NAIMISARANYA HISTORY

Naimisaranyam Temple

Naimisaranyam, also known as Neemsar, Nimsar or Nimkhar is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars. The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity with contributions at different times from the ruling kings. The temple is counted as one of the eight temples of Vishnu that self-manifested and is classified as Swayamvyaktha Kshetra. The temple is open till 6vpm. The holy tank Chankra Kund is associated with the temple and it is a pilgrimage centre where people take a holy dip during festive occasions.

Naimisharanya is unique in that it is the only place, apart from Patal Bhuvaneshwar, where it is believed the pantheon of 33 crores Hindu Gods and Goddesses reside. Naimisharanya also claims the distinction of being the first and most sacred of all Tirth Sthans for Hindus. If one performs penance here for 12 years one goes straightaway to Brahmaloka. Visiting Naimisharanya is equivalent to visiting all the important Tirth Sthans. This is the only place to find mention in all important Hindu sacred texts.

History of Naimisharanya :

The Gods selected this spot to establish Dharma but Vrittasur, a demon, proved to be an obstacle whereupon they requested Sage Dadhichi to donate his bones from which a weapon could be made to destroy the demon. The Bhagvat Puran mentions this place and calls it naimishe-animisha-kshetra or the abode of Lord Vishnu who is also known as Animisha. Lord Vishnu killed Durjay and his gang of Asurs at this spot in a split second. He also destroyed Gayasur and cut his body into three parts with one part falling in Gaya in Bihar, the second in Naimisharanya and the third in Badrinath. The word Nimisha also means a part of a second. It is believed the Brahma Mano Maya Chakra fell here giving the place its name. Nemi is the outer surface of a charka (wheel). Naimisharanya van has a circumbulatory path of 16 km which encompasses all sacred places of India according to one belief. Naimisharanya is old as time according to legend and the significance of this place was given to saints. It is believed Satrupa and Swayambhuva Manu performed penance for 23000 years in order to have Lord Narayana be born as their son. Lord Ram performed Ashwamedh yagna here to celebrate his victory over Ravan. Ved Vyas put together the 6 shastras, 18 Puranas, and 4 Vedas at this spot and it was here that the Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken out loud at one stretch. The Pandav's and Lord Balram, brother of Lord Krishna, visited this place. Tulsidas is believed to have penned the Ram Charit Manas here.

Sage Bhrigu Family Tree :

Click on the names to open file

In some manuscripts of Atharv Ved, the text is attributed to "Atharvangirasah", which is a compound of sage Atharvan and Angiras.

Legends :

Just like every other ancient temple in India there are a number of legends associated with this holy destinations, some of them are :

It is believed that the Hindu sage Narad, was looking for the best Teerth (water body) across the 3 worlds. He covered various holy centres of pilgrimage including the Kailash Parvat which was the home of Lord Shiv; Parkadal which was the home for Lord Vishnu and finally reached this water body in the Naimisha forest. This makes it one of the most pious and pure place of worship, especially because of the belief that the presiding deity was believed to be worshipped by all the celestial deities.

Another legend goes back to the time when the king of devas – Indra was driven out of the Devlok by an Asur called Vritra. The Asur was immortal due to a boon. However as per the advice of Lord Vishnu, Indra went to sage Dadhichi to ask for his bones to fashion out a weapon to kill Vritra. Dadhichi mentioned his wish to visit all the holy rivers before dying. In order to fulfill his wish and not waste any further time Indra decided to direct all the water from the holy rivers to Naimisharanya.

Another legend mentions about the fact that once when the sages were deciding in performing a penance, then Lord Brahma produced a ring out of the Darbha grass and advised the sages to perform penance at the place where the ring had fallen. This place where the ring had fallen down is said by Naimisharanya and it was here where the sages had performed their penance and Lord Vishnu had appeared to accept their prayers and holy offerings.

Religious Significance :

Naimisharanya is not a recently developed pilgrimage destination but it has always been of religious importance. This ancient pilgrimage destination has always been of prime attraction to sages, scholars and other devotees. This place has also found its mention in Rig ved, along with having being mentioned in the holy Puran's where it has been mentioned as one of the most highly revered pilgrimage destination. It has also found its mention in Valmiki’s Ramayan and later on in the epic Raghuvansham which was written by the ancient Sanskrit poet Kalidas. This spiritual Hindu centre of learning which is also a meditation centre. People gather here to take a holy dip in its water and clean their sins.

This place has also been visited by Sankaracharya and the famous poet, Surdas resided here. Sage Suta ( or Maharshi Suta ), the author of 18 puranas is believed to have lived here and presented his sayings to the sages. The central deity is believed to have presided over the forest and hence the puja (rituals) are done to the forest.

The temple is counted as one of the eight temples of Vishnu that self-manifested and is classified as Swayamvyakta Kshetra. (Seven other temples in the line are Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, Bhu Varaha Swamy temple, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, and Vanamamalai Perumal Temple in South India and Saligrama, Pushkar and Badrinath Temple in North India). Naimisaranya temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnav canon, by Thirumangai Azhwar in ten hymns. The temple is classified as a divyadesham, the 108 Vishnu temples that are revered in the Vaishnav canon.

Every new moon day, a large number of people purify themselves with a dip in the holy well. If the new moon falls on a Monday, it is believed that a holy bath in the well and offering to the presiding deity Lalitha will wash away all the sins committed in their lifetime.

Location :

The temple is located right at the junction of the roads running between Sitapur and Khairabad. It is situated at a mere distance of 32 kms from Sitapur and 42 kms from the Sandila railway station. From Lucknow the temple is seated at a north ward distance of 45 miles. Naimisharanya sits majestically on the banks of river Gomati which ranks among one of the most holy rivers of India. The sacred well inside this holy temple’s premises which is named Chakra Kunda is believed to have been a ring belonging to Lord Vishnu and people visit the Kund to take a holy dip in its water.

Major Attractions Around Naimisharanya :

Here are some of the must-visit holy places to visit in Naimisharanya :

1. Chakra Teerth :

Chakra teerth is believed to have been created by the disc emanating from Brahma’s heart. Bathing here relieves you of all sins.

2. Vyas Gaddi :

Ved Vyaas created the Puranas and split the Vedas into four parts, transmitting his knowledge to Jaimini, Angeera, Pail, Shuk Dev, Vaisampaayam and Suth.

He was called Ved Vyas because Vyas in Sanskrut means to divide and he divided Veds into 4 parts namely 1. Rig 2. Yajur 3. Sam and 4. Atharv.

Vyas Gaddi in Naimisharanya, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh.

3. Sri Lalita Devi Temple :

Sati, wife of Siva, immolated herself after which Siva carried her body. On the way, her body split into 108 parts out of which the heart fell at Naimisharanya at this spot known as Lalitha Devi, one of the Shaktipeeths in India.

4. Balaji Temple :

As the name suggests the temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara and it receives a number of devotees especially from Andhra Pradesh. The temple offers accommodation facilities within its premises for pilgrims looking to stay the night there.

5. Dadheechi Kund :

Indra, the king of Gods prayed to sage Dadheechi to give up his bones in order to kill the demon Vritta Asur. He agreed but on one condition that he would do so after visiting all holy rivers and spots. The gods were in a hurry and brought all those places together at this spot to grant Dadheechi his wish after which he gave up his bones from which a weapon, the Vajr, was made that ultimately killed Vrittasur. Bathing in this kund is equivalent to bathing in all holy spots in India.

6. Suth Gaddi :

The sage Suth, a disciple of Ved Vyaasa, discoursed to 88000 sages at this spot.

7. Hanuman Gaddi and Pandav Killa :

This is the spot from where Hanuman, after killing Ahiraavan, freed Ram and Lakshman and traveled South. The Pandav's performed penance at the spot known as Pandav killa.

8. Dasaashwamedh Ghat :

Lord Ram performed the tenth Ashwamedh yagna at this spot marked by an ancient temple with the idols of Lord Ram, Lakshman and Sita.

9. Swayambhu Manu and Satrupa :

This is the spot where Swayambhu Manu and Satrupa performed penance for 23000 years to obtain their boon that Lord Narayan be born as their son.

Note :

It is possible that before coming to Naimisaranya we adopted Vyas surname from River Vyas / Beas which is named after Sage Vyas. Because our Ancestors travelled from Iran through Khyber Pass to Naimisaranya and inbetween there is Vyas / Beas river.