Sapta Hari Temples, Ayodhya

Sapta Hari Temples are the seven prominent Vishnu temples of Ayodhya dham in Uttar Pradesh, India. We usually hear about the Sapta Puris i.e. the seven sacred cities of India, among which, Ayodhya dham is a part. Here, we have Sapta Hari temples within one of the Sapta Puris.

Every holy place has the adhishthana devata. For example Lord Narayana is protecting Kashi in the form of sixteen Keshavas. He is the predominating Deity of Kashi. In the similar manner, Lord Narayana has expanded in seven forms to protect the city of Ayodhya.

These Sapta Hari temples include Vishnuhari, Chakrahari, Guptahari, Dharmahari, Chandrahari, Bilvahari and Punyahari. The Punyahari temple and Bilvahari temple do not exist anymore. While Ayodhya is host to hundreds of temples, these seven Vishnu temples are the crown-jewel amongst all. They are older than Lord Rama Himself. One’s visit to Ayodhya is not complete without the visit to Sapta Hari temples.

Located at various ghats on the banks of the sacred Sarayu river, darshan and worship at the Sapta Hari temples fulfils the desires of a devotee and awards liberation.

We shall now take a look at the Sapta Hari temples of Ayodhya in short:

Chandrahari Temple

The Deity of Lord Chandrahari was consecrated by Chandradeva, the moon-god, who was attracted by the glory of Ayodhya Dham. The temple is located on the banks of the sacred Sarayu river near Ram Ki Paidi in Ayodhya. It was renovated by King Vikramaditya centuries ago.

Offering respects to Lord Vishnu, Chandradeva went to Ayodhya and performed a pilgrimage following which he performed penances in the prescribed manner to please Lord Vishnu. After pleasing Lord Vishnu, Chandradeva consecrated the Deity of Lord Vishnu prefixing his own name. Thus, the Deity was called Chandrahari.

The Skanda Purana says that all homas, penances, worship of brahmanas and charity done here in the prescribed manner yields infinite results. Also, the Udyapana rite, called as Chandrasahasra vrata is to be performed here under the guidance of well-versed brahmanas on the day of the temple’s annual festival i.e. 15^th day in the bright half of the month of Jyestha.

A sacred well is present in the temple complex. Performing charity of grains and clothes after bathing with the water from this well is said to give great results. Every year, the Dhanurmasa Mahotsav is celebrated here for the period of a month.

The surprising fact here is that Lord Chandrahari is said to reside in a Shivalinga called Chandreshwar. Hence, the temple is also referred to as the Chandreshwar Mahadev temple. There is no separate deity of Lord Vishnu anymore. However Lord Chandrahari’s pratibhu murti is worshiped in this place. The dwadasha jyotirlinga of Bharat bhumi has been consecrated here too.

Dharmahari Temple

This temple is located on the east side of Swargadwara and to the south-east of Chandrahari temple in Ayodhya. The Deity of Lord Dharmahari was consecrated by Dharmadeva or Yamaraja, who had gone to Ayodhya on a pilgrimage.

Dharmadeva was very surprised to see and experience the glories of Ayodhya. In such a state, he started dancing jubilantly. Seeing this and being compassionate, Lord Vishnu appeared before him and asked him to ask for a boon.

Yamaraja requested that he be allowed to install Lord Vishnu’s Deity prefixing it with his own name. Lord Vishnu agreed to the request and hence, the Deity of Lord Dharmahari was installed.

Taking a bath in the sacred Sarayu river at Swargadwar and having the darshan of Lord Dharmahari brings great merit including liberation. Lord Dharmahari resides here with great love.

The Skanda Purana says that the annual festival of Lord Dharmahari should be celebrated on the Ekadashi tithi of the bright-half of Ashada.

Vishnuhari Temple

The temple of Vishnuhari is non-existent currently. It is said to have been washed away by the sacred Sarayu river. The Deity of Lord Vishnuhari was consecrated by a brahmana named Vishnu Sharma, who had come to Ayodhya on a pilgrimage.

The brahmana was mesmerized by the glories of Ayodhya and started doing penances thinking that Lord Vishnu is personally present in Ayodhya. Vishnu Sharma performed extreme penances for three years and pleased Lord Vishnu, who appeared in front of him seated on Garuda and holding the sankha, chakra and gada.

When Vishnu Sharma said that he simply desired unflinching devotion to Lord Vishnu, it was granted along with the instruction to install a Deity of Lord Vishnu prefixed with the brahmana’s name. Thus, the Deity was consecrated with the name Vishnuhari.

Lord Vishnu dug a tirtha with his chakra i.e. discus causing the sacred waters of Ganga to manifest from the patalaloka. This tirtha came to be known as Chakratirtha. Also referred sometimes as Chakrahari tirtha.

A holy bath in the Chakratirtha along with the darshan of Lord Vishnuhari is highly meritorious as per the Skanda Purana.

Many devotees in Ayodhya believe that the vigraha of Sri Kalarama at Kalaram Mandir is the actual Vishnuhari who was actually worshipped orginally in the Ramjanmabhoomi temple constructed by Vikramaditya.

Chakrahari and Guptahari temple

This temple is located at the Guptar Ghat on the banks of the sacred Sarayu river in Ayodhya. Both Lord Chakrahari and Lord Guptahari are present in one Deity here.

As per the Skanda Purana, Lord Vishnu meditated here secretly to award the devatas enough strength to defeat the asuras, who had taken over swargaloka. As Lord Vishnu meditated here secretly, He came to be called Guptahari.

When Lord Vishnu’s chakra fell here from His lotus hand as He arrived in Ayodhya, He came to be known as Chakrahari.

After winning over the asuras, the devatas came to meet Lord Guptahari. They requested that the Lord stay back in Ayodhya to protect the devatas. Lord Guptahari agreed to do so and ever since then, He became revealed to devotees.

It is said that a mere glance of Lord Guptahari and Lord Chakrahari frees a person from the effect of past sins. The annual festival happens on the full-moon day of the Karthika month.

Bilvahari Temple

This temple which is one of the Sapta Hari Temples does not exist anymore. Neither the Deity of Lord Bilvahari. But it’s location at the Bilvahari ghat on the banks of the sacred Sarayu remains intact.

The location is called Dasharatha Samadhi. Here, Bharata had performed pinda-tarpana to King Dasharatha 13 days after the king’s death.

Many devotees also consider Lord Bilvahari to be existing in the linga form at the original location of the temple

Punyahari Temple

One of these Sapta Hari Temples – the Punyahari temple too does not exist anymore. It was located 17 kms to the south-east of Ayodhya. Currently a village named Puna stands here. The lila of this Deity is not known.

How to Reach Sapta Hari Temples

The best way to locate and reach the existing Sapta Hari Temples in Ayodhya is to join Tirtha Yatra’s Ayodhya-Kashi Yatra. All the arrangements are taken care and one need not worry about anything. Just focus on having darshan of the Lord at an ideal speed.

To cover Sapta Hari temples that exist today, you must first travel to Ayodhya. And that is possible as long as you select one of the modes of transportation.

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. 

Best time to visit the Sapta Hari Temples

The best time to visit Sapta Hari Temples in Ayodhya is from August to February. The weather is very pleasant and this time is not filled with festivals. I you wish to experience the festivals of Ayodhya, then visit during Ramanavami or Vivaha Panchami or during the Karthika Masa.

The Sapta Haris exist eternally

Today, few of the Sapta Hari temples don’t exist in Ayodhya. But it will never negate the fact that they did exist once and were worshipped by devotees with great faith.

You may never see them again, but you can always remember them as the Lord is beyond the influence of time, matter and space. When you embark on a pilgrimage of the Sapta Hari temples, you can always offer your sincere prayers remembering the Deity. The Lord will surely bless you for this effort. And your pilgrimage remains fulfilled.

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