In continuation of 3rd part ……..
Route 04 —— Datwali Mata – Chanderbani Temple – Mind rolling Monastery – Guru Ramrai darbar + Shopping
On this route one can cover the following places :-
1. Datwali mata :- It is situated on Delhi road which is about 10 kms away from Dehradun city. While coming from Delhi the temple is situated just at the entrance of Dehradun before the tunnel.On enquiring about the Temple , Lady priest of the temple informed the idol placed in the temple was found while digging the tunnel hence this temple was made adjacent to the tunnel.
Datwali Mata
idol - Datwali mata
Datwali Mata
2. Chandrabani Temple (Gautam Kund) :- It is one of the oldest pilgrimages of Uttrakhand. Every year huge magnificent fair is organized here on Baisakhi. Child form idol of Lord Hanuman & Baba Gorakhknath are established close to Gautum Kund. Temple of Mata Ganga , goddess Santoshi , Kali & Anjanee are situated at this holy place.
Chandrabani Temple
Baba Balaknath Temple
Baba balaknath Temple
Temple of Mata Ganga
Shiva Temple
Gautam Rishi & his wife Ahilya
According to the legend , Gautam Rishi left his ashram because of bad behavior of his companion and come to dense forest of Chandrabani. On the other hand Indra was looking for gorgeous female of the world. Indra asked Sun and Moon as to who was world’s most beautiful lady and wanted to know her description. Because the Sun was not able to tell him , the Moon said to him that Rishi Gautam’s wife Ahilya was world’s most beautiful lady. With the help of Moon, Indra tried to fulfill his selfish-motives.
Rishi Gautam used to go daily at 4:00 am to take holy bath in Goddess Ganga at Haridwar. To take advantage of this, Indra told Moon to make voice of rooster at 2:00 am. The moon right at 2:00 am made voice of a rooster and Rishi Gautam like ever day woke up and went to take holy bath in Goddess Ganga. Trying to take advantage of the situation Indra took form of Rishi Gautam and stood near the door and called Ahilya. Ahilya was a virtuous woman (sati) and she said, “If you are Rishi (her husband) then you can come inside and if you are not then your body will turn into pieces (khandit)”. On saying this Indra became powerless and fell on ground by turning into pieces.
When Rishi Gautam reached Goddess Ganga for holy bath at 2:00 am she got disturbed at late night and got angry but when Rishi Gautam said to her that he came because he heard the rooster and thought it was 4:00 am. On hearing this she understood everything. Goddess Ganga was happy by the devotion of Rishi Gautam and gave him boon that on Baisakhi she will appear at his Ashram. She informed Rishi Gautam about the conspiracy of Indra and the treachery of Moon. Rishi Gautam got angry and reached his Ashram and in anger cursed Ahilya. Moon also got punished for helping Indra and Rishi Gautam hit Moon with his wet dhoti and marked his body with spots.
Gautam Rishi Kund
Ahilya Kund
Ahilya was in grief because of the allegation put on her as her daughter only told about the incident to Rishi Gautam. She cursed her daughter Anjani saying that as without any fault her character was blamed same way she will also have to bear blame on her character. In future this curse given to Anjani came true and became cause of birth of Lord Hanuman.
When Rishi Gautams temper was cool he realized his mistake and told a way of release from curse to Ahilya. Indra was given life on the request of Guru Brahaspati.
Rishi Gautam for the release of Ahilya changed the cycle of time. Ahilya was turned into stone and she started to wait for Lord Ram. Moon sat there at Rishi Gautams Ashram and started to penance to free himself from curse. It is said that because of the penance of Moon this place was known as Chandrabani.
Shiva temple - Chandrabani Temple
Shiv Temple - Chandrabani Temple
Siva temple - Chandrabani Temple
3. Mindrolling Monastery:- Mindrolling means “ place of perfect emancipation” in Tibetan language. It is situated in clement town in Dehra Dun which is a must watching place. The monastery was establised in 1965 by his eminence Khochhen Rinpoche.
Mindrolling Monastery
Mindrolling Monastery
Mindrolling Monastery
Mindrolling Monastery
Mindrolling Monastery
Mindrolling Monastery
Mindrolling Monastery
This monastery is dedicated to learn the Buddhist scriptures & other field of academic interest.
Inside the monastery there are facilities of restaurants, souvenir shops, confectionery shop along with the guest houses.
Restaurants, souvenir shops, confectionery shop & Guest Houses.
4. Guru Ramrai Darbar :- The seventh sikh Guru built the famous Guru Ramrai Gurdwara in the early 17th century in Dehradun.
Guru Ramrai Darbar
Guru Ramrai Darbar
Guru Ramrai Darbar
Guru Ramrai Darbar
The annual “Jhanda Mela” held on the fifth day after the Holi.
Jhanda outside Guru Ramrai Darbar
Shopping Market :-
1. Paltan Bazar
2. Rajpur road
3. Bhotia Market
Famous Products:-
1. Basmati Rice
2. Bakery Items ( Plum cake , Rusk & local made toffees by Elora bakery / Grand Bakery / Sunrise bakery)
3. Litchi (Seasonal)
Eating Joints in Dehradun:-
Multi Cuisine & Bar — Black Pepper (Rajpur Road)
North Indian Food — Moti Mahal / Kumar Veg. (Rajpur Road) / Count Down
Chinese Food — Yeti (Rajpur Road)
Tibetan Food — Lhasa (Rajpur Road – Close to old Mussoorie diversion)
Fast Food — McDonalds ( Astley Hal – Rajpur Road ) , KFC (Rajpur Road), Nirulas ( Astley Hal – Rajpur Road ), Pizza Hut (Rajpur Road), Yo!china (Rajpur Road) , Domino’s Pizza (Rajpur Road)
Specially for Ladies —— Chatwali Gali (close to Clock Tower)
Surrounding area which can be clubbed with Dehradun :-
1. Mussoorie (30 Kms) Approx.
2. Dhanaulti (52 Kms) Approx.
3. Haridwar (54 Kms.) Approx.
4. Rishikesh (52 Kms.) Approx.
As per my knowledge I tried to put as much as information I could. Suggestions & quires are most welcome.
THANK YOU
Good One Mr. Mahesh .
Dat Mata Mandir is my all time favourite. Everytime while driving from Delhi , stopping there just rejuvinates me and the tired body after driving just becomes full of energy. One can always see the new cars and scooters from Doon which people bring there for worship.
In eating points , I feel Kumar’s is the best in Doon. Sunrise and Grand Bakery is also too good. There is also one more very good Hotel – Chutney Merry at the Kishan Nagar Chowk .
Sahil
Thanks Sahil for your kind words.
Chanderbani is a historical Temple which was even new for me, I have been there first time.
I like hotel yeti :-)
This is really good information and efforts are well appreciated. A one can look this post and plan the trip for Dehradoon .
Thanks
Aarti
Dear Aarti,
Thanks for your motivational words.
Exhaustive list for the religiously-inclined. Definitely a cure for the worldly traveller.
Thanks Spell Checker !!!
Ah, forgot to add, the family outing. They must’ve got tired after all the darshan and photo-sessions.
They enjoyed the outing & photo session :-)
Have gone through all 4 posts….Never knew that much about Dehradun…. Your posts will be of gr8 help in making my plans to this part of Uttrakhand…. Thanks for sharing…. :)
Thanks Aditya for going through the post. I am glad to know that you liked the post & found it useful to make your future plan.
Mahesh ji,
I have been to Dehradun at least twenty times. But after reading your brilliant right ups which are equally well supported by some descriptive pictures, it appears that I have never been to the valley and need to revisit and explore the beauty of the place.
I am sure that the readers would be happy to make full use of the rare information provided by you and be guided immensely.
Thank you sharing.
Dear Ram Sir,
I am happy to see your inspirational and motivational comments. I really missed your comment in my last three post.
And this finishes the great doon guide :-).
I guess if we have some more hotel reviews, we are done with Doon. Thank you Mahesh once again for the big effort in putting this up. Somehow our mythological stories are full of action. I guess that is what defines us as well, always looking for some story/action in our lives.
Where do we go next ?
Thanks Nandan for your encouraging comment.
Nandan , no need of thanks. I was taking the help of this site to plan out my visits to different places for the last couple of years , against that if I will be able to contribute little bit for our fellow Ghumakkar in planning their tour , I would feel that my aim of writing the same is successfully.
Who could be better than you in Hotel reviews. :-)
thanks sir
gotam rishi and his wife foto
Thanks Manish, you are welcome !!!!
there is a proverb :Anybody can do, nobody will do”. Brother Mahesh came forward and made it. thanks is very little for you. only wishes : “God bless you and be happy.”
brother biswapati.
Thanks for going through the post & liking it.
Dear Mahesh,
This post is capable to serve as a tourist guide for those venturing a trip to Dehradun. I, calling myself a localite of Dehradun, don’t know where Chandrabani is. Dat wali Mata is of course a must for everyone and we don’t remember having avoided visiting there unless travelling in a non-stop bus. This time when I reach Dehradun, I intend to visit Asan Barrage, Chandrabani and of course, Robbers Cave. FRI and IMA have always been my most favourite paces. I can’t remember how many man hours I have spent in the forests within the FRI campus with my camera in those years.
However, it would be great if you would add your personal experience of a place while describing a place. Obviously, it would make the post bulky but we would enjoy it more.
Thanks for comments & suggestions.
I totally agreed that in my Dehradun post personal experience was missing because all the places mentioned here was not visited in one go.
Anyway your suggestions are always welcome.