Ram Ki Paidi is a series of sacred ghats on the banks of the river Sarayu in the holy city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, India. There are thirty two bathing ghats at Ram Ki Paidi where devotees come and take a holy bath.
Devotees come and take a holy bath here with the faith that they will be extricated from their sins. The very word paidi implies ‘steps’ which lead to the Sarayu. Lord Rama would also take bath daily at Ram Ki Paidi. After taking bath He would donate cows in charity and worship the brahmanas.
Sarayu is an extremely holy river which flows originally from the big toe of the left lotus feet of Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha. On earth, the Sarayu originates at the Mansarovar lake in Tibet travelling all the way down to Ayodhya dham. She was brought down to Ayodhya by the great Sage Vasishtha. She is second Ganga. Hence, at Ram Ki Paidi, devotees can feel blissful by taking a holy bath and worshipping Mother Sarayu.
A few ghats were destroyed as a result of heavy rains and flooding in the early 80s. But the government of the day rebuilt the ghats in 1985. The water for the ghats is pumped in from the Sarayu using motors. The Flood Works division of the Irrigation Department, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh maintains the ghats and the supply of water.
Ram Ki Paidi has also got many prominent temples on its bank such as Nath Nageshwar Temple, Chandra Hari Temple, Vishnu Hari Temple, Sarayu Temple, etc.
What did Lord Rama say at Ram Ki Paidi?
Once Lakshmana, the devoted younger brother of Lord Rama desired to go on a pilgrimage. At that time, standing on the banks of the sacred Sarayu, Lord Rama told Lakshmana that every tirtha comes to the Sarayu river every day to take a holy bath early in the morning before sunrise.
Thus, bathing in the Sarayu before sunrise would imply that the devotee has taken a bath in all the tirthas by-default. Therefore, by taking a holy bath in the Sarayu river, the devotee would get the combined results of taking a holy bath in all the tirthas separately.
The very same banks of the Sarayu where Lord Rama spoke this is known as Ram Ki Paidi.
Ram Ki Paidi enters the Guinness Book
Diya lamps are one of the most important components of Diwali or Deepavali, the festival that celebrates the return of Lord Rama along with Sita Devi and Lakshmana to Ayodhya. The Lord is also extremely pleased when His devotees welcome Him with lamps.
Since 2017, Ram Ki Paidi has been lit up with lakhs of lamps to celebrate the festival of Diwali. This has put Ram Ki Paidi in the Guinness Book of World Records. This mesmerized the international community too apart from Indians.
The total number of diyas that lit-up Ram Ki Paidi during the festival of Diwali every year beginning from 2017 are as follows:
2017: 51,000 diyas
2018: 3,00,150 diyas
2019: 4,10,000 diyas
2020: 6,06,569 diyas
2021: 9,41,551 diyas
Thus, Ram Ki Paidi went into the Guinness Book every year beginning 2017. You can see newer Guinness records in the coming years.
How to Reach Ram Ki Paidi
If you are excited about a holy bath in the Sarayu river along with the authentic sthala-purana narrations, you don’t have to look beyond the Ayodhya-Kashi Yatra conducted by Tirtha Yatra. A blissful holy bath is guaranteed!
You have to reach Lord Rama’s city of Ayodhya to visit Ram Ki Paidi. So, you can wisely choose the best mode of transportation as given below:
By Road: Ayodhya is well connected to cities in Uttar Pradesh and nearby states by road. Uttar Pradesh state buses are available from major cities in the state 24 hours.
You can even hire private taxis from these cities or from a nearby town where you may be present. Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi are the nearest cities within a distance of 200 kms.
By Rail: Ayodhya city is served by two railway stations. They are Ayodhya Junction and Ayodhya Cantt. Trains connecting major cities and towns of India stop over here.
By Air: The nearest airports are in Gorakhpur 139 kms away and Lucknow 151 kms away. You can fly in here and use the rail or road route to reach Ayodhya.
A government airstrip in Ayodhya is being upgraded to create a new airport though this may take time.
Ram Ki Paidi: The transcendental steps
Those steps or paidis take a devotee towards absolute bliss indeed. In the material world, people love to climb up steps to achieve success in their endeavours.
But at Ram Ki Paidi, devotees love to climb down steps to find shelter in the lap of Mother Sarayu so as to achieve the favour of Lord Ramachandra. This is a success highly yearned by devotees and everlasting when achieved.
You should take those transcendental steps too without any delay.
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