Vrbhadra Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Vrbhadra Nagar near Rishikesh. Lord Shiva is also known by the names Adidev and Dev of Gods in Hinduism. Virbhadra is also one of the many names of Lord Shiva, which is a name given to his angry form.
Uttarakhand is called Dev Bhoomi and Rishikesh is no exception to this. From time to time, in mythological times, incidents related to Gods have been mentioned in the form of stories from here. There are many such places in Rishikesh where devotees pray with the feeling that this place has ever been related to their idols, be it Bharat Mandir, Shatrughan Mandir, Raghunath Mandir or Neelkanth Mahadev Mandir.
Virbhadra Temple is also one such famous temple which is more than a thousand years old.
Significance of Virbhadra Mandir
The Virabhadra temple is dedicated to the wrathful form of Lord Shiva who was enraged at the self-immolation of his wife Sati. According to the mythological story, Lord Shiva's wife Sati went to her father's to attend the Yajna despite not being invited by her father and upon reaching there, her father insulted her a lot. Being angry and saddened by this, Sati sacrificed her life by self-immolation by jumping into the Havan Kund of the Yagya being performed.
When Lord Shiva came to know about this, he reached there and then his fierce form appeared in front of everyone. Legend says that Virbhadra originated from the hair of Lord Shiva. The Virbhadra temple located in Virbhadra town of Rishikesh is dedicated to this form of Lord Shiva.
This temple is about 1300 years old temple. Virbhadra Nagar is established as a religious heritage as well as a historical heritage. In 1975, after the excavation was done by the Archaeological Department, it was found that this city is actually from the time of the first century. Excavations here have found remains from the 1st century to the 8th century.
Virbhadra Temple Rishikesh Worship timings
The Virbhadra temple remains open for darshan for the devotees throughout the year. The temple has darshan and puja timings from 5 am to 9 pm everyday.
Virbhadra Temple Rishikesh Festivals
Veerbhadra Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Special prayers and celebrations take place here on the occasion of Mahashivratri and Shivaratri of Sawan. On this occasion, devotees keep vigil here in the night.
Virbhadra Temple Rishikesh - nearby places
Virbhadra is located in Virbhadra Nagar, a short distance from Rishikesh. The distance of Rishikesh's famous Triveni Ghat is about 15 kilometers from here. The Ganga Aarti at Triveni Ghat starts at 6 pm, which is a special attraction for devotees and tourists coming from all over the country.
Other main attractions of Rishikesh are Trimbakeshwar, Laxman Temple, Laxman Jhula Bridge, Bharat Mandir. The famous Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, which is believed to be the place where Lord Shiva drank the poison from the churning of Amrit Manthan, is located at a distance of about 30 km from Rishikesh.
Often tourists also like to do shopping in Rishikesh. Tourists often buy Idols, worship materials etc from here.
How to reach Virbhadra Temple Rishikesh
By flight to Virbhadra Temple
If you want to come by flight to Virbhadra Temple Rishikesh, you can reach Delhi airport by flight. From there to Virbhadra Temple by connected train or by road. The nearest airport to Virbhadra Temple is Jolly Grant Airport of Uttarakhand capital Dehradun. The distance of Rishikesh from this airport is about 35 kms. From here one can reach Virbhadra temple by taxi.
By train
By road
Other Attractions of Rishikesh
The city of Rishikesh has made its identity as an adventure tourism station of Uttarakhand. Apart from activities like trekking, camping, river rafting, tourists can be seen doing bungee jumping and mountain climbing here. The season for all these activities lasts from October to March. These activities cannot be conducted later due to monsoon.