Omkareshwar-Jyotirling

The next visit as per our plan was Omkareshwar a place close to Indore and one of the 12 jyotirling. We ( Ravindra Mishra/Parul Mishra/Sushila Mishra/Chotelal Mishra/Daksh Mishra) were supposed to catch the 10.00 a.m. intercity to Indore; however the train was late by almost an hour. The other trains one can catch is 7.00 a.m. fast passenger, 7.30 a.m. avatinka and after that the next train is at around 1.30 p.m. One can also opt to go to Indore by bus since the distance between Ujjain to Indore via train is 80.00 k.m. and via road would be around 110.00 k.m. Our train left Ujjain at 11.10 a.m., and by 1.05 p.m. we reached Indore. On reaching Indore one has to proceed to the Indore west side which is basically called the choti –line, and proceed to the bus stand which is almost 5.00 minutes from the station. You can either walk down or catch an auto which would take INR 20.00. After getting out of the station start moving towards the right or you may ask locals for the bus stand and after crossing under the bridge one would find the bus stand. The bus stand is quite crowded and the mp government has given licenses to private bus operators to run the buses. We were surrounded by bus conductors asking us where we would like to go. One needs to confirm with the bus driver/conductor for the last stop , since lot of them actually would drop you at MOTAKKA a place which is at a distance of around 11-12 k.m. from Omkareshwar. So one has to again change the bus from Motakka. Its however not so difficult to find another bus from motakka, however if one has luggage then it would be painful. We were able to find a bus to directly omkareshwar which is roughly around 134.00 k.m. and our bus left Indore at 1.55 p.m. the buses are 2*2 buses and without A/c and is usually crowded. The route to omkareshwar is slight tyring, however the roads are good. On the way you would find mountains on both the sides. There motakka, you would find omkareshwar road station which is basically on the khandwa route and there are local passenger trains plying on this route. I would however advice not to go by train since it stops at all small stations on the way and might take 5-6 hrs from Indore station. From motakka to omkareshwar the bus takes INR 15.00 / person and the bus fare from Indore to Omkareshwar is INR 50.00/ person. At 4.25 p.m. we reached Omkareshwar. The bus stand is quite small; however the place was full of tourists who were on their way to the main temple. As soon as we stepped out of the bus we were surrounded by local pundits who offered to take us to hotels/dharmshalas, since there is a commission fixed with the hotels. These pundits would not leave you so easily and infact they also would want to fix with you the rudra-abhisekh which might charge around INR 200.00-500.00. The place has lots of dharmshalas and Math’s , however the place to stay is SHRI GAJANAN MAHARAJ SANSTHAN OF SHENGAON (MAHARASHTRA) which is worth a stay. The sansthan has plenty of rooms of 2/4 beds combination and charges a nominal INR 50.00 per bed. The toilet is outside the room; however every room has its own toilet and is on the same floor. The rooms are neat and within the compound there is a big marble temple of Shri gajanan. The sansthan has lunch/dinner facility and charges INR 25.00/ thali, which contains 2 vegetables, dal,rice,kadi and unlimited chapatti /rice/dal/vegetable. The food is simple but worth eating.
Omkareshwar has 2 main temples to be visited one on the either side of the river. The temple which is on the side of the sansthan is mamleshwar and is around 10.00 mns from the gajanan sansthan. The temple has the shivling and it really look quite old and one gets an all-together different experience. One has to offer milk/flowers which are sold by the vendors which are out-side the temple. By the time we had reached it was 6.45 p.m. and we completed the darshan and proceeded to Omkareshwar which was on the other side on the river. There are 2 ways of reaching the temple, either through the boat or through a bridge which is called the JHOOLA PUL. There is other way of reaching which is also through a bridge however one has to then go through the bus stand route and is slightly longer. The boat stops ferrying people by 7.00 p.m. and charges INR 10.00/ person. By the time we had reached it was 7.10 p.m., and they offered us to take on the other side for INR 100.00 total for 4 persons, however would not wait to take us back.
We decided to visit the temple next day morning and through JHOOLA PUL, since reaching the boat was slightly difficult for my mother as one has to climb down steps and she has problems with her legs. Next day morning (1st Jan 09) after taking bath at around 5.30 a.m. we left the hotel at 6.10 a.m. and it was really a great experience reaching the temple through the JHOOLA PUL, the morning atmosphere was stupendous and one could see the sun rising and the boats which were ferrying people. Once you reach the temple which is a tall white structure, one would be surrounded by pundits for rudra-abhisekh and one can negotiate with the pundits for INR 100-150.00 for 4 persons. He would assist you with JAL arpan, flower offerings. we found the shiv-ling and it was an unforgettable moment as one can feel the strength after visiting the shiv-ling. Above this temple there is 3 more storey’s which has to be visited. The journey above is bit tough for elderly persons since its has small entering and steps to be climbed, but is something which has found a permanent place in my mind. There is SIDDHANATH and GUPTESHWAR at the top.
While returning back we took the other bridge route which takes you through the market, where one can buy shivlings, statues, and photos. Just below the bridge there is way which leads to a path on the top of a small hill which has a SHIV statue measuring 80.00 feet. The path to the statue would take 1.30 hours, as there are steep climbs. Alternatively as soon as one goes below the bridge to the other side, there is a path on the right side which is basically a short cut to the statue and takes 20.00 minutes for the climb. We could not visit the place since we had reach khandwa station as we had to catch a train for Mumbai at 12.25 p.m. the market leading to the bus stand has lot of eateries, and small shops and one can find SBI ATM near the bus stand. There are facilities of handdrawn carts for carrying luggage, old persons and they normally charge around INR 50.00. The boat service in the morning starts at around 5.30 a.m. We caught the direct bus to khandwa at 9.25 a.m. we were lucky to find direct bus to khandwa, otherwise one has to go to motakka, since you may find more options from there. The distance between omkareshwar to khandwa is around 78 k.m. and we reached the khandwa station by 12.17 p.m. the journey to khandwas was pretty bad experience since there was crowd in the bus and we managed to reach the station at the last moment with just 8.00 minutes left for the train to leave as scheduled. However to our surprise the train was late by 6.00 hours and finally we left khandwa station at 6.25 p.m. and reached kurla terminus at 4.15 a.m.( 2nd Jan 09) by 2534A which which a special train .thus our journey came to an end.

Keytake-aways: reach omkareshwar by afternoon, start early from omkareshwar for khandwa with alteast 4.00 hours gap.