HOW TO REACH ADIYOGI
STATUE FROM GANDHIPURAM, COIMBATORE [2022]
 |
| The Mesmerizing Statue of Adiyogi, Coimbatore |
How do I get to Adiyogi from Coimbatore without spending much?
Can we visit Adiyogi?
What is the best time to visit Adiyogi?
Where is the Adiyogi Shiva statue?
Are there any fees to visit Adiyogi?
If you want to know the answer to the above questions, do read on
as I will answer your queries in my blog.
Let’s begin the journey.
Har Har Mahadev!
About 30 kilometres from
Gandhipuram Bus Depot in the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India, stands
with pride the huge bust of Adiyogi Shiva Statue. Located at the foothills of
the Velliangiri Mountains and surrounded by lush green serene beauty, Adiyogi
is the world’s biggest bust statue of Lord Shiva.
In this blog, I am going to
talk about how you can reach Isha Yoga Center and offer your prayers to the
Adiyogi.
It had been many years I had visited Adiyogi. After the Corona pandemic, when life started to come back to normal, the craving to revisit Adiyogi arose inside me. One day I decided that the coming Sunday we will visit Adiyogi.
We reached Gandhipuram bus depot by 1:30 PM. It was already lunch time, so we decided to have light lunch before we took the bus. There's a nice restaurant just outside the bus depot called Annapoorna. They serve some delicious South Indian veg food. The weather was hot so we decided to order curd rice. It is not too heavy on the stomach. Best thing is that it will not pinch your pocket.
Light lunch of Curd Rice at Hotel Annapoorna
After finishing our delicious and light lunch we moved towards the bus depot to catch the bus. It was about 2:20 PM. We enquired from where we could get the bus to Isha and reached the bus stop.
Those who are
new to Coimbatore, let me inform you that there are two bus depots at
Gandhipuram – One depot where you get buses for outstations and the second
depot is the local bus depot from where you get buses to travel in the city.
Both are opposite to each other. You have to reach the local bus depot.
At the depot, you can see the beautiful red coloured buses, which are a new
entry to the local transport. You will also find a few old buses plying.
 |
| Gandhipuram Bus Depot |
The bus numbers that
will take me to Isha Yoga Center are – 14D, 14A, 14C, and 14G. The
average frequency of the buses leaving for Isha Yoga Center is about 40
minutes. I am sharing the timetable below so that you can get the exact timing
of the buses.
 |
| Bus Timing from Gandhipuram to Isha |
 |
| Bus Timing from Gandhipuram to Isha |
 |
| Bus Timing from Isha to Gandhipuram |
 |
| Bus Timing from Isha to Gandhipuram |
AT about 2:50 PM the bus left the depot.
Our first ever trip to Isha Yoga Center on a bus had started at two-fifty in the afternoon from Gandhipuram Bus Depot. The one-way ticket to
Adiyogi Statue is Rs. 40/- (Rupees Forty Only) per person. You can reach there even by private car. If you are coming to
Coimbatore by flight, you can pre-book your cab from the Isha website and as
you land; your car will be waiting to take you to Isha Yoga Centre.
I stay in Coimbatore and
love to travel by bus once in a while, so I decided to opt for the Government
bus to take me to Isha Yoga Center. I have seen many youngsters and families
travelling from across India to especially visit Adiyogi. This journey
of mine will also help people who want to visit Adiyogi after reaching
Coimbatore but do not want to spend in private taxis or cars.
 |
| Inside of Bus |
At the bus depot, you can
enquire from where you can board the bus for Isha Yoga Center. Even if you
don’t speak the language of Tamil, you can ask them in English or Hindi too.
When you use the keywords Isha Yoga Center you will be guided to the right bus.
It’s going to be a one-hour
long journey. Sometimes it may be more depending on the traffic. Do carry
enough drinking water and some snacks just in case you get hungry on the way.
When we boarded the bus it
was empty. But within 20 minutes it was full. So, if you want to get a seat of
your choice on the bus, come 15-20 minutes early before the departure time.
The Maha Shiva Adiyogi
Statue visiting time is from morning 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The buses start as
early as 6:00 in the early hours of the morning. Do plan your going and return
journey based on the bus timings if you decide to visit by bus or else you
might find it difficult to return to the main city.
The Journey
It’s 2:50 PM. The bus has
left the bus depot and we are on our way to Adiyogi Statue. We have
settled down on our seats. It will also be a sort of Coimbatore Darshan on
the bus.
About Maha Adiyogi Statue
As we sit and enjoy our bus
ride, I thought it would be a great idea to talk about some interesting facts
about the Maha Adiyogi Statue.
The bust statue of Adiyogi
made of steel is 34 meters tall, which corresponds to 112 ft. It’s 45 meters
long- 147 ft, and 25 meters wide – 82 ft. Because of its huge size, it has been
recognized by the Guinness World Records as the ‘Largest Bust
Sculpture’ in the world.
The weight of the
statue is 500 tonnes.
Lord Shiva here is referred
to as Adiyogi or the first yogi.
Adiyogi was inaugurated by
our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 24th February 2017 on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivaratri.
Every year on the
auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri thousands of devotees converge here for a
night of Jagaran. The night is filled with music, dance, singing
and messages from Sadguru, the founder of Isha Yoga Centre. The program is
watched live by millions of people worldwide through various online platforms.
If you want to experience Mahashivratri you can check the official website of
Isha for details.
A 14 minute spectacular light and sound
3D laser show called Adiyogi Divya Darshanam is projected on the
Adiyogi Statue in the evening during weekends and other auspicious occasions.
Nowadays it's happening on a daily basis. The Divya Darshanam
narrates the story of Adiyogi and how the science of Yoga was given to
us human beings.
The huge Maha Adiyogi
Statue has been designed by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.
The statue of Adiyogi was
built to promote yoga and inspire people at large towards inner wellbeing by
practising yoga.
Finally, We are here
Finally, we reached
Isha Yoga Center at about 4:00 PM. It was about an hour-long journey. On the
way, the bus got even more crowded as there were many passengers who wanted to
reach places that were on the way to Adiyogi.
The last time I was here was in the year 2017 or 2018. At that
time the surrounding arena was still under development. I was happy to see that
now it has developed a lot. I’ll share later in this blog.
The bus entered the Isha gate and reached the vast parking area.
Lots of private buses and cars were parked there. People and devotees were
flocking here for the darshan of Adiyogi. We got down from the
bus and stretched a bit. At a distance in front of us, we could see the massive
statue of Adiyogi. We started walking on the well-maintained walkway.
There were a few stalls selling Adiyogi merchandise and snacks on the
left-hand side. Beyond that, on both sides, spread the lush green surroundings.
We were in the laps of the Velliangiri Mountains. The sun was still up but surprisingly the breeze
was cool making the weather very pleasant. As we approached the Adiyogi
statue, we were mesmerized by it and felt a kind of peace and tranquillity
within us.
The Adiyogi statue is a big tourist attraction where we saw
the tourists getting creative with their smartphone cameras. Some were clicking
the pictures of Adiyogi, some sat in a meditative pose while their
friends clicked their pictures with Adiyogi in the background, while
others took selfies with the statue in the background. We could feel a sense of
positive energy around us, the whole surrounding was charged with positivity.
We also took lots of pictures as we wanted to capture as many moments as
possible till the time we were here.
 |
| Har Har Mahadev |
At the base of the Adiyogi statue is a small temple. In the centre is kept a Shivalinga called the Yogeshwar Linga space. An Isha Volunteer sits near it. I bought a small Kalash of water with a neem leaf in it that came for twenty rupees and gave it to the volunteer. He in turn offered the water on the Shivalinga. I took a parikrama of the Shivalinga and kneeled down and bowed to seek blessings. A notable feature here is the black stone panel. The panel features the sculptures of Saptrishis. It was consecrated by Sadhguru. According to the Isha website, this sacred panel is never touched by anyone with hands, even by those who clean it. There was another volunteer offering charnamrit in the form of water. I took it in my palms and drank a little, and the rest I put it on my forehead as blessings.
The visiting devotees can also offer a vastram
(cloth that they can buy from the same place as water) to Adiyogi. The
black cloth can be tied to one of the tridents surrounding the statue of Adiyogi.
It is mentioned on Isha's website that there are 621 tridents surrounding
the Adiyogi.
It was for the first time I was so close to the statue and felt
the positive impact of the vastness of Lord Shiva in front of me. We sat near
the statue and admired the marvellous creation. After a while, we took a full
parikrama of the huge statue. I captured it on my smartphone.
People coming from far and away travelling long distances need to use the washroom to freshen up. There is a neat and clean washroom available to use. The ladies and gents washroom are separate.
Not far away from the Adiyogi statue is the gate that leads
to the Isha Yoga Center. It is behind the Adiyogi statue. There are
different modes available to reach there. You can take a bullock cart ride to
the gate. It will cost you ten rupees per person. If you prefer an electric
cart, you can take that. Or you can walk to the gate enjoying the vast open
space. There are two pathways created. One is for the carts and the other is
for walking. On the way, you have a cluster of shops selling food items and
souvenirs.
We decided to take the bullock cart ride for the experience. The
other group who sat with us chanted in praise of Lord Shiva and we too joined
in. At the centre of the two paths, at an equal distance were speakers through
which we could hear the recorded voice of Sadhguru chanting a mantra dedicated
to Lord Shiva. The mantra added an aura to the whole ambience.
Yoga
Yoga Yogeshwaraya
Bhuta
Bhuta Bhuteshwaraya
Kala
Kala Kaleshwaraya
Shiva
Shiva Sarveshwaraya
Shambho
Shambho Mahadevaya
 |
| Take a break for a Snack |
At the gate that leads to the Isha Yoga Center and the final
destination of the carts, there were again many shops selling a variety of
eatables. There is a restaurant there too if you would like to have something
heavy. We had already had lunch at Annapurna Hotel in Gandhipuram and
were not feeling hungry. But we could not say no to ice cream. We both had cone
ice cream which cost us sixty rupees each. There are a lot of benches and
seating areas. We sat on a bench and enjoyed our ice cream as we admired the
place. Along with other visitors, we also saw many devotees in traditional
dress moving around. The ambience here gave us a feeling of being at a tourist
spot.
One disadvantage of being in such tourist places is that you can
run into one or two people who are in unnecessarily too much of a hurry that
they don’t know where they are going or what they are doing. These few people
don’t have the etiquette to conduct themselves in a crowded space. We also ran
into one such person. Later we saw him speaking in English with someone on the
phone. This goes on to show that your qualification is of no use if your
behaviour is not correct.
People who want to visit the Isha Yoga Center have to deposit
their belongings, maybe even their smartphones. Photography is strictly
prohibited inside the Isha Yoga Center.
 |
| Sarpa Vasal (Snake Gate) Entrance to Isha Yoga Centre |
We did not go inside as that was not what we had planned. We are
planning to stay at the Isha Yoga Center for at least three days. It will be
yet another beautiful experience that I eagerly look forward to. I’ll blog
about it once I am there.
It was about five-thirty and the whole ambience turned into a
golden colour under the influence of the setting sun. It was not yet time to go
home. There was yet another programme that we had to experience at the Adiyogi
statue. A programme that we never imagined would be the highlight of our
trip.
Adiyogi Divya Darshanam is a spectacular 3D laser show not to be missed. As per the
announcement made by the volunteers, the show is organized every evening.
Previously it was only during special festive occasions and weekends.
At 7:00 PM, just before the Divya Darshanam, there is a
musical programme, kirtan, where the Isha Yoga Center volunteers sing
Sanskrit Shlokas in praise of Lord Shiva. At 7:20 PM the place is ready to
witness Divya Darshanam.
The night sky lights up with a beautiful display of colourful
lights, enchanting music and the voice of Sadhguru as he narrates the story
behind how Adiyogi offered the science of Yoga to humanity.
The whole experience is emotionally so charged up and strong,
filled with high energy that people can’t stop themselves from screaming in
delight. The highlight of the Divya Darshanam is when Adiyogi is shown
as half Shiva and half Shakti.
This one show was worth every second we spent in the company of
Adiyogi. The show lasted for about 15 minutes.
After the spectacular display, the evening comes to an end with aarti.
People are called near the temple to take the aarti.
At around eight o'clock we along with others started to move
towards the bus stop. We reached the footpath and waited where the bus had
dropped us. We could see the private buses and cars moving out. After about a
few minutes we decided to enquire about the bus. The volunteer informed us that
the bus may not come inside at this time. The gate closes at 7:00 PM. We will
have to walk to the main gate to catch the bus. We felt glad that we had asked
or else we would be standing there for a long time waiting in the hope of the
bus to arrive.
We started walking on the footpath. The path was not very smooth
and had many ups and downs. As we reached the gate we found that the inward
gate had been closed. So, there was no chance the bus was going to come inside.
Only the exit was open for the vehicles to leave the premises.
 |
| Entrance and Exit Gate to Adiyogi at Night |
Once outside we saw a lot of people waiting for buses to take them
home. As we stood there we realized one important thing. This may help you if
you decide to travel by government bus - It might take a while for the right
bus to arrive. You might find yourself waiting for half an hour or more. Even
if the bus comes, it might be crowded. The return journey can exhaust you. If
you decide to book a cab, they may ask you to pay around eight hundred rupees
to take you to Gandhipuram.
But, if you skip watching the Divya Darshanam and leave
when the sunlight is still there, you may get the bus inside. Again, the bus
might get crowded.
I personally will not recommend you to miss the Divya Darshanam.
You will be missing the highlight of the evening. What you can do is maybe
arrange for a pick up in the evening at around eight or reach here by your car
or hire a car for certain hours for the visit to Adiyogi statue. You can
even book a cab and pay those eight hundred rupees.
It was late in the night when we reached home. It was one of the
best Sundays we had spent.
I have just started exploring the depth of Adiyogi and Yoga.
I look forward to many more such visits not just as a tourist but also as a
devotee.
The purpose is to go out and experience Adiyogi so that I
develop the capability to go in.
****************
0 Comments