Who made Char Dham? - Char Dham History and Significance

Adi Shankaracharya, the great Hindu revivalist, philosopher, saint and teacher to whom the unification of the diverse, warring elements present in the Hindu tradition is attributed, conjoined four sacred shrines, one from each corner of the Indian peninsula into a singular pilgrimage trajectory called Char dham. Adi Shankaracharya, praised copiously in most philosophical, religious and spiritual critiques that study literary remnants of his corpus, is also known for his genius at foresight. Nowhere is this more perceivable than in his efforts at establishing four prime monasteries at the cardinal points of Indian peninsula namely Sringeri Sharada Peetham in Karnataka(South), Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand(North), Govardhana matha in Orissa(East) and Dwaraka Pitha in Gujarat(West), in conjunction with the sacred shrines at Rameswaram, Badrinath, Jagannath Puri and Dwarkadheesh. This must have been resonant of his efforts at harmonising the supposedly hostile relationship between monastic traditions and ritualistic worship, at a time when monasticism was looked down upon and strict ritualism rendered Hinduism a caricature of its own philosophies.

It has been widely accepted from his times that a visit to all these shrines would deem one closer to the Divine, as well as help in forging a sense of unity across the diversities housed in this sacred land of India. He did not stop there as he went on to maintain that the overseeing of the ritualistic pooja at a particular shrine would be undertaken by Brahmins belonging to a different land. For example, the Rawal of Badrinath belongs to Namboodiri community in Kerala while the priests at Rameswaram come from Maharashtra and are given Deeksha by Sringeri Math.

Char Dham

Let us proceed to give a concise guide on the four abodes of divinity chosen by Adi Guru Shankaracharya as Char Dham.

Jagannath Temple, Puri

The temple is the only known shrine where Sri Krishna is worshipped along with both his siblings – Balarama and Subhadra. Rarely does one come across somebody who hasn’t heard of the iconic Puri Jagannath Yatra, which is the annual procession of the three deities from the temple till Gundicha temple and their return after nine days. Allusions to the Ratha Yatra dates back to even Puranic texts like Skanda Purana, Brahma Purana etc. The initiation of the construction of what forms its present structure is attributed to Eastern Ganga dynasty kings of tenth century.

The first to be visited in Char dham pilgrimage, the temple has held the sacred ground for the spiritual works of such great saints like Ramananda, Adi Shankara, Ramanuja and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Ramanatha Swamy Temple, Rameswaram

Can a shrine get any more pious than its being established by Sri Rama himself to worship Lord Shiva? It is said that it is from the sacred soil of this island that Sri Rama embarked on his mission to cross ocean itself, not before procuring blessings of Lord Shiva. Also, the architectural marvel that the temple is needs to be seen to be appreciated. In fact, the temple is credited with having the longest corridors amongst all temples in the world. Also, the temple houses two Shivlingas, one brought by Lord Hanuman from Himalayas, while the other is said to have been made of sand by Maa Sita.

Dwarakadheesh Temple, Gujarat

Dwaraka is blessed to have been ruled by Sri Krishna in the Treta Yuga. The temple’s flag depicting Sun and Moon stands testimony to the belief that Sri Krishna’s essence would permeate this temple till the end of time, till Sun and Moon too falls under the inevitable cycles of destruction everything material undergoes. As per the mythology, the temple is said to be constructed over what constituted the original resting place of Lord Krishna, Hari-griha, by his grandson Vajranabha,.

Badrinath, Uttarakhand

Badrinath marks the culmination of the other char dham Yatra too, differentiated as Chota char dham or Himalayan char dham. The sacred land has been witness to the penances done by Nar & Narayan over thousands of years to bring in higher spiritual good for all beings upon earth. The present idol is said to have been discovered by Adi Shankaracharya. It is venerated as the holiest of all Vaishnavite shrines in this universe, even in Skanda Purana.