Varsha PandeyDudhadhari Math Mandir Built in the 17th century, Dudhadhari Temple is the oldest temple in Raipur.
Dudhadhari Math is one of the famous Hindu religious sites in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
It is a very attractive tourist destination in Raipur.
The ancient mysticism of the temple attracts devotees of Lord Rama.
Belonging to Vaishnavism, the Dudhdhari temple has original sculptures from the Ramayana period.
Artifacts from the Ramayana period are very rare, which makes this temple one of a kind.
Lore has it that there was a great (devotee of Lord Hanuman who lived by the name of Swami Ballahdada Das).
He survived only on milk (“dudh-ahari”) and hence, this temple dedicated to Lord Rama came to be known as the Dudhdhari temple.
Dudhadhari Math
Over time, Dudhadhari Math has done the work of expanding society along with its expansion.
Raipur’s Ravanabhata is a gift from Dudhadhari Math, where the whole city still gathers to celebrate the Dussehra festival.
At the same time, Ram Mandir located on VIP road is also built on Math land.
Nalghar located in Ravanbhata is also the land of mathematics.
Raipur’s Dudhadhari Math, where Lord Shri Ram had rested during exile.
This monastery has Ramsetu stone which does not sink in water.
It is also said that Lord Shri Ram had rested in this monastery during exile.
Not only this, but it is also claimed to have a stone of Ramsetu is in this monastery.
There is also a stone in this monastery that floats in the water.
People from far and wide reach the Math, especially on the day of Ram Navami, there is a huge gathering of people in the Math to see Lord Rama and this stone.
Even today this stone remains a matter of curiosity for the people.
Architecture
The outer walls of the temple built by Kalchur Raja Jait Singh (1603-1614 AD) are decorated with sculptures related to Lord Rama.
This ancient temple is a beautiful site for all the pilgrims and art lovers.
Maratha period paintings are still present in the temple.
This math is affiliated with the Ramanand community.
Math has two parts, one is dedicated to Lord Balaji and the other part is dedicated to Ram Panchayatan.
Artifacts from different parts of the state can be seen here.
According to archaeological experts, the architecture of the monastery building is influenced by the Odisha style and the ornamentation here is similar to the Maratha style.
Historians say that the old material brought from Sirpur has been used in the construction of the temple.
When you step through the main door, look up, a wooden pillar supports the roof.
Then a door larger than the main door is made of wood.
You can feel its weight just by touching it.
As soon as you pass through this wooden gate, there are small shrines in a straight line.
It is the symbol of every Mahant created there who devoted himself to math.
The face of the main temple is definitely obscured by these small shrines.
But it is so, the darshan of God should only be done by going through them.
There are three main shrines within the temple grounds-
The largest Ram Janaki temple
The Ram Janaki temple was built by the Dau family of Purani Basti, who brought stones from Rajasthan to build the idol.
The same Shri Balaji temple is said to have been built by the Bhonsle dynasty of Nagpur.
Surrounded by high walls on all sides, the monastery looks like a fortress.
There is also a staircase leading to the top of these walls, looking at it as if surveillance was done from the top of the walls in ancient times.
In addition to the importance of math, there is also an ancient well present in the foundation of math. still in use today
After this Shri Balaji temple
Finally, the smallest but main Hanuman temple
Hanuman temple was built first, so it is the smallest temple.
This Hanuman is considered the presiding deity of Dudhadhari Math.
History
In 1610, Dudhadhari Math was built by King Raghurao Bhosale for Balabhadra Das.
The monastery has its own ancient history. There are temples of many deities in this monastery.
Among these Balaji Temple, Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, Rampanchayatan and Veer Hanuman Temple are prominent.
In this temple belonging to the Vaishnava sect, the Ramayana scenes have been sculpted in an attractive manner.
Balabhadra Das Mahant, the founder of the 1000-year-old Dudhadhari Math of the capital, was a devotee of Hanuman and one day suddenly he became introspective.
Since then till now important decisions regarding Math are taken in his tomb built in the temple itself.
The decision of the present Mahant Shyamsundar Das to enter politics was also taken here.
There is a mausoleum of Mahant Balabhadra Das on the temple premises.
This is the place where all major decisions are taken.
It is said that one day in the morning Balabhadra Das suddenly became introspective.
His disciples had seen him walking in the morning.
When he was not found anywhere, it was assumed that he had taken Samadhi.
After this, his mausoleum was constructed and even today all the decisions are taken there.
This stone has been brought from Rameshwaram, such a belief about this stone It is said that when Lord Rama invaded Lanka, during that time a stone bridge was built in the sea, which used to float in the water. This stone kept in the monastery is said to be of that time only. It does not sink, while the devotees also have an unbreakable relationship with this temple and their devotion is enough for this temple.
Another story is prevalent about Dudhadhari Math.
The founder of Math, Balbhadra Das Mahant was a great devotee of Hanuman ji.
Considering a piece of stone as Hanuman ji, he started worshiping it with reverence.
He used to bathe that stone with the milk of his cow Surhi and then consume the same milk.
In this way, he gave up food and consumed milk for the rest of his life.
In this way, Balbhadra Mahant became a milk eater.
Later the place came to be known as Doodhadhari Math.
Saint Garibdas of a place named Jhinthra of Rajasthan had camped here, in his own tradition Balbhadra Das became a saint.
Balbhadra Das was born in Anandpur in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan as the son of Pandit Shambhudayal Gaur but his place of work was Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
While traveling, he first came to Maharashtra and then to Chhattisgarh.
Impressed by his miracles, many kings and emperors became his disciples.
He stayed for a long time in the Shri Ram Janaki temple built by Mahant Garibdas at Pavani in the Bhandara district.
It was here that he made Garibdas his guru and Balmukund became Balbhadra Das.
After this, he came to Raipur.
Kitchen
In addition to all of this, there is also a dormitory in Math where students stay and eat for free. In total, about 100 people live in the monastery. Another special feature of the monastery is that it has two kitchens, one is ‘Sita’ and the other is ‘Anasuya’. Breakfast is prepared at Sita and dinner at Anasuiya. Even today, the food is cooked in big old chulhas. Now food is prepared for a lot of people every day, so there must be plenty of food and also a granary to store them. A large space is devoted to the storage of grain in the monastery. Where all the ancient techniques from grain grinding to crushing are still present.
