What is the meaning of dham? Why there are 4 only i.e char-dham. If someone visit to char-dham, then will their sin be erased? Means why people visit there and what do they get there?
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2Please create tags when there is necessity and the question can't be tagged using existing tags. – Sarvabhouma Dec 01 '17 at 05:40
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@NogShine, Ok, i will take care of that – Kailash Chandra Polai Dec 01 '17 at 07:08
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dhAma in Sanskrit means abode, resting place.
chaar dhaam is a collective noun for one set of 4 important pilgrim centers. 4 resting places of the divine that are capable of washing away sins of the pilgrims (especially since two of the 4 are originating places of holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna).
There are other powerful dhaamas as well. People visit chaar dhaam for religious and historical experiences.
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What is the meaning of Dham?
Abode
Why there are 4 only?
There are not 4 only but many. In every pilgrimage, God's abode is believed there else what's the point in going there.
What is Char-Dham and why people visit there?
Char-Dham is a pilgrimage circuit encompassing four holiest sites which are located at four directions of India.
North: Badrinath
East: Puri
South: Rameshwaram
West: Dwarka
Why number 4 might have been chosen?
Adi Shankaracharya wanted to spread 4 Vedas in 4 directions. Hence, he established 4 Mathas in above mentioned four holiest sites.
East: Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ for Rig veda
South: Sringeri Śārada Pīṭhaṃ for Yajur Veda
West: Dvāraka Pīṭhaṃ for Sama Veda
North: Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ for Atharva Veda
This concept is established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century AD to reunite Indians who were divided in sects (such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism) and geographical locations (such as South India, North India).
If a person visits Char Dham that means a Vaishnava will visit Shiva temple and a Shaiva will visit Vishnu temple. Similarly, a North Indian will go in South India and a South Indian will go in North India. Hence, this is a great work done by Adi Shankaracharya which resulted in Unity.
If someone visit to char-dham, then will their sin be erased?
This depends on belief. Sapta Puri (7 holy cities: Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kashi, Ujjain, Dwaraka and Kanchi), 12 Jyotirlinga, 18 Mahashakthi Peetham and 108 Divya Desam etc. are also considered sacred by different different scholars. Please note that all 4 sites of Char Dham were already there, Adi Shankaracharya just tried to connect them. So they already had their great significance. Rameshwaram is a Jyotirlinga also and mentioned in Ramayana as well. Puri and Dwarka are related with Krishna and also included in 7 sacred cities (Sapta Puri), reference of Dwarka can be found in all scriptures related to Krishna. Badrinath is related with Nara-Narayana incarnation.
Footnotes:
Pilgrimage circuit of Indian Himalayas (in Uttarakhand) represents all the primary cults by having two Shakta sites (Yamunotri and Gangotri), one Vaishnava site (Badrinath) and one Shaiva site (Kedarnath) is also referred as Char Dham. It's reference is in Mahabharata as per few sources. However, I didn't find the exact shloka, if any one have the exact shloka, please comment. To differentiate them from other Char Dham mentioned above, this is commonly known as Chhota Char Dham.
