Paranu Baba Mandir and Kund – A place of delight and surprise in the wilderness near Prayagraj

If Prayagraj is considered to be at the heart of North India, there are roads radially moving out in all directions. The one which heads south goes to Jabalpur and Chitrakoot. Both are fascinating places which are both tourist attractions as well as historically significant. This region is UP and MP border which has very less rainfall and the soil is not conducive to farming. Life here is tough and this area is sparsely populated. People here mostly depend on mining for livelihood. The drive to Chitrakoot is for three hours and somewhere halfway you can take two important and interesting detours. One is the Garhwa Fort at Shankargarh which we have covered in a previous article which comes at the end of this post and the other one is Paranu Baba Mandir which is the topic for today’s article.

Location of Paranu Baba Mandir and Kund

Even if it is modern times, this area is remote and you need to prepare yourself for the journey and have to be mostly self contained. The best way to reach this place is a drive down or taxi. Any other mode of transport is at your own risk. Public transport is rudimentary at best. Local transport is available.

Start early because it is going to be an hour and a half away. You will need at least two hours to visit the mandir and kund so that makes it a trip of min 5 hours. Stock yourself with enough food and water to last these five hours. A quick check up of the vehicle is also strongly recommended like tyre pressure and oil levels. Carry some essential stores like torch and so on.

If you are planning to cover the Garhwa Fort then add another three hours. On your return journey if you plan to take the Mau route to Rajapur and then to Kaushambi then you might as well consider a whole day of hectic travel and exhaustion. That is what I did on my road trip and that is how I reach Prayagraj well into the night.

One good thing about this place is that the roads are in a very good condition and it is a proper highway, thanks to the destination which is Chitrakoot. Paranu Baba Mandir is located on the main highway.

There is ample parking outside the temple. nearest town you will cross is Shankargarh. First 40 mins of your drive will be the main traffic of Prayagraj and Naini which is reason why you should take the early morning time slot.

About the temple – Paranu Baba Mandir

It is story time. During the 15th century this place was a prosperous town called Dari Garh which also had a fortress which suggests that this was administratively important too. This particular area was ruled by the local thakur who could have been one of the rajput of Baghel Kings.

The Baghel reign began in 1236 AD to 1875 AD after which they handed over the control of this region to the govt of India. An uninterrupted rule of over 600 years. In the same town there was a Brahmin by the name Prannath or Paranu Baba which is what people started calling him later. He worshipped a form of Goddess Durga by the name Mari Mata. Paranu Baba was believed to have also been a guru to the Baghel kings. Paranu Baba was the custodian of a sword which he used to perform the religious rituals to the Goddess.

Due to some differences between the thakur and the priest, the latter had to give up his life. Then Paranu Baba manifested himself as a force of energy along with Dari Mata which is the female compliment of that energy. This led to the decimation of the town and people fled to present day Rewa and Dari became wilderness engulfed by thick forests. It is believed that Paranu Baba cursed the thakurs who do not come to visit this temple.

Every year during Makar Sankranti, there is a huge fair for which devotees come from far and wide. Devotees come asking for a wish. Today two temples stand in the same vicinity, Paranu Baba mandir and Dari ki Mari Mata mandir.

What will you find here – Peace and Tranquility?

As you leave the main road, you need to travel for say ten mins till you reach the temple. There is a further five min walk towards the place where a spring emerges from the rocks on the ground and collects in a reservoir below. This is the kund where Paranu Baba used to come to meditate. Even today, it is amazing that this area remains as wilderness. There are a sprinkling of shops on the main road but then as you come inside, the isolation begins, There is a fair organised once a week, but apart from that few people come this side. The kund especially is in the middle of a jungle and it is a beautiful sight to behold. The place is also a photographers delight with a slight problem.

Do we litter at places?

About 50 years back, there was hardly anyone visiting this temple except locals. Today we have hundreds of people coming here, sometimes in a single day. There is a significant amount of cooking which happens here and with that littering too. As a photographer I could not compose a single frame where there was no garbage on the ground. People literally throw everything on the ground and leave, assuming someone else will clean it up. But that is not happening. This place is ecologically sensitive too and all this waste will eventually tip the scales towards an ecological disaster beyond repair. I do not understand the concept of littering the place where one comes to prayer.