7,000 KM Pilgrimage on a Broken Bike
In the previous years, 2022-23, I had done bike pilgrimages to Vitthal-Rukmini temple, Tulja Bhavani temple, Rameshwarm temple, Padmanabhaswamy temple, Meenakshi temple and Ganapatipule temple. This year I wanted to go to the Jagannath Puri temple via the Kailash temple, the Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Kamakhya temple.
I made a roadmap on Google Maps. First, I would go from Vashi, Navi Mumbai, to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, have darshan at Kailash temple there, then from there go to Madhya Pradesh to see the Khajuraho temples, then from there to Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, then to Bihar to see Bodh Gaya, then from there straight to Kamakhya temple and finally reach Jagannath Puri temple and return home to Vashi, Navi Mumbai. In this way I would complete a 7000-kilometre bike pilgrimage across India.
I had bought a Hero Honda Super Splendour (2006 model) bike second-hand in 2011, which I had been riding all over India since 2016. By now it had run more than 150,000 kilometres. Seven years ago, the bike’s engine was replaced, so only the engine of the bike was running well; the rest of the entire bike had become dilapidated. Both wheels of the bike had slightly deflated. The handle had become crooked. The indicators were not working, the speedometer was broken, the battery had failed, and the shock absorbers were bad. The rear tyre was completely worn out. The chain cover had become bent. Drum brakes were worn out, due to which bearings were breaking repeatedly.
Repairing the bike would cost 30-40 thousand rupees. In 2026 that bike was going to complete 20 years, so I was avoiding spending on repairing that bike. The subjects of my research and study were so many that the research could be completed, but I was not able to eat good food in good clothes and hotels.
I got the bike serviced for 2000 rupees, changed the bearings and engine oil, and got a good old rear tyre fitted for 300 rupees, and after the bike became fit to run, I told my mother, “Mom, I am leaving tomorrow morning on pilgrimage.”
I am my mother’s darling. I cannot stay away from my mother even for a day, so when I go on long journeys, which are supposed to be completed in 10 days, I complete them in 7 days and immediately return home. My mother often keeps saying, “However much you want to roam, roam at one go; roam for a full month. I will not send you next time.” But my mother always sends me on long pilgrimages.
First Accident, First Temple Closed
It was 9 January 2024; it was very cold. So, I also packed an extra jacket and sheet in the bag. Usually when I go on bike journeys, I take only 1 pair of clothes and a towel, and if I get tired on the way, I take one sheet to sleep there. This time I took 3 pairs of clothes because I was going to North India in January; the cold there is terrible compared to Mumbai’s cold.
At 6 in the morning I took Mother’s blessings and set off on the bike for pilgrimage. My first destination was Kailash Temple, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Only 30 kilometres were left to reach Kailash Temple when, while passing through a village, the biker going ahead of me suddenly turned left to enter the side village. At that time my bike’s speed was 50 kilometres. I could not brake in time, and we collided.
I was wearing a helmet, hand gloves and hard shoes and had a bag on my back; I did not get any scratches, but my bike’s handle was already weak, so the handle became even more crooked. A husband and wife were sitting on that bike. They had to turn, so they had suddenly slowed down their bike. They fell on the spot, so they got minor injuries. The vehicle drivers around me had seen that it was their fault. They had suddenly changed lane and also taken the turn; as a result, the accident happened. So 3-4 people there came forward in my defence.
I got the handle straightened at the very next garage, for which they took only 50 rupees from me. At 1 pm I reached Kailash Temple. Then I came to know that Kailash Temple remains closed on Tuesdays. That day was Tuesday, and the temple was closed.
Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Kailash Temple
I took a room for 500 rupees in a hotel there. After bathing well, I went out to roam the premises of Kailash Temple. As soon as I came out of the hotel, I found out that right in front of the hotel is Grishneshwar Temple, which is a famous Jyotirlinga. Mobiles were prohibited inside the temple, so I kept the mobile in a shop locker outside the temple and entered the temple to have darshan of the Jyotirlinga.
It was 3 pm; there was a crowd in the temple, and there were about 200 or more devotees ahead of me. That day there was some festival; devotees had come in about 4-5 big buses. The temple administration’s crowd management was excellent, so despite the crowd, darshan happened in 40 mins. After having darshan of Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, I came to the hotel room and slept. At 8 pm I went out of the hotel for dinner, ate food, then went to the hotel and slept. There was such energy in the hotel room that as soon as I entered the room, I felt like sleeping and got deep sleep.
At 7 in the morning, I went to Kailash temple; the temple gate was closed. The security guard said, “It is dark; when there is light, the temple gates will open.” At 8 am the temple gate opened. Everyone was standing in line for tickets to enter the temple. I also took a ticket and set out to see the temple. A large mountain was cut from top to bottom to make the temple.
My language is simple and innocent, and I lack words, so if I describe Kailash Temple, it may hurt the dignity of Kailash Temple. Only a learnt devotee can describe Kailash Temple. I have neither learnt nor become a complete devotee yet. After seeing Kailash Temple, I sat in those caves and tried to do meditation practice for a total of 2 hours, in which I succeeded in doing meditation practice for only 10-12 minutes.
Usually I do meditation practice lying down. I cannot do meditation practice sitting because in childhood, at the age of 10, in the process of pretending a fake illness, my mother got me admitted to Sassoon Hospital, Pune, and the doctor there put a sheet on my back and took bone marrow from the spine. I had to suffer unbearable pain for 3 months. Since then I feel discomfort sitting straight for long, so I do practice only lying down.
Unexpected Tears at Khajuraho
After seeing Kailash Temple, at 11 am I set off to see Khajuraho Temple. There were two different routes; one went via Nagpur and the other via Indore-Bhopal. I had seen the Nagpur route but had not seen Bhopal, so from Kailash Temple I set off for Khajuraho via Bhopal. First came Indore, then Bhopal, and then Khajuraho temple via Sagar. It was a total journey of 1000 kilometres. I used to stop the bike after every 150 kilometres, let the engine cool down, then ride the bike.
At 1 am deep sleep was coming; riding the bike was becoming impossible. I slept at a petrol pump at night and bathed in the same petrol pump toilet in the morning and set off further. That day I reached Khajuraho temple at 2 pm. Saw Khajuraho temple, sat in its large garden and did introspection, and right next to that temple there was a very big Matangeshwar Shivling temple.
I went to that Matangeshwar Mahadev temple. For the first time I was seeing such a huge Shivling. Everyone was touching the Shivling and bowing by placing their forehead. I also imitated them and placed my forehead on the Shivling. As soon as I placed my forehead on the Shivling, I felt the touch of cool energy on my forehead, and suddenly I started crying. I didn’t even know why I was crying; I was just crying. While trying to suppress the crying, the muscles of my mouth had stiffened.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple with a Long Nap
After darshan of Khajuraho temple, at 7 pm I set off for Kashi Vishwanath temple, Varanasi. At 11 pm I slept at a petrol pump and at 5 am started again. Reached Varanasi via Panna, Satna, Rewa, and Mirzapur from Khajuraho temple. Reached Varanasi at 10 am.
I parked the bike near Dashashwamedh Ghat and directly took a dip in the Ganga. The Ganga water was very cold, but I was enblissing it. I felt like jumping around in the Ganga for some time, but all the devotees around me were taking dips in the Ganga with reverence. My jumping around could disturb their devotion. I did not want anyone’s devotion to be disturbed because of me, so even though I wanted to, I could not jump around in the Ganga.
Before the darshan of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, I had to deposit my bag and mobile somewhere. I could not go to the temple with a bag and mobile. There were many shops outside the temple. They used to keep bags and mobiles, but for that it was necessary to buy goods worth 100-200 rupees from their shop.
For me even 100 rupees was too much, because my journey was long and money was limited only to petrol and food. So I came out of that lane to find another shop when, on the main road, some bags were visible with the flower sellers standing on the road. When I asked them, I came to know that even if I take flowers worth only 20 rupees, I can keep the bag and mobile with them. I kept my bag there and did darshan of the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
After darshan of the Shivling, I went to Annapurna temple to eat Mahaprasad. The prasad of Varanasi had the taste of Tamil Nadu. The prasad was very tasty. I deliberately ate more food so that I would not need to eat in any hotel in the evening, and some of my money would be saved.
Eating more food made me lethargic. I took an afternoon nap at Harishchandra Ghat and woke up directly at 8 pm. Then slept the whole night there on the Ganga ghat. Bathed in the Ganga in the morning and at 11 am set off from Varanasi for Bodh Gaya.
Bodh Gaya Temple
I Reached a place 40 km before Bodh Gaya at 6 pm. In the morning, I had eaten pakodas in Varanasi, but during the journey, I forgot to have lunch. I was so hungry that at 6 pm, I stopped to eat an omelette and chicken biryani. At 7 pm, I continued to the Bodh Gaya Temple.
That day, many Buddhist monks from different sects had come to Bodh Gaya from abroad, so I couldn’t find a room in any hotel. After searching for a room for an hour, all I kept hearing was, “All rooms are booked,” or “No rooms available for a single person.”
Finally, I stopped searching for a hotel, deposited my bag and mobile phone in the temple locker, and went to have darshan of Lord Buddha at the Bodh Gaya Temple.
The peace that was experienced in Bodh Gaya temple was not there in any other temple. But in the temple premises monks of different Buddhist sects were chanting mantras in their foreign languages, meditating on mantras. Seeing them, I also felt like sitting with them and meditating for some time, but then I hesitated, thinking that my presence might disturb their practice. So I sat a little away from them and started practising alone by concentrating on their mantras.
Bodh Gaya to Begusarai: Midnight Thriller and 48 Hours Under a Blanket
At 11 pm, I left Bodh Gaya for Kamakhya via Purnia and Jalpaiguri.
The ride from Bodh Gaya to Begusarai was the toughest part of the entire journey. Someone suggested that I avoid the highway and take a shortcut route, so I followed that advice. But I kept feeling lost at every turn and had to check Google Maps again and again.
Due to the heavy fog, I couldn’t keep my phone on the bike holder. It was midnight, and there wasn’t a single vehicle on the road. I was riding completely alone.
It was very cold in Bihar; my condition was getting bad. I had worn 3 pairs of clothes one over the other and also wore a raincoat on top; still, I was feeling very cold. There was a lot of fog at night; I had to ride the bike with the helmet visor up. The cold drops of fog were lightly wounding my face. On one side riding the bike alone in the dark night cutting through the fog was giving a thriller experience; on the other side my hands were becoming numb from cold, my whole body was shivering, and my face had become numb. I was afraid that if by mistake the bike battery cools down now on this deserted road, the bike will not go further, but the mind inside my body was enjoying it a lot.
At 3 am, I reached a village and stopped for tea. When I asked the tea shop owner for directions to Kamakhya, the people around me came to know that I had travelled all the way from Mumbai and was heading to Kamakhya on that broken bike.
They were surprised and said, “Nobody rides on this route after 7 pm. How did you get the courage to ride here at midnight?”
I simply replied, “I had no idea about this route, so I kept riding even at midnight.”
They started telling me stories about the route, but I was so tired that I just kept quiet and listened.
I reached Begusarai at 8 am. I was extremely tired and needed deep sleep as soon as possible. There was a lodge on the highway charging ₹400 for a tiny room with a TV and a shared bathroom, so I checked in and went straight to my room. The water was so cold that I was afraid to even touch it. Somehow, I managed to take a bath in the shared bathroom within 60 seconds, dried myself in another 20 seconds, and rushed back to my room for deep sleep.
I slept until 7 pm, had dinner at 7:30 pm, and went back to sleep. The bed and blanket were so warm and comfortable that I couldn’t bring myself to leave them. The next day, I stayed in the same tiny room, on the same bed, resting for almost two full days and two nights. I left the bed only to eat. On the second day, I didn’t even have the courage to take a bath, so I spent the entire day and night lying in bed without bathing!
Google Maps Led Me to a Gunman
After 2 days of deep rest on 3rd day morning 8am I left begusarai to go Kamakhya. From there I got clean highway purnia Kishanganj Jalpaiguri.
From Kishanganj and Siliguri to Jalpaiguri, the highway was great. I was riding the bike happily at 70-80 kilometres per hour. After Jalpaiguri the road was a bit rough, so I could not ride the bike fast.
The sheet I had taken from home was not protecting me from cold. It was very cold in Assam, which could break a Mumbai person. I bought a new blanket in Bongaigaon, which started giving me some relief from the cold. There was no safe place visible to stop at night, and I could not take a room for one night by paying 1500 rupees in a hotel, so I kept riding the bike continuously all night.
At midnight 1am I was passing through some small town in Assam when 2 different roads appeared. There was no one around to ask. So, I parked the bike at that junction and was looking at the route to Kamakhya on Google Maps when a man came from behind with a gun. As soon as I saw the gun in his hand, I was about to take a surrender position when I saw his army uniform, and my fear disappeared in a jerk.
That army jawan asked in a loud voice, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I am travelling on a bike from Mumbai and have to go to Kamakhya. Which route goes there? I am checking on Google Maps.” That army jawan showed me the correct route, and I proceeded further for the Kamakhya temple.
Kamakhya Darshan and the Tawang U-Turn
After riding through the night, I reached Kamakhya Temple at 9 am. I parked my bike in the paid parking area, collected the entry pass, and went to the temple. There was a long line for darshan in the Kamakhya temple, but there was no line for mukh darshan. I thought, when there is so much crowd in the main line, why are the devotees not going in the mukh darshan line, while I can do darshan even by standing for 10 minutes? I did not understand, so I asked a devotee sitting there, “Everyone is in one line, no one in the other line. Why is it so?” That devotee said, “Devotees of the Goddess come here after travelling for 1-2 days, so to see the Goddess from close, they can stay in line for another 2-3 hours. In the other line, darshan will be quick, but they will not be able to feel the energy of the Goddess by seeing her from close.”
After listening to that devotee, I felt that I should also stand in the main line and do close darshan of the Goddess. So I was about to go again in the main line for darshan when I realised that I had already become satisfied after seeing the idol of the Goddess earlier. There was no need left to do darshan again. So I did not do close darshan from the main line.
Now I was looking at the roadmap on mobile to go from Kamakhya to Jagannath Puri when I saw that Arunachal Pradesh is nearby from there. I have come so far; let me see Arunachal Pradesh once. I decided to go to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
At 11 am I left Kamakhya, set Google Maps for Tawang and set off. I reached Udalguri; my bike needed servicing again. There I got the bike serviced for 1200 rupees and set off for Bhairavkund. Bhairavkund was on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Bhairavkund was a picnic spot; many tourists had come to Bhairavkund.
From Bhairavkund the officer on the Arunachal Pradesh border stopped and asked for a tourist permit. I did not have a tourist permit. Whoever wants to enter Arunachal Pradesh has to take a tourist permit from the Udalguri district magistrate office. I did not know; I had just reached there riding the bike. The officer asked, “What work in Arunachal Pradesh?” I said, “I have set out from Mumbai on bike for god darshan and am currently writing a religious text on Sanatan Dharma, for which I need some knowledge.” That officer said, “This is not a Hindu temple.”
I said, “There is a Buddhist monastery in Tawang; I have to go to that monastery. Buddhists are also gods of Sanatan Dharma.” That officer gave me the number of an employee of the Udalguri district magistrate’s office and advised me to call him and get a tourist permit on the phone. I called that number, sent my information and identity card photo and tourist permit fee, and they sent me a tourist permit to roam in Arunachal Pradesh for 15 days on my phone in just 15 minutes. As soon as I got the permit, the officer allowed me to go to Arunachal Pradesh, and I set off to see Arunachal Pradesh.
After about 20 kilometres I was about to reach Bomdila when I realised that I had limited money. If I go to Tawang, perhaps I may not be able to do the journey to Jagannath Puri. Due to less money or crossing the budget limit, I might have to leave the journey in the middle. So, I took the return route from there and set off for Jagannath Puri.
From Drum Crash to Muddy Express
After crossing into Arunachal Pradesh, at around 7 pm, while riding from Bhairavkund to Udalguri at 70 km/h, I failed to notice a drum barricade on the road and crashed into it. I had a minor accident. My helmet got scratched, the handlebar bent, and the clutch cable broke. The bike would not start.
All the shops were closed, so I spread my blanket in front of a closed shop and decided to sleep there. I planned to find a garage and get my bike repaired in the morning.
After about 30 minutes, two men approached me and asked why I was sleeping there and who I was. I told them I had come from Mumbai on an India tour and was now heading towards Puri. I explained that I had met with an accident and told them what had happened.
One of them said his house was nearby and offered me a place to sleep. I pushed my bike and followed him to his house. It was an unfinished house with grass all around. I tried to sleep on the grass, but it was difficult because the ground was uneven, with mud and stones. Somehow, I managed to sleep there.
Early the next morning, I headed to find a bike garage. I found one in Panevi village, got my bike repaired by 9 am, and continued my journey towards Jagannath Puri.
From there, I travelled through Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Kishanganj, and Malda. After that, someone suggested taking a different route to Burdwan, from where it would be easier to reach Puri. My condition became bad while reaching Burdwan from Malda. The mudguard of the front tyre of my bike was broken; there was mud on the way, and that mud was falling directly on my helmet and chest. No garage was found at night, so I was riding the bike all night with the broken mudguard. My whole body had become coloured in mud. At 7 am everyone on that route was surprised to see mud on my whole body and bike. I knew that no one knows me here, so I did not feel ashamed at all. I kept riding the bike like that until a garage was found.
At 9 am a garage appeared. There I got the mudguard of the front tyre fitted, so now mud was not falling on my face, slipping from the tyre. The mudguard was protecting my bike and me from that mud. The mudguard had broken in Kamakhya. The garage person there was saying that the mudguard is broken; get a new one fitted. But till then no mud had been splashing on me, so I had refused to get the mudguard fitted at that time. The entire 100-kilometre-long route of Burdwan had only mud, which had made me mud too.
I reached Jagannath Puri via Bhairavkund, Udalguri, Jalpaiguri, Kishanganj, Malda, Burdwan, Kharagpur, Cuttack, and Bhubaneswar. It took me a full 4 days to reach Jagannath Puri from Bhairavkund, Assam.
Jagannath Puri Darshan and Samudra Manthan
I reached Jagannath Puri temple at 9 pm. I was very tired; I needed rest. I asked for Dharmashala, but since I was alone, I was refused in Dharmashala. Then I took a room in a hotel for 700 rupees. The hotel owner said, “If you do darshan now, there will be no crowd; darshan will happen quickly.” So I immediately bathed and got ready and went to the Jagannath Puri temple. It was 10 pm. There was not much of a crowd. In just 10 minutes I got darshan of Lord Jagannath.
There was no strength left in my body; I was very tired. So as soon as I had darshan of the Jagannath Puri temple, I went to the hotel room and slept and thought, I will roam the temple premises tomorrow morning. As soon as I lay on the bed, it did not even take me 1 minute; I went into deep sleep.
I woke up at 6 in the morning and left to see the Jagannath Puri temple complex. The sea was 1 kilometre away from the temple. Sitting on the seashore, I began reflecting on the entire journey, what I lost, what I gained, what mistakes I made, and what I learnt. I began reflecting on this. Now I didn’t have to go to any other temple from here; from here I had to go straight home to Vashi, Navi Mumbai, so I sat carefree and began self-reflection.
My original purpose was to gain some new knowledge of Sanatan Dharma and to obtain any evidence related to knowledge. But from Vashi, Navi Mumbai, to the Jagannath Puri temple, in a total 5400-kilometre bike journey, I didn’t get any new knowledge, and no such evidence was found that would prove my old knowledge correct. My journey was successful, but the purpose of the journey was not fulfilled.
There is another mind inside me; its name is Ganesh. Ganesh is very knowledgeable. Whenever I do self-reflection and forget something or draw the wrong meaning from any situation, then Ganesh shows me the right path and removes my misunderstanding.
Note:
During this pilgrimage, a 7,000 km journey across India, I visited eight major temples: Kailash Temple, Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Khajuraho Temple, Matangeshwar Shivling temple, Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Bodh Gaya Temple, Kamakhya Temple, and Jagannath Puri Temple.
When I visited these temples, I had no deeper knowledge of Samudra Manthan. I did not even know what questions this journey would raise in my mind.
But after reflecting on my experiences while sitting on the beach at Puri, many questions about Samudra Manthan started coming to my mind. These questions eventually led me to the wisdom of the 18 Gems of Samudra Manthan.
To discover how I gained the wisdom of Samudra Manthan during this journey, read Read 18 Gems of Samudra Manthan