Prayag or Prayaga

(A) Prayaga - Greatness (Page 1)
(B) Prayaga - from Matsya and Padma Purana (Page 2)
(C) Prayaga - from Peetha Nirnaya Tantra (Page 3)
(D) Prayaga - from Valmiki Ramayana (Page 4 - This Page)
(E) Prayaga - from Mahabharata (Page 5)
(F) Prayaga - Places to see (Page 6)

(D) Prayaga - from Valmiki Ramayana:

1. Sri Rama reaching Prayaga:

• Sri Rama reaching Prayaga: During the forest exile Sri Rama crosses river Ganga at Sringaverapura and reaches the land of Vatsa. Spending the night under a big tree Sri Rama walks towards Prayaga at the confluence of rivers Ganga and Yamuna.
(Ref: Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - 52 to 54)

2. Sri Rama visiting Bharadwaja Ashrama:

• Sri Rama enquiring about a place to stay: At Prayaga Sri Rama visits the hermitage of sage Bharadwaja. Sage Bharadwaja extends his hospitality and tells him to stay there. But Sri Rama asks for a suitable place to stay far off from Ayodhya (where the people of Ayodhya will not come).
(Ref: Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - 54)

• Sage Bharadwaja telling about Chitrakoota: Sage Bharadwaja tells about Chitrakoota mountain which is at a distance of dasha kroshas (interpreted as sixty miles) from there. The sage then describes the beauty and holiness of that mountain. As long as a man sees Chitrakoota mountain, no sin will cross his mind, and he will only perform good deeds. On that mountain the sages meditated for hundred years and ascended to the abode of Shiva (i.e. became liberated). The mountain forest is filled with fruits and vegetation, rendered charming with the sounds of peacocks, cuckoos and other birds, where elephants and deers roam about, where Kinnaras and Nagas visit and which has many caves, waterfalls and other scenic beauties.
(Ref: Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - 54)

• Sri Rama spending a night in the Bharadwaja Ashrama: Sri Rama spends a night in the hermitage of sage Bharadwaja.
(Ref: Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - 54)

3. Sri Rama crossing river Yamuna:

• Sri Rama taking leave of sage Bharadwaja: Next morning, Sri Rama, Lakshmana and Devi Sita takes leave of the sage. Sage Bharadwaja tells them about the route to Chitrakoota from Prayaga - following river Yamuna towards west, then crossing river Yamuna and reaching a Nyagrodha tree called Shyama. After going a krosha from there Chitrakoota forest starts.
(Ref: Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - 55)

• Sri Rama crossing river Yamuna: Sri Rama crosses river Yamuna by preparing a raft of wood.
(Ref: Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - 55)

• Devi Sita praying to river Yamuna: Devi Sita offers prayers to river Yamuna in the middle of the river.
(Ref: Valmiki Ramayana - Ayodhya Kanda - 55)

Bharatavarsha - The Land of Gods and Sages:

1. Stotras
2. Scriptures
3. Pilgrimages
4. Festivals
5. Saints: Ramakrishna - Vivekananda - Ramana
6. Sadhana
7. Sanskrit
8. Nature