Imagine walking every single day for over a year—through blistering heat, sudden rains, freezing nights, and roads that never seem to end. This was Kartik Varma’s reality. Over 501 days, he walked more than 16,000 kilometers across India, visiting all 12 Jyotirlingas. It’s a journey most of us can hardly imagine, yet for Kartik ji, it was never about the numbers—it was about devotion.
I met him for the latest episode of The Astrology Matrix Podcast, and what struck me first was how calm he seemed. You would expect someone who has walked thousands of kilometers to be worn out, maybe even hardened—but Kartik ji’s eyes told a different story. There was a softness, a quiet joy, and a depth that comes only when someone has been tested by life in the raw.
“I didn’t really know what I was getting into,” he said, laughing softly. “Some days I had shelter, some days I slept under the stars. Some days I had food, sometimes nothing. But I never felt alone. Somehow, I kept going.”
Every temple he visited—Somnath, Mahakaleshwar, Rameshwaram—was different. Each had its own energy, its own lessons. He spoke about how, at times, he felt completely drained, and yet the universe seemed to send signs—someone offering a meal, a stranger giving water, devotees walking miles just to meet him. “Little things kept me going,” he said. “It wasn’t about the walk anymore. It was about trust.”
And trust was tested constantly. Kartik ji spoke openly about the loneliness, the planning, the long, unending stretches where he questioned why he had started at all. “There were nights when I just sat, shivering, thinking—what am I even doing? But then I would see a light in a temple, hear a chant somewhere, or meet someone who reminded me of why I was walking. And I would go on.”
Coming back home after 501 days was surreal. People celebrated, of course—but the real change was inside him. His body had been pushed to extremes, but his mind, his perspective, and his faith had grown in ways words cannot fully capture. “I am the same person, yet I am not,” he said. “Every step, every hardship, every blessing—I carry it all.”
This is what makes Kartik Varma’s journey remarkable. Not just the physical endurance, but the human story behind it—the doubts, the fears, the small miracles, the lessons learned on lonely roads. His story reminds us that devotion is messy, sometimes painful, but ultimately transformative.
To watch the full episode, Click on the link below:
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