Patteeswaram temple

Towering gopurams on all 4 sides and a beautiful tank adorn this vast temple with 3 prakarams. gnanambikai and durga are housed in separate temples. durgas shrine here is of great importance. the koti theertham well in the temple said to have been created by Rama is considered to be equivalent todhanushkoti, is situated just 8 km from kumbakonam. sri durgai shrine is very popular here. Originally patteeswaram is known for the shiva temple called sri dhenupureeswarar temple located here. goddess is gnanambika. patteeswaram got its name as, patti, daughter (calf) of sacred cow kamadhenu worshipped here.
According to legend, parasakthi wanted to perform thapas ans was trying to located a peaceful place. she found this place and started her thapas. this shivastalam is a shrine patronized ardently by the cholas who had pazhiyarai (patteeswaram ) as one of their capitals. it is virtuallynext door to darsuarm, a storehouse of chola art.
Satthi muttam is another shrine that is closely tied to patteeswaram. the entire area around pazhaiyarai vadatali abounds in monuments from the chola period. patteeswaram is considered to be the 23rd in the sereis of tevara stalams in the chola kingdom located south of the river Kaveri. patteeswaram was home to saivaite mutts of great prosperity and influence; these mutts rendered invaluable services to the promotion of the tervaram hymns and temple service.

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Sree padmanabhaswamy temple

Sree pasmanabhaswamy temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to lord vishnu located in thiruvananthapuram, India. the shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the royal family of travancore the temple is one of 108 divya desams (holy abodes of vishnu) principal centers of worship of the deity in vaishnavism. lord  balaram, according to srimad bhagavatam (10.79.18) visited phalgunam (now known as thiruvananthapuram) as part of his teerthyatra, took bath in panchapsaras (padmatirtham) and made a gift of ten thousand cows to holy men. the temple is glorified in the divya prabandha, the early medieval Tamil literature canon of theTamil alvar saints (6th c 9th centuries ce) with structural additions to it made throughout the 16th century ce, when its ornate gopuram was constructed. the temple is a replica of the famous sri adikesavaperumal temple at thiruvatter. sri padmanabhaswamy temple gave its name to keralas state capital thiruvananthapuram. thiru anantha puram means sacred abode of lord anantha  padmanabha. the city is also known as anandapuram (city of bliss) and syananduram (where bliss is not far off). ananda refers to sree padmanabha himself. Hindu scriptures refer to the supreme being as sachidananda (absolute truth, absolute consciouseness and absolute bliss).
the principal deity, padmanabhaswamy , is enshrined in the anantha -sayanam posture (in the eternal sleep of yoga-nidra on the serpent ananthea ) the maharajah of  travancore bears the title, sree padmababhadasa (servant of lord padmanabha). inline with the temple entry proclamation, only those who profess the Hindu faith are permitted entry to the temple. devotees have to strictly follow the dress code.

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Shravanabelagola temple

Shravanabelagola is located at 13 km to the south-east of channarayapatna in the cannarayapatna taluk of hassan district of Karnataka . it is at a distance of 51 km south-east of hassan, the district center. the statue of gommateshavar bahubali at sravana belgola is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations injainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural activity under the patronage  of western Ganga dynasty of talkad. chandragupta is said to have dide here in 298 bc after he became a jain monk and assumed an ascetic life style. the 57-feet tall monolithic statue of gommateshvara is located in vindyagiri hill. it is considered to be the worlds  largest monolithic stone statue. the base of the statue has an inscriptions in kannada as well as the oldest evidence of written marathi, i.e. devnagrari script, dating from 981 ad. the inscription praises the king who funded the effort and his general, chavundaraya, who erected the statue for his moter. every twelve years, thousands of devotees congregate here to perform the mahamastakabhisheka. a spectacular ceremony in which the statue is covered with milk, curds, ghee, saffron and gold coins.

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Srirangam temple

Srirangam temple sri ranganatha swami is blessing in three different island of the  holy river cauvery. It flows from Karnataka to Tamilnadu.
Srirangam is the foremost of the eight self-manifested shrines (swayam vyakta kshetras) of lord vishnu. It is also considered the first, foremost and the most important of the 108 main vishnu temples (divyadesams). This temple is also known as thiruvaranga Tirupati, periyakoil, bhoologa vaikuntam, bhogamadabam.
In the vaishnva parlance the term koil signifies this temple only. the temple complex is 156 acres in extent. it has seven prakaras or enclosures. these enclosures are formed by thick adn huge rampart walls which run round the sanctum. there are 21 magnificent towers in all prakaras providing a unique sight to any visitor. this temple lies on an itself formed by the twin rivers cauvery and coleroon. the temple of sri ranganathaswami at srirangam boats an historic past of great kingdom and a civilization thousands of years old.

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Siddhivinayak temple

The shree siddhivinayak Ganapati mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to lord shri Ganesh. it is located in prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra. it was originally built by laxman vithu and deubai patil on November 19, 1801. though it is one of the richest temples in Mumbai, the current generation of patil is staying in state of despair near the temple.
The siddhivinayak mandir evolved from a small, tiny place of worship to the grand temple that stands today in the later half of the twentieth century. temple glory was bought not only by the politicians who frequented the temple but also Bollywood film stars who continuously visit to seek the blessings of lord Ganesha. siddhivinayak is well known as navasacha ganapati or navasala  pavanara ganapati (ganapati bestows whenever humbly genuinely prayed a wish in  marathi) among devotees.
every day, over 25,000 devotees flock the temple to offer their prayers and seek the  blessings of lord ganesh. Tuesday is considered to be the most important day for puja and darshan at this temple . during sankashti chaturthi and angaraki a large number of devotees gather to attend the special events held within this temple.

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Thillai Natarajan temple

Thillai natarajah temple, chidambaram (chidambaram thillai natarajar-koothan kovil of chidambaram temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to shiva located in the town of chidambaram, east-central Tamil nadu, South India. the temple is known as the foremost of all temples (kovil) to saivites and has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two millennium. the temple is referred to in all devotional literature as bhooloka kailasam, or kailasam, the lord sivas abode that mabifests on earth. the sangam classics list chief architect viduvelvidugu perumtccan as directing an early renovation of the shrine. a major shrine of shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations an dofferings to chidambaram by the pallava,chola, pandya, vijayangara and chera royals in the  ancient and pre-medieval periods. the temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. its bronze statues and stone sculpturses depicting  various deities and the famous thillai trees(excoecaria agallocha) of the surrounding forest reflect the highpoints of early chola and  pallava art while its famed gold plated gopuram towers are medieval structural additions by the royals aditya-l parantaka chola-l , kopperunchinga-l krishnadevaraya and jatavarman sundara pandyan. king kocengannan chola was born following frayers his parents offered at the temple and later in his life he refined its structurd. the shrine  gave the town its name. the deity that presides here is thillai koothan (thillai nataraja-  shiva, lord of dance). chidambaram is the birhtplace of the sculpture and bronze image representation of shiva as the cosmic dancer, a tamillian concept and motif in chola art that has since become notable as a symbol of Hinduism the shrine is the only shiva temple to have its main deity represented in this anthropomorphic form, as the supreme being who performs all cosmic activitie

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Tirumala venkateswara temple

Tirumala venkateswara temple is a Hindu temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in  the Chittoor district of Andhra pradesh . the tirumal hill is 853 m above sea level and is about 10.33 square miles (27 km) in area. it comprises seven peaks, representing the seven heads of adisesha, thus earning the name seshachalam. the seven peaks are called seshadri, neeladri, garudadri, anjanadri, vrushabhadri, narayanadri, and venkatadri.
the temple is the richest pilgrimage center, after the sree padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, of any faith and the most-visited place of worship in the world. the temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on  average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000 making it the most-visited holy place in the world.
the names ascribed to the main deity are balaji, srinivasa, venkateswara, edukondalavadu(lord of seven hills in Telugu) and venkatachalpathy or venkataramna. the goddess sri of lakshmi resides on the chest of venkateswara; thus he is also known by the epithet srinivasa

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Sri thyagaraja temple

Sri thyagaraja temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to lord thyagaraja located in the town of tiruvarur in Tamil nadu, India. the temple is revered by the thevaram hymns of saiva nayanars, 7th century Tamil saint poets and classified  as paadal petra sthalam.
The temple dates back to the time of the medieval cholas. an inscription dated in the 20th reginal year of rajendra l (1012-1044) beginning with intriduction tirumanni valara is found on the north and west walls of the thyagaraja shrine. It gives  a list of gifts  including a number of jewels and lamps to the god vidividankadevar(thyagaraja)
The temple complex occupies an area  of around 33 acres with the kamalalayam  tank to its west. There are numerous shrines and mandapas (halls) in the three spacious
enclosures (prakaram). The two main shrines of the temple are for valmikinathar (lord siva) and thyagaraja of the two the former is the most ancient, and derives its name from the anthill (putru), which takes the place of linga in the main shrine. Appear, the 7th century poet saint, refers to the main deity in his hymn as puttritrukondan(one who resides in the ant hill). the stala vriksham (temple tree) is patiri (trumpet flower tree). the principles and practises of tree-worship and ophilotary are ancient bases whereupon a later date linga worship seems to have been established . here all the 9 navagrahams located towards south in straight line also located in northwest corner of 1st (prakaram). this temple hold the record of having maximum sanni this in India.

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Vaishno devi temple

Vaishno devi mandir is one of the holy Hindu temples dedicated to shakti, located in the  hills of vaishno devi, Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Hinduism, vaishbo devi, also known as mata rani and vaishnavi, is a manifestation the mother goddess. Vaishno devi temple is near the town of katra, Jammu and Kashmir lkatra, in the reasi district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is  one of the most revered places of worship in India.
Approximately 8 million pilgrims (yatris) visit the temple every year and it is the second most visited religious shrine in India, after Tirumala venkateswara temple. the sri mata vaishno devi shrine board maintains the shrine. a rail llink from udhampur to katra is being built to facilitate pilgrimage.

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Sai baba shirdi

Sai baba of shirdi, also known as shirdi ke sai baba was an Indian guru, yogi, and fakir who is regarded by his devotees as a saint. many devotees including hemadpant,  who wrote the famous shri sai satcharitra consider him an incarnation of lord krishna while other devotees consider him as an incarnation of lord dattatreya. many devotees believe that he was  a satguru. sai baba remains a very popular saint, especially in India, and is worshiped by people around the world. he had no love for perishable things and his sole concern was self-realization  he taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment , inner peace, and devotion to god and guru. sai baba's teaching combined elements of Hinduism and Islam.he gave the Hindu name dwarakamayi to the mosque he lived in , practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions, and was buried in shirdi. the shirdi sai baba movement bagan in the 19th century , while he was living in Shirdi. a local khandoba priest, mhalsapati nagar, is believed to have been his first devotee. in the 19th century sai babas followers were only a small group of shirdi inhabitants and a few people from other parts of India. because  of sai baba, shirdi has become a place of importance and is coutnted among the major Hindu places of pilgrimage.

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Rameswaram temple

Rameshwaram temple is situated in the island of Rameswaram , off the sethu coast of Tamil nadu and is reached via the pamban bridge across the sea. the huge temple is known for its long ornate corridors, towers and 36 theerthams. Rameswaram Jyotirlinga represents the southern most of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India and has been a time honored piligrimage. center held on par with banaras. Rameshwaram temple jyotirlinga is associated closely with the ramayana and ramas victorious return from sri lanka Rrameswaram temple is  spread over an area of 15 acres and has lofty gopurams, massive walls and a colossal Nandi.
Rameswaram jyotirlinga also boasts of a 4000 feet long pillaed corridor with over 4000 pillars, supposedly the longest in the world. this  hill on the rameshwaram island, has a small shrine, consisting of imprints of lord ramas feet, which is worshiped here. a worth visiting site. there are almost 36 theerthams here out of which 22 are in the rameswaram temple. the water of these theerthams are said to be therapeutic. a bath in these is regarede signficant. the agni theertham refers to the  ocean while the koti theertham is located within the temple itself.
 Ramas worship in the month of aani (June 15-July 15) is a town and a third grade municipality in the  ramanathapuram district in the south Indian state of Tamil nadu. it is located on pamban island separated from mainald India by the Pamban channel and is about 50 kilometres from manner island, Sri Lanka. it is situated in the gulf of manner, at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. pamban islad, also known as rameswaram island, is connected to mainland India by the pamban bridge.Rameswaram is the terminus of the railway line from Chennai and Madurai. together with Varanasi, it is considered to as one of the holiest places in India to Hindus, and part of the char-dham  pilgrimage.

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Sabarimala temple

It is one the most ancient and prominent sastha temples in the country. located in the western ghat mountain ranges of pathanmthitta district in Kerala, sabarimala sri dharmasastha temple is one of the few Hindu temples in India that is open to all faiths. the shrine of sabarimala is one of the most remote shrines in Southern India. surrounded by mountains and dense forest sabarimala is believed to be the place where ayyanppan meditated.best known piligrimage destination in Kearala is sabarimal. sabarimala sri dharmasasthe. temple is the most famous and prominent among all the sastha temples. it is believed that parasurama maharshi who retieved Kerala from the sea by throwing his axe, installed the idol of Ayyappa at sabarimala to worship lord Ayyappa. the pilgrimage begins in the month of November and ends in January. the temple attracts pilgrims not only from the southern states of India, but also from other parts of the country and abroad.

Season:main pilgrim season from november to january.

Event:mandala pooja and makeravilakku are the two main events of the  pilgrim season. the temple stays closed during the rest of the year except for the first five days of every malayalam month and during vishnu (April).

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Meenakshi amman temple

Menakshi sundareswara temple or meenakshi amman temple or tiru-aalavaai is a historic Hindu temple located in the southern-banks of river vaigai in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil nadu , India. the temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai.
the temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people. ans has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is built during 1623 to 1655 ce. the temple attracts 15000 visitors a day, around 25000 during Friday [9] and gets an annual revenue of sixty million rupees there is an estimated 33000 sculptures in the temple and it was in the list of top 30 nominees of the new seven wonders of the world.

The temple is the geographic and tiruat center of the ancient city of Madurai and one of the largest temple complexes in Tamil nadu. it is one of the few temples in Tamil nadu to have four entrances facing four directions. the city was laid out in the shape of square with a series of concentric streets culminating from the Temple. these squares continue to retain their traditional names, Aadi , chettirai, avani-moola and masi streets, corresponding to Tamil month names/


The temple is surrounded by gopurams. there are ten gopuram the tallest of which, the famous southern tower, rises to over 170 ft (52 m) and was built in 1559. the oldest gopuram is the eastern one, built by maravarman sundara pandyan during 1216-1238. each gopuram is a multi-storeyed structure, covered with thousands of stone figures of animals, gods and demons painted in bright hues. the outer gopuram presents steeply pyramdal tower encrusted with plastic figures, while the inner gopurameserves as the entrance to the inner enclosure of sundareswarar shrine.

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Lotus temple

The lotus temple located at Kalkahi in New Delhi, India, is a bahai house of worship completed in 1986. notable for its flower like shape, it serves as the mother temple of the Indian subcontinent and has become a prominent attraction in the city. the temple has no restrictions for visitors and is open to people from all religions. lotus is a symbol of peace , purity , love and immortality, it is this particular speciality of lotus flower which makes the flower an important icon in Indian culture and society.
the temple looks like a lotus flower and is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. a half opened lotus flower with 27 freestanding perals made of marble. the construction work took almost 10 years before it finally got shape and was open for public. the team comprised of 800 engineers, technicians, workers and artisans who worked diligently to give realization to one of the most complex edifices in the world.
There are nine reflecting pools that encompass the temple from outside. converting the geometry of the design that did not have any straight line to the actual structure needed a lot of effort and dedicated engineering . the temple has the capacity to accommodate nearly 2500 people and has nine doors that open in a central hall . the temple has to its accreditation being recognized all over the world as one of the most visited edifices in the world with almost 50 million people having visited the temple since its inception in 186. the credit for building this beautiful structure goes to the Persian architect Fariborz Sahba from Canada.
The lotus temple has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. award given to the architect mr. Sabha in the year 1987 from international federation for art and architecture, USA. award for the structural design by the institute of structural engineers in UK . the citation award for personifying the visual impact of the beautiful Lotus flower. accreditation for its outdoor illumination in the year 1988 American  concrete institute award for being one of the most artistically built concrete structures. in the year 2000 it received the glob art academy award from glob art academy in Vienna.

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