N2-NASIK-THE MOST HOLY TEMPLE TOWN WHERE I SAW LARGE NUMBERS OF MONKS

 By PRAGYANSHARMA POLAVARAPU (Vrs.Somanchi)

Devotees in their millions bathe during the holy  Kumbh Mela  festival at Nashik. We visited in June 2015 ,about two months after the Kumbh Mela. We saw  thousands of orange robed sadhus still passing through  Nashik city, particularly in  old part of the city where there are  many famed temples. Seeing so many serene and radiant faced sadhus elevated the mind . I felt I was in the holy Kashi.

 At the great Shiva temple at Nasika Triumbak there were still very large ques and we had to stand for nearly two hours in the que line. But in my heart I felt  very  happy seeing large numbers of the orange robed and sadhus with flowing beards and radiant faces. It was  a first experience of seeing so many sadhus. It was a most unforgettable experience.

  Nasik is a pleasant place 2000 feet above sea level and has a pleasant climate like a hill station . It is near the western  edge of Deccan plateau and about 120 miles from Mumbai. It is also a highly developed modern city with a population of 2.3 million. It has a big air base,   aircraft manufacturing plant besides many other manufacturing industries and banks.  The climate is suitable for growing grapes and there is a thriving wine-making industry! Everywhere there was lush greenery .   It is surely one of the most beautiful  and tidy cities of India with a cosmopolitan outlook and pleasant weather. It had been a most important pilgrim centre in India for  traditional Hindus for 3000 years.

  At the  big  Nasika Triumbuck temple there is an ancient   perfectly rectangular tank ( of 30 / 40 meter  sides approximately ) .The tank is part of the temple proper and is  constructed with  huge  stone slabs. When we were there water was full and hundreds of pilgrims were competing to get an early dip. Some steps were submerged in water. A number of priests were performing holy rituals and hundreds of pilgrims were waiting in ques–both inside the spacious temple and on the steps of the big  tank. The tank  is perhaps not a reservoir of  standing water but  one  through which fresh river water flows  continuously , coming in at one side and going out at another side . I do not know and felt so.The temple stands in a vast compound paved with huge stone slabs in the ancient times.People  were standing in long ques in the vast que complex