Ruru Kshetra (), also known as Ridi (रिडी), is a religious and cultural place situated on the confluence of ''Ridi Khola'' and Kaligandaki river in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. It is also tri-junction of

Gulmi Gulmi District (), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Tamghas as its headquarters, covers an area of , had a population of 296,654 in 2001, 280,160 in 2011 and 268,597 in 2016. Introd ...

, Palpa and

Syangja Syangja District (; ) is a part of Gandaki Province, and is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. Its headquarter is Putalibazar with a diverse population including Brahmin, Magar, Chhetri, Dalit and Gurung communities. Syangja is home ...

districts. It is one of the

Char Dham The Char Dham ( ), or the Chatur Dhama (), is a set of four Hindu pilgrimage sites in India, consisting of Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. Badrinath, Dwarka, and Puri are shrines of Vishnu, whereas Rameswaram is a shrine of Shiva. ...

in Nepal. An age long fair Ridi Mela''' is held during

Maghe Sankranti Maghe Sankranti (, , Nepal Bhasa: ) is a Nepali festival observed on the first of Magh (Nepali calendar), Magh in the Vikram Samvat, Vikram Sambat (B.S) or Yele Sambat, Yele calendar marking the end of the winter solstice and the month of Poush. ...

for three days. The first, second and third days are called as ''Jethi Sankranti'', ''Maili Sankranti'' and ''Kanchhi Sankranti'' respectively. It is believed to obtain

Moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

if one take holy bath on Kaligandaki river for the three days and worship in

Rishikesh Temple Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...

. The Rishikesh Complex of Ruru Kshetra is in

UNESCO World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by int ...

tentative list.

Shaligram A shaligram, or shaligrama shila ( deva, शालिग्राम शिला; IAST: ''Śāligrāma-śilā''), is a fossilized stone or ammonite collected from the riverbed or banks of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki River in ...

, the symbol of

Lord Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vish ...

, is found here on the bank of Kaligandaki river.

History

Mukund Sen, the first king of Palpa, discovered the deity of God Rishikesh while having holy dip in Kaligandaki river and established the temple of Rishikesh.

References

Hindu pilgrimage sites in Nepal Char Dham temples in Nepal Buildings and structures in Gulmi District {{Syangja-geo-stub

History

See also

References