Devprayag – confluence of two rivers

Devprayag is a Holy town in the state of Uttarakhand in Northern India, is one of the five sacred confluence of the rivers Panch Prayag and an important place of pilgrimage. Here the rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda merge into one, which gets the name – Ganga. It is also the winter parsonage of Badrinath.

Devprayag is about 70 km from Rishikesh on the road to Badrinath and is an important pilgrimage point of Char Dham Yatra. It is a very beautiful and serene place, dotted with ancient temples in the midst of lush greenery. Near Devprayag there are two suspension bridges – Bhagirathi and Alaknanda.

One of the main places to visit during a trip to Devprayag is the sacred Raghunath temple (one of the 108 most important temples in India). It was built of colossal monolithic stones about ten thousand years ago. The temple stands on a terrace in the upper part of the city and consists of an irregular pyramid topped by a white dome with a Golden ball and a spire. In front of the temple is a statue of Garuda. Behind the temple and just above the hill is the cave of Vamana, and next to it is the stone throne of Lord Rama. The temple, along with other buildings of the city, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1803, but was subsequently repaired.

Nearby is the peak Dasaratha. There is a rock Dasarathy, which presumably is the place where it is believed that Raja of Dasharat practiced his penance. A small stream Shant, down from Dasharatha, named in honor of Shanti, the daughter of Raja Dasaratha. It is considered sacred.

Religious ablutions take place in 2 pools dug in the rock at the confluence of the Holy streams – on Bhagirathi known as Brahma Kunda and another on Alaknanda called Vasisht Kunda.

Other obligatory visit to a Holy place in your journey to Devprayag include Baital Kund, Brahma Kund, Surya Kund and Vasistha Kund; the Indradyumna Tirth, Postanal Tirth, Tirth vary; Puspawati; I Basically and Werahera; shrines to the Buddha, Bhusunde, Durga and Vishveshvara; and a temple dedicated to Bharata.

A tour to Devprayag will introduce you to this sacred city, which in fact marks the beginning of the sacred river Ganges.