Devprayag is a city in the
state of Uttaranchal in northern India. It is significant
because it is the point
where the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda join to form the Ganga.
It is one of the five sacred
confluences in the hills and is a great place of pilgrimage
for devout Hindus. Devaprayag
stands at an elevation of 2265 ft. on the side of a hill
which rises above it 800
ft. On a terrace in the upper part of the village is the temple of
Raghunath, built of huge
uncemented stones, pyramidical in form and capped by a white cupola.
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Situated at the confluence
of the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi, the town of Devaprayag lies at an
altitude of 472 m. on the metalled road running from Rishikesh to Badrinath
and about 87 km. from Narendra Nagar. Near the town there are two suspension
bridges, one each on the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda. The metalled road
to Badrinath crosses the former by a third bridge. The town is the headquarters
of the tahsil of the same name and is one of the five sacred prayags (confluences)
of the Alaknanda. Tradition has it that the town is named after Deosharma,
a sage, who led a life of penance here and succeeded in having a glimpse
of God.
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The town is the seat of
the pandas of the Badrinath Dham and possesses a post and telegraph office,
a public call office, a police out-post, a dak bungalow of the public works
department and a hospital.
Besides the temple of Raghunathji, there are in the town Baital Kund,Brahm
Kund,Surya Kund and Vasisht Kund; the Indradyumna Tirth,Pushyamal Tirth,
Varah Tirth ; Pushpavatika ; Baitalshila and Varahishila ; the shrines
of Bhairava, Bhushandi, Durga and Vishveshvara ; and a temple dedicated
to Bharata. A bath at Baithalshila is claimed to cure leprosy.
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The great temple of Raghunathji
is claimed to have been erected some ten thousand years ago and is built
of massive uncemented stones. It stands upon a terrace in the upper part
of the town and consists of an irregular pyramid capped by a white cupola
with a golden ball and spire. Religious ablutions take place at 2 basins
excavated in the rock at the junction of the holy streams - on the Bhagirathi
known as the Brahm Kund and the other on the Alaknanda called the Vasisht
Kund. The temple, along with the other Buildings of the town, was shattered
by an earthquake in 1803 but the damage was subsequently repaired through
the munificence of Daulat Rao Sindhia. The temple is visited by a
large number of pilgrims every year. |
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Nearby is the Dasharathachal
Peak, containing a rock, known as Dashrathshila, on which Raja Dasharath
is said to have led a life of penance.A small stream, the shanta running
down from the Dasharathachal, is named after Shanta, the daughter of Raja
Dasharath and is considered to be sacred.
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