Sapta Moksha Puri: The 7 Holy Cities To Visit For Final Liberation

Ayodhyā Mathurā Māyā Kāsi Kāñchī Avantikā I

Dwaraka Dvārāvatī chaiva saptaitā moksadāyikāh

Saptha Mokshapuras are seven holy places in India and it is mandatory for every Hindu to visit it at least once in his lifetime. Great spiritual masters were born in these centres where one is bound to get liberated by a mere visit and worship.

1. Ayodhya

Located on the bank of the Sarayu river, the birthplace of Lord Rama is 200 km away from Varanasi. It is one of the 108 divya deshams for Vaishnavaites, the Ram Janmabhoomi with a couple of very famous temples like Hanuman Garhi, Kanaka Mahal, Nageswarnath temple, swarg dwar, chiti Devkali mandir to name a few.

2. Mathura

Being the birthplace of Lord Krishna, it is situated on the shores of the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh state. It is 160 km away from New Delhi. This also is included in the category of 108 Divya deshams, surrounding which we have other famous temples including Kesavdevji Temple, Vishram Ghat, Banke Bihari temple, Brindavan, Gokulam and so on.

3. Haridwar

This is the point from which River Ganga, cascades down to the plains from the Himalayas. Situated on the bank of Ganga, in Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the four places where the Kumbha Mela is normally held once in 12 years. Thousands of Ashrams, Chandi Devi temple, Manasa Devi temple, Daksha Yagnya sthal are a few places that are in its close vicinity.

4. Varanasi

This ancient city which is located on the banks of the river Ganga is also a part of Uttar Pradesh which is 800 km away from Delhi. Known to be one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and one of the 18 Sakthi Peethas. Ganga has 64 Ghats, all in all. Manikarnika Ghat, Dasaswamedha Ghat, Harischandra Ghat, Panchaganga Ghat are few of the more known ghats. Viswanath Temple, Annapoorna Temple, Visalakshi Temple, Kalbhairav Temple, Dundi Ganapathy Temple, Sankat mochan Hanuman Temple are all located in this area.

5. Kanchipuram

This archaic-looking temple city is on the bank of the river Vedavathi in Tamil Nadu. Situated 72 km away from Chennai it houses the 'Kanchi peetham' established by Adi Shankaracharya. The string of temples including Ekambareswar Swamy, Varadaraja Swamy, and Kamakshi Mata can be seen here. In Kanchipuram alone, we have 14 divya deshams present.

6. Ujjain

Ujjain is on the banks of the river Kshipra which is in Madhya Pradesh. It is about 192 km from Bhopal and known to have one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and one of the 18 Sakthi Peethas. This is also where the Kumbh Mela, once in 12 years, is celebrated. Mahakal Temple, Harasiddi Mata Temple, Char Dham temple, Ghatkali temple and scores of other temples are present in the holy land of Ujjain.

7. Dwaraka

Located on the banks of the Arabian sea, this ancient city is in Gujarath State, about 442 km away from Ahmedabad. Known as one of the 108 Divya Desams, it was established by Adi Sankaracharya. Dwarakadesh Temple, Rukmini Mata temple and. Nagesara Jyothirling is in close proximity to this city.