Kathmandu, Nepal, September 28, 2024: Adi Guru Shankaracharya, who lived for only 32 years, traveled on foot to all four corners of India about 1,235 years ago and established four Shankaracharya Muth.
Similarly, Guru Nanak Dev of India gained worldwide fame around 524 years ago by visiting many pilgrimage sites, including Nepal, over 21 years. Recently, three pilgrims from Nepal and India completed visits to approximately 450 religious pilgrimage sites across the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries and China/Tibet within one year, utilizing favorable weather conditions.
Led by the Shivashakti Samagam team, coordinator Pradeep Khanal from Nepal, along with members Vinita Lepcha and Mangesh Bhagwat from India, have visited a large number of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain temples, power shrines, ponds, chaityas, monasteries, and gurudwaras, reaching a point where they could potentially set a world record.
Social worker Lepcha from Shirdi, Maharashtra, India, and Bhagwat from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, accompanied Khanal on visits to four countries, excluding Pakistan and Tibet. Khanal, who resides in Kalanki, Kathmandu-14, visited all the pilgrimage sites and has been sharing details of his journey with former presidents, vice-presidents, prime ministers, political leaders, and religious gurus of Nepal and India, distributing holy water from the pilgrimage sites and ponds.
During the journey, Khanal and his companions took baths and immersed themselves in 23 rivers, ponds, lakes, and reservoirs, and they also managed to reach the sources of many sacred rivers and pilgrimage sites. Interestingly, the team visited the ancient Nalanda University in Bihar, India, and Takshashila University in Taxila, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, which are renowned for studying and researching Hindu and Buddhist philosophy.
They gained basic archaeological and historical insights at these Eastern philosophical heritage sites. Khanal considers it a great fortune to witness the real situation of these locations. The president of the International Friendship Society Nepal, Pradeep Khanal, began his pilgrimage from the national deity of Nepal, Pashupatinath. On 7th Asar 2080 B.S., he first worshipped at Pashupatinath and received blessings from the head priest, Rawal Ganesh, and scripture expert Arjun Prasad Bastola, before traveling with companions through the Shakti Peethas of West Bengal, India.
The pilgrimage concluded last month at the Manikaran Shiva Temple in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India, thus completing the pilgrimage across six countries in the South Asian region, including Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Tibet (China). Information about several pilgrimage sites was shared based on his studies and experiences, as well as from gurus and administrators he met during his various pilgrimages.
The team visited prominent pilgrimage sites, including the four Adi Shakti Peeths (Kamakhya in Guwahati, Kalighat in Kolkata, Bimala Devi in Puri, and Taratarini in Odisha), the Char Dham (Badrinath, Dwarkadhish, Jagannath Puri, and Rameshwaram in India), the Saptapuri (Haridwar, Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura, Dwarka, Avantika, and Kanchipuram), and the twelve Jyotirlingas (Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleshwar, Omkareshwar-Mamleshwar, etc.). Similarly, they visited the eighteen Maha Shakti Peeths (Sharada Peeth in Kashmir, Jwalamukhi in Himachal Pradesh, Shankari Devi in Sri Lanka, Kamakshi in Kanchipuram, Chamundeshwari in Mysore, Puruhitika in Pithapuram, Jogulamba in Telangana, Alopi Devi (Madhaveshwari) in Prayagraj, Vishalakshi in Varanasi, Mahalakshmi in Kolhapur, and Ekvira in Mahur Gad, etc.), and 52 Shakti Peeths – some refer to them as 51 or even 108 – (Guhyeshwari, Galeshwor, Mukteshwor, Bageshwari, Dantakali, Bala Tripurasundari, etc.), and 108 Siddha Peeths (Bhadrakali, Dakshinkali, Palanchowk Bhagwati, Gadhimai, Chhinnamasta, Pathibhara, Tripurasundari, Ugratara, Maulakali, etc.). Additionally, they visited Pashupatinath and Guhyeshwari, Hanuman Dhoka, Kasthamandap area, Budhanilkantha, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath, Dakshinkali, four Narayans, four Barahis, nine Ganesh temples, Krishna Temple, Mahalaxmi Sthan, Baglamukhi, Nala Ugrachandi, Chandeshwori (Tokha and Kavrepalanchok), Mahakaleshwar, Kal Bhairav, Sankata, Baglamukhi, Sarveshwar (Lalitpur), Maitidevi, Bhadrakali, Bhuvaneshwari, Tarkeshwar, Bagbhairav, Matsyanarayan, Doleshwor, Kalankimai, Dattatreya, and Nyatapol. Other sites visited include Manakamana, Pathibhara, Arjundhara, Sansarimata, Chhinnamasta, Kankalini Bhagwati, Janaki Temple, Halesi, Baglung Kalika, Devghat, Maulakali, Akaladevi, Ridi, Bhairavsthan, Ranavijayeshwari (Tansen Bhagwati), Siddhababa, Bageshwari, Junge Mahadev, Barah Kshetra, Chataradham, Pindeshwor, and Budhasubba (Siddhababa). During the pilgrimage, Ganga Mala (Deuti Bajai), Siddhanath, Kalpate Kal Bhairav, Tripurasundari, Jagannath, Nigalasaini Bhagwati, Ugratara, Ghatal Baba, and Shaileshwari Bhagwati were also visited, and Pradeep Khanal mentioned that they captured around one terabyte of photos and videos as evidence. Khanal, one of the founders of the Buddha International Trust, London, visited 13 Buddhist pilgrimage sites, including Boudhanath, Swayambhunath, Lumbini (Nepal), Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar (India), Tooth Temple in Sri Lanka, and the Nepalese Monastery (Kerung, China), as well as 11 Sikh sacred sites such as Nankana Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib, Panja Sahib, and Malji Sahib (Pakistan), Golden Temple, Anandpur Sahib, and Patna Sahib (India). "In this one-year religious journey, we never had to go hungry, faced no health issues, and never had trouble finding shelter," Khanal shared, attributing this to divine blessings. During their pilgrimage, they visited 80 religious sites in Nepal, 16 in Pakistan, 12 in Bangladesh, 8 in Sri Lanka, 5 in China, and 329 in India.
They met with chief priests, administrators, and executives at each temple, monastery, gurudwara, or chaitya, discussing the preservation, promotion, and expansion of mutual relationships of these religious sites. They also extended informal invitations for an upcoming event in Banaras.
According to Khanal, Srijana Timilsina, Secretary of the International Friendship Society Nepal, and Vijay Kumar Pant, spokesperson of the National Sanskardham Nepal, contributed managerial and technical support to make the journey successful. "The main purpose of our pilgrimage was to connect all temples, pilgrimage sites, and holy ponds in South Asia and China-Tibet from a religious, spiritual, and emotional perspective and to promote Nepal's religious sites at an international level," Khanal said. He further mentioned that one of the goals was to promote religious tourism, with 80% of the sites they visited having the potential to be developed and promoted as religious tourism destinations.
After returning to his homeland, he has so far met with Vice President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav, Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire, Chairman of the National Assembly Narayan Prasad Dahal, former President Bidya Devi Bhandari, former Vice President Parmanand Jha, former Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Nepali Congress leaders Dr. Shekhar Koirala and Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, Janamat Party Chairman CK Raut, CPN-UML leader Gokul Prasad Baskota, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Senior Vice Chairman Rabindra Mishra, the chief priest of Pashupatinath, Sanskrit scholar Banskota, and Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Adhyakshajanandadev Tirth from Govardhan Peeth, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India, to distribute holy water from Kailash Mansarovar and various other sacred ponds and pilgrimage sites. The then Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Khilraj Regmi, congratulated the team from the United States.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, advisors from Kolkata, and many other religious, social, spiritual, and cultural institutions have been associated with Khanal, who clarified that his inspiration for the pilgrimage came from Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya and Guru Nanak Dev. Following in their footsteps and receiving blessings, he managed to visit 450 pilgrimage sites within one year. Khanal, who is fluent in half a dozen languages, and his team rarely had to wait in line at temples and pilgrimage sites, as priests, gurus, and assistants themselves arranged the visits. He shared that at the Hinglaj Shakti Peeth in Balochistan, Pakistan, despite the rule prohibiting foreigners, special arrangements were made for his visit. Similarly, Jagadguru Kalki Bhagwan, a disciple of Gagangiri in Bhusawal, mentioned,
"Traveling to so many pilgrimages in less time than Adi Shankaracharya and Guru Nanak is extraordinary and unforgettable. My blessings are with Pradeep, who is just 50 years old, for his spiritual life. This will certainly be recorded in history." Former Prime Minister Chand welcomed him at his residence in Lokanthali, Bhaktapur, upon his return and received the holy water brought by Pradeep Khanal, the coordinator of the pilgrimage team. "This journey has set a world record in its own way. I extend my best wishes to Khanal for visiting so many pilgrimage sites within a year after Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya and Guru Nanak Dev." Shri Jagadguru Kamakhyaputra Himalaya Giri from Guwahati, Swami Shivakant from Pune, Maharashtra, Dr. Ram Bahadur Dubey from the Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi, and other figures like Jagadguru Swami Rishipal Anand from Haryana, India, acknowledged that such an accomplishment was impossible without divine grace, just as Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century and Guru Nanak in the 16th century had done.
They expressed hope that Khanal would become an inspiration and guide for the Hindu community. Having completed a master's degree in Nepali from Tribhuvan University, Khanal explained that since his pilgrimage involved Jyotirlingas and Shakti Peeths, his team was named "Shiv Shakti Samagam," and a "Shiv Shakti Samagam Ritual" will be organized in Kashi (Varanasi), Uttar Pradesh, India, in February/March 2025. The program will invite global leaders of Sanatan Dharma, four Shankaracharyas, renowned gurus, religious and spiritual scholars, researchers, the chief priests of the Char Dham, four Adi Shakti Peeths, 12 Jyotirlingas, 52 Shakti Peeths, and other major temples.
The aim of the program is to formulate a special action plan to promote Nepal's tourism internationally and emphasize religious tourism. “Our journey and rituals aim to bring peace to the world and humanity,” stated Khanal, who holds an honorary doctorate from the Universal Tamil University, Madurai. He clarified, "I did not undertake this pilgrimage to set any official record or milestone. Four months before the journey, I felt a strong desire to undertake this task, and I developed the confidence that I could do it."
