• The Golden Temple



---

The Baha'i Temple


---

Vaishno Devi


---

Vithal Rukmini


---

• Saibaba , Shirdi
  

  ---

The Temple of Konark is situated in Konark.The main Temple of Konark was the highest in India Hundreds of years have passed on a desolate coastal spot in Orissa the remains of Konark often called the Black Pagoda is counted among the wonders of the world. The image of the Sun god has disappeared. Even the main temple has been completely destroyed. Only the Mukhasala or the fore temple survives with its carvings of indescribable beauty. Stones have never responded so well to the demands of the craftsmens instruments.

There is a spot where one can see the waters of three seas at the same time. That is the Kanya Kumari the temple of Kanya Kumari is not a very imposing building but it is considered most sacred for many centuries.

The goddess still stands inside the last monument on the Indian land in the farthest south. The Image of goddess is extremely beautiful. She looks eastward , the horizon of the rising sun, and awaits the arrival of Shiva. Thus she symbolises eternal hope . She is also the presiding deity of the sacred Indian border. She killed the demon and herself emerged unscathed, showing that eternal India was inviolable.

The cave where Shiva revealed the mystries of immortality is the cave temple of Amarnath one of the holiest places on the earth. Amarnath is situated in Kashmir, in the hinterland of rocksans snow and mystery. From September to June, nature denies all access to human beings. The mouth of the cave opens only in August , which is a rainy season in that area. But pilgrims brave the rain and trek uphill from Pahalgam . The journey takes them about a week.

This is not a manmade shrine. It is a cave-dwelling on the earth of the divine, made by nature. No man-made idol is to be seen either. Icicles slowly grow to form the symbol of Shiva. The symbol increases in the size with the waxing of the moon. and decreases with the wanning. Pilgrims consider this Phenomemenon a miracle

It is said that a shepherd boy once entered this desolate aea in search of his lost land and discovered the cave that lay forgotten fo a long time.

Madurai is one of the oldest cities in ancient India. It is famous all over the world for for its grand temple of Goddess Meenakshi which stands in the center of the city. There are ten majestic Gopurams (gateways) around the temple. One is immediately struck by the grandeur of four outer gopurams. They look alike, but the motifs of the charming carvings on them are all different. The southern pillar is 46 meters high - the highest of all. Near this are the five musical pillars. Each pillar has 22 bars carved out of a single block granite. When tapped they produce a melodious musical sounds.

The other interesting feature of the temple is a hall with 1000 pillars ful of lovely sculptures. This was built in 16th century.

The Temple of Vishnu in the form of balaji is one of richest institutions in India and attracts lakhs of tourists and devotees every year. The peak of mount Sheshachalam in the eastern ghat range was so tranquil and enchanting a place that Vishnu felt that it is the perfect place on the earth to reside.

The deity was well known before the present temple was built. It is believed that Rama Sita and Lakshmana visited the deity and spent some time there. The spot where they said to have rested is known as Swamitirtha.

Hundreds of years later the Pandavas too, came here and spent a year on one of the peaks which is known to this day as the Pandava Shringha.

The temple of Rameswaram is situated on a small island off the south eastern coast of India. The island off the south eastern coast of India . The island is said to resemble the shape of Panchajanya, the conch of Lord Krishna. The temple we see today was built by King Udayana of the Setupati dynasty, in the fifteenth centurry. Later several rulers added buildings walls and gopurams to the main shrine.

The 1200 -meter -long corridor with 1000 magnificient pillars is a unique feature of the Rameswaram Temple. Sita was stolen by Ravanas, the demon King of Lanka, and Rama prepared to invade Lanka in order to rescue her.

Jagannath, Balram and Subhadra are the deities worshipped at Puri and it is one of the Hindu seats which draws largest number of Pilgrims.

According to historians the temple of Jagannath was built in the 12th century by the Ganga kings of Kalinga. It required great vision great dedication and a great amour of wealth. All these were present with the Ganaga Kings - particularly choda Ganaga Dev the greatest of them all. Magnificient is the temple for its varied sculptures as delicate as the traditional filigree work of Orissa. About 200,000 people flock to Puri in the month of June to witness or participate in the famous Car festival of the deities. Jagannath, Balram and Subhadra are taken on three huge wooden chariots with 16 wheels each to another shrine about two kilometers away from the main temple.

Krishna has been worshipped in Dwarka since time immortal. The four handed image of lord Krishna looks vibrant with spirit. Dwarka or Dwarawati was the city where Krishna lived as King. Naturally it is one of the four sacred Dhams of India. The legendary city of Dwarka was not made by men. after Krishna chose the site it was Vishwakarma heaven's architect who planned and built the city. Shiva and Kuvera from Kailas and Patal respectively sent their servants to execute the plan of Vishwakarma.

On the gigantic rock face near the temple are carved some significant scenes from our Epics which appear live and elegant after so many centuries. About 64 Kilometers from Madras, Mahavalipuram, on the sea is a charming plce with its famous pgodas. These pagodas are carved in the form of rathas or chariots, out of hillocks. All construction normally begins with the foundations. But these chariot-shaped temples were carved from their peaks downwards, or from the surface inside. These rockcarved temples speak of a very advanced school of culture which developed in South India before the 6th century.

At hardwar is situated the sacred kund, Hari-ki-charan, or the foot of Vihnu. It is considered a priveledge to have a dip in its water. On its wall can be seen the footprint of Vishnu.

At a distance of about 290 kilometers from Hardware, at a height of more than 3000 meters, is situated the famous temple of Badrinath. It is surrounded by mountains which rise to a height of 7000 meters. On one side stand the grand Narayan Parvat wrapped up in silver hued snow; on the other side flows the Alakananda. The deity of Badrinarayan, is a manifestation of Vishnu. The beautiful image is seen in a meditative mood with a variety of jewels covering his body. A canopy of gold is suspended over his head.

The ancient diety Kalimata is worshipped here It is said that a pious landlord , Santosh Roy Chowdhury, who lived in the latter half of the 18th century, was sailing by the forest. It was evening . Suddenly he heard someone blowing a conch-shell inside the foest.He saw the image of Kali being worshipped by a hermit. Roy Chowdhary was a person gifted with mystic insight and he instantly felt the presence of divine mother in the image. Soon he returned with money and men . He began to build a temple which was completed by his successors in the first half of the 19th century.

Many people think that the name of the city , "Calucuta" was dervied from the word Kalighat.

One of the holiest place for the hindus is Kashi, The temple of Vishweshwara is niether high nor very big but is one of the most sacred places in Indian culture. Varanasi is also known as Kashi and Varanasi is derived from the two lines of Ganga, varun and asi flowing through this city. The city has more than 1500 temples, incluing Buddhist shrines. The chief deity of the city is Vishweshwara another name for Shiva. His abode is the famous Vishwanath Temple. The present temple of Visweswar was built by Ahalyabai the celebrated queen of Indore. Ranjit Singh the lion of Punjab contributed to the gold that covers the crown.

Buddha, Shamkara, Ramanuja, Kabir, Nanak, Tulsidas and Sri Chaitanya Dev visited this holy place.

The temple of kamaksha is one of the main temples dedicated to the mother Goddess in India. Mythology and follore give us many stories about the origin of the temple. It is generally believed that it was where a part of the dead body of Sati the wife of Shiva fell after Vishnu had cut it asunder with his Sudarshan Chakra. Today it is easy to visit the shrine of Kamaksha which can be seen on the beautiful Nila hill in Assam, about four and a half kilometers from the city of Gauhati. There is a stone block which is worshipped there is no image of the goddess. The Temple of Kamaksha remains the symbol of man's urge to achieve mastery over the secret laws of occult world

The first temple of Somnath was built as early as if not earlier than the 1st century AD. Six hundred years later when Dharsena IV ruled over a part of Gujarath a new temple replaced the old one. But the second temple did not last long. We do not know when it was attacked and destroyed by man or by some natural calamity. But the temple became very famous after it was built in the ninth century for the third time. Then again in 1026 Mahmud of Ghazni struck. For three days fierce resistance was offered by the people who least expected such a brutal assault on a temple.

Amidst the historic ruins remains the temple of Somnath a smile of Undying faith.

The Golden temple of Amritsar 18th Century and later holist Sikh Shrine the Original granth Sahib is here.

Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi, India has drawn to its portals more than 50 million visitors, making it the most visited edifice in the world, its numbers surpassing those of the visitors to the Eiffel Tower and even the Taj Mahal. The maximum number of visitors the Temple has received in a single day has been 150,000. They have come regardless of the scorching summer heat of Delhi which rises above 40°C during the months of June to September, and have braced the chill and cold rains that Delhi experiences during winter. These visitors have admired the beautiful lotus form of the Temple, and have been fascinated by the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith impressed by its tenets of the oneness of God, oneness of religions and oneness of mankind. This "House of Worship of the Indian subcontinent" joins six other Bahá'í temples around the world. Each of these Houses of Worship, while sharing some basic design concepts, has its own distinct cultural identity embodying the principle of unity in diversity. The lotus, the national flower of India, is a recurring symbol in the religious architecture of the Indian subcontinent. This ancient symbol has been given a modern and contemporary form in the structure of the Bahá'í House of Worship drawing into its sanctum sanctorum people from all races, religious backgrounds and culture from around the globe.

To the people of India the lotus flower signifies purity and peace, a representation of the Manifestation of God. Rising pure and unsullied above stagnant, muddy waters, the Indians have seen this flower as worthy of emulation, teaching them to be detached from material preoccupations. It is because this flower is so revered in Indian mythology and cultures that its translation into the design of a temple has caught the attention of the people at large.

The structure of the House of Worship is composed of three ranks of nine petals; each springing from a podium which elevates the building above the surrounding plain. The first two ranks curve inward, embracing the inner dome; the third layer curves outward to form canopies over the nine entrances. The petals, constructed of reinforced white concrete cast in place, are clad in white marble panels, performed to surface profiles and patterns related to the geometry. The double layered interior dome, modelled on the innermost portion of the lotus, is comprised of 54 ribs with concrete shells between. The central hall is ringed by nine arches that provide the main support for the superstructure. Nine reflecting pools surround the building on the outside, their form suggesting the green leaves of the lotus flower.

The god of Pandharpur lives in the land of the common people. Vithoba (Vishnu's local name, an affectionate form of Vithal) the village deity has traditionally been God of the masses, living them, even looking and behaving as one of them rather than an awesome superoir being. In heartland of the Bhakri movement. Vishnu's main abode the vithoba temple is located in the center of the raised, holy part of the town. This shrine was formed in the 12 th century AD .