SHIRDI SAIBABA TEMPLE

SHIRDI SAIBABA TEMPLE :

Saibaba of shirdi also known as shirdi saibaba was an Indian spiritual master who was regarded by his devotees as an incarnation of god, saint, sathguru, according to their individual proclivitist and beliefs .He was revered by his both hindu and muslim devotees , and during , as well as after, his life it remained uncertain if he was a hindu or muslim .This however was of no consequence of saibaba .He stressed the surrender to the true sathguru , who, having trod the path to divine consciousness , will lead the discipline through the jungle of spiritual training .

          Saibaba is known by people around the world. According to the accounts from his life, he preached the importance of realization of the self, and criticised love for perishable things. His teachings concentrate on a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and guru. Sai Baba also condemned distinction based on religion or caste. Sai Baba's teaching combined elements of hinduism and islam .He gave the Hindu name Dwarakamayi to the mosque in which he lived, practised both Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions, and was buried in shridu. One of his well known epigrams, "allahmalik"("God is King") and "Sabka Malik Ek" ("One God governs all"), is associated with hinduism and Islam  He is also known to have said, "Listen to me and your prayer shall be answered".

                             PADMAPRIYA I 

KAPALEESHWARAR TEMPLE

  

Kapaleeshwarar temple:
























The kapaleeshwarar temple is of typical Dravidian architectural  style, with the gopuram overpowering the street on which the temple sits.The temple is also the testimonial for the vishwakarmas sthapathis.There are two entrances to the temple marked by the gopuram on either side. The east gopuram is  about 40 m high, while the smaller western gopuram faces the sacred tank.
             The commonly held view is that the temple was built in the 7th century CE by the ruling Pallavas.This view is based on reference to the temple in the hymns of the Nayanmars thirunanasambandars 6th song in poompavaipathikam and arunagirinaadhars 697th song in thirumylai thirupugazh, make clear reference to the temple being located on the seashore in mylapore .The scholarly view that accounts for the discrepancies is that the original temple was built on the shore but was destroyed by the Portuguese and the current temple was built by the Vijayanagar kings during the 16th century using some remains of the old temple.
                                PADMAPRIYA I

ISKCON TEMPLE

ISKCON TEMPLE:

Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi Mandir,generally known as ISKCON Delhi temple, is a well known Vaishnav temple of Lord Krishna and Radharani in the form of Radha Parthasarathi. Opened in 1998, it is located at Hare Krishna Hills, in the East of Kalish area of New Delhi, India. It is one of the top tourist place in Delhi to visit. It is not just a temple but also a Vedic Learning Centre in verv scientific wav.
ISKCON Temple, designed and built by Achyut Kanvinde who in 1993 agreed to accept a pro-bono commision to build this temple complex for the followers of Srila Prabhupada, is one of the largest temple of India. It comprises numerous rooms for priests and for service render. It has many halls that are used for its administration purposes and various seminars. It is divided into four broad sections.              
 J N Chandra Kala

SOMNATH TEMPLE

Somnath temple:

This is one of the oldest pilgrimage centres in India and finds mention in the ancient books, like Shivpuran, Skandpuran and Shreemad Bhagvat. Som refers to the ‘Moon God’, thus Somnath means ‘Protector of the Moon God’. According to a legend, Som got the temple built in the honor of Lord Shiva as it was Shiva who cured the illness, which was inflicted on him due to his father-in-law’s curse.

It is one of the most revered ‘jyotirlings’ among the 12 existing jyotirlings of India. The temple is located in Prabhas Kshetra in Saurashtra (Gujarat). Prabhas Kshetra is also the region in which, it is believed that, Lord Krishna left his mortal body.

Another interesting thing about the place is that it is built on the shore of Arabian Sea and in between the temple and the South Pole, in a straight line there is no land area. Somnath temple was destroyed and re-built many times. The place also has a Somnath museum, Junagadh gate, beach and a sound and light show to amuse the pilgrims.

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THE KONARK SUN TEMPLE

The Konark Sun Temple: 

The Sun temple is situated in the small town of Konark, which is situated in
 the Puri district of Odisha. This marvel of architecture is dedicated to Lord Sun.
 And resembling his carriage, the temple has been built in the shape of a chariot,
 which has twelve wheels and is shown as being dragged by the seven horses.

The temple is believed to be constructed in the 13th century by a king 
called Narasimhadeva. Like with most things in India, this temple too
 has connections with a few legends. As per one of the legends,
 God Krishna cursed, one of his own sons with leprosy.  To seek penance, 
Samba worshiped Lord Sun (Surya) for a period of twelve years. 
Pleased with his devotion, Surya healed him. Samba made the Sun temple
 in return to express his gratitude.

The mesmerizing beauty of the place was best summed up 
by the Rabindranath Tagore through these words: 
‘Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man.’

                                                                                                               N.Savitha

THIRUPATHI TEMPLE

THIRUPATHI TEMPLE:


Ancient HistoryEdit

Tirumala (Upper Tirupati)

According to Varaha Purana, during Treta Yugam, Lord Sri Rama resided here along with Sita Devi and Lakshmana on his return from Lankapuri.

The town was an established centre of Vaishnavism around the 5th century A.D. during which it was praised by Alvars.  The temple rites were formalised by the Vaishnavite saint  Ramanujacharya in the 11th century AD.Tirupati survived the  Muslim and British  invasions. During the early 1300's muslim invasion South India, the deity of Sri ranganathaswamy temple, srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping. The temple town for most of the medieval era part vijayanagara till 17th century and its rulers contributed considerable resources and wealth notable by krishna deva raya an achutya Deva Raya ,  Sadasiva Raya andTirumala Deva Raya. 

The temple was built and upgraded in parts by various kingdoms. The inscriptions in the temple were found in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages which specify the contributions of the Pallava Kingdom 9th century AD, chola kingdom around the 10th century AD and the Vijayanagara empire in the 14th century AD.During the 15th century, Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya sung many songs in praise of the holy town in Telugu. He compared it to be divine, including the rocks, streams, trees, animals, and adds that it is heaven on the

 earth .

TIRUPATI  (Lower Tirupati)

There was no human settlement at Lower Tirupati until 1500 year. With the growing importance of Upper Tirupati a village is formed at the present day Kapilatheertham Road area and was named as "kotturu" . It was later shifted to the vicinity of govindarajaswamy  temple which was consecrated around the year 1130 CE. Later the village was grown into its present-day form around Govindaraja Swamy Temple which is now the heart of the city. Now, it has gained a lot of popularity as a tourism place.

Modern HistoryEdit

In 1932, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple handed over to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams by the TTD Act of 1932. In 2006,Tirupati urban Development Authority(TUDA) and TTD together conducted "Tirupati Utsavam" which focused on the history of development of Tirupati town, kings who visited Tirumala and their contribution for development of the temple.The fourth World Telugu Conference, a conference for furtherance of Telugu language, was conducted at Tirupati during December, 2012 for three days.

                                                       PADMAPRIYA I 

BRIHADESHWARAR TEMPLE

BRIHADESHWARAR TEMPLE :

Peruvudaiyar Kovil" (locally known as "Thanjai Periya Kovil") is a hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is also known as  Brihadeshwara Temple.It is one of the largest temples in India and is an example of tamil architecture during the Chola period .Built by Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 CE, the temple turned 1000 years old . The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", with the other two being the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple. 

The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimanam (temple tower) is 198 ft (60 m) high and is one of the tallest in the world. The Kumbam (the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) weighs around 80 tons. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock measuring about 16 ft (4.9 m) long and 13 ft (4.0 m) high at the entrance.The entire temple structure is made out of granite. The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu. 

                                             PADMAPRIYA I 

ANNAMALAIYAR TEMPLE

Annamalaiyar Temple is the hindu temple dedicated to the deity shiva,located at the base of annamali hills in the town of Thiruvanamalai in Tamil Nadu,India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of saivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, The Pancha Bhoota Stalas,and specifically the element of fire, or Agni. Shiva is worshiped as Annamalaiyar or Arunachaleswarar, and is represented by the lingam,with his idol referred to as agni lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as unnamulai amman. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil savia canonical work, the Tevaram,written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. The 9th century Saiva saint poet Manikkavasagar composed the Tiruvempaavai here.

           
                                                                                                                          N.Savitha

MADURAI MEENAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE

Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic temple located on the southern bank of vaigai river in the temple city of  Madurai,Tamil Nadu,India. It is dedicated to parvathi known as Meenakshi, and her consort, shiva,here named sundareshwar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of  the 2,500-year-old city of  Madurai and is a significant symbol of tamil people,mentioned sice antiquity in tamil literature.Though most of the present structures was build between 1623 and 1655 CE. It is said that the temple is originally build in 6 th century BC by the survivors of Kumari Kandam.The temple is the most prominent land mark and most visited tourist attraction in the city.

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GURUVAYUR SRI KRISHNA TEMPLE

GURUVAYUR SRI KRISHNA TEMPLE

Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Krishna (anavatar of the god Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus of Kerala and is often referred to as "Bhuloka Vaikunta"which translates to the "Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth".

The presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple is Vishnu, worshipped in the form of Krishna. The central icon is a four-armed standing Krishna carrying the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the maceKaumodaki and a lotus with a Holy basilgarland. This image represents the majestic form of Vishnu as revealed to Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Krishna's birth; hence Guruvayur is also known as "Dwarka of South India". He is currently worshipped according to routines laid down by Adi Shankara and later written formally in the Tantric way, the inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, by Cennas Narayanan Nambudiri (born in 1427). The Cennas Nambudiris are the hereditary tantris (high priest) of the Guruvayur Temple.

The temple (puja) routines are strictly followed.
                                       PADMAPRIYA I