INDIA CROSSING THE RIVER GANGES The Ujali colony; located 1 kilometre outside Uttarkashi; houses over 500 sadhus and sanyasins. Some scholars and theists of great repute live here. Uttarakhand’s best-known ashrams such as the Kailash Ashram; the Shivananda Ashram; the Baba Kali Kamli Ashram and the Punjab Sindh Dandi Kshetra all have a presence in Ujali. Lord Vishnu and Parsuram; the 24th reincarnation of Lord Vishnu; are worshipped here. The idol of Parsuram in this temple is said to date back to the 8th century AD. It is said that Parsuram beheaded his mother; Renuka; on the orders of his father Sage Jamdagni. The latter; pleased with his son’s obedience; granted him a boon. Parsuram asked for his mother’s life to be restored; which was done. Nevertheless; he was guilty of matri hatya (mother’s murder) and was told by his father to go to Uttarkashi to repent. Uttarkashi is then his tapsthali (place of meditation). There are very few temples dedicated to Parsuram in India and this is possibly one of two in the entire country.