Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

A GREAT DESTINATION

PILGRIM CENTRES

Badrinath (Uttar Pradesh): Vishnu temple in Himalayas; snow- covered for six months. Kedarnath (Uttar Pradesh) : Shiva temple in Himalayas at an elevation of 11,735 ft. Hardwar (Uttar Pradesh): Shiva temple, Manasa Devi Mandir & Ganga Matha Mandir. Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years. Har-ki-podi to take holy-bath. Rishikesh (Uttar Pradesh) : Bharata temple, Pushkar temple, Geeta Bhawan, Ashram of Swami Shivananda, Laxman Jhoola (Swing of Laxman) Dwaraka (Gujarat) : On the west coast, one of the four most sacred places of India, legendary kingdom of Lord Krishna, Dwar- akadhish temple. There is also a Rukmini temple, Shankara- chary a math. Somnath (Gujarat): One of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of (Maharashtra) : Sundarnarayan temple, Trimbakeshwar temple, Kala Rama and Kapaleshwar temple; Kumbhmela takes place here every twelve years. Shirdi (Maharashtra) : Samadhi temple of mystic saint Shri Sai Baba. Basilica of Bom Jesus (Goa): In Old Goa, tomb & mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier who died in 1552, exposed to public view once every 10 years (next in 1994). Sravanabelagola (Karnataka) : Sacred place for Jains, statue of Gomateshwara, between Indragiri and Chandragiri hills (world's tallest monolithic statue). Spectacular Mahamastakabhisheka every 12-14 years. Sringeri (Karnataka) : Adi Shankara's math, on the banks of river Thunga, Vidyashankar temple with zodiac pillars, Sharada temple (goddess of learning). Guruvayur (Kerala) : Famous temple of Krishna idol believed to be original which was installed in Dwaraka. Trivandrum (Kerala) : Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, huge idol of Lord Padmanabha in sleeping pose, constructed by Maharaja of Travancore in 1733. 388 pillars in temple corridors. Sabarimala (Kerala) : Hill top temple of Lord Ayyappa (son of Shiva & Vishnu). Makara Jyothi on Sankaranti day (January). Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) : Place where three seas meet, land's end, extreme southern tip of India, temple of Virgin Goddess, Vivekananda Rock memorial. Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh) : Prashanti Nilayam (Abode of Highest Peace) Ashram and place of residence of Baba. Also present are Vidya Vihar, Space Theatre, Museum & Shrines Tirupathi (Andhra Pradesh) : At the foot of seven hills, famous for the temple of Sri Balaji (Vishnu), known as Tirumala, Gov- indarajaswami, Kodandaramaswamy & Padmavathi temple. Puri (Orissa) : Temple of Lord Jagannath, Rath Yatra is world famous. Shiva. Nasik

Amarnath : (Jammu & Kashmir), At a height of 3962m (12,729 ft) caveshrine famous for ice lingam (Lord Shiva's form) which waxes & wanes with the moon. Cave remains covered with ice from Sept.-June, thousands of Hindus visit here during full-moon day in the month of Shravan (July-Aug.) Vaishno Devi : (Jammu & Kashmir) Ancient caveshrine to goddess Vaishno Devi, at a height of 5,300 feet. Three images of Goddess representing creation, preservation and destruction. Golden Temple : (Amritsar) Built by Guru Arjun Dev, in the midst of a lake, Granth Sahib holy book of the Sikhs is enshrined here; temple renovated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in 1803, by covering it with gold. Akal Takht (Throne Eternal) is next to the temple. Kurukshetra : In Haryana, legendary site of Mahabharat war. Lake here attracts lakhs of Hindus during solar eclipses. La- kshminarayan temple, Gita Bhavan, shrine of Sita and very an- cient banyan tree existing from the time of Mahabharata war is one of the main attractions. Dilwara Jain Temples : (Rajasthan) On Mount Abu, five fa- mous temples, Vimal Vasahi and Tejpal temple unique for their architecture, built entirely of white marble. Pushkar (Rajasthan) : Lake Pushkar, one of the holiest places in India has the only temple for Brahma in India. Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh): One of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva, island shaped like the sacred symbol om. Re- built by Peshwa Baji Rao II. Mahabaleshwar (Madhya Pradesh) : One of the twelve Jyot- rirlingas, destroyed by Muslims, restored by Maharaja Scindia. Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) : Hindu sacred place at confluence of three rivers. Kumbha Mela takes place here every 12 years. Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) : One of seven sacred Hindu cities, birthplace of Lord Rama. Mathura (Uttar Pradesh): Birthplace of Lord Krishna, Dwar- akadeesh temple, Gita Mandir. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) : Holiest place of Hindus. Vish- wanatha Temple, Benaras Hindu University, Bharat Mata temple, Annapurna temple, Durga temple.

Dakshineswar (West Bengal) : Kali temple associated with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Belur Math, headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda. Nabadwip (West Bengal) : Birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, pilgrim centre for Vaishnavites.