Sapta Puris are named first when it comes to embarking on a holy pilgrimage throughout the land of Bharata Varsha. They are also glorified as Sapta Moksha Puris or Sapta Maha Puris. They are the seven sacred cities of Bharatavarsha. These have been the centers of pilgrimage from time immemorial. Just a meditation on these holy dhams or even uttering their name once, one can be freed from all the reactions of sinful activities.
Which are Sapta Puris?
These Sapta Puris are the manifestation of seven sacred cities present on the Meru Mountain. Every Sanatana Dharmi or the follower of Santana Dharma must visit these seven sacred cities to get oneself connected with God or realize God. The presence of devotees who take shelter of these holy cities is what makes them so divine and special. A very famed sloka from Garuda Purana reads:
ayodhya-mathura-maya kashi-kanchi-avantika
puri-dwaravati chaiva saptaite mokshadaayika
These seven puris are – Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kashi, Kanchi, Ujjain and Dwarka. These cities are potent enough to award liberation, hence they are called as Sapta Moksha Puris. Let me take you on a Mansik yatra to these Sapta Puris.
Ayodhya – the capital city of Lord Ramachandra
Ayodhya is the first of Sapta Puris. It was the capital city of Lord Ramachandra or the Ikshvaku Kings. Lord Ramachandra was born in Ayodhya and ruled the Earth for eleven thousand years from here. Ayodhya was established by Manu, the father of mankind after taking a piece of land of Vaikuntha from Lord Narayana.
Ayodhya is situated on the banks of River Sarayu and is shaped lika a fish. As the city is ancient than Lord Rama, there are many holy tirthas here which pre-date the Ramayana period. One should definitely visit Ayodhya at least to remember Ramayana. Read more
Mathura – the birthplace of Lord Sri Krishna
Mathura is the holiest of all the sapta puris. It is Vaikuntha itself. Mathura was the capital city of Surya Vamsha as well as Chandra Vamsha. The Supreme Lord Hari appeared in Mathura five thousand years ago and thus made this city super excellent in all the three worlds by the dust of His lotus feet.
Mathura is the centre of the lotus of Vrajabhumi through out which Lord Krishna performed His divine lilas. Adi Varaha Purana states that one moment of residence in Mathura is equivalent to one thousand years of residence in Varanasi. There are as many as one hundred tirthas only in Mathura. Read more
Haridwar – the gateway to Lord Hari
Haridwar is glorified in the shastras as Ganga Dwara, Kapila Sthana, Swarga Dwara & Mayapuri. It is one of the most prominent holy places in Bharatavarsha. Mother Ganga constantly purifies Haridwar by her sparkling waters. It is the gateway to the holy city of Badrinath as well as Lord Hari.
The places like Har-ki-pauri are glorified in all the shastras to be the jewels of Mother Earth. There are five places in Haridwar where one should take holy bath by doing which a person will never take bath again – Gangadwara, Kushavarta, Bilva Parvata, Nila Parvata and Kanakhal. This sacred town is the site of the universal event Kumbha Mela. Read more
Kashi – the oldest city in the universe
No words are sufficient to describe the glories of this sacred land Kashi. This is the primordial seat of Sri Hari and Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva roams in Kashi and awards the taraka mantra to anyone who is about to die. Even heavens cannot be compared to the magnificence of Kashi. Kashi is situated on the banks of uttarvahini River Ganga.
It is in the shape of a crescent moon and upholds more than two thousand temples. It is the favourite city of Lord Shiva and of those who are interested only in spiritual advancement in life. Every visit to Kashi will addict to visit it once more. Read more
Kanchi – place where the King of Benedictions reside
Kanchipuram is one of the holiest cities of Dakshina Bharata. It is house to several famous temples such as Varadaraja Temple, Ekambareshwara Temple and Kamakshi Temple. This is a lustrous city and anyone who visits this holy place becomes lustrous. Once upon a time it was the prime seat of Sri Vaishnavism in India.
Kanchipuram is famous for the performance of a great yajna by Lord Brahma. From the yajna-kunda the special archa vigraha of Lord Varadaraj appeared which is being worshiped even today. Kanchipuram is divided into Shiva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi. Read more
Ujjain – the land of Mahakaleshwar
Ujjain is situated on the banks of Kshipra River. This Mahakala Nagari is untouched by Kali and Kala. This land is created only to free the world from the sinful reactions. Even the corpse doesn’t emit a foully smell in this sacred city which is one of the Sapta Puris. There are more than one crore Shiva-lingas in Ujjain.
It has been known by various names in different yugas. Even the horses of Sun’s chariot await to touch the flag of Mahakaleshwar Temple which gives them solace from the whip of Arunadeva. Read more
Dwarka – the Kingdom of Lord Sri Krishna
Yamaraja keeps instructing the Yamadutas that anyone who takes the name of Dwaravati, they should not touch that person. The city of Dwarka is most holy amongst the Sapta Puris. Lord Sri Krishna played many lilas in this city. Dwarka is constantly protected by the Sudarshana Chakra of Lord Vishnu.
Here the Supreme Lord is gracing the world with His Chatur Bhuja Swarupa of Dwarkadhish under the splendorous Jagat Mandir’s intricately carved dome. The city of Dwarka is most unexplored amongst the Sapta Puris. Read more
Exploring the Sapta Puris
There are many holy places and cities in India which are worth a pilgrimage. But these Sapta Puris top the list. Each of these Sapta Puris has a treasure of temples to be explored. If not for an expert guide, you cannot relish these holy places because each temple has a past to narrate which can purify the listener.
Tirtha Yatra organizes pilgrimage tours or yatras to these holy cities which take Yatris to the unexplored and off-beat temples mentioned in the Scriptures. They need not worry about any arrangement of food, travel or stay. Everything is taken care by us. Devotees need to just focus on the temples and the worship.
The real benefit of visiting such holy places is to achieve the association of the pure hearted devotees of the Lord living there. Establishing intimate and friendly relations with such great souls, let your heart be captivated by perfrming the charming worship of Lord Krishna in their association. Wherever the devotees of the Lord are living, that place becomes a place of pilgrimage. Therefore you should become fixed by constantly remaining in the company of such devotees. Om Tat Sat.
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6 Comments On Sapta Puris
Sampat S Pisal
Good information,Hindu dharmi must know about these scried cities and visit them as possible as more cities.
Thanks for the information.
Dr shubhashini
How much cost to saptapuris for one person.
Excellent information and kudos to organisation. Many times we are not knowing sthal a purana/ details of that place. Many a times we miss places of worship. Company of true bhakthas too make our trips more enjoyable and memorable. Visiting various Theerths, are blessings. Poorva Jhanma sukrutham. Thanks to be part of the group.
Mythily ramesh
Yes sir when we visit temples we must have knowledge about that in this tirthayatra helps so much to do successful yatra
G Marimuthu
Nice. Except Ujjain rest all I visited.
Wow, good to know..