Types of Prana - Both Major & Minor, Nadis and their Significance

There are Five major Pranas - Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana.

Prana operates in the region between the Diaphragm and Throat. It is the centre of circulation of Life Energy and maintains the heart and lungs, all activities in the chest region such as breathing, Swallowing and blood circulation.

Apana operates in pelvic region between the navel and perineum and sustains the function of the kidney, bladder, bowels, excretory and reproductive organs.

Samana operates navel and diaphragm, acting as equalizer between the opposite forces of Prana and Apana. It activates and maintains the digestive organs and is responsible for metabolism.

Udana operates in the extremities: the arms, legs, neck and head. It Controls the sensory organs, movement of legs, arms and neck and the activities of the brain. It also assists the activities of Prana, maintains the pranic link between heart and brain and provides energy to the minor pranas.

Vyana pervadesthe whole body and acts as a reserve energy, helping the other pranas when they require an extra boost. It also regulates muscular movement.

Also we have Five Minor Pranas:

Naga - It causes belching and hiccups
Koorma - It helps blinking of eyes and keep them healthy.
Krikara - It causes yawning, hunger and thirst and aids in respiration.
Devadatta - It causes sneezing and also helps in respiration.
Dhananjaya - It prevades the whole body and assists the muscles, arteries, veins and skin. It is the last prana to leave the body after death and is responsible for decomposition of the body.

There are also Fifteen fine currents of Prana, called nadis. Nadi means nerve or current of energy or blood. They carry impulses to and from the brain. Their names are Sushumna, Ida, Pingla, Gandhari, Hastijihwa, Poosha, Ashwini, Shoora, Kuhoo, Saraswati, Varuni, Alambusha, Vishvodari, Shankhini and Chittra. Please note that there are 72000 nadis in the body which carry finer sensation. Of these 3 Nadis are very important - Ida, Pingala and Shushumna as they carry the current of higher knowledge. These are very fine Nadi situated in the spinal cord. They emerge from Mooldhara and meet at Ajna Chakra.
Within Sushumna there are two more nadis:
Outer one is Vajra Nadi while inner one is Chittra Nadi within Chittra is a finer canal known as Brahma Nadi.

The breathing process has definite timetable - the movement of moon

influences the movement and control of  breath.  Breathing controls thinking as well as the past, present and future. In twenty four hours one breathes predominantly through the right nostril for one hour then the left nostril, alternating tweleve times. Left nostril is called Ida or Chandra while right nostril is called Surya or Pingla. During the change from ida to pingala or from pingala to ida Sushumna flows momentarily.

This Sushumna Channel is very important for Kundalini Energy to flow upward!!

~ Reference from Yogasutra of Patanjali ( Samadhi Pada).

Who Are the Kyastha - A Caste or A Race or A Clan ?

[A] MYTHOLOGICAL Interpretation:

We have been hearing various mythological and legendry versions about the origin of Kayasthas, the two most widely narrated ones are as follows:

1) The Kayastha trace their genealogy from Adi Purush Shri Chitraguptaji Maharaj. It is said that after Lord Brahma had created the four Varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras), Yama snonym Dharamraj requested Lord Brahma to help him record the deeds, good and evil, of men, and administer justice.

Lord Brahma went into meditation for 11000 years and when he opened his eyes he saw a man holding pen and ink-pot in his hands and a sword girdled to his waist. Lord Brahma spoke: Thou hast been created from my body (Kaya), therefore shall thy progeny be known as the Kayasthas. Thou hast been conceived in my mind (Chitra) and in secrecy (gupta), thy name shall also be Chitragupta. Brahma then enjoined him to dispense justice and punish those who violated the dharma. Thus, the Kayasthas were accorded a dual caste, Brahmin/Kshatriya.

2) Sage Parshurama wiped off the Kshatriyas twentyone times from the face of the world. During his last crusade, a Kshatriya king named Bhadrasen and his pregnant queen took refuge in the Ashram of sage Talavaya who took them in his shelter and did not allow Parshurama to kill them, being his “Sharnagat” guests. An agreement was reached that a child born to the queen, if male, will not follow the Dharma of a Kshatriya, give up the sword and take to pen for his livelihood. In course of time the queen delivered a son and his descendents were called Kayastha.

3) According to a similar version, while Parshuram extirpated all the Kshatriyas, he spared all the pregnant women as an act of mercy with a warning that they (now widowed) would not allow their offspring, if male, to touch sword or act in any way like a Kshatriya. This was the women’s pledge while the unborn child was still in the mother’s KAYA (body), i.e., in the womb. So, the unborn child was KAYA-ISTITH, i.e, residing in the Kaya, (the mother’s body) when the pledge was given These children, after birth came to be called as “KAYASTH”, a slightly corrupted form of “Kaya-Isthith”

• In the legends of Shree Chitraguptaji Maharaj, he is referred to as the greatest King, while the rest are rajakas or little kings. इद राजा राजका इदन्यके यके सरस्वतीमनु ।चित्र इव ततनद धि वर्ष्ट्या सहस्रमयुता ददत ॥ RIG VEDA 8/21/18पर्जन्य
• In the Garud Puran, Chitragupta is hailed as the first man to give the script.“Chitragupta namastubhyam vedaksaradatre”(Obeisance to Chitragupta, the giver of letters)
• The Rig Veda mentions an invocation to be made to Chitragupta before offering sacrifice. There is also a special invocation to Chitragupta as Dharmraj (Lord of Justice) to be made at the performance of shradh or other rituals.“Om tat purushaya vidmahe Chitragupta dhimahi tena lekha prachodayata.”
• * Vedah.net, which presents a list of the main sub-divisions of Brahmins, lists the Kayasthas as one of the 31 main sub-divisions of Brahmins. http://Vedah.net
• Kamat's Potpourri -- The History, Mystery, and Diversity of India puts forward a comprehensive list of more than 50 Brahmin Communities in India, the Kayasthas are also listed. Kamat's Potpourri -- The History, Mystery, and Diversity of India
• The Sanskrit dictionary at The Hindu Universe - Hindu Resource Center defines ‘Kayastha’ as follows: ka_yastha, ka_yata a man belonging to the writer-caste; a tribe of bra_hman.as whose employment is writing (Ka.)(Ka.lex.) Sanskrit Dictionary at The Hindu Universe - Hindu Resource Center
• According to Some historians Kyasthas have been placed between Brahmin and Kshatriya because if we see the history, they were Rulers, warriors and also they were highly learned races of ancient and medival India.
• My Take, Kyasthas are definitely Dwij, who has ruled the land, So they behaved more like Kshatriya than Brahmin during ancient time. The reasons are following :
• Shri Chitragupta jee is one of the 14 Yamas. Yama is God of Dharma. Dharma has to be taken care by Kshatriya Clan.
• They were Ruling Different part of land Since Treta Yuga.
• The story related to Chandra Seni Kayasthas depict that later Kyastha were moved to Accounting, Administration as Lord Parshuram wanted them not to hold Sword. So if we see Prabhus in Konkani region they as “ChandraSeni  Kyasthas” flourished in accounting. And later part of history, if we see across ancient India, Kyastha were flourished all over as Accountant, Lawyer, Adminstrator.
• So mostly if we see the ancient History / our mythology, this community was ruler right from Mathurs in North to Pandiyans in South. They use to hold high administrative post during Chandragupta Maurya to Mughals to British to Independent India.
• I say “mostly” because we can see other way around as well. For example Bhatnagars were more like a Agarwal community they flourish in Business. So we can say that though we were Kshatriyas but we were highly adaptive according to the Geo political situations. 
• My interpretation is Kyastha are from Kshatriya Clan...Who moved to Accounting, High adminstration or in Business due to Geo Political situation and they were able to adapt themselves in new situation very quickly. 

[B] THE FAMILY TREE

Shree Chitraguptaji married Devi Nandani and Devi Shobhavati and had twelve divine Sons. The 12 Sons started the 12 main branches of Brahma Kayastha.

The 12 clans of Brahma Kayastha:

• Mathur
• Gour
• Bhatnagar
• Saxena
• Ambashtha
• Nigam
• Karna
• Kulshreshtha
• Srivastava
• Surdhwaja
• Valmiki
• Asthana

1) Sons of Mata Shobhavati

• Shree Charu (Mathur): He was a disciple of sage Mathure, Rashi name was Dhurandhar, was married to Devi Pankajakshi and worshipped Devi Durga. Mathureshwari. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Charu to establish a Kingdom in the Mathara region (between Mahanadi and Krishna River in Orissa). His descendants were known as the Mathurs. After defeating the demons, a term regularly used for the anti-Vedic tribes, they established the Kingdom of Mathara. This done, they also propagated to other part of Aryavartha. In the meanwhile they were further divided into 3 sub-divisions
1. The Mathurs of Mathara,
2. The Pancholi or Panchali of Pnachal Kingdom where in garwhal hills there is town of Mathara
3. The Kacchi of Gujrat.

The Mathurs seemed to enjoy a long history of ruling many Kingdoms, the most important of which was Ayodhya, ruled by them before the Raghuvanshis took the reign. They are divided into 84 Als. They established Pandya Kingdom covering Madurai Trinivelli etc.[6] They sent an emissary to the Roman EmperorAugustus Ceasar.

• Shree Sucharu (Gaur): He was a disciple of sage Vashista, Rashi name was Dharamdutta and worshipped Devi Shakambari. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Sucharu to establish a Kingdom in the Gaud region. Shree Sucharu married Devi Mandhiya, the daughter of Nagaraj Vasuki. The gaurs are divided into five divisions:
1. Khare,
2. Doosre,
3. Bengali,
4. Dehlavi,
5. Vadanyuni.
6. Gaur Kaystha have been further sub divided in 32 Als. Bhagdutta of Mahabharat and Rudradutta of Kalinga were famous.

• Shree Chitraksh (Bhatnagar): He was a disciple of sage Bhat, was married to Devi Bhadrakalini and worshipped Devi Jayanti. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Chitraksh to establish a Kingdom in the region of Bhat river at Bhattdesh and Malwa.They established Chittor and Chitrakoot He settled then there and his progeny came to be known as Bhatnagar. They are divided into 84 Als.

• Shree Matimaan (Saxena): He was married to Devi Kokalesh and worshipped Devi Shakambari. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Matimaan to establish a Kingdom in the Shak region. His(Shree Matimaan’s) son was a great warrior and established His kingdom in the modern day Kabul-Kandhar and Eurasia region and as they were sakha ( friends Of Sena )the progeny was called Shaksena or Saksena, a part of modern Iran was under their rule. Today they are abundantly found in the regions of Kannuaj,Pilibhit, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Badayu, Farrukhabad, Etta, Mainpuri, Aligarh. They are divided into Khare and Dusare and had 106 main Als at present. According to RC Majumdar, they were kings Shena of Shakas hence Shakashena which anglicised to Saxena.

• Shree Himvaan (Ambashth): His Rashi name was Sarandhar, was married to Devi Bhujangakshi and worshipped Devi Amba-Mata. Settled in Girnar and kathiawar area called Amba-sthan, hence the name. Shree Himvaan had five divine sons Shree Nagasen, Shree Gayasen, Shree Gayadatta, Shree Ratanmool and Shree Devdhar and they married Gandharvyakanyas. These five Sons settled at different locations and accordingly their lineage spread their rule over these and were further divided into: Nagasen: 24 Als, Gayasen: 35 Als , Gayadatta: 85 Als, Ratanmool: 25 Als, Devdhar: 21 Als. Later they settled in Punjab

• Shree Chitracharu (Nigam): His Rashi name was Sumant, was married to Devi Ashgandhmati and worshipped Devi Durga. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Chitracharu to establish a Kingdom in the Mahakoshal and the Nigam region (on the bank of river Saryu). His progeny were very proficient in the rules laid in Vedas and the Shastras, hence Nigam. Today they live in Kanpur, Fatehpur, Hamirpur, Banda, Jalon, Mahoba. They are divided into 43 main Als.

• Shree Aruncharu (Karna): His Rashi name was Damodar, was married to Devi Kamakala and worshipped Devi Laxmi. They were Vaishnavites. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Aruncharu to establish a Kingdom in the Karna region (modern day Karnataka). His progeny slowly migrated to the Northern Kingdoms and now live abundantly in the present day Nepal, Orissa and Bihar. The Bihar branch is further divided into two; namely the ‘Gayaval Karna’ who settled in Gaya and the ‘Maithil-Karna’ who settled in the Mithila region.Later they adopted Buddhism. They are divided into an astounding 360 Als; this huge figure is attributed to the families who migrated in different phases from South. The clan has nothing to do with Karna of Mahabharata.

• Shree Jitendra (Kulshreshtha): His Rashi name is Sadananda, was married to Devi Manjubhashini and worsipped Devi Laxmi. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Atiyendriya(also known as Jitendra) to establish a Kingdom in the Kannauj region. Shree Atiyendriya was one of the most religious and pious ascetic of the twelve Sons. He was known as ‘Dharmatama’ and ‘Pundit’ and was a master of passions; His progeny came to be known as Kulshrestha. Today the Kulshreshthas live abundantly in Mathura, Agra, Fawrookhabad, Etah, Etahwa and Mainpuri.

 2) Sons of Mata Nandani

• Shree Shribhanu(Srivastava): His Rashi name was Dharamdwaj. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Shribhanu to establish a Kingdom in the Shrivaas(Srinagar)region in Kashmir and Kandhar. He was married to Nagaraj Vaasuki’s daughter Devi Padmini and two divine sons named Shree Devdatta and Shree Ghanshyam were born. Shree Devdatta got the rulership over Kashmir and Shree Ganshyam got the rulership over the banks of Sindhu river. They were called Srivastava ‘Khare’ born from second wife Kheri.Two divine sons named Shree Dhanvantari and Shree Sarvagya were born. They were called Srivastava ‘Doosre’.The Srivastavas are divided into 65 main Als.

• Shree Vibhanu (Suryadhwaj): His Rashi name was Shyamsunder, was married to Devi Malti. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Vibhanu to establish the Kingdom in northern parts of the Kashmir region. Since Mother Dakshina was the daughter of Suryadev, the progeny of Shree Vibhanu carried the emblem of the Sun God on their flags and were called Suryadhwaj.Jarasandha of Mahabharat and Jamnaya of Taxila were well known.Later they settled at Magadh

• Shree Vishwabhanu (Valmiki): His Rashi name was Deendayal and worshipped Devi Shakumbhari. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Vishwabhanu to establish a Kingdom in Valmiki region near Chirakoot and Narmada. Shree Vishwabhanu was married to Nagakanya Devi Bimbvati. He’s known to have spend a great part of his life practicing intense meditation(Tapasya) on the banks of river Narmada, when covered with the leaves of creeper Valmiki.His progeny were known as Valmiki.They became Vallabhpanthi. His son Shree Chandrakant settled in Gujarat while the other Sons migrated with their families to the North, near river Ganga and the Himalayas. Today they live in Gujarat and Maharashtra. They are also known as ‘Vallabhi Kayastha’ in Gujarat.

• Shree Viryabhanu (Asthana): His Rashi name Madhavrao, was married to Devi Singhdwani. Maharaj Chitraguptji sent Shree Viryabhanu to establish a Kingdom in Adhisthana. His progeny came to be known as Asthana as Ramnagar-Varanasi's king bestowed them with eight jewels.Some say that they had no fixed sthan, hence the name. Today the Asthanas live abundantly in various districts of U.P. In Bihar they live in Saran, Sivaan, Champaran, Mujjafarpur, Sitamadhi, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur regions. Their population is also notable in U.P.’s neighboring state M.P. They are divided into 5 main Als.

ALs These twelve sub-castes are further divided into ALs. A Vansh originates from a King, a Rishi or a Deity and as it grows it divides itself in to several branches. The descendents start to build their own sub-Vansh depending upon the places and situations met, at the same time acknowledging their submission to the MOOLVansh. These sub-Vansh add specific nouns to their names which in case of the Chirtagupta Vansha(Chitranshi) are called the Als (Kindly be clear upon the point that the 12 main sub-castes are acknowledged divisions based on the family of the 12 Sons, they are not called Als, their further divisions are whatAls are) One has to be careful to avoid confusing them with Gotra. Gotra goes after the name of a Vedic Rishi, who was either a Guru, RajGuru or Progenitor of that Vansh. The gotra for a MOOL Vansh is always the same. It is Kashayap for the Kayasthas. Thus, a Vanshaz can be known from his Gotra and Al (The term Kul is often used for Al, though the former has a much broader meaning).The Als can be thousands in number and must be added to the name in conjunction with one of the 12 main sub-castes. The ignorance of this law is precisely the reason why so many can not find their surnames mentioned amongst the 12 main sub-castes.

[C] WORSHIP

Kayasthas worship Chitraguptaji and on Bhai-Dooj, they celebrate Kalam-Dawaat Pooja (pen, ink-pot and sword worship), a ritual in which pens, papers and books are worshipped.

This is the day when Shree Chitraguptji was created by Lord Bramha and Yamaraj got relieved of His duties and used this leave to visit His sister Devi Yamuna; hence the whole world celebrates Bhaiya dooj on this day and the Kayastha celebrate ShreeChitraguptajayanti, i.e. the ‘Birthday’ of their progenitor.

Chitraguptji guided his sons to worship Mahishmardini. In present day they worship Gods as per their Geo , Social & family influence. And it is quite diversified when we travel one part of India to other Part.

 [D] FOOD

Unlike most Baniya (Vaishya) or Brahmins, Kayasthas eat onions, garlic, meats like mutton and chicken, fish and eggs, though a large number are also vegetarians.

of holy towns like Prayag, Mathura, Varanasi, etc. are purely vegetarians, while in other areas they may be mixed.

Here Point to be mentioned that Chitraguptji has told their sons to live like vaishnavites but during medival period due to social influence they may have started eating meats.

[E] HISTORY

Kayastha ministers find mention in Hindu mythology. Prior to the Raghuvanshis, Ayodhya was ruled by Mathur Rulers, progeny of Shree Chitraguptaji.

The Kayastha who are represented by the “Kayats” or the hereditary caste of the scribes of the present day, formed originally a sub-military class. The Anthropological Survey of India conducted a survery during the British Raj which concluded that the Kayastha community were also influential during the Mauryan period as administrators.

Also, many proof have been found that the Hindu Kings used to grant lands to the Kayasthas, a practise enjoyed only by a particular caste. Also, it is but logical to consider the status of the Kayasthas when Sanskrit was the state language under the Hindu Kings.

The Kayastha were one of the most influential Caste in Kashmiri politics around 7th century. The economic status of the Kayastha community bettered than that of other castes when the Muslims conquered India.

Other Indian castes would typically not find employment under the Muslim rulers, as they could not learn the Muslim languages of Persian and Arabic. On the other hand, the Kayastha community as a whole traditionally put a lot of emphasis on education and prospered during the Islamic period of India.

[F] KAYASTHA DOWN THE AGES

Kayasthas were valued in the second millennia by most kingdoms and princely states as desired citizens or immigrants within India. They were treated more as a race rather than a caste because they developed expertise in Persian (the state language in Islamic India), learnt Turkish and Arabic, economics, administration and taxation.

This gave them an edge over the Brahmins (the priestly caste), who traditionally had reserved the study of Sanskrit shastras to themselves. They successfully adapted themselves as scribes and functionaries under Islamic rule and later on under the British. Their secular viewpoint to life, adaptability and lifestyle was an asset which allowed them to succeed.

The Kayastha community also adapted to changes, such as the advent of the British rule in India. They learnt English, the more affluent ones sent their children to England, they became civil servants, tax officers, junior administrators, teachers, legal helpers and barristers. They rose to the highest positions accessible to natives in British India.

[G] KAYASTHA IN MODERN INDIA

Post independence Kayasthas rose to the highest positions including the first President of India , Dr. Rajendra Prasad,third Prime Minister of India , Lal Bahadur Shastri , judges, top civil servants and high ranking officers in the Indian armed forces. Kayasthas also emigrated to the West in the 1970s and 80s, most of them as knowledge workers in medicine, academia, engineering, computing etc.

[H] PROMINENT KAYASTHAS

With the passing of time, the Kayasthas have surged ahead. They have broken new grounds in vocations other than those relating to writing and record-keeping, and excelled in them. Thus, in public life, Dr Rajendra Prasad rose to become the first President of the Republic of India, whereas Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister. Dr Sampuranand was the Chief Minister of U.P. and Governor of Rajasthan, besides being a literary figure.

Jayaprakash Narayan brought down Indira Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose fought the British rule militarily. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, and Jagdish Chandra Bose were eminent scientists. Munshi Prem Chand, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Raghupat Sahai “Firaque” Gorakhpuri, Dr Vrindavan Lal Verma, Dr Ram Kumar Verma and Dr Dharm Vir Bharti have been men of letters.

Swami Vivekanand and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi were philosophers. Alakh Kumar Sinha, C.I.E, O.B.E, was the first Indian Inspector-General of Police. Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha have excelled in the film world, Mukesh and Sonu Nigam in the world of music.

REFERENCES

It’s a compilation work from various sources on internet and the books / ancient scripture

Aur tum kah rahe ho ki-

और तुम कह रहे हो मैं लड़खड़ा रहा हूँ

मुझे पता हैं क्यू धूल उड़ रही हैं
मुझे पता हैं किधर आँधी चल रही हैं
मैं गिरा नहीं हूँ, मैं लड़खराया भी नहीं हूँ
मैं  धरा  पर ही खड़ा हूँ और सीधें चल रहा हूँ
और तुम कह रहे हो मैं लड़खड़ा गया  हूँ - 1

तुम्हे शायद भ्रम हुआ हैं
तुमसे शायद ग़लती हुई हैं
तुम शायद भटक गये हो अपने आकलन में

देखो-

मैं ज़मीन पर ही खड़ा हूँ
मैं ज़मीन पर ही खड़ा हूँ

अपनी मंज़िल से ना भटका हूँ
ना मैं रुका हूँ, ना मैं टूटा हूँ|
और तुम कह रहे हो मैं लड़खड़ा गया हूँ - 2


सुनो-

आँधी मेरा रास्ता रोक सकती नहीं
पाषाण मेरा रास्ता मोड़  सकता नहीं
मैने पहले भी आँधियों को रोका  हैं
मैने पहले भी पाषाण को चटकाया हैं
तुम किसी ग़लतफमी में ना रहो
मैं धरा पर ही खड़ा हूँ और सीधे चल रहा हूँ
और तुम कह रहे हो मैं लड़खड़ा गया हूँ - 3
                               ~शलभ

Monsoon Drive 2015 - A trip to discover, to rejuvnate ourselves!!

As  written by my Dear Friend Hareesha Prabhu

 

Prelude

Which has now become an annual ritual, we set out for our Monsoon Drive-2015 for the third year in a row. We started our initial thoughts on covering parts of Kerala and also had 3 draft versions of the plan/itinerary, but a visit to his father and a conversation with him made Pramod to come up with a suggestion/wish to see the Fort at Nagara. That changed the whole plan and the final version of the plan evolved.

 

Our itinerary

For unknown reasons, 15-Aug seems to be a pre-fixed date for this drive year after year.

We kept the plan completely floating since we were not sure about the time it would take to reach each of these places, the terrain, weather, road conditions, optimal sequence etc. So we said, we will decide based on the inputs we receive once we land there.

Routing

There are multiple routes to reach Thirthahalli as indicated in the map shot below.

Via NH4 & NH13 (388KM) OR via NH4 and SH24 (363KM) OR via NH48 (360KMs)

We chose the last option i.e. via NH48 (BLRà Nelamangalaà ChannarayapatnaàArasikere àKaduràBiruràTarikereàBhadravathi Bypass à Shimoga Bypass à Sakrebylu àThirthahalli)

The reason we chose this route are

-          Shorter distance

-          Familiar & predictable route atleast till Channarayapatna

-          Good road condition atleast till Channarayapatna

-          Good eateries for breakfast (Swathi J )

We started at 6.40am from Meenakshi Layout as planned. Instead of taking the usual NICE road from Gottigere, we took the ring road from JP Nagar, Padmanabha Nagar, PES College, Nayandahalli Junction and then the new ring road, which touches the Tumkur road near Goraguntepalya. It was a wise decision in the end since the crowd was huge to buy the toll tickets at the exit from NICE Road to join the Tumkur Road. The rest of the drive was a breeze and we reached Swathi at 8am for a good breakfast (as always). I have been visiting this place since the time it was inaugurated a few years ago and I must say, the quality of food has been exemplarily consistent, although service varies at times, depending on who comes to serve your table. This is one flip side of taking the NH4 (via Tumkur) since there are NO restaurants on that road (well, Kamat have slipped out of being called as a restaurant for some time now).

Google will show a couple of “shorter” routes to reach Arasikere as we move forward. However, in my opinion, the safest option is to take the C.R.Patna bypass and the signage is fairly bold on the right hand side to take the diversion to Arasikere. Although initially (as soon as I entered the road) it looked to be a narrow road, as we move forward, it becomes clear that the surface is very well maintained, although the road is a narrow one (compared to the Hassan Road). No complaints though since you don’t encounter any major bottlenecks nor do you have heavy traffic.

We stopped at Vinayaka Restaurant at Kadur for a bio-break and for a cup of tea at around 10.45am. We missed to take the bypass at Bhadravathi – but realized very quickly that we missed it and caught up with the bypass – one has to ensure that the 2 bypasses at Bhadravathi and Shimoga are NOT missed because they will easily add upto an hour to the journey time.

As we approached Shimoga, we did take a wrong turn on the left to go to Mattur, but were wise enough to ask some elderly villagers who were in an intense discussion over a cup of tea and they directed us back to the main road and a little ahead, we did get the left turn to Mattur.

Mattur

Well – yes, the town is a sleepy, small, traditional temple town with a lot of men wearing white Dhoti and flowing long hair – typical of a temple priest. We went straight to the temple, got the first glimpse of mighty river Thunga with her full blown majestic flow. To be frank, we were completely let down because when we spoke to a few women who were busy with their domestic chores, they clearly told us, everyone knows Sanskrit here, it is taught in schools as well – but we all talk either Kannada or Sanketi. We were still wanting to give it a shot and as we walked back (after a few clicks on the banks of the river), a priest on a 2-wheeler stopped by asking what are we upto. I spoke to him in Kannada and he invited us to his home. Pramod and Nitin had already moved ahead trying to capture some pictures and JP intelligently slipped away when we reached the entrance door of his house. The priest spoke to us in Kannada, was very hospitable, explained the brief history of the place and myself and Shalabh got out of the house in a jiffy. Some how, the feeling was not comfortable. Right after that, we decided it is time to move on from this place and in summary, as we rightly concluded, this is purely an Internet and Wikipedia made town. There is absolutely nothing worth a mention about this place, except the fact that every household knows the divine language – but definitely far away from the portrayal of an “exclusively Sanskrit Speaking” town as it is being “advertised”.

Enroute

The route is extremely serene after we cross the Shimoga bypass – particularly the areas around Mandagadde, Sakrebylu are amazingly rich in flora, fauna. Parking on this road is not a good idea since the road is narrow and there is hardly any space on the roadside since the empty space is completely covered by grass and bushes – may be because it is the rainy season. Nevertheless, we did stop at a couple of places and took some nice pictures.

Our place of stay

Well, we were contemplating on a place to stay at Thirthahalli and Pramod again bumped into this highly rated homestay in a place called Gabadi, which is 17KMs before Thirthahalli when you drive from Shimoga. The ratings on tripadvisor were good. I spoke to the owner Mr.Krupal and created enough confusion for him as to who is Pramod and who is Hareesh since I used both the names to interact with him and tried to bargain using 2 different personas but from the same mobile number and without modulating my voice (well………….)

We booked this place well in advance, called him at regular intervals since the first time I called him to confirm that our rooms are booked etc. He charges Rs.2000/person/night which includes all food starting from Bed Tea till Dinner, including some short eats during the evenings.

We have seen a few homestays in the past, so we went with fair expectations of decent place, edible food etc.

You cant miss this place since there is a sign board on the left side after you cross Sakrebylu and when you are about 17KMs short of Thirthahalli.

Well, I will fall short of words and adjectives to explain this place. Hands down, worth the ratings on the tripadvisor, absolutely delightful couple, Mr.Krupal and his wife, Mrs.Shubha, amazing Malnad cuisine cooked by the land lady herself, very neat, clean rooms, modernized bathrooms.

Day-1

After a good lunch of Chicken Biryani, and a variety of local dishes, topping it with some Ice Cream – we had some rest. We discussed our plans with Mr.Krupal and he suggested we must see Kundadri (this was not part of our original agenda). From Gabadi, you have to go to Thirthahalli, take the Agumbe road and half way through (10KMs before Agumbe), you see a turn on your Left hand side, with clear marking towards Kundadri. We followed the signages and reached the entry gate to Kundadri and to our surprise, the gate was closed. While we were contemplating to return, another car came and the enterprising guys in that car had already come before us and had gone back to the town to get the keys of the gate. They opened the gate and after some sudden, steep, hairpin curve filled drive, we were at the top of Kundadri, where there is enough parking for about 10 cars. There is a small stair to the temple, and we reached the top and lo behold – what a scene it was – words cant express the serenity, bliss and the sheer magnanimity and enormity of nature – it simply takes your breath away…. Clouds gush at you from the bottom and make one realise how tiny are we in comparison to what nature has to offer us. The sage Kundakundacharya, has set up this temple a few centuries ago and the Jain temple of Parshwanath is a small temple, with a few ponds where

apparently, the water level is always constant irrespective of the season. We spent good amount of time there, took ample pictures. The clouds were literally playing hide and seek with us, giving us the view all the way till Udupi which is close to 50KMs away and the next moment, we could not see the person next to us….

The Sun was fast setting and we still had Agumbe to cover, so reluctantly we drove down and started towards Agumbe. We reached Agumbe in no time since the distance is short, took a good walk around the sleepy town, which is moving towards being a ghost town pretty soon… 

We could not find the place where we had Neer Dosa during our first trip in 2013. So out of desperation, I went into a shop and started explaining the “Old Man”, “Bald Head”, “Husband and Wife running a canteen” and the final clue was “Neer Dosa” – and the shop keeper immediately said, Nayak’s hotel, that is on Shringeri Road. The name of the shanty looking restaurant is Hotel Guruprasad and the Nayak Maam and  his wife serve you fresh Neer Dosa with piping hot sambhar, pickles, chutney powder… Talking to them in Konkani made it more livelier – the conversation went around his recent eye operation, less crowd in rainy season, no power owing to a tree falling on the cables, they serving lunch and finally his marketing talks – that “Like you, who ever comes once to my place, will definitely come back J”. After 3 neer dosa each (although we were fully aware that we are heading back to Dinner) – we started our trip back to Gabadi.

For dinner we had Neer Dosa again, although it was not as good as that of Nayak Mam’s.

Neer Dosa @ Agumbe

Beautiful evening @ Agumbe town with lots of Rains and thundering

Day-2

The destination was Kodachadri & Nagara. Again, you have to come to Thirthahalli and at the junction where there is a fork (one towards Agumbe and another to Udupi/Kundapur) – take the Kundapur road. Kodachadri is a good 66KMs from that place. Once you reach the bottom of the hill, you can park your vehicle there and hire a 4x4 Jeep. Thankfully, we asked the shop keeper there about lunch and he said, if we confirm, he can ask his mother to cook for us at Rs.50/- per head. We said, go ahead, had a tea, packed a water bottle and started… But our sincere advice is NOT to have any drink / food both while climbing and while returning. The Jeep charges Rs.1600 for one trip (both ways), Forest Dept charges Rs.100/- for one 4 wheeler (don’t know why) and Rs.25/- per head as the entry fee (again, don’t know why).

It is one hell of a ride of 9KMs which takes almost 1hr+. On the way, there are couple of photo op points and the driver keeps telling you that this is where Gaalipata movie was shot etc. However, Shalabh kept asking the driver “Eshtu Kilo meter” after every KM – and fully understandable since he was sitting in the front. In my opinion, the easiest way to beat all the scare is to simply close your eyes and completely ignore the terrain – because there is absolutely no road – the drivers simply ride on everyone’s luck, using the paths (if I may say so) created by flowing water.

After an entertaining 1hr, we reached the top. The driver told us that you have 2 hrs of time and there are 3 places to see. The temple at the bottom, the Ganesha temple in between and after a trek of 2KMs, the Sarvajna Peetha. There are 2 houses of the priests and they also serve hot tea, Dosa and Lunch if you are interested – but better to stay away from consuming anything considering the churn that gets generated while driving down.

This is the place where Shankaracharya meditated & got the divine blessings of Mookambika. There are 2 temples here, and also the weapon with which the Devi killed the demon Mookasura. The legend has it that the metal used for this weapon is still unknown and when some one tried to take it out, blood started to ooze and hence now it is concretised at the bottom.

Myself, Nitin and JP did start the treck upwards to see the Ganesha temple and the Peetha. But none of us were equipped with the right footwear and many people who were coming down discouraged us saying there is nothing further. Sadly, there are no signages nor any information saying how far what is there and the pathway is also not marked.

Further down the walk way, where there is a small plain, we saw that a bunch of hooligans were consuming liquor, breaking the bottles, throwing the left overs etc – and I decided to return from there, but Nitin and JP went a little ahead and came back after a while. The Poojaris at the temple below talk fluent Kannada and Malayalam. Sadly, like in many other temples, they come to their bottom line objective pretty quickly saying – for this, Rs.100, for this, Rs.250, for this Rs.350, for this Rs.500 – that really put me off… But cant help either.

To the surprise of our driver, Mr.Mahabaleshwar Bhat, who was busy chewing his pan, we were ready to take the ride back. We asked him to take a few pictures of the group and started the arduous trip back. Shalabh was overjoyed when he saw the forest check post because, the trip was finally over – it is not a trip – but an experience by itself.

We had a really sumptuous lunch – simple, home cooked Rice, Sambhar, Papad, Palya, Curds and Pickles – but it was heavenly after what we had endured J

After this unforgettable trip, we set out to see Nagara fort. This fort was built by the chieftain Shivappa Nayaka and is a protected monument. Sadly the upkeep is pathetic to say the least. We climbed to the highest point of the fort, took some nice pictures, discussed quite a bit about the forethought of our ancestors, business potential of setting up a restaurant on top J etc etc and soaked in the beauty of the surroundings. Incidentally, this is the place where we had some good network coverage as well – so Shalabh and Nitin could make a few calls.

We then visited Mithila’s father’s ancestoral house, saw the 100+ year old house and reached back Gabadi by around 7pm, just in time for some wine and dine.

Day-3

After some demanding day, the intention was to keep this day fairly light and we decided to visit the Thirthahalli town and Kuppalli. Also, we did not want to miss out on the speech of our PM Narendra Modi. So after that, we started post breakfast from Gabadi, visited the Rameshwara temple and then spent really long time on the banks of the river Tunga appreciating her majestic flow. The weather was pleasant and the flowing water had a soothing effect on the minds of all of us. We then visited Mithila’s uncle’s house, had some tea and decided to skip Kuppalli since we had little time and headed back to Gabadi for the lunch.

As expected, the lunch was sumptuous and to beat the crowd and the traffic since it was a holiday, we started to Kuppalli by around 2.45pm. We reached Kuppalli and to our surprise, it was a very well maintained, must visit place and gave a good insight into the life and times of the great poet Ku Vem Pu.

We wanted to visit Kundadri again since this was our last day of the trip – but then we quickly realized when we reached Thirthahalli that it will be too late by the time we hit the top – so after some bonda soup at Hotel Mayura in Thirthahalli, we made a wise decision of spending some more time on the banks of the river with the Golden Gate bridge in the backdrop J.

Day-4

Well, after one of the most memorable trips, we had to head back, though reluctantly. We left the Gabadi Homestay, our home for the last 3 days with another round of good breakfast of Akki Rotti and Brinjal Palya, took couple of snaps with the owners, who were busy feeding the large group that had swooped down the previous day in a bus (!!!) and started our journey back at 8.40am

We reached Sakrebylu Elephant Camp at 9.05, the gates were just opening and the majestic pachyderms were just walking in… The camp charges Rs.30 per head as entry fee for “Indians” J and apparently there are 22 elephants in the camp. But we could see some 8-10, some getting bathed in the pond nearby, and the rest “parked” on the side for visitors to see and get “blessed” !!! – may be the effect of heavy breakfast or the thought of getting back to Bangalore, there was not much interest in the group to spend time there – although Pramod did make the Sprint of his trip to catch a good shot of an elephant walking into the pond against the backdrop of a rising Sun – apparently he was disappointed because he could not get the right click…

We spent about half an hour there and headed back to Bangalore. Had a tea break at the same Vinayaka Hotel in Kadur where we had our tea during our onward journey. This joint appears to be on the right track to becoming a wanted place if they maintain the current standards of service, food quality and cleanliness.

As planned, we reached Swathi for lunch at 1pm, and reached back Meenakshi Layout by 2.45pm.

Conclusion

Well, there we go – we concluded yet another memorable trip, year after year, we seem to plan better, execute better and above all, enjoy the time even better…

Every experience teaches something new and there is no end to a human’s learning – this was yet another trip that taught us many more things, made us even more wiser J

Looking forward to the Monsoon Drive-2016, where Pramod has promised to take the lead and take us to his backyard – Kerala… Till then … So long…