Rudrabeni Dham, Gulmi
A must visit place Rudrabeni Dham (alternate spelling Rudraveni) is located in Satyawati Rural Municipality -1, Gulmi, at confluence of the Badigad River of Gulmi and the Kaligandaki River. Devotees have been living in this shrine since Bikram Samvat 1983. Shri Ram Temple, built by Tarakeshwar Baba, is also within the Dham locality. There were few small booths, now there are well-equipped Dharamshala (hospices). Since daily worship lessons and hymns are also composed here, local and devout devotees also come here for darshan.
© All photos are taken by Susmita Paudel / Co-founder of Gyanpark.
Presently, the head of the Dham is Narayan Nanda Saraswati. As the Kaligandaki River is the only place in the world where Shaligram is found, it has its own significance and ample Shaligram has been collected in this temple. There are about 27,000 Shaligrams in the Ram temple.
Religious Importance of River Kaligandaki
The mythological names of Kaligandaki river are Krishnabha, Krishnagandaki, Chakranadi, Mahanadi, Saritpravara, Sadaanira etc. Damodar Kunda, Muktinath, Kagbeni (Pitritirtha), Galeshwardham, Kalanjar, (Mrigatirtha) Modibeni, Jaiminighat, Rudraveni, Setiveni, Keladi, Devghat, Triveni (Gajendra Moksha Dham) are located at the bank of River Gandaki. The river physically connects the mountains, hills and the Terai, but spiritually it combines many religions, cultures and traditions. In the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Skanda, Padma, Garuda, Bradmavaivarta, Varaha, Vishnu, Narasimha, Naradiya, Srimaddevi Bhagavat, Srimad Bhagavat Mahapuran and many other ancient mythological texts, Even in the poetic literature of the ancient to present, the special importance of Kaligandaki has been revealed.