Haridwar and Har Ki Pauri

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  WHAT IT IS: Haridwar, once called Mayapuri, is the gateway where the Ganga leaves the Shivalik foothills and enters the plains. Har Ki Pauri, the steps of the Lord, contains Brahma Kund, honored as the spot where drops of amrita fell.
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  WHY VISIT OR CHANT: Pilgrims bathe here to be purified of sins, to remember their ancestors, and to begin or complete journeys to Badrinath and Kedarnath. Many people also come to offer the ashes of loved ones to the river.
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  WHEN TO VISIT: Haridwar welcomes pilgrims all year. Special days include Baisakhi, Ganga Dussehra, and Kartika Purnima. The Kumbh Mela is held at Haridwar every twelve years.
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  WHERE: Haridwar District, Uttarakhand, on the right bank of the Ganga at the foot of the Shivalik hills. Haridwar Junction is the nearest railway station, and Jolly Grant Airport near Dehradun is the nearest airport.
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  HOW:
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  Take a quiet bath at Har Ki Pauri, with a prayer to Maa Ganga, and offer water to the rising sun.
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  Float a small leaf lamp with flowers on the river during the evening Ganga Aarti.
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  Keep the ghats clean, avoid soap in the river, and maintain silence during prayer. Alcohol and non-vegetarian food are not permitted in Haridwar.

Haridwar is known in the scriptures as Kapilasthana, Gangadvara, and Mayapuri. It is counted among the seven sacred cities that grant liberation. The Mahabharata mentions Gangadvara in the Vana Parva (the epic's Book of the Forest) and again in the Anushasana Parva (the Book of Instructions). In the verse numbering used by the classic Ganguli English translation, these are Mahabharata 3.89 and 13.25, where bathing at Gangadvara, Kushavarta, Bilvaka, and Kankhala is said to cleanse one of sin. In the Vana Parva, Agastya is also said to have performed penance here with his wife Lopamudra.

The Puranic account links the city to the churning of the ocean. After the Samudra Manthan, drops of amrita fell from the kumbha, the pitcher carried by Garuda, at four places: Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik, and Prayag. At Haridwar the spot is called Brahma Kund and is placed at Har Ki Pauri. Tradition also says that Bhagwan Vishnu left his footprint on a stone set in the upper wall of Har Ki Pauri, where the Ganga always touches it.

Haridwar is also a place of the Ganga's descent. King Bhagiratha is said to have brought the river down from heaven through years of penance, so that his ancestors, cursed by the sage Kapila, could be freed. The name Haridwar means the gateway of Hari, because pilgrims begin the journey to the Vishnu temple at Badrinath from here. Shaivas may call it Hardwar, as the gateway to Shiva's Kedarnath.

Haridwar has been a place of sadhana since antiquity. The sage Kapila is remembered here, and Xuanzang, who visited India in 629 CE, wrote about the settlement, which he called Mo-yu-lo. Its remains still exist at Mayapur, a little to the south of the modern town.

Guru Nanak bathed at Kushavarta Ghat. According to two Janamsakhis, the traditional hagiographic accounts of Guru Nanak's life, his visit took place on Baisakhi in 1504 CE, and it is remembered today at a gurdwara. The Pandas, Haridwar's hereditary priest-genealogists, have long kept family genealogy records, known as Vahis, which are updated on every visit.

The Ganga Stotram, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is often recited on the ghats at dusk or before a bath.

O Goddess, Queen of the gods, O blessed Ganga, savior of the three worlds with playful waves, you who sport in the locks of Shankara, may my mind rest at your lotus feet.