Maharishi Bharadwaj Ashram, Prayagraj: The Sage's Hermitage Where Lord Ram Rested in Exile, Timings and Visit Guide

ॐEssential info at a glance

ॐBharadwaj Ashram timings and aarti

The ashram grounds are open through the day, from 5:00 AM to 10:30 PM, and entry is completely free, with no ticket for the temples or the complex. The inner temples follow a morning and evening pattern for darshan, roughly 6:30 to 9:00 AM and 4:30 to 6:30 PM; the morning aarti is around 6:00 to 6:30 AM, after the cleaning and shringar of the deities, and the evening aarti around 6:30 to 7:00 PM, when devotees gather in numbers, for the serene evening is the loveliest time to be here. The adjacent Bharadwaj Park keeps its own hours, usually from morning to evening.

ॐMaharishi Bharadwaj Ashram: the sage's ancient hermitage

In the George Town quarter of Prayagraj, a short walk from the Anand Bhawan, stands a place of the deepest antiquity and reverence: the Maharishi Bharadwaj Ashram, the ancient hermitage of the great sage Bharadwaj. Here, in the age of the Ramayana, was the ashram of one of the very greatest of our sages; and here, above all, Lord Ram, with Mata Sita and Lakshman, halted and rested on their way into exile, so that the ground is sacred to every devotee of Ram. The site is marked today by a great larger-than-life copper statue of the sage Bharadwaj upon the main road, and the complex holds several temples, the ancient shrine of Bharadwajeshwar Mahadev, sacred statues of old, and a beautiful green park; a calm and holy island of the ancient past in the heart of the modern city.

ॐThe great sage Bharadwaj

To understand this place is to know the greatness of the sage whose ashram it was. Maharishi Bharadwaj was one of the Saptarishis, the seven great sages who are the very pillars of our tradition, a seer of the Vedic age renowned above all for his boundless thirst for knowledge. And his ashram here at Prayag was no mere hermitage but one of the greatest seats of learning in all the ancient world: a vibrant gurukula, a beacon of wisdom, where, the tradition tells, thousands of disciples gathered at the feet of the master to study the Vedas, the scriptures, and the many sciences, so that it was an ancient university of the sages, a fountainhead of knowledge for the age. So great was the sage's learning that later tradition attributes to him a knowledge even of the vimanas, the flying chariots of the ancients. To walk this ground is to walk where one of the wisest of all our sages taught.

ॐThe first halt of the exile: the sage directs Ram to Chitrakoot

The glory of this ashram, dear to every devotee of Ram, is its place in the great exile. When Lord Ram, with Sita and Lakshman, left Ayodhya to keep his father's word and go into the forest for fourteen years, they journeyed south, and, having crossed the holy Ganga, they came, as their first great halt, here to the ashram of the sage Bharadwaj at Prayag. And the sage received the divine three with boundless love and honour, giving them the shelter and the peace of his hermitage; and he gave to Lord Ram his counsel and his blessing, and it was Bharadwaj who directed them onward to the beautiful and secluded Chitrakoot, where Ram would pass much of the years of his exile. So this ashram is a sacred station upon the very path of the exile, the trail that runs from Ayodhya, across the Ganga, to Prayag and the sage Bharadwaj, and on to Chitrakoot; and to stand here is to stand where Ram himself rested and was counselled at the outset of his great trial. And on the joyful return, his exile ended and Ravana fallen, Lord Ram came once more to the ashram of the sage.

ॐThe Ramcharitmanas: where the story of Ram is told

There is a further and most beautiful glory to this ashram, for it is woven into the very frame of the greatest telling of the story of Ram, the Ramcharitmanas of the poet-saint Tulsidas. For in that immortal poem, the whole telling of the Ram-katha is set within a sacred conversation here at Prayag: the devout sage Bharadwaj, filled with longing to hear the glory of the Lord, asks the great sage Yagyavalkya to tell him the story of Ram; and it is in answer to Bharadwaj's loving question that the whole of the Ramcharitmanas unfolds. So this ashram, and this sage, stand at the very door of the poem that has carried the love of Ram into countless millions of hearts; a fitting glory for the hermitage where Ram himself once rested.

ॐThe ashram today: the Mahadev, the statues and the park

The ashram today is a serene and welcoming complex. At its heart is the Bharadwajeshwar Mahadev, the ancient shrine of the Shivalinga that, the tradition holds, was consecrated and worshipped by the sage Bharadwaj himself. Around it stand ancient, life-sized statues of the holy figures of the place, the sage Bharadwaj and the sage Yagyavalkya, Lord Ram, the Mother Kali, and Surya the Sun; and the great copper statue of Bharadwaj upon the main road marks the spot of his ashram for all to see. And immediately beside the gate lies the beautiful Bharadwaj Park, a green and family-friendly garden, newly renovated, with murals that depict the life of the ancient ashram, with fountains and flowers and trees and swings for children, a lovely and peaceful place to rest. Together they make the ashram both a holy site and a gentle green haven in the city.

ॐWhere Ram rested, in my own words

By Rajeev Sharma, guide with Experience My India

I love bringing my pilgrims to Bharadwaj Ashram, for it joins our three holy cities in one story. I tell them: from Ayodhya, when Lord Ram went into exile, he crossed the Ganga and came here first, to this very ashram of the great sage Bharadwaj, and rested; and it was Bharadwaj who sent him on to Chitrakoot. So this is a station on the trail of the exile, and my guests who have been with me in Ayodhya feel that connection very deeply. And I tell them the sage was one of the Saptarishis, and that his ashram here was a great ancient university, thousands of students learning the Vedas.

And I love to tell them the most beautiful thing, that in Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, it is Bharadwaj's question here at Prayag, asking Yagyavalkya to tell the story of Ram, that begins the whole poem; so my guests who love the Ramcharitmanas, who have been to the Tulsi Manas temple in Kashi, are moved to stand where that great telling is framed. I show them the Bharadwajeshwar Mahadev and the old statues, and let the families enjoy the lovely green park beside it. It is a calm, deep, holy place in the middle of the city, and I never let a devotee of Ram miss it.

In more than forty years of guiding, standing where Ram rested at the outset of his exile, and where the Ramcharitmanas is framed, is among the most moving things I share.

ॐWhat to see and do

• Take the darshan of the Bharadwajeshwar Mahadev, the Shivalinga of the sage Bharadwaj.
• See the ancient statues of Bharadwaj, Yagyavalkya, Ram, Kali and Surya, and the great copper Bharadwaj statue.
• Stand where Lord Ram rested at the first halt of his exile, and hear the story.
• Reflect on the Ramcharitmanas, framed by Bharadwaj's question here at Prayag.
• Rest in the green Bharadwaj Park, and attend the serene evening aarti.

ॐHow to reach Bharadwaj Ashram

The ashram is in George Town, on Colonelganj Road near Swaraj Bhawan, right beside the Anand Bhawan, in a central part of the city, easily reached by road.

It sits with Anand Bhawan and the Sangam in the heart of the city.

ॐBest time to visit and how to plan it

• Pair it with Anand Bhawan next door, and the Sangam and the Ram sites of the city.
• Allow 45 minutes to an hour for the temples, the statues and the park.

For Prayagraj, or a combined Kashi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj pilgrimage, planned end to end, see our tour packages.

ॐAccessibility for elderly and mobility limited visitors

• The ashram is a level, urban complex, generally easy to move around, with the park beside it.
• Come around the core mandir slots at a calmer hour for a comfortable darshan.
• The green park with its seating suits a restful visit for elderly pilgrims and families.
• We arrange transport and plan a gentle heritage visit within your Prayagraj day.

ॐEtiquette for visiting

• Remove footwear before the temples and be reverent; it is an ancient, sacred hermitage.
• Treat the ancient statues and shrines with respect, and follow the temple customs.
• Keep the green park clean, and mind children at the fountains and swings.
• Be considerate of others at the evening aarti, when the crowds gather.

ॐOur guided visits and Prayagraj tours

We are a Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj based operator, a unit of Experience My India, with more than forty years of guiding pilgrims across all three holy cities, and our own local guide in Prayagraj. Entry is free, so what we offer is the story and the planning: a guide who tells the tale of the great sage, of Ram's exile and its first halt here, and of the Ramcharitmanas framed at this spot, the visit woven with Anand Bhawan and the Sangam, and, above all, the Ram trail that binds our three cities, from Ayodhya to Prayag and beyond.

Inclusions and exclusions are stated up front, with any taxes and conditions, and no charge appears later that was not named. Entry is free; our charge is only for guiding and services. See all our tour packages for the full range.

Experience My India is a travel operator, not the ashram administration. Entry is free; our charge is only for our guiding and services. Timings and rules are set by the ashram and can change.

ॐNearby sacred and heritage sites

Bharadwaj Ashram is in the heart of Prayagraj, near its sacred and heritage sites.

For the Sangam snan and the confluence, see our Triveni Sangam guide.