and from there then swift
journey to Maheshwar.
On the way, Avdhoot advised me to take a detour to

Hafeshwar, a temple now relocated near the Three States
border point of Gujarat, Maharashtra and MP, all the three
states through which Mayya ows. The original and ancient
Hafeshwar temple remains submerged under water due to
Sardar Dam. A few years back, during a drought, the water
levels around old Hanfeshwar temple dropped giving
devotees a glimpse of the old temple.
Newly Constructed Shiv Temple at Hanfeshwar

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At the time when I
was at
Hanfeshwar
temple, I wasn’t
aware of the
history of the lost
Hanfeshwar
temple but I could
easily tell that the
temple I walked
into wasn’t an old
relic. It was
s l i g h t l y
disappointing to
go into a temple
that was not a
heritage site,
especially having
come all the way
Main hall of Hafeshwar Mahadev Temple just for it.
Howe ve r, o n c e
inside the temple,
the disappointment gave way to a nice devotional mood.
The inner sanctum was left unguarded by the pundit
incharge and hence I had the opportunity to go and sit by
the Shiva Linga inside and chant for 10 15 minutes. Later,
the priest arrived and respectfully requested me to sit
outside. I obliged but kept on meditating and chanting for
about an hour in the main hall of the temple, after which a
lot of devotees started arriving breaking my reverie. I went
around clicking pics and generally admiring the work done
by the government of India at restoration of the old temple.
After attending the noon arti and having the mahaprasad
श्री
-
lunch, it was time to move on. Next stop was the
mandatory Mandavgad. Perched on the Malwa plateau, just
before Maheshwar,
Mandu was
established by the
Parmars in the
10th century, and
thereafter ruled by
the Khilji dynasty,
the Ghuri dynasty,
the Mughals and
then nally the
M a r a t h a s .
However, I did not
know any of its
colourful history
Steps going to Mandav gad Shiv Lingam overlooking during parikrama
the Vindhya Mountain Range
and the only
reason I went up
the mountain was
so that I could go around the Reva Kunda (assumed to be
Mayya’s manifestation) built by King Baz Bahadur for his
queen, Rani Rupmati, an ardent devotee of Mayya. The
legend has it that Rani roopmati prayed for Mayya’s
proximity to her stay at Mandavgad palace. Mayya then in a
vision in her sleep assured Rani Roopmati that the water in
the lake outside her pavilion is also Narmada Jal. Assuming
that Mayya is present here in her Gupt Roop, all
Parikramawasis go around the Reva kund rst thereby
avoiding cutting of the notional ow of Mayya from river
course to Reva Kund on Mandu gad. So I took a detour at
Dharmapuri, went around the Reva Kund and came down
from the other side to reach khalghat. I also took darshan
श्री
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fi
of Shiva Linga inside the Mandu fort and the ‘Char Bhuja
Ramji’ (Only Vigraha of Ramji with Four hands) before
l e av i n g M a n d u
Gad. I did not
have time to
explore Mandu
any more than
that.
Next day I
r e a c h e d
Maheshwar. After
a long wait of two
months plus, I
had nally
reached the place
that had me
captivated. Where
about two months
back, I stood on
the opposite
The only murti of Shree Ramji with Four arms - Ram shore mesmerised
mandir at Mandav Gad
by the most
b e a u t i f u l
waterfront and
such well articulated architecture, now I was in the city
itself. My journey from Shalivan on the opposite shore to
Maheshwar, truly speaking was spiritually the most
rewarding part of Parikrama. Mayya had brought me from
Shalivan, through Shulpani forests, Northern banks of
Gujarat, Ocean crossing and then on the Southern banks of
Gujarat, Hanfeshwar, Mandu and nally landed me at
Maheshwar. By the time I reached Maheshwar, I believe
श्री
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that my inner space had been signi cantly re ned. My
materialistic tendencies signi cantly subdued and
d e v o t i o n a l
proclivity at an all
time high,
M a h e shw a r f e l t
like a calling in
itself. It had almost
been three months
since the day I left
home to come to
Mayya and in that
period, not once
did I regret my
decision. Not once
did I fear or doubt
View of Ahilyeshwar temple , Vithoba Chatri & calm my fate on return
waters of Mayya from my Balcony of Haldi suite
to my routine life. I
o n l y re m e m b e r
being happy and
content, in physical pain a few times but never tormented
at heart. I think I had nally found an answer to Mary
Oliver’s famous question, “What is it you plan to do with your
one wild and precious life?”. The best part was, I realised,
none of it was my doing. Even my mental attitude was not
my own doing. Mayya had made last three months the most
exhilarating, rewarding and content three months of my
entire life. Though stay at Maheshwar excited me, I did not
know what lay in store for me yet. Just like the rest of
parikrama I was happy living under active care and
protection of Mayya. Hardly did I know Maheshwar was
going to be my most luxurious and also spiritually most
ful lling stay. The heritage site of Ahilya Fort, in the year
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2000, was converted into a guest residence by Prince
Richard Holkar, descendant and son of the last Maharaja of
Indore. Towards the end of April 2022, this penniless
devotee of Mayya got a chance to stay at The Ahilya Fort
Resort and become a personal guest of Sir Richard Holkar.
A personality of formidable stature, tall, European fair with
deep blue eyes (if I recollect correctly) Prince Richard
Holkar looks and presents himself as the true royalty,
which he indeed is. He so humbly and charismatically plays
host to the guests staying at the fort, you would hardly
believe he is a royalty in esh and blood. As a Maratha
descendant myself, it was a very proud moment to be able
to spend time with a prince of Maratha lineage. Since I
landed during o season, the fort did not have too many
tourists and I got a lot of time to interact with Richard and
some of his close friends who had come over for stay with
Such delicate and intricate designs

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him. Maheshwar and
Ahilya fort, felt like a
Time Machine capsule,
transporting you back
into the era of the great
Maratha rule.
My rst day at the

Ahilya fort, I was housed
at the Haldi suite in
Darbar Wada, one of the
most prestigious suites at
the Ahilya Fort Hotel
located on top of the
Majestic Maheshwar Ghat
archway to the ghats.
After spending hours
sitting out on the
balcony and
chanting, I
decided to step out
to visit the temples
and the riveting
ghat. Dressed in
nice blue cotton
kurta and white
salwar, I went to
Ahilyeshwar
temple rst and
then to Vithoba’s
Chatri for darshan
Night view from Top of Fort Maheshwar
of shiv lingams
there. At the

श्री
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Ahilyeshwar temple, I was very kindly given special access
to the Ahilyehswar Shivlinga inside the inner sanctum.
Right across is another architectural marvel called the
Vithoba’s chatri. I went there and took darshan of shiv
Linga there. I spend a good hour site seeing and capturing
everything on camera. I came out and was absentmindedly
descending the steps of Vithoba’s chatri, when suddenly I
was accosted by a
sweet nomad girl
selling trinkets.
Acting out of
impulse, I refused
to entertain her
and turned away
to walk towards
ghat . However,
she kept on
following me
persistently
pleading me to
buy something, in
fact anything. I
nally turned to
face her and as I
looked at her, the
deep grey eyes
and a beautiful
Steps of Vithoba’s chagtri, where I had the intriguing smiling face
encounter
caught me
completely o
guard. For a
minute, I was barely able to look away from that face and
then returning the smile I apologised to her for not buying.
fi
श्री
ff
Shiv temples along the Ghat of Maheshwar
I noticed she was practically dancing all around me very

innocently. Then she said to me, ‘aur kuch nahi bass ek
Rudraksha ki Mala le lo mujhse’ (if not anything else buy a
Rudraksha beads). I couldn’t say no to this, so I agreed and
put my hand in my pocket but it came out empty. I forgot, I
was not carrying any cash or my wallet. After all, I was not
a tourist here, I was a parikramawasi, what business did I
have carrying any money at all. I gave her my most
appealing and warm smile and in a most apologetic tone
told her that I would de nitely buy something from her but
later, since I wasn’t carrying any cash. When I said that I
would come back and buy it, her expression changed ever
so slightly and now with a curious look, she asked me in a
sympathetic tone, ‘बाद र मुझे प चान पाओगे बाबूजी ?’ ‘will
you recognise me when you come back’? I did not think too much
of the question and very o handedly replied, of course I

श्री
में
fi
फि
ff
क्या
हे
will, while thinking in my mind, how will I forget this
beautiful charismatic face and mesmerising eyes ever. She
looked at me smiled at my response and walked away,
without bothering me again. As soon as the girl left me, I
forgot all about this incident and went about strolling out
on the ghat. Sitting on one of steps, I prayed to Mayya and
thanked her for all her Krupa. After an hour or so, I
stepped back in to my room and I suddenly remembered
the promise I had made to that playful mayya. I quickly
p i c ke d u p s o m e
cash from my
reserve and
practically ran back
to the courtyard
b e t w e e n
Ahilyeshwar temple
and Vithoba’s
chatri. I was excited
to buy something
from that young
mayya but now, she
Shalivan view from Fort Maheshwar
wasn’t to be found.
Normally, I would
be happy to be rid
of an annoying street vendor but this was di erent.
Somehow my heart refused to give up so easily, something
made me look for this young mayya. So I searched her
everywhere within the fort premises, out on the ghat, in
the market area at the top of the stairs, everywhere. I kept
looking for her for almost half hour and then dejectedly
returned back to my room. It was late and she must have
left for her home, I consoled myself. The reminder of the
day was spend, meditating and chanting. In the evening, an
श्री
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attendant announced that Sir Richard is hosting evening
drinks and snacks on the roof top followed by dinner at his
private dinner table. The terrace was all lit up in a very
subtle manner, nothing was overdone. There were oil
lamps illuminated along the pathway and inside the
chambers all over the rooftop. Two sofas and a few chairs
were laid out for guests, Sir Richard himself entertained the
guests with hi s
disarming wit and
charm. Sir Richard
is also a self-taught
designer chef and
designs his own
signature dishes
for all meals. I was
o drinks of
course, so I
enjoyed the
c a n a p é s s e r ve d
and very modest
and tasteful
conversations.
After a very long
time, I was as if
back in my
View of a Shiv Temple on the ghats of Maheshwar
natural habitat.
After the
appetizers, we
were taken to the dining area at the inner courtyard, where
dinner was served at a round table seating all the guests
along with Sir Richard. I retired to my room for my
chanting and meditation after the dinner. As I tried
sleeping, the simple innocent question, will you recognise
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me, kept me awake for a while and I drifted o not knowing
what to make of the situation.
I was at Ahilya fort for three days post the incident and
for three days, at least twice a day, I went looking for this
girl but couldn’t nd a trace of her. The more I thought of
the incident the more intriguing it got, ‘Will you recognise
me when you come back’, kept echoing in my mind. If only I
would have been carrying money on me, it would have
been just another transaction, done and dusted. If I would
have been able to locate her later on, then too, I would
have forgotten all about it. However, Mayya had fashioned
this incident in such a way that, it left things open to many
interpretations. My interpretation of it and realisation shall
remain my secret but I will leave my readers to their own
discovery of the meaning of question and whether it was
loaded with deeper meaning or just an innocent question.
I wouldn’t have dreamed of the stay at Ahilya fort during

parikrama in wildest of my imagination. It is one of the
most expensive places to stay and yet, a penniless person
with no resources stays there. Call it my prarabhdha
(destiny), Mayya’s ahetuki Krupa (benevolence) but one
thing is established, we cannot call it my purshartha
(accomplishment) I did not desire it, nor intended it but it
happened all the same.
‘मूकं करो वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते ।’ -

God ‘s grace can make a dumb speak and lame cross mountains, so
truly manifested in my case.
That is not to say, every parikramawasi will have similar

experiences. Parikrama is a program stitched around the

रिं
श्री
ति
fi
गि
ff
framework of each individuals prarabhdha and crafted to
suit every individuals chitta vrittis. Some parikramawasis
are Satvik and enjoy Satvik environment, some, like me I
guess, have Rajasik tendencies and encounter Rajas
experiences and yet some harbour Tamsik vrittis and are
therefore given very Tamsik experiences. However, no
matter what one’s experiences, the underlying principle of
devotion and surrender should remain unaltered in all
situations.
I bid goodbye to Maheshwar & Ahilya Fort one early

morning and was back on the road. By my Guru’s grace and
Mayya’s blessings, not once in balance of my Parikrama did
the thoughts of comfort and luxury I enjoyed at Maheshwar
attract me. I went from staying at a luxurious suite in
Maheshwar, straight to a tent the very next night without a
hitch. Mayya had really taught me inner vaira ya, where
having or not having made no di erence. There is no
craving nor any aversion, everything that comes as
prarabhdha is accepted as Mayya’s Krupa.
नु क षय तृ वशीकारसं वैरा म्|

That effect which comes to those who have given up their thirst after objects, either seen or
heard, is vairagya (dispassion)
In an hour or hour and half after leaving Maheshwar, I

was at the Nag Mandir in village called Ladvi. I took a well
deserving break at this mandir for 10 15 minutes. Feeling
fresh, I heaved my backpack and was about to start
walking, when a sadhu who was just entering the mandir
stopped me to o er bal bhog. I already had the bag on my
shoulders and didn’t feel like putting it down, so I hesitated
for a second. Sensing my hesitation, the sadhu said, what’s
your hurry sir, you are on parikrama, there is no rush,

दृ
श्री
ष्टा
श्र
वि
वि
वि
ff
ष्ण
स्य
ज्ञा
ग्य
ff
-
g
Nag Mandir Ladvi & Road to Tatkaleshwar Mahadev Site
come sit have some tea and snacks. I couldn’t say no to the
invite when presented like that. The sadhu, a middle aged
man of sweet demeanour made me comfortable in the
verandah of his accommodations adjacent to the mandir
and ventured inside the kitchen for making tea. Sitting on
the verandah, I gazed outside on the road and couldn’t help
notice raw low hanging mangoes on a tree on opposite side
of the road. The mere site of raw mangoes, brought sour
taste to my mouth and unknowingly I smacked my lips as if
tasting them. A eeting desire arose in my mind to pluck
one and eat it right there. At the very moment the desire
arose in my mind to have the raw mango, sadhu stepped
out of kitchen carrying two plates, one had rice akes and
other one, freshly cut raw mango slices. I saw the mango
slices and my eyes moistened. I took the dishes with a
smile, while nodding at myself. Sadhu asked me what the
matter was, so I narrated to him how I had barely desired

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raw mangoes and mayya verily materialised it for me. The
sadhu smiled heartily, threw both his hands in air as if in
appreciation to what I said and then told me his version of
serving the raw mangoes. The sadhu was sitting on his bed
lazing when he saw me entering the mandir. Suddenly and
for no reason at all, he had this inspiration to go out and get
a raw mango for me, so when I am done with my praying
he would invite me over and o er me slices of raw mango.
That is why he insisted that I wait for a few minutes, so he
could give me the mango he had lucked speci cally with
the intention of feeding me. Mayya and her truly
unfathomable ways, we both exclaimed simultaneously
when he nished his narration. The incident was small but
it’s impact epiphanic. Next hour was spent exchanging
experiences of Mayya’s benevolence. He then asked me to
stay the night over assuring me that I will be wanting
nothing at his ashram. I declined the o er apologetically
since it was still early morning and I had an entire day left
for walking. Agreeing reluctantly to let me go, he however,
made one more suggestion. Not too far from mandir, he
told me, there was a great mahatma from Rajasthan who
has undertaken a 12 year parikrama. One of the
idiosyncrasies of his parikrama is that every six months or
so, nding an appropriate spot by Mayya’s banks, he stops
to built, operate and transfer a brand new mandir and once
the job is done, he moves ahead to the next spot. He has
already constructed seven such mandirs and not too far
from the Nag Mandir was the site of eighth mandir whose
construction was under way. The sadhu then insisted that I
should not lose this opportunity to take darshan of this
mahatma and gave me directions to the site of this under
construction mandir. I was to follow the small dirt road
going inside behind the Nag temple, leading up to Varada
श्री
fi
fi
ff
ff
fi
ashram and going past that ashram I would then reach an
open ground where the mandir is currently being
constructed right by the banks of Mayya.
Following the directions, I arrived at the Tatkaleshwar

Mahadev mandir, which was yet under construction when I
was there. I count myself very fortunate to have been able
to take darshan of yet another mahatma. As I walked into
the mandir construction site, few workers and volunteers
working on the site, gave me a humble and warm welcome.
There were makeshift tents lined up at the boundary of the
temple premises
and I was asked to
put my ‘Asan’ in
any tent I liked. I
put my bag in one
of the tents and
walked upto the
temple. It was a
small but very
beautifully made
Shiva temple. The
structure was
made of pink
marble brought in
From Suite to Tent in a day with a smile, is truly Guru from Rajasthan. A
Krupa & Mayya’s blessing l a r g e
narmadeshwar
was placed atop
shining metal base of shiv Linga and a three hooded cobra
protecting the shiva Linga. A shiny metal Trishul and
damru attached to it placed on the side of Shiv Ling made
up the inner sanctum of the temple. It was still early
श्री
morning, not too many people were working or inside the
temple, so I immediately took the opportunity and sitting
cross legged near the shiva Linga began chanting राम जय राम
जय जय राम| O ering this mantra to Lord Shiva instead of
owers. One mantra was one ower and I wanted to o er
Lord Shiva garlands of 108 of these delicately woven
owers of my Guru Mantra. After chanting for good hour or
so, I stepped out
and saw the
m a h a raj h av i n g
bath out in the
open under a hose
that was pumping
water from mayya.
I waited for him to
nish and as he
dried himself, I
went to bow down
to him. He very
humbly stopped
me from touching
his feet, instead
Tatkaleshwar Mahadev Mandir, Ladvi & Small Cabana did a namaste and
in the background for the Maharajji building it went on with his
routine.
Lunch was announced at around 13:00 Hrs, a simple

sabji roti and daal chawal but a tasty serving all the same.
After lunch and afternoon rest, I nally got an audience
with the mahatma. Seated on his Asan, inside his cabana
erected temporarily behind the temple that looked like the
ones meant for the old warring captains in the battle eld,
this maharajji welcomed me into his abode with great
fl
fi
fl
श्री
ff
fl
fi
श्री
fi
ff
humility and respect. Tall by stature and height, his
physique reminded me of Ramdas Swami, warrior king
Shivaji Maharaj’s Guru and a great saint from Maharashtra.
A tall sanyasi, Maharajji was either in his early sixties or late
fties, celibate from birth he cast a very strong aura and
portrayed a erce will. He sat there elegantly giving us
satsang of his simple yet pure thoughts on spirituality. He
was very modest to talk to with no air about him and spoke
simple Hindi, with a bit of Rajasthani accent. My initial plan
was to move out after lunch, however, as a true sanyasi and
parikramawasi, Maharajji did not like my plan. He told me
to stay at least one night. In a soft and patronising tone he
told me that a parikramawasi must stay by the banks of
Mayya where she / he is o ered the facility to do so, I
immediately agreed. His satsang was very simple and from
what I could tell involved life teachings from personal
experience alone. I asked Maharaj if what I heard about his
parikrama and its uniqueness was true. He laughed a
hearty laugh and told me just how absolutely blessed he
was in that aspect and gave all credit to the support of his
followers from back home in Rajasthan. He only has to pick
up a phone to inform them about a new site and his intent
to built a temple there. Within a month all arrangements
for the temple construction, ration & supplies, workers
reach the site. He never has to ask for anything, with
Mayya’s blessings, everything required for the temples and
their upkeep automatically reaches him. His job would then
be only to monitor the construction, complete it, nd and
appoint a priest, lay down mechanics for future upkeep of
the temple and move out. No long sermons, no speeches,
no demands on purse strings of devotees, just simple faith
and pure surrender to the will of God. It was no small feat,
this undertaking of the mahatama, but not a trace of pride
fi
श्री
fi
ff
fi
Mayya’s ghat at the base of Tatkaleshwar mandir
or attachment. Even at the current site, there was already a

hunt on for a Brahmin who would commit to stay at the
temple and carry out all the necessary duties of a priest.
Also, during his parikrama, Maharaj strictly wandered
alone along very remote routes of parikrama and very
rarely walked the roads and highways. After the satsang, a
bit late in the evening, I went strolling around the premises
of the temple. I discovered that behind the temple was a
thatched shed wherein was seated an absolutely captivating
Shree Vigraha of Durga Ma. The ferociousness that I saw in
Durga ma’s idol penetrated the pitch dark night outside,
assuring me that no harm can ever come close to her
devotees. Her image that I carried to bed that night was
that of violent destroyer and protector. I slept with that
vision in my mind. Next day morning, after bathing and arti

श्री
a t m y d u r b a r,
when I went back
t o t h e sh e d , I
could not believe
my eyes. It was as
if, the entire
ferociousness had
disappeared from
her demeanour, I
could only see,
peace, love and
motherly a ection
instead. I kept
gazing at her face
the entire time I
was there. I could
feel her smile
a ectionately at
me, telling me,
Dhuni & a very powerful murti of Ma sherawali at
Tatkaleshwar Mahadev Mandir that a mother is
only ferocious
when protecting
her children, but to her own, she is nothing but endless
mercy and unfathomable love. The transformation brought
tears of joy to my eyes and a sublime feeling of surrender.
I left Latvi early morning and joined the highway back for
onward journey. Within a few hours I could tell I was
approaching a city evident by concrete structures along the
side of the road. It was still early morning and most shops
were closed but a tea stall by the road was open for
business and as I passed by I was invited for a hot morning
cuppa with the customary Narmade Harr! I sat on a stool
श्री
ff
ff
next to the small push cart, chatting with the tea vendor as
I sipped hot tea served in a small paper cup. It always
amazes me how the poorest are always the most generous.
So easy to give away from what little they have and with so
much love. The tea vendor told me I was in Mandaleshwar
and guided me towards the riverbank. Tucked away into a
small corner in MP, next to Mayya, is the small temple town
of Mandleshwar. It's an obscure tourist destination,
eclipsed in popularity and attractions by the more famous
neighbouring town of Maheshwar. Claimed to be place of
residence of the great Sanskrit Scholar and theologian
Mandan Mishra, this place was once considered epicentre
of philosophical
wisdom due to
h i s p re s e n c e .
The world’s rst
and oldest ‘Adi
Shiva Linga’
consecrated by
Lord Shiva
himself, is
located inside a
Mayya’s view at Mandaleshwar
very small
nondescript
temple c alled
the Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple here in Mandaleshwar.
This is considered as the oldest Shiva temple and has
detailed references in Puranas. It is believed and also
written in Puranas that Ma Parvati herself consecrated the
Linga here. It is also here at this site that the famous debate
between Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya and Mandana
Mishra took place. It is also here in a cave nearby that Shree
Adi Shankaracharya left his body using his Yogic powers
श्री
fi
and entered into the body of a dead king only to
understand the role of erogenous tendencies in human life.
There is also a beautiful old Ram mandir here currently
under the trust of Shree Gondavelkar Maharaj (My Guru),
however, the gates were sadly locked when I was in
Mandleshwar, so I did not get to go inside. Perhaps, my
Guru wanted to wait a few days more before I could get his
darshan. Further on, there is a Chappan dev temple, a
temple with 56
Vigrahas. Legend
has it that in
order to protect
these idols from
destruction at the
hands of
Mughals, they
were hidden in
the dome of this
temple and once
it was safe
enough, they
were all placed in
this temple and
made open to
public. Then
there is also a
very beautiful
Chappan Dev Temple - Mandleshwar
Datta Guru
temple built by
followers of Shree
Tembe Swami. As such the list of temples in Mandleshwar
is a long one, I have written about a few I found most
inspiring. After wandering around Mandleshwar the entire
श्री
morning, I settled down at the Ma Narmada Ashram there
for a little rest and lunch. After lunch and rest, it was time
to move on again.
I had done only 8 Km in two days, I was loving the pace

of my parikrama. I was staying where I felt attracted and for
as long as I wanted to. However, I could tell that the
weather was getting bad, soon I wont be able to walk at all
after 11 AM, especially passing through central parts of MP.
The afternoons had started getting unbearable, starting
parikrama post lunch until 4:30 was almost impossible
now. So some speed was required. I was once again in
touch with Shiv, who was slightly ahead of me. Getting
directions from him, I was told to reach an old temple of
Bhilat Dev o Pipliya Bujurg on NH 38. On a solitary road
cutting across farmlands and going round a small mound all
the way on the top was a very small temple of Bhilat Dev
that is where Shiv was and my destination about 27 Km
ahead of me. Walking some of it and taking public transport
through some parts, I reached the Bhilat dev temple, where
Shiv was already waiting for me. Just like Avdhoot, Shiv too
possessed PR skills. He had already made friends with a
local pundit at the Bhilat baba ashram. The same pundit
arranged for our dinner with help of a few villagers the rst
night. Shiv Maharaj wanted to leave early morning, but the
pundit acquaintance urged that we spend the next day at
the ashram and allow him to take us to Muni Baba ashram
near Mayya’s banks, roughly 10 15 Km away on his bike. I
agreed immediately and together we convinced Shiv to
agree too. So next day evening, riding triple seat, we went
past Bhampura village to reach the Muni Baba Ashram. A
small but well maintained ashram, the site is right by the
banks of Mayya. A strong and stout sadhu originally from
श्री
ff
-
fi
At the banks of Mayya in Bhampura with Shiv & another devotee
Maharashtra, came and settled on this completely barren

land 25 years ago. The closest village was a good 5 Km far
and his sadhana sthan remained isolated for 15 years after
his arrival. Living o the land most of the times, this sadhu
kept distance from civilisation during early sadhana days.
Now the ashram has two rooms, one he keeps for himself
and the other one is occupied generally by a sadhu seeking
solitude for sadhana. Muni baba had some interesting
stories to tell about his sadhana and initial period of his
stay. There were times he practically lived o the land,
even eating grass at times for sustenance. Over two and half
decades later, he now has a small garden that yields him
fruits and vegetables. Only Mayya knows who is ready for
what level of sadhana by her banks and inspires varied
seekers with varied levels of commitment. In my heart, I
knew, I was not ready for such absolute detachment to the

श्री
ff
ff
material world and was happy with my fair share of
spiritual plunging. We walked down to Mayya from the
ashram for a bit of
spiritual sight
seeing. There are
tiny holes on the
stones by the
shores here which
are considered as
cow’s footprints
and hence sacred.
So we bowed
down to a few and
tip toeing around
them got ourselves
close to Mayya.
The pundit then
Shiv Linga at Muni Baba Ashram - Bhampura
got into Mayya for
a dip and we took
bath using a
bucket we carried from the ashram. After nice refreshing
bath, we were back at the ashram, the sadhu very lovingly
brought us some hot tea and sheera (a traditional
maharashtrian sweet pudding). Thanking the sadhu for his
hospitality, we left back for the ashram. On our way back
we stopped at a few temples and arrived at the ashram
around 7 PM. After nishing our evening artis, I left with
the pundit to fetch us some dinner, it was my treat. The
villagers had already apologised for their inability to
provide for dinner.
From next day Shiv and me we began walking together

again but this time around, Shiv had decided to walk bare
श्री
fi
feet. No amount of convincing made him change his heart.
I knew the terrain ahead was going to be tough from my
discussions with Avdhoot but Shiv wouldn’t budge from his
decision. On one hand he was being pressurised by his
parents to quickly nish the parikrama fearing extremely
hot MP summers that are known to give sun strokes and on
the other hand, his bare foot parikrama resolve was making
it impossible to pick up the pace. The summer was peaking
and our goal was to make it to Barwah, the last ashram at
the frontier of the great forest on our way to the Chyavan
Rishi Ashram at our earliest.
Barwah is a municipality and tehsil place in Khargone

district of MP and
is also right at the
edge of the dense
Barwah & Choral
forest that has
k n o w n
population of
tigers and
leopards. Passing
through Barwah
town, a few
jewellery shops
had their help
b oys c h a s e u s
down the street
to invite us into
the shop. They
would then o er
Inner Sanctum of Nageshwar Mandir - Barwaha
either sugar cane
juice or lassi for
श्री
ff
fi
refreshment and a ten rupee note as dakshina. After a few,
Shiv and me we hasted through the rest of the market
avoiding politely any further hospitality. Around noon after
asking for directions at various places we reached a small
ashram near the famous Nageshwar Temple. Shree
Narmada Parikramawasi Seva Ashram of Shree Gopal Mandir
Barwah, was just a tiny chawl room that could hardly
accommodate Six to Eight murtis (warm bodies). We
reached the ashram around 11:00 AM and as such had
ample time to rest and explore surrounding area. Bare feet
walking was understandably dampening Shiv’s spirit of
exploring anything beyond the parikrama route, which left
me alone to do all
the exploration.
Solitude always
suited me, so I
stepped out to see
what was around.
A quick walk
around and I
could see a few
old and unique
temples already
which I decided
to explore after
lunch and siesta.
The thing about
Barwah is that
since this is the
last stop before
the forest begins,
Nandi & Shiva Lingam at the entrance of the temple
parikramawasi s
are discouraged
श्री
The critical and tiny Ashram at Barwaha- from here till the Chyavan Rishi
Asharam there are no ashrams or villages
from undertaking any journey past 10 - 11 AM. So there was

not going to be any walking that day and I thought it would
be best to rest up and prepare the body for what lay ahead.
Speaking of lunch, up until noon there was no one at the
ashram except parikramawasis and no one had come to
enquire about out meals either, so all in all, the chances
that we would be served lunch were slim, at best. However,
around 12:30 a young mayya abruptly walked through the
back door to the ashram, we thought was closed for access
and barked a few questions at us, like how many murtis
were there and if any one of us were fasting. Then she
disappeared behind that door just as quickly as she had
appeared leaving us wondering what would happen next
and at what time. By 1:30 PM she re-appeared through the
same door, which we had found out remained bolted from
the other end, asking us to follow her through the door
श्री
with our plates and glasses. We obediently did as we were
told, there on the other side there was another small
chamber where we
were asked to sit
in a row and the
same mayya with
help of another
young volunteer
served us our
lunch. After
lunch, we were
asked to was our
plates on the tap
nearby and told to
go back to our
room. Once all
t h e
parikramawasi s
had returned, the
door was once
again closed and
View of Gayatri Mandir at Barwaha
remained that
way till dinner
time. After a life
time of being
waited on hand and foot, being treated like a beggar or a
saint made no di erence to me. The external stimulus that
would have previously created a storm inside, now failed to
as much as even garner conscious attention. This is my
view is truly the miracle of Parikrama, it brought out in
action, what so far were only words in Bha wat Geeta. I
was living and experiencing in personal capacity the tent

श्री
ff
g
expounded by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2,
Verse 71:
हाय कामा : स मां र : ह: |
मो रहङ्कार: स शा म ग || 71||
That person, who gives up all material desires and lives free from a sense of greed,
proprietorship, and egoism, attains perfect peace.That person, who gives up all material
desires and lives free from a sense of greed, proprietorship, and egoism, attains perfect
peace.
In the evening, I went out to pay visit to the surrounding

temples. The ancient Nageshwar mandir was very attractive
and so was the adjacent Gayatri Shakti pith mandir. Shiv
was busy having fun and making friends with a few
parikramawasis from MP back the ashram. After the
experience at lunch, not much was expected at dinner, we
just wanted to quickly nish dinner and sleep for tomorrow
mornings early walk. However, Mayya always plans the
most unexpected. At dinner, we had some odd 4 5 elderly
Mayya’s getting us food from their homes that included,
Aam Rasa (Mango pulp traditionally had with rotis), Paneer
curry, rotis, pulav and daal tadka and as a surprise, grapes
and watermelon for dessert. Best part was we got second
and even third serving of Aam Ras. Fully satiated, we slept
peacefully at night. The next day, it was going to be Shiv,
myself and another Maharajji easily in his late seventies
walking through forest. As it is, Shiv’s bare feet walking was
slowing our speed and now we were going to have a senior
citizen too with us.
The facilities at the ashram were very shabby, a small and

unhygienic bathroom that had one large PP drum as water
reservoir, door with no bolt and window opening on to the
road was out bathroom. Toilet was even worst, a western
commode with seat missing and so small in size I could

वि
नि
श्री
र्म
नि
न्य
र्वा
न्पु
न्ति
श्च
fi
धि
ति
नि
च्छ
स्पृ
ति
-
barely t. No water supply and a leaking can for water
needs. But I had become prone to every inconvenience. I
still managed to get my morning business done in time. By
05:30 I was ready and good to go. Oh but I forgot, it was
Shiv again and by the time he got ready it was already 6:15
AM. Finally I got Shiv and the other Maharajji out the door
and just then, a mayya from a house across the street called
out to us o ering the morning cuppa. Shiv burst out
laughing and looking at me pleadingly begged to further
delay our walk by 15 20 minutes. His smile and eyes were
so innocent and disarming, I could never have the heart to
say no. So we waited with bags on our shoulders, for the
tea to arrive. In 15 min steaming tea arrived and after
nishing two cups, Shiv was nally ready to begin the walk.
I got busy with my chanting, while Shiv got busy
exchanging stories and anecdotes of his parikrama,
Sel e on the Jayanti Mata rd with Shiv & an old Parikramawasi who joined us

fi
श्री
fi
fi
ff
-
fi
especially about other parikramawasis and their funny
stories with the new Maharajji.
The morning was nice, after walking past one of the

longest palace of Asia, Daria Mahal, which is now an
administration building of CISF & RTC, the road
progressively started entering jungle that got denser.
Practically zero civilisation on both sides of it, the road
itself was a proper highway but with very little tra c. A car
or a truck or bus would pass by every half hour or so. The
walk though was not at all challenging for us but Shiv had
started feeling the tar road get hotter every passing minute.
We had to stop every 15 20 minutes, though I was in no
rush to reach anywhere as such, the tightly wound-up
machinery of so many years of competitive life, somehow
made the situation a little bothersome for no reason at all. I
tried convincing Shiv a few times again that if he wants to
make it home in time, he needs to give up the idea of bare
feet walking. However, instead of giving up on the idea, he
made peace with the idea taking a ride where he could to
save him time and hardships. His heart was in place but his
body and mind were not ready for that level of penance
yet. I could see that the bare feet walking was some sort of
vanity on display for his family and friends. I have heard of
people who had done bare feet parikrama but most of them
did it in 3 years, 3 months and 13 days, giving them enough
time to adapt. Any personal commitment during
parikrama, according to me, is ne so long as it is an
inspired action and only brings joy to one’s heart. No God
realisation has happened through physical morti cation.
Those who do it are inspired and were automatically
provided with enough mettle by the provider of the
inspiration. Putting one’s body through physical torture
श्री
-
fi
ffi
fi
only yields pains
a n d h ow c a n a
body in pain be in
love with God. I am
reminded of a very
apt shloka from
The Bha wat
Geeta:
मूढ णा नो य डया
यते तपः।
Only place to get water on the way to Chyavan Rishi पर दना वा
Ashram
त मसमुदा तम्।।
17.19।।
Austerities done out of
ignorance by either causing physical torture to self or intended for torture of any other being
is to be considered Tamasic (dark & lower tendencies of humans).
Anyways, Shiv was stubborn as one of the mules from his

farm and so we let him be. We tried to provide him as much
comfort as we could but our walk had slowed down
considerably. After
walking for a few
hours and nearly
exhausting our
water supplies we
reached a spot
which we were told
would be our only
source of water till
we reach Chyavan
Rishi Ashram. It
Watering hole for humans & Birds too
was a small clearing

क्रि
श्री
त्ता
स्यो
ग्रा
हे
त्सा
त्म
हृ
र्थं
g
त्पी
by the side of the road, netted from all four sides,
supported with bamboos and a tin roof on top. There was
Hanumanji’s murti inside and three or four large earthen
pots lled with water. We rst emptied our bottles by
drinking them up and then re lled them to the brim. The
road soon turned into a ghat o ering glimpses of
Omkareshwar on our right. After the uneventful walk of ve
odd hours, we reached a junction where the road marked
for Chyavan Rishi Ashram parted into the woods. We took
Jayanti Mata Rd. from Barwaha to Chyavan Rishi Ashram on Google map
the dirt road and now entering deep forest, we were

following the directions provided on the tiny little signs put
up on barks or tree trunks along the way or at times just an
ochre coloured tiny ag planted on the side of the trail
marked our road to Chyavan Rishi Ashram. After following
the trail for half an hour to forty ve minutes the road
emerged into a large clearing. The ashram was now visible.
Walking in that heat, Shiv had made it through yet another
challenging trail but it had taken a toll on both his legs and
श्री
fi
fl
fi
fi
fi
ff
fi
morale. No sooner did we reach, Shiv was at on his back
unable to move
an inch. He slept
with his legs
aching and feet
hurting. I felt bad
but there was
nothing I could
do, so I just spoke
few kind words
and let him be,
while I went out
exploring the
unique Chyavan
Rishi Ashram.
The ashram i s
spaciously spread
out over an acre
or more, I guess.
Most construction
Approaching the gates of Chyavan Rishi Asharam is concrete The
temple does not
give the feel of
ancient structure, except the inner sanctum where Shiva
Linga consecrated by Chyavan Rishi and his wife is kept.
Shree Chandra Bha wan, eldest son Shri Guru Gobind
Singhji and initiator of the then forgotten Udasin sect, seem
to have a very prominent presence at the ashram. Loads of
pictures and statues of Shree Chandra can be found
everywhere around the ashram. Established in the middle
of the forest, it seems the ashram is self sustained. There is
a large cow shed with at least 50 cows and calves. There is
श्री
g
fl
pond right in
the middle of
a s h r a m
compound
which serves
the daily
water needs,
going by the
hose pipes
and motors
The water tank with medicinal qualities
inside the
pond. I
believe it also
grows some
of its vegetable requirements. Since the ashram is
surrounded by forest on all sides, the animal and bird
sounds always ll
the air and if there
is any silence, the
large platoon of
monkeys ll up the
void. Constantly
hyper active, they
can be found
causing mischief
and nuisance all
over the ashram.
The sadhus deal
with this nuisance
with determined
Partial view of the dormitory, red colour building stoic indi erence.
behind Shivjis murti
The cows and
calves add some
श्री
fi
ff
fi
avour to the
a sh ra m’s l i fe .
Watching a
stubborn calf
galavanting
around despite
false threats and
cajoling, so
reminded me of
my own school
days. All children
have hear t and
stubborn mind,
whether animal or
human. This
ashram is one of
The inner sanctum of the main temple inside the the most serene
asharam
and peaceful
ashrams along the
parikrama route,
no wonder then Avdhoot insisted that we do not skip it.
The premises have multiple temples, apart from the main
shiv Linga. Amongst other attractions, the ashram has a
Great Dane that stays along with the sadhus and
parikramawasis in the common dormitory. Despite his size,
the dog is practically harmless but his bark is strong and
loud which, I suppose, helps keep the wild animals at bay.
In my stay of day and half, I only heard him bark once but
the bark echoed through the entire forest around. All in all,
the stay at Chyavan Rishi ashram, though spiritually not
that great an experience, was still one of the nicest ashrams
stay experiences. Meals are served in a separate building
that has kitchen and on the adjoining verandah,
श्री
fl
parikramawasis are served meals the Indian style. The
evening Arti here is a long ritual. I think the Shodasopchar
Vidhi (16 steps to o ering complete Pooja) gets followed
during the arti. The atmosphere around the ashram is
generally casual and the sadhus, though providing sincere
service to all parikramawasis are udasin and not necessarily
Mayya bhakt. We were at the ashram only for one night and
had plans to head to Sitavan next day early morning. Here
too, just like Barwaha, Parikramawasis are discouraged
from walking alone and at odd hours. If one must leave the
ashram, it is strictly post dawn and before 10 AM. Our plan
was to leave at the day break and Shiv spend the entire day
resting his feet. The other senior citizen parikramawasi
who had joined us was turning out to be a bit of
botheration on multiple counts, so we secretly decided to
leave without him. However, Shiv had already found
another parikramawasi from MP to join us instead. I had
realised it was always better for me that Shiv had one
parikramawasi to talk to thereby allowing me to have my
time to chant. So next day morning, we gave the senior
parikramawasi slip and taking another maharajji with us,
headed out for Sitavan.
We walked back from Chyavan Rishi Ashram to join the

highway only to leave it a few KM ahead and enter the
forest once again but in the opposite direction of Chyavan
Rishi Ashram. We were walking a plateau from the look and
feel of the terrain but here there were no trees on the path,
only shrubs. The entire walk was practically without any
recourse from the unforgiving peak summer sun. Walk
from Chyavan Rishi ashram to Sitavan that day turned out
to be the undoing of our parikrama spirit. Barren dusty
mountainous terrain with no shade or human civilisation in
श्री
ff
close proximity, made the trek extremely di cult and
discouraging. Shiv was never going to make it through here
without help, I realised pretty quickly. But there were no
vehicles on the road, it could not even be called a road, so I
had no idea how we were going to get through this ordeal.
It was time to once again pray for divine intervention and
pray hard we did. Our prayers were answered in the form
of large dumper trucks passing by. Shiv now had no
inhibitions left for getting into a transport, so he hailed the
truck to stop and was the rst one to get inside. We thus
hitchhiked a ride to the next village about 5 7 Km ahead.
There was only
one road, so no
confusion. The
truck dropped us
right outside the
village and not
knowing what to
expect in the tiny
village, we
opened our bags
pulled out
whatever rations
we had received
f ro m May ya’s
devotees and
started eating out
in the open
outside the
village. We then
walked into the
Walk through the barren forest with ags as markers
for parikramawasis on our way to Sitavan village and to our
delight, we were
श्री
fl
fi
-
ffi
told there was an ashram at a small Hanumanji’s temple in
the village. Since I did not keep a diary, memory gets a bit
fuzzy. I remember passing through many small tiny villages
as we kept inching
towards Sitavan.
At s o m e p o i n t
after a day I think,
we were passing
through a village
asking for
directions to
Sitavan when a
tempo stopped
Hanuman Temple in an unnamed remote village
asking if we
needed a ride. By
now Shiv was in
no state to walk any further, it was imperative that we get
him into some transport. We took the o er for ride to the
next possible village. I sat ahead with the driver, while Shiv
and other Maharajji got into the back. The tempo reached
the owners village in a few minutes and thats when we
found out that it was meant to take the whole
‘baraat’ (wedding procession) to some far o village. Some
10 15 young boys and girls packed in behind with Shiv and
the tempo started its journey, we had no clue where. They
were going for a ceremony called Gud Khana or some such
word, which basically meant that the grooms family has to
take lot of jaggery to the brides house. After giving the
jaggery the marriage is then considered sealed, like an
engagement ceremony. In the tribal parts of MP, we were
told, reverse dowry is prevalent. Meaning, groom pays
dowry to the brides family before marriage to seal the
marriage. This ceremony to which this entire family was
श्री
-
ff
ff
headed to was to give the brides family the dowry along
with 50 Kgs of jaggery. I was being explained this concept
during the drive. After doing a couple of miles, the driver
convinced us that Sitavan at this time would be di cult,
especially barefoot but if we wanted he could drop us
further up and we could then walk or take some other
transport on our parikrama route. After two hours of
gruelling journey inside the tinpot tempo reaching boiling
temperature, we got dropped at some remote village, I do
not remember the name of. Only thing I was sure is that we
were nowhere near the paidal parikrama route and needed
to get back to closest spot on the paidal parikrama route.
However, Shiv and the other Maharaj were not feeling well
after their ride in the open tempo. They needed some rest,
so we made it to a Ganpati temple in that village for a little
rest. Strangely, the people around were very receptive of
parikramawasis here, we were after all not the only ones to
Tracing my route to Sitavan - Village & Hanuman Mandir traced on Google map
where we were served Lunch

श्री
ffi
have come this far away from the original trail. After a
quick lunch at the temple, we decided to keep marching
onwards. Avdhoot’s connect at the previous stop had done
Parikrama on his bike a few times and knew the roads very
well, he served as our guide to get us back on the paidal
parikrama route. With continuous guidance over phone
from him, our broken team nally reached rst small town
of Kantaphoda. As we passed Kantaphoda streets, a few
shop owners called us for refreshments and thats when I
knew, we were back on the route, if not prime then sub
prime at least. Here, a jewellery store owner, sent one of
his boys chasing us inviting us over to his shop. We got
o ered lassi and 10 Rs as dakshina. Receiving the ten rupee
note in itself was cathartic for the ego. The amount is so
small that it has near zero value in terms of real life outside
parikrama but the act of receiving it as Mayya’s prasad is
extremely gratifying. The only time probably one really
needs money during parikrama is during the boat ride from
Vimleshwar to Mithi Talai. So the ten rupee as such has no
real life signi cance but has a very humbling e ect on the
receiver. After the alms and lassi, we were asked to relax at
the shop while arrangements were being made for us to be
taken to a speci c ashram. As we waited for our guide to
arrive, the owner took the opportunity to invite us for
dinner at his house. Shiv and the fellow parikramawasi
Maharaj hesitated the charm and humbleness of the shop
owner won them over in no time. A small boy appeared at
the shop shortly and was asked to take us to the ashram.
This time around, the ashram was actually a classroom
inside a school called IPS (Ideal Public School). The owner
and principal of the school was a man in his late thirties
who personally welcomed us and had us put up in one of
his classrooms. After making us comfortable in our room
श्री
ff
fi
fi
fi
fi
ff
and letting us rest for a while, we were called out in the
lawn for evening tea and snacks. Shiv and the other
Maharaj had their tea in the room as they continued to rest,
while I joined the owner out in the lawn. Small talk, as
always lead to the discovery of me being from Mumbai and
that suddenly changed the tone of conversation. The
gentleman’s son was approaching his 10th grade and
needed guidance. This was the third career counselling
provided during
parikrama, two for
students and one
for a working
professional. Of
course I did not
mind one bit, it
was good to touch
the peripherals of
material world. I
spent an hour
discussing the kids
career options
with his mom and
dad. Mumbai does
that to small town
folks, they always
Taking in morning sun at IPS School turned ashram listened to every
word coming from
my mouth like it
was gospel. So the evening was fruitful and creative. Soon
after the counselling session we were summoned to the
Sethji’s house for dinner. As we led into Sethji’s shop cum
house, we were warmly greeted by his sons who took us
upstairs into the house for dinner. Here the grahalakshmi
श्री
fi
(lady of the house) and her daughter personally served us
our dinner. One of the son’s gave us company while the
other stood at service making sure that we were served to
our satisfaction. We were treated like close relatives and not
some parikramawasis roaming the streets. I do not know
nor am I bothered whether the Anna Dana (donating of
food) received was done with Sakam or Nishkam vrutti
(done sel essly or with sel sh interests), to me it is Mayya’s
Leela and it was through her grace I received everything
that I did and it was her wisdom that kept me away from
things I shouldn’t have received. I am not of a house, nor of
a hand that serves me or feeds me, I am not of any man’s
mercy, the whole universe serves because this body, heart
and mind serves the master of the universe. During
parikrama, no matter who feeds you and how well, you
know, next day, that person is of no use to you, nor is his
shelter or his power, because you will be elsewhere
tomorrow. You are at the mercy of the omnipresent and
since you are completely surrendered to her, your
existence is now her responsibility. This is the true spirit of
Narmada parikrama.
Next day we were once again delayed by Shiv and the

other Maharajji which kind of made me wonder if I should
forsake the company once again and walk alone. After a
brief discussion bordering on argument, I decided to split
ways and walk alone. I knew, it was hardly matter of a day,
if that and I would be in Nemawar. I had no idea yet but this
is where emotionally, Parikrama as a journey would come
to an end for me. Nemawar, or as previously known as
Nabhipuram or nabhapattam, was one of the spots I was
told not to miss by Avdhoot. The siddhanath temple at
Nemawar is a very known and highly referenced temple in
श्री
fl
fi
Puranas. The legend goes that it was originally established
in Sat Yuga, by the four Sanakadik Rihis, namely, Sanaka,
Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara. This temple, it is
believed lies exactly in the middle of Omkareshwar and
Mahakaleshwar and hence considered the nabhi sthan of
Mayya. The temple dome, according to Acrheological
Survey of India is about 3094 years old. All in all, Nemawar
was an important stop not to be missed.
When I entered Nemawar, all the roads leading up to the

ghat were completely swarmed by devotees. I could barely
walk through the throngs. I had to however, nd myself an
ashram and the crowd made that task very di cult. I
eventually reached a bridge going over Mayya and knowing
that to be my dead end, asked a cop who was on the duty
there if he could guide me to the closest ashram. He gave
me one look, understood who I was and with a most vague
hand gesture ever, asked me to follow the road going up the
hill behind him. I knew, I could not extract any more
information from the overworked cop and simply started
walking down the road as advised. Soon enough I was at a
relatively large ashram called ‘Chinmay Dham Brahmachari
Ashram’. Atop small hill, the ashram had a large courtyard
that served as dormitory for parikramawasis, a small two
room accommodations on one end and open roof balcony
overlooking large expanse of Mayya’s basin. Away from the
hustle bustle of ghat, the ashram, although very close to the
ghat was still secluded and peaceful. As I stepped into the
ashram and secured my corner to lay the Asan, a strange
emotion seeped into my heart. Suddenly, I felt like my days
physical hardships of Parikrama would soon be over from
here on and my days of parikrama walk were numbered. It
was a strange eerie feeling since nothing was planned even
श्री
fi
ffi
in my thoughts
and yet, a
di erent calm had
descended on my
being as if I was in
Amarkantak
already. Since I
was the only
parikramawasi I
chose a nice
corner to lie down
and silently chant
Ram naam for as
long as I remained
undisturbed.
After thus
chanting for what
seemed like an
hour to me, my
Siddhanath Temple - Nemawar
reverie was
b r o ke n b y t h e
growing excited
voices around me.
I immediately sat up and found myself in the middle of
festive distribution of a healthy refreshment drink I had
never seen or heard of before. I believe, it was called Sattu
Sharbat and volumes of it was being mixed and prepared in
a large metal bucket. Paper cups over owing with Sattu
sharbat were now being given to everyone who had
gathered around, which was mostly the caretakers of the
ashram and me as a sole parikramawasi. An impromptu
discussion erupted on health bene ts of Sattu and the
whole atmosphere was charged by positive high ener y of
श्री
ff
fi
fl
g
the happy lot that had gathered. After emptying the bucket
and some more general chit chat, we were called for pre-
lunch arti inside one of the rooms that looked like the
accommodations of the Ashram Sthandhari.
Everyone immediately led in a row for the arti, I put my

Mala into the bag and followed everyone into the room as
well. As I stepped inside the small room my rst glance fell
on a large portrait of my Guru, Shree Brahmachatanya
Maharaj, hung on one of the walls. As my eyes greedily
scanned the walls for more, I could see at least three
di erent portraits of my Guru, two Ram Darbaars, one
portrait of Shree Brahmananda swami, chief disciple of
GONDAVLEKAR Maharaj, Shivji, Mayya and Datta Guru all
assembled in one room; as if to bless me. I was transported
back to the day I was in Gondavle seeking blessings for my
मो मूलं गु पा: - Guru’s grace is pivotal in attainment of Moksha

श्री
क्ष
ff
रू
र्कृ
fi
fi
Parikrama. Standing there in that small room, singing all
the artis, my heart knew that this was the beginning of the
end of my parikrama. My Parikrama that began at
Gondavle, my Guru’s feet, has now brought me back full
circle at his feet again. My heart needed no convincing, it
just knew that Mayya was now waiting for me at
Amarkantak.
गुकार कारो कार ज उ ते |

अ न सकं गु व न संशयः ||
The alphabet ‘गु’ in Guru means darkness of ignorance and ‘ ’ means the light of Knowledge, thus without
doubt, A Guru destroys the darkness of Ignorance & brings in the light of wisdom.
Since my entering into the room I was in a trance hardly

noticing anything around me. I don’t remember coming out
of the room after
the arti or having
l u n c h o r go i n g
back to my Asan to
lay down. I was in
a di erent place,
all I knew was I
was lying down on
my asan with Mala
in hand and
uninterrupted jaap
of my Guru Mantra
was happening
within. Around 4
Captured by Amol @ Nemawar
PM I had stabilised
emotionally a bit
when I heard some
excited discussion around me. I opened my eyes to see

श्री
ज्ञा
श्चा
ff
ग्रा
न्ध
ब्र
ह्म
हि
रु
रु
रे
स्ते
च्य
रु
what the commotion was about. I saw that an elderly
couple had just arrived and were being o ered tea. It
seems, they were doing Parikrama by car and had stopped
by the ashram mostly for darshan. Ignoring the usual
parikrama talk, I decided to go back to chanting, thus
covering myself from head to toe in my sheet and went
back to chanting but I could still hear all the talk. I heard
the couple being asked where had they come from. With
sound pitched up a notch higher than usual, the man
replied, we have come from Pandharpur. My barely
stabilised heart exploded yet again and uncontrollable tears
started running down my cheeks. First Gondavle and now
Pandharpur, even the sequence was not broken. All this
may sound very melodramatic and perhaps a bit of an
overstretch of imagination but believe me, I am not a
person given to needless emotions. I wasn’t doing anything,
the emotions welling up on surface of my being were not of
conscious nature. The subtle communique my heart was
receiving was not understood or analysed by mind, the
re ac tion of the
body too was
without lters of
conscious mind.
There were no
thoughts in the
moment, only
emotions. This
actually, is a very
futile e ort of
expressing the
Contemplating completion of Parikrama
ine able ecstasy of
heart and soul.
After all what is
श्री
ff
fi
ff
ff
the best way to express that sublime connect one gets to
feel with God only once in a life time? There is none. So this
e ort as such is needless, except, lets not forget, I am not
doing it. It is Mayya’s will that I write these words.
After the rst overwhelming emotional outburst had

subsided a bit, I once again walked into the prayer room.
This time I noticed a picture frame of Lord Shree Vitthal of
Pandharpur on the wall. I sat down on the mat there,
closed my eyes and let tears ow down shamelessly. I did
not care who was around me or whether anyone was
looking at me. I let my being soak in the devotional bliss. In
my mind and heart, Mayya had already blessed me
completion of her parikrama. What remained was merely
the formality of distance and the physical experience of
reaching the same
spot I began from.
I was in Nemawar
for two more days.
In another phase
or perhaps a more
evolved state, I
would have
perhaps found my
spot here and
stayed there for
reminder of my
life. But now was
perhaps not the
time.
Shiv Lingam Darshan inside siddhanath temple
sanctum
By six in the
evening both Shiv
श्री
ff
fi
fl
and Amol happened to reached the same ashram. Shiv by
sheer chance and Amol through my guidance over a call.
Shiv and me, we had split in the morning, so I was gonna
let him be. I had rest of the evening to myself and to ponder
upon my experiences of the day. A small plan had started
forming at the back of my mind, reminder of parikrama
was going to be fast paced. Two or three nights at the most,
using transport and stopping only at the spiritually
important places. A quick phone call with Avdhoot and I
knew just the route as well as the means. My heart had now
started contemplating returning home. However, I wanted
one more day at Nemawar to explore and just be at the
ashram. So I spend the next day exploring the ghats and
temples of Nemawar.
View of Nemawar Ghat with a view of Handia on opposite banks
The day after that I took Gondvalekar Maharaj’s darshan

early morning and got into a private car waiting for me and
श्री
Amol at the
ashram door. I
couldn’t wait to
get to Amarkantak
now that I had my
Guru’s blessing.
There must be at
least a dozen
ashrams in
Nemawar, there
must have been a
reason why I
landed at the
ashram run by
one of the
disciples in the
lineage of my
Guru. My mind or
heart needed no
In the verandah of the ashram at Nemawar
convincing that
my Guru has been
with me through
the entire journey
and it was Guru’s grace that caused Mayya to cast her grace
on this undeserving being in the rst place. My heart was
lled with love and gratitude for my Guru as the car sped
from Nemawar to Amarkantak, the nal leg of my
Parikrama.

fi
श्री
fi
fi
न परमसुखदं केवलं नमू
तीतं गगनस शं त म ल म् |
एकं मलमचलं स धीसा भूतम्
भावतीतं गुणर तं सदगु तं नमा ||
Blissful & Happy, absolute personification of Knowledge
Above all dualities, limitless like the sky, bearer of the great liberating phrases
The only and eternal one, cleansed and immutable, beholder of all wisdom
Free of emotions, beyond trinity, My Sadguru - I pray to thee!
1. God realisation is not an outcome of one’s sukarma

(Good / moral deeds), It is fruit of one’s single pointed
devotion.
2. Pride in one’s sadhana and feeling of entitlement to God

on it’s account, are traps of Maya pertaining to sadhana.

ब्र
द्व
श्री
न्द्वा
ह्मा
नि
न्दं
त्यं
त्रि
वि
हि
दृ
त्व
र्व
रुं
स्या
ज्ञा
दि
क्षि
र्तिं
क्ष्य
मि
Doctrine 13 - मा शुच: - Fear Not thy salvation
This chapter gets its title from one of the most important
Shloka of Bha wat Geeta. The two most powerful words in
this shloka and the entire Bha wat Geeta, perhaps, are ‘मा
शुच:’ - Fear Not. Bha wan Krishna, for the nal time in
Bha wat Geeta assures that surrender to God alone shall
GUARANTEE salvation. Rest of Geeta explains various paths
to salvation but each path requires actions, either mental or
physical or both. It requires adhering to one’s dharma and
being steadfast in following one’s dharma for successfully
achieving the goal of emancipation. But as a nal act of
ahetuki Krupa (cause-less divine mercy), Lord Krishna frees
the devotees of all the stress of Dharma and adherence
thereof. Lord solemnly declares that cease all e orts to
follow dharma even and simply surrender to me, I will
carry you across the sea of Sansar (world of illusion) and
liberate you, fear not! By the time I was out of Nemawar, I
believe my surrender had become absolute. Outwardly I
bore actions but within, I had completely relinquished all
श्री
g
g
g
g
fi
fi
ff
actions and fruits thereof. I had severed all shackles of
dharma and surrendered completely. I was practically
living the nal precept and God’s promise of ‘मा शुच:’, since
my actions were not mine, they bore no karmic fruits anymore
liberating me from shackles of dharma or adharma.
Since our journey from Nemawar to Amarkantak was

mostly using a private transport, we just made stops at
important places of pilgrimage recommended by Avdhoot
and sped through the rest. First stop was Barman Ghat but
Barman Ghat from the opposite bank
on Northern bank this time. I couldn’t help but remember

my stay on the other side only a few months back. Mayya
had arranged the meeting with Raju Tailor and inspired me
to give up walking or more like lack of it, with Deshmukh
Maharaj, thereby giving my parikrama a pivotal twist. This

श्री
fi
time, however, after a quick darshan of Mayya and a
heartfelt prayer we were on our way. Next, We made an
unscheduled stop at Vindhyavasini Bijasan Devi, Salkanpur
Temple. This temple is situated on an 800 Feet high hill
top. As per Shrimad Bha wad, one of the Puranas, This is
the spot where, in one of her erce avatar, Parvati Mata had
slain a demon called Raktabij. So as to commemorate her
victory over the demon, God’s made an Asan (seat) in her
honour, which became known as Vijay-Asan (Seat of
Victory). Over time though, this auspicious sacred spot was
lost in time, until one day some shepherds came along
feeding their ock and as they got closer to the spot, their
Temple view of Bijasani Mata Mandir
ock suddenly disappeared. During the ensuing desperate

search, a young girl appeared before the shepherds and
asked them to pray to the Bijasan Devi at the spot where

श्री
fl
fl
g
fi
the self manifested stone idol was found. The shepherds
ock magically came back just the way it had magically
disappeared. Thereafter, this place acquired religious
prominence and over a period of time, evolved into a great
pilgrim spot. Currently there is a spacious temple premises
that accommodate throngs of devotees on a daily basis
ocking the temple for seeking blessings of Maa Bijasani.
Saraswati Ghat on the way to Jabalpur
From there we came to the famous Bheda ghat near

Jabalpur. However, as we were approaching Bheda Ghat I
stopped instinctively near a bridge and called Avdhoot to
nd out if it was ok to cross the bridge. Though the river
looked nothing like Mayya but something held me back
from crossing it. It was a good call because Avdhoot told me
I was about to cross Budhi Mayya (Old Mayya). The old

श्री
fi
fl
fl
course of Narmada mayya, no more active but still
parikramawasis avoid crossing this dry river as well. In
order to avoid crossing Budhi Mayya, we made a u-turn
from that spot deserting with it our plans to view Bheda
ghat. We have been on road all day and it seemed that by
the time we reached Jabalpur, we may be required to take a
break and resume our journey the next day. On our way,
we stopped at another ghat, called Saraswati ghat close to
Jabalpur took darshan, visited a few temples there and
moved on. By the time we reached Jabalpur it was evening
already. Knowing that I have not been walking I did not feel
like staying at an Ashram in Jabalpur. Undeserving stay at
ashrams on parikrama route, I felt, puts unnecessary stress
on an already weak ecosystem that supports Narmada
Parikrama. So we chose a small hotel in Jabalpur for our
night stay. After a night in Jabalpur, we were back on the
Gwari Ghat - Jabalpur

श्री
road next day for Amarkantak. The road was getting
narrower and the journey slower. It would take us an entire
day to reach Amarkantak. I was warned of only one critical
spot at a place called Jogi tekariya where the chances of
accidentally crossing over Mayya were very high. Jogi
tekariya is very close to Amarkantak and Mayya here is still
in her infant phase, the basin very small and the bridge
over it equally small and nondescript making it very easy to
miss. First time, I used Google map to successfully avoid
crossing the narrow bridge at Jogi Tekariya. We took a small
inroad from Jogi tekariya and connected with a road that
Very easily to miss Jogi Tekariya Bridge - saved by Google Maps
would keep us at a safe distance from Mayya’s stream all

the way till Amarkantak.
In a very distinct way, personalised to my chitta vrittis,

my mind, body and soul I had travelled roughly 3,500 Km
of unknown terrain and was about to arrive back
successfully in Amarkantak. I remembered just how lost
and clueless I was when I had rst arrived at Amarkantak
some odd three months back. As our car came closer to

श्री
fi
Amarkantak, the
heavier my heart
got. This was
going to be
emotionally the
most rewarding
and also the most
sensitive part of
my Parikrama. I
needed to be
alone to take in so
much emotional
input and be
mentally available
for a release too. I
dropped Amol
near an Ashram in
Amarkantak and
entered the last
Balcony of the MP Tourism hotel in Amarkantak leg of Parikrama
just the way I had
started it, ALL
ALONE.
I did not know what to expect of the last few days of my

parikrama. All I knew in my heart was that I needed to be
alone and without disturbance. Ashrams do not give you
the solitude and privacy to deal with your emotions.
Ideally, I needed a room to myself where I could cut myself
o from the world, at least momentarily and soak myself in
those moments. I needed complete solitude, mental and
physical. I looked up Google and located an MPT Hotel on
my way. I decided to check in there and lock myself in a
श्री
ff
room till I was
ready for worldly
interactions
again.
I entered my
room, kept my
bags and as I sat
on the edge of the
b e d ,
uncontrollable
tears started
rolling down. The
sorrow felt at that
time had no
rationale but the
anguish was quite
sharp. There
weren’t any
Cloud cover at Amarkantak c o h e r e n t
thoughts, just
pain and anguish
in anticipation of separation. As if an infant were to be
snatched from its mothers arms and forcibly taken away.
The child does not rationalise going away from mother but
simply despairs out of instinct. I was in a similar state.
Rationally, I had successfully completed my parikrama, I
was free to go back home, be with my family and friends,
get back to my comfort zone. None of that seem to matter,
my heart just did not want parikrama to end. My rationale
and conscious mind had no role in the emotions I was
feeling. I wanted to continue feeling the awe, love,
grati cation and pampering for the rest of my life. Going
श्री
fi
back into the world I knew of was such an agony. I do not
remember just how long this emotional bout lasted. I
ordered for food in the room and ate in solitude, all the
while staying in that blissful state. The whole day and night
passed in that surreal state of being. Even as I type the
words, they sound so shallow and so inadequate. I slept like
a baby in mother's arm; safe, protected, loved and
caressed.
The Parikramawasi route to Mai ki Bagiya in order to avoid breaching the deemed
ow of Mayya from Mai ki Bagiya to Savitri Sarovar and ahead
I woke up a very di erent person the next day. I was

content and calm. For time being, all the agony was gone, a
di erent composure had descended on me. I was in love
with everything, everything was magical. Even the steps I
took while walking brought joy to my heart. Everything
seemed blissful. While all of this was happening on

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श्री
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conscious level, at a pranic level, naam jaap had intensi ed.
I was unconsciously or sub consciously chanting my guru
mantra at all times. I was not making any e ort to chant
anymore, it was happening on auto mode. Short of seeing
God with my naked eyes, I was experiencing closeness and
oneness with God like never before. In all my years of
spiritual experimentation, I have had various experiences
but nothing came close to this state of blissfulness. I went
to the dining hall early in the morning, for the breakfast
but did not meet anyone’s gaze or look up on purpose. I
was wearing my cap and I obstructed my view deliberately,
so I didn’t have to look at anyone and lose this state.
However, it was
not going to last
forever, it was
only a drop of
nectar of God’s
love and would
soon dissolve in
o r d i n a r y
mundane life I
would no doubt
be stepping back
in to. I was given
but just a drop of
thi s nec t ar of
God’s love; not
D n a y n
(Knowledge), not
V a i r a y a
(renunciation),
not samadhi
The forest of Amarkantak on the way to Mai ki Bagiya
( h i g h e s t
श्री
g
ff
fi
meditative state), not Dhyan (complete focus on object of
devotion), just a small sample of simple and pure Bhakti
(devotion). There was no need to sit erect in lotus posture,
there was no need to read all the scriptures or suppress all
my desires and win over the Six enemies of mind. Mayya
and her parikrama, had helped me bypass all the long and
treacherous roads and given me a taste of devotion. I am
100% convinced that, if a human were to remain in that
state, she/he might remain immersed in the material world
but be never of it. I am equally convinced that the state is
granted by God out of pure mercy and no actions of this
body or mind can earn it. 100% surrender automatically
attracts that mercy, however, even the surrender is not
one’s own doing, that too is grace of your Guru / Ishta Dev
(Master or God’s name ).
Maiya Ki Bagiyan - the main temple & well to pull out water for parikramawasis
Immediately after breakfast, I took Mayya’s jal and my

puja durbar and began walking towards Mai ki Bagiya
श्री
(Mother’s garden - where Mayya played as a child and also
where fountain of her source lies). The jal I had been
carrying throughout my parikrama and exchanged once at
rathnasagar will be exchanged one more time at Mai ki
bagiyan, Narmada Kund. My ritual at Mai ki Bagiyan that
morning would technically conclude parikrama and so with
a heavy heart, I set out to go to Mai ki Bagiyan for ‘sankalpa
purti’ (conclusion of vow). My legs were heavy and I just
didn’t want the distance between hotel and Mai ki Bagiyan
to end. I was walking in a quiet stupor, but ensuring I
wasn’t breaching the perimeter of the walk or crossing over
the deemed ow of Mayya in Amarkantak. I asked a few
times and was guided in the right direction. On my way as I
came out in the open leaving behind the houses, I could
hear soft notes of Ram Charit Manas coming from a loud
speaker in close vicinity. The enchanting sound of Ram
Sitaram Ashram at Amarkantak
(Shabd Brahma) magically drew me towards it. I could see

an Ashram on top of small mount to my left. Pulled
magnetically towards Ram naam, I climbed the small slope
that took me to the ashram where Ram Charit Manas was

श्री
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being read out loud as a seva. I entered a small mud cottage
with a dhuni in the center, next to dhuni was a sadhu with
mic rendering the melodious dohas from Ramcharit manas.
Seated at far end of the cottage was another sadhu, who
looked like Sthandhari of the ashram. I was ushered in and
asked to sit. I bowed reverently to all sadhus and sat down
in front of ram charitmanas. Hearing Ram naam,
continuously surged my devotional fervour a few notches
up. I sat in deep meditation, listening to soft notes of
Ramcharit manas when I heard the sthandhari utter the
familiar words, ‘Maharajji chai biscuit paoge’ (Sir care for tea
and biscuit). Those simple words, once again opened the
Way to Sitaram Ashram - drawn magnetically to Dohas from Ram Charit Manas
ood gates to my vulnerable and already over owing heart.

I closed my eyes and sat there as tears of incomprehensible
bliss streamed down my face. I sat in that phase until the
tea was made and served to me. I am sure I was a scene to
watch, practically sobbing for no reason but everyone
ignored me, perhaps they were used to seeing
Parikramawasis breaking down at the end of their

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श्री
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parikrama. Once I received tea, my emotional turmoil
ebbed a bit. I slowly sipped the tea, opened packet of
glucose biscuits and for once nished the whole pack by
myself. After nishing the tea, I went outside, washed my
cup out of force of habit acquired during parikrama and bid
a very loving farewell to the sadhus.
Immediately after the Sitaram ashram, the road forks,

one goes into the jungle leading safely to Mai ki Bagiyan
while the other is for the cars and tourists but if used by a
parikramawasi, will breach parikrama. Right at the fork
there was a table kept for selling owers and other puja
material. A mayya manning the table that morning called
me and asked me
if I was a
Parikramawasi.
She then told me
that as a
Parikramawasi I
should take the
road into the
jungle and not the
main road. I
bought some
owers and took
the road going into
the jungle. If I
would have missed
this junction and
gone straight
The Point where road to Mai Ki Bagiya splits for
Parikramawasis in order to avoid breach of deemed ahe ad, I would
ow of Mayya
have breached my
Parikrama but how
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श्री
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fi
fi
fl
would mayya let that happen. I reached Mai Ki Bagiyan
using the right
approach road
without breaching
the cardinal rule
of not crossing
ac ross or over
Mayya to the
opposite bank .
Thus my moment
of sankalpa purti
had arrived, I was
at Mai ki bagiyan,
Getting ready for Mayya’s Arti & sankalpa Purti I was carrying all
(completion ritual)
the necessary
paraphernalia
and now all that
was required, was a pundit who would pronounce the
sankalpa purti in the right manner with the necessary
rituals.
I met a young sadhu at the temple there who o ered to

help me with the snakalpa purti (resolution ful lment)
rituals of my Parikrama. First he asked me to go and get the
Jal exchanged before we sat down for Sankalpa Purti. After
exchanging the jal, I laid out my durbar, while the pundit
got the necessary paraphernalia for the puja. With some
mantras and a few basic rituals the religious rites of
Sankalpa Purti were done thereby marking completion of
parikrama! Even today when I think of that moment, my
heart gets heavy.

श्री
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fi
As I re ected back upon my journey so far, sitting at Mai
ki Bagiyan, I realised that that as a spiritual undertaking for
a householder, nothing comes close to Parikrama in terms
of experiencing rst hand the truth expounded in our
Vedas and explained through Smritis and Puranas. A
householder is any person who expects and wants
something from the society in return of her/his e orts. So
only an extremely dispassionate sadhu, who wants nothing
from the society is excluded from the de nition. All our
modern Guru’s too are householders wearing a di erent
garb, is all. So for an householder, there is no opportunity
like Parikrama to cleanse soul and seek a glimpse of the
ultimate truth. I was experiencing and thus making God’s
benevolence my experiential reality on a daily basis. All my
shadripus were being cleansed thereby making my being
available for those experiences. I was surrendered mind,
body and soul to the will of God. Every check box on the
spiritual mandatory requirements remained ticked. I was in
a perfect place and now, it was time to move away from it
back into the mundane world. I was so not ready and yet
the eventuality of it stared at me right in my face.
Post completion of the circumambulation of Mayya the

following things have be done by every parikramawasi for
her / his parikrama to be considered as completed on all
technical grounds:
1. Take the parikrama jal and o er it to Mamleshwar and
Omkareshwar jyotirlingams at Omkareshwar.
2. D o p a r i k r a m a o f t h e M a n d h a t a m o u n t i n
Omkareshwar & nally
3. Do at least one Kanya bhojan.

श्री
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Point 1 & 2 can obviously be dome only in Omkareshwar
but Kanya bhojan can be done anywhere. so I asked the
young pundit if he could arrange for Kanya Bhojan. He
kindly agreed to make arrangements and invite around 9
kanyas from neighbourhood for Kanya bhojan the next day
and also guided me with the menu for the same. The meal
to be served to our special Kanya’s would be made specially
at the hotel while the pundit would personally prepare
bhog to be o ered to Mayya. I was to arrive at Mai ki bagiya
at 10:00 AM the next day. A quick Pooja will be performed
at all the temples and Bhog would be o ered to to ALL
vigrahas at Mai ki bagiya. Kanya bhojan would begin after
o ering Bhogs to all the vigrahas. I nalised all the
arrangements for Kanya bhojan with the pundit and started
my walk back, I was yet to reach the exact spot from where
I had started, the Dakshin gate.
Last leg of walk was now from Mai ki Bagiya back to the
Dakshin gate at Narmada Kunda from where I had started
my Parikrama. This would complete the circumambulation.
I carefully walked the path as instructed, to get to the
temples at Narmada Udham sthal, entering the temple
premises from the same gate I had exited from on my rst
day. My entry through the dakshin dwar ended all my travel
and other parikrama related restrictions. I prayed at all the
temples inside the compound, especially Mayya’s temple
and Ram mandir, expressing my gratitude at having given
chance of a life time to experience such spiritual grandeur.
After this, all the restrictions on my movements would
cease to apply, I would be free to go anywhere in any
direction. It was a very strange moment, as voluntarily
accepted fetters were to be replaced by the ones coerced by
society and life in general. The freedom of ‘वैरा ’ - Vaira ya
श्री
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ff
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ff
ग्य
fi
g
- detachment was to be surrendered at the hands of ‘भोग्’ -
Bhog - Sensory experiences. I would be sacri cing God
perception - ‘कृ ’ and in exchange accepting perpetual
bondage of ‘आशा’ - Asha - Hope & ‘तृ ’ - Trishna - Desire.
God’s maya is merciless, very soon she will devour my
‘ वेक्’ - Vivek - wisdom and leave me fumbling in the
darkness of ignorance. But I have on my side Ramji’s
solemn pledge:
सकृद् एव प य तव अ इ च याचते ||६-१८-३३

अभयम् स भूते ददा एतद् तम् मम |
He who seeks refuge in me just once, telling me that I am yours', I shall give him assurance
of safety against all types of beings. This is my solemn pledge"
I have in me, unshakable faith that my Guru, shall deliver

on his promise as explained in Guru Geeta:
गुकार कारो कार ज उ ते |

अ न सकं गु व न संशयः ||
The alphabet ‘गु’ in Guru means darkness of ignorance and ‘ ’ means the light of Knowledge, thus without
doubt, A Guru destroys the darkness of Ignorance & brings in the light of wisdom.
There are few more promises in Geeta that

promise to keep me safe from all the effects of
Maya:
प मायामेतां तर ते - Surrender and I shall take you

across my own Maya
मो मा शुच: - Do not Worry, because I shall

provide you Moksha &
जानी न मे भ ण ॥ - My devotee shall never

perish.

प्र
प्र
श्री
वि
ति
ज्ञा
क्ष
द्य
यि
न्ते
श्चा
ग्रा
ष्या
हि
न्ध
र्व
प्र
मि
न्ना
ब्र
ह्म
भ्यो
हि
क्तः
रु
ष्णा
रु
न्ति
रे
मि
प्र
स्मि
स्ते
श्य
ति
ति
व्र
च्य
रु
ष्णा
fi
Even though it felt like a very painful extraction of Jeeva
from Shiva tatva by the force of maya, I was content with
the knowledge that my faith and my sharnagati shall prevail
over Lords Maya in time to come.
I came back to the hotel and placed an order for Kanya

bhojan at the reception. The hotel sta , once they found
out I had just nished my Parikrama, were very
enthusiastic and helpful in arranging for Kanya bhojan. I
was assured that no onion and garlic would be used, they
would only use fresh utensils for cooking of the meal and
everything would be properly packed and kept ready by
08:30 next day morning. After placing the order and
arranging for disposable glasses, plates and spoons, I
retired to my room. I could not sleep and having nothing
better to do, stepped out on the balcony. As I stood there
looking in the general direction of Mayya, eyes moist, a
young girl of no more than 10 came out of nowhere and
asked me if she could pick up raw mangoes that were
strewn all across the lawn behind. I looked at her and told
her I did not have the authority to say yes, so I won’t, but if
she did get in trouble because of it, I would help. She
smiled and was about to run away, I instinctively called her
and said, ‘Mayya please wait for a minute’, then I quickly
went inside and pulled out some notes from the wallet and
made an o ering to Mayya. At rst she looked perplexed
and denied but then took the o ering and ran away.
Next day was a busy day. I woke up, showered and wore
my favourite Zabba Kurta for Kanya Poojan. I called up the
reception to check on the progress of the meal and they
assured me it would be ready in time as promised. The car
left with the meal while I decided to walk it to Mai ki
श्री
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bagiya. With a view to commemorate my journey and as a
token of my newly acquired faith in Mayya, I decided to buy
a small metal
Vigraha of Narmada
Mayya to be kept in
t h e a l t a r a t my
house. So I picked
up a small metal
Vigraha of Mayya
saddled on a
c r o c o d i l e . I
requested the priest
to allow me to put
the idol at the feet
of Narmada Mayya’s
main idol at Mai ki
bagiya. The young
Mayya’s murti at Mai ki Bagiya Temple & at her feet
consecrated brass murti I had picked for my house priest had taken a
liking to me and
gladly allowed me
to do so. While we were waiting for the young mayyas to
arrive for the Kanya Bhojan, the pundit suggested that I sit
in Dhyan at the feet of Mayya’s main Vigraha. I was only too
happy to oblige, so I sat eyes closed, chanting Ram naam
and continuously pleading Mayya to give me a sign of
assurance that I would always be loved and cherished by
her even after Parikrama. My pleadings kept rising in
intensity with every passing moment and suddenly, I could
hear the soft jingling of anklets. Mai ki bagiya is not an
enclosed place, the temples are in the open, monkeys are
in continuous action causing commotion at all times, birds
are chirping, devotees talking amongst themselves so all in
all, it is a very noisy place. However, suddenly all the noise
श्री
around just died out. My ears could hear nothing but the
jingling of anklets. My spine sti ened, air got sucked out my
lungs sharply and in a moment there was just me and the
jingling sound. I do not know how much time that lasted, a
few seconds or few minutes, but after the state passed, my
mind started doubting and kept persisting that I open my
eyes and nd the source of the sound I was hearing. After a
quick struggle, I gave in to my doubting mind, opened my
eyes and turned around to see where was the sound
coming from. A very beautiful face radiating peace and
happiness met my gaze, smiled and walked away making
the same sound. I immediately turned back and closed my
eyes but the jingling had stopped, the regular noise that lls
the air of the place was back. I smiled and in my heart, I
knew I had the
s i g n I wa n te d .
Soon the Kanyas
that were invited
arrived and we
got to work. I had
the pleasure of
personally serving
each one of them,
while the driver
stood guard
against the
monkey nuisance.
The pleasure of serving food at Kenya Bhojan in Mai Ki
Bagiyan
Kanya bhojan was
over and with it
my nal act of this
parikrama at Amarkantak. I thanked the kind pundit and
left back for hotel with a very heavy heart. I was not liking
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the feeling of having to leave, every now and then, I would
well up at the thought of going back. With Kanya bhojan,
my stay at Amarkantak was over, now I had to go to
Omkareshwar for doing parikrama Jal abhishek on the twin
Shiv Lingas there. Over next two days, I had the driver
drive me back to Omkareshwar. On the way, we did temple
visits at Mandla; the heritage Ram Krishna Narmada Mata
Mandir, Dada Dhaniram Samadhi Mandir, Ma Narmada
Captivating Durbar at Ma Narmada Temple - Mandla
Temple etc. We stayed the night at Maharajpur, very close

to the ashram where I spent my rst night. I also visited the
ghat where I had rst taste of my bhakti premashru (tears
of devotional love). Next day on our way to Omkareshwar,
we passed by the base of Bijasani Devi mandir mountain
but did not go back up. We also stopped at Handia,
opposite banks of Nemawar. Taking a quick darshan at the
Shiv temple in Handia, we drove to Omkareshwar non stop

श्री
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from there. I
r e a c h e d
Omkareshwar late
in the evening and
checked into the
MPT hotel situated
on a hill top
overlooking
mayya.
Procedure for
completion of
parikrama at
Omkareshwar is a
Jyotirlinga at the Shiv temple in Handia
two step process,
rst step is o ering
parikrama Jal on
the twin Jyotirlinga and step two is circumambulation of
the ‘mandhata’ mountain. I started very early the next day
so I could complete all rituals the same day. The Pundit at
Mamleshwar Mahadev had become a close acquaintance
d u e to t h e Ru d ra b h i sh e k h d o n e p rev i ou sly o n
Mahashivratri, so o ering the Jal at Mamleshwar Jyotirlinga
was elaborate and to my satisfaction. Omkareshwar
Jyotirlinga situated on the Mandhata mountain is more
known and attracts signi cantly greater crowds, hence
o ering jal there despite the pundit personally joining me
was a quick and impersonal a air. After o ering Jal at
Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga, I set out for parikrama of the
Mandhata mountain. At that time, I was not aware that
parikrama of Mandhata is also mandatory and did it purely
out of curiosity and devotion. During my parikrama of the
Mandhata mount I read a signboard saying, ‘complete your
fi
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Narmada parikrama by nishing your Mandhata Parikrama’.
That is
when I realised that Mandhata parikrama was an integral
part of Narmada Parikrama completion process. I was glad
I did not skip it, of course, knowing Mayya she would not
have let me skip it. Mandhata mountain is full of heritage
temples and archaic structures. Shree Siddhanath
Shree Siddhanath Barahdwar Temple ruins
Barahdwar Temple, Gayatri Mata Temple, Narmada Kaveri

Sangam, Shree Patali Hanumanji Mandir, Raj Rajeshwari
Mandir, Maa Narmada mandir, Gauri Somnath Mandir and
folklore name Mama Bhanja mandir to name a few
prominent ones. Each temple has a history and some very
interesting legends. Like for example, the massive six feet
shiva Linga inside the Gauri Somnath Temple can only be
circled and embraced by two men if they are related as
Uncle - nephew and not otherwise.

श्री
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I had started my
day at 04:30 in the
morning and by
the time I returned
it was noon. It was
a day well spent.
After completion
of Mandhata
Parikrama, I had
o c i a l l y
c o m p l e t e d
N a r m a d a
Parikrama ful lling
all the rules and
could now head
home. However,
Mayya had saved
one last
Outside the Siddhanath Temple
destination. The
closest airport
f r o m
Omkareshwar is Indore, so I had to get to Indore to y back
to Mumbai. Ujjain Mahakaleshwar, another Jyotirlinga, I
was told was just 56 Km from Indore. So I planned my trip
in such a way that I would be able to take a quick darshan
of Shree Mahakaleshwar at Ujjain and reach Indore just in
time for the ight.
I reached the Mahakaleshwar temple at Ujjain around 1

PM. I got dropped outside the main gate and I literally
jogged inside the temple to save time. Judging my
emergency, a young man approached me and asked if I
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needed assistance with VIP darshan. This is done in a
variety of ways in India; while at some temples it is o cial
and the temple authorities simply charge premium
visitation charges to rush you through, some places the
locals have set procedures in place to facilitate faster
darshan and then there is this modus operandi, where you
get literally smuggled inside and if caught sneaking there is
every possibility of getting thrown back out. Here at
Mahakaleshwar, there was a proper o cial window selling
premium tickets for VIP darshan. I got in the queue but by
the time I reached window, the window was closed for
lunch hours, only to reopen at 04:00 PM. I did not have the
luxury of time, so I decided to take my chances with
normal free darshan. Fortunately, it was not a very busy
day and I quickly found my way inside the temple. I was
hurrying along the corridor to take darshan when a young
pundit approached me and asked me if I wanted VIP
darshan. As an added incentive to make me buy the VIP
ticket, he promised me abhishek with my own hands to
Mahakal Shiva Lingam inside the Garbha Gruha (inner
sanctum). I couldn’t believe my ears and had a small doubt
that I was being taken for ride but in the moment, I did not
care and agreed to the premium demanded for the service.
I was quickly asked to change into a dhoti (most probably
black coloured) and was asked to take o the shirt I was
wearing. Before I realised what was happening, I was
whisked away and taken into the Garbha Gruha (inner
sanctum). The pundit who got me had also got one more
couple for darshan, so there were just the four of us at the
Mahakal Lingam and two more pundits. As devotees
though, it was just the three of us inside the sanctum. I was
so overwhelmed with the situation that I just stood frozen
to my spot, gazing at the Mahakal Lingam with folded
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hands and moist eyes. The pundit came to my rescue,
hastily shoved ower basket in my hand. He then literally
got me on my knees and asked me to o er the owers from
the basket. Then he came with a copper pot lled with
water and asked me to do abhishek, insisting that I use my
hands to lovingly and gently scrub the Mahakal Lingam as
he poured the water for Abhishek. Every time I tried to get
on my feet, the pundit kept pressing my head against the
lingam till it was time to leave. Bhole Baba had shown to me
that my parikrama and my bhakti had not gone unnoticed.
If you are a bhakta, may this incident strengthen your
bhakti in nitely and if you are not a bhakta, then let this
incident inspire sprouting of bhakti in your heart is my
sincere prayer at Bhole baba’s feet.
Even though I received Ram bhakti from my Guru, Shivji

had always been very kind to me and have guided me in my
Ram bhakti from time to time. I remember a long time
back, when I was newly introduced to Ram naam, I had
gone to Tryambakeshwar (one of the twelve Jyotirlinga) for
darshan. As I stood in the queue for darshan I was confused
whether I should be chanting Ram naam or Om Namah
Shivay. I entered the temple in that confused state of mind
and just imagine, in that crowded hall with hundreds of
devotees chanting Om Namah Shivay at the top of their
voices, there stood a Brahmin in the middle of the hall,
screaming at the top of his voice and loud enough to be
heard over everyone else, ‘Ram kaho Ram kaho’. That
incidence has stayed with me ever since. To me, that was
Shivji once and for all clearing up my doubts about Ram
naam.

श्री
fi
fl
ff
fl
fi
अहं ई र अङ्गे उ अ |
Narmada Says - I originate from body parts of Lord Shiva
तप स भगवतः शरीरात् दः तः ।
Manu Says - As Shiva Meditated long and hard, his body started to sweat
वाः दाः ( वः) तं प तं वयन् ।
The sweat of Shiva flooded the whole mountain
अ पु मु नदी त त् जातः ।
Thus was formed the meritorious river - Narmada
The one who is born of Shiva, how could she not bring
her prodigal son to Shivji’s feet. Mayya ensured that my
Parikrama ended with my head forced at the feet of Lord
Shiva at Mahakaleshwar. I couldn’t have imagined a better
parting gift from Mayya. Due to time constraints, I was in
Ujjain for no more than an hour but within that hour too,
Mayya ensured me a darshan I will never forget.
स ध मामेकं शरणं ज |
अहं स पापे मो मा शुच:
First Mayya taught and showed me the way to absolute

surrender and then she very lovingly proved to me that I
have nothing to fear. मा शुच:

रु
श्री
द्रो
र्व
त्य
स्यां
द्भ
त्वां
न्तं
र्मा
श्व
न्प
ण्य
स्वे
स्य
र्व
रि
त्य
त्कृ
ज्य
भ्यो
बि
ष्टा
भ्यः
न्द
क्ष
यि
त्प
स्वे
न्नः
ष्या
स्मा
र्व
मि
नि
व्र
स्मि
प्ला
र्ग
Chapter 14 - मनु मुमु महापु षसं यः - The
fourth blessing
90 days: that is all it will take for your heart to realise

‘सत्’. In those 90 days, your being will experience the
metaphysical concepts expounded in Vedas. You give
yourself these 90 days and they will transform your inner
space completely. These 90 days will help you embrace,
‘ वेक्’, ‘वैरा ’, ‘श ग ’, ‘ ’, ‘तपः’, ‘स स्’, ‘मुमु ’,
‘ ग्’, ‘भ ’ and every other lofty concept you have ever
heard of e ortlessly and spontaneously. Over these 90 Days
you will transform internally from being a ‘भोगी’ - then
become a ‘ गी’, further evolving into a ‘शरणागत’ you will
nally be granted ‘ रा भ ’. Give yourself these 90 days
and you will experience rst hand; God’s ‘अ तु कृपा’.
These are not just words but sentiments of truth
experienced during my life’s best 90 days ever!

fi
श्री
वि
त्या
क्ति
ff
त्या
ग्य
र्णा
नि
ष्य
र्भ
ति
त्वं
क्ती
ति
fi
ति
क्षा
क्षुत्वं
रु
न्या
श्र
हे
की
क्ष
त्व
I left my house almost penniless but not once, in those
90 plus days did I feel the material scarcity of any sort. I
started Narmada Parikrama as a last option having very
little or no faith in Mayya. But I returned from it a staunch
devotee of Mayya. The pain of separation that I
experienced on the last day of Parikrama was evidence
enough for the love and devotion I had developed for
Mayya in such short span of time. Parikrama completely
transformed my inner space unlike any other sadhana. Up
until Parikrama, I had only read about Vaira ya
(dispassion) and would always wonder how it would feel to
be a recluse some day. Then parikrama happened and I
ended up actually living the life of an ascetic for most part
of my parikrama. All my life I believed that I was the doer
and hence the receiver too, Parikrama completely
disrupted this illusion and made me realise that God alone
is the doer.
Bha wat Geeta:
अहङ्कार मूढा क ह म ते -
Deluded mind out of ego and false identi cation with body, considers itself as a doer.
Titiksha (forbearance) though an inherent quality in me,

prior to Parikrama was always accompanied by a tinge of
anxiety and lamentation. In Vivekchudamani, Shree Adi
Shankaracharya declares Titiksha as:
सहनं स खानाम तीकारपू कम् ।

लापर तं सा ग ते ॥ २४ ॥
The bearing of all a ictions without caring to redress them, being free (at the same time)
from anxiety or lament on their score, is called Titikṣā or forbearance.
However, Parikrama changed that attitude completely.

Without realising it, Parikrama took away all the anxiety
चि
श्री
न्ता
g
वि
र्व
दुः
वि
हि
त्मा
ffl
प्र
ति
र्ता
ति
मि
क्षा
र्व
ति
नि
न्य
fi
द्य
g
and lamentation from forbearance and instead turned it
into a tool to achieve complete surrender to the will of God.
When I started my Parikrama, I used to believe that God
exists and now, I know FIRST HAND that God exists at an
experiential level.
During my Parikrama, I unintentionally gave up my

attachment to material world, I unknowingly disassociated
with everything I called mine, I bore all the dualities
without them a ecting my peace. All of this happened
without me realising it happening. The thought that I was a
doer simply disappeared from my being entirely. As I pen
these thoughts, they seem to be owing from a source
beyond my conscious reach. All of this, to me, is the
miracle of Mayya’s Parikrama. No other sadhana known to
me has such massive transforming e ect in such a short
time.
When Vedas ushered forth from the lips of Rishis

thousands of years ago, the knowledge delivered in vedas
and the vessels delivering that knowledge were both
perfectly synchronised. The merit of Rishis and the level of
their Mann (mind), Buddhi (Intelligence) and Chitta
(Tendencies born out of one’s mind and intelligence)
shuddhis (quality of being unperturbed) was what quali ed
them to receive the ultimate knowledge. Thus the truths
proclaimed by Veda’s, the rituals contained therein as well
as e ectiveness of Mantra’s and Mahavakyas in it, require
the same level of shuddhi for delivering resultant output,
i.e. God / Self attainment. This rendered majority of
humanity steeped in material world incapable of acting on
the doctrines laid down by Vedas, especially in Kali Yuga.
Realising this inadequacy of Veda’s to cause desired impact
श्री
ff
ff
fl
ff
fi
on majority of humans trapped in vicissitudes of maya and
its clutches of Asha (Hope) and Trishna (Desires), Itihas and
Puranas were introduced. The easy and story type
narratives of Itihas and Purana’s now made understanding
and implementing the concepts elucidated in Vedas easy.
However, no matter how many stories are told about the
core values required for self attainment like Vaira ya,
Titiksha, Sharanagati, Satya Wachan, Bhakti etc., these lofty
ideals are not easy to inculcate in daily lives of ordinary
mortals like us. Markendeya Rishi, who had witnessed
many Kaliyugas (the period of Spiritual darkness) occurring
cyclically in each kalpa understood and empathised with
sorrows and pangs of corrupt souls of Kaliyuga. He felt an
acute and dire need to provide a more direct and e ective
tool for their emancipation.
A spiritual bootcamp of sorts, if you will, that would

ensure that the tools for spiritual upliftment mentioned
above were made available to the seekers without too much
commitment or e ort. Where the seeker is freed, at least
temporarily, from the worries of food and shelter. A
consecrated space heavily enriched with spiritual energies
was required as the training ground, where mere presence
with or without necessary spiritual merits would still yield
at least a glimpse of the ultimate truth. Whoever, got
nominated to participate in this program may or may not
have the eligibility to succeed but would still reach an
experience level compatible to her / his readiness. This
experience will then catapult the seekers into the next orbit
of awareness thus addressing the problem of lack of
spiritual engagement amongst the populace of Kaliyug.
Having thus envisaged the program for spiritual upliftment,

श्री
ff
ff
g
he then proceeded to lay down the constitution of this
program by introducing Reva Khanda into Skandha Puran:
1. इ च व णैः सा च सह तव उ रत वस मम
आ नुसारम् . On the Northern banks shall reside spiritual
energies of Vishnu tatva, Brahma, Indra, Varun and others as
ordained by me, Shiva.
2. तथा च मया सह द णत महासु री । Similarly, I

myself (shiva tatva) along with Pitars (ansectors) shall reside
on the Southern Bank.
3. न दातटवा नः स ब नां (पर र ) अ च

धातृ भयात् महती मु भव | The residents of the banks
of Narmadā are rid immediately of the negative effects of many
Dvandvas (heat and cold, insult and praise etc) and also the
great fear of hunger and thirst.
4. नां न दातट षु नेषु ब कालं तीतेन आ क ग म्

अवा व , अ तु आ क ग शी भव | Embodied beings
attain spiritual progress after lapse of a great deal of time in
places other than the banks of Narmadā, but here the spiritual
progress is attained quickly.
5. यद् जपं कृतं दानं च न दाती कृतं चेत् शा तं भवेत् । Whatever Japa
is performed and whatever Dāna is offered, on the banks of
Narmadā, shall become in-exhaustible in merit, meaning, the
fruits of these deeds shall perpetually yield good fortune over
and over.
Scores of such doctrines were introduced in the texts

of Reva Khanda by Markendeya Rishi along with spiritual
dictate ordaining their accessibility in all four yugas. The

वि
दे
श्री
हि
र्म
क्षु
ष्णु
ज्ञा
प्नु
ब्र
ष्णा
ह्मा
र्म
न्ति
सि
पि
न्द्र
ट्टैः
त्र
व्य
न्द्र
ति
रि
द्यः
रु
क्ते
र्म
भ्यः
ध्या
क्षि
त्मि
हू
स्था
क्ताः
रे
ध्या
टे
प्र
ति
द्व
भिः
न्द्वा
ष्ठ
तिः
न्ति
हु
न्ति
भ्यः
घ्रं
श्व
व्य
न्द
स्प
ति
वि
त्त
दि
ग्र
वि
हे
टे
ध्या
भ्यः
नि
त्मि
न्ति
प्र
पि
ति
grounds of Holy Banks of Narmada Mayya thus became the
spiritual camping grounds for all of mankind, especially
during the troubled times of Kaliyug. Markendeya Rishi
then rolled out this program for eternity by doing Narmada
Parikrama himself as the worlds rst Narmada
Parikramawasi. Since then every parikramawasi arriving at
the banks of Mayya has experienced that:
A. Narmada Parikrama automatically cultivates bhakti

amongst those who are lucky enough to make it to Mayya’s
banks.
B. Parikrama frees the seekers of the negativities arising from

the existential dualities like; heat and cold, respect and
insult, success and failure etc.
C. Promotes complete surrender to God.
D. Inspires Vairagya (dispassion) and Titiksha (forbearance)

true qualities of a Mumukshu (spiritual seeker) in the hearts
and minds of materially pre-disposed people like me.
E. And as a result, provides experience of God in format that

is most acceptable and desirable to each individual’s chitta
vruttis (Tendencies born out of one’s mind frame and
intelligence).
It is my experience that Narmada Parikrama will take you

from the concept of God and deliver you the experience of
God in the format that is closest to your heart. So when Shri
Adi Shankaracharya in his famous shloka from
Vivekchudamani says:

श्री
fi
भं यमेवैत वानु ह तुकम्।
मनु मुमु महापु षसं यः ॥ 3 ॥
Extremely rare and only by the grace of God are these three things
acquired; 1. Human birth 2. Desire to seek the truth & 3. Shelter of
a saint
I would like to add a fourth rare occurrence that

manifests purely by grace of God; Narmada Parikrama!
न हर् |

श्री
दु
र्ल
र्म
ष्य
दे
त्वं
त्र
द्दे
क्षु
त्वं
ग्र
हे
रु
श्र
God is ‘ यं ’ - Swayam siddha (self corroborated) present in all
places and at all times, including within us, here and NOW. In that
sense God doesn’t have to be discovered from without, the journey is
always inward. Every spiritual sadhana (practice) is aimed at peeling
the unwanted layers of ignorance so that the omnipresent is revealed.
All sadhana’s known to me, try and make this journey from inside out.
Meaning, an e ort is made to cleanse the chitta-vrittis and then face the
material world with a new inner you. Done over very long periods, this
may be e ective sadhana but in my experience short bouts of inner
cleansing don’t last long in the spiritually toxic material world.
Narmada parikrama, reverse engineers this cleansing process. Here

you are rst subjected to ery tests of material world, an ongoing
ordeal of dualities (Hot & Cold, Success & Failure, Insult & adulation).
These experiences when understood and parsed through analytical
lenses of the thirteen tenets given in this book, then automatically
reveal that which already exists within. The knowledge when subjected
to experiences becomes wisdom and Parikrama brings home wisdom
that will stay with you for life and not dissipate under toxicity of
material world.

श्री
स्व
fi
ff
सि
द्ध
ff
fi

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1 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

2 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

3 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

In 90 days or more, you will witness an e ortless

4 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

Ever since my return from Narmada Parikrama, many kind

After a lot of deliberation and some inspiration from within, I nally

5 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

6 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

7 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

ना हा रघुपते दयेऽ दीये, स वदा च भवान ला रा ।

‘ रां भ ’ is at the core and very essence of Narmada Parikrama. I

8 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

How else does one explain the inner transformation from

9 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

सैना संप प को, जो सो कूर।

Thousands of stories in our Puranas, Shruti and Smritis

It is from this vantage point of Kripa that the contents of this

As a 70s kid, born in pre-liberalisation India to a middle

This book is the journey of this self proclaimed atheist on his

Atheist in search of God:

I distinctly remember having a discussion with my Dad,

God, simply put, was extrapolation of a man’s imagination arising

There was no domestic, social or peer pressure on me at

12 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

On the last day of Vipassana, experience of ‘Bhang’ (complete

Vipassana added a new facet to life. Realisation that there

Battles of survival continued through my late twenties.

13 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

‘Maturity ’ - A book by Osho Rajneesh.

Osho’s writings were fun to read, easy to impact and at

After a short stint in London, a very good friend got me

14 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

biography of a saint who lived in Shirdi, near Mumbai, ‘Shree Sai

Till that night, I was under the impression that my

15 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

A few years later, I was in India on vacation. A friend had

Shree Bramha Chaitanya Maharaj of Gondavle, AKA GONDAVLEKAR

A few years after discovering my Guru, I had sudden urge

16 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

Shree Bramhachaitanya Maharaj of Gondavle

It was a home made CD giving a heart warming narrative on

Though the experiences shared by the lady were

17 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

A few years later, my best friend, and a well to do

A three month sabbatical from work, observing vow of silence to

These three months were, so far, the most productive

In the story so far, I have only handpicked a few critical

19 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

अहङ्कार मूढा क ह म ते || 27||

My Guru’s and Ramji’s Krupa had thus brought me to a

Broadly speaking I had four options in terms of manner

1. Gondavle - Plan being to stay at the Bhakta Niwas and

20 राम जय राम जय जय राम|

Towards end of Jan 2022, when I was evaluating all these

Negotiating through approximately 3,500 Km of

आप यहाँ अये न हो, आपको यहाँ लाया गया !

Thus by logical extension, you have not chosen to read

We have been given a body, a mind and a temperament