historical temples

Vaishno Devi Vaishno Devi,  also known as  Mata Rani, Trikuta  and  Vaishnavi , is a manifestation of the Hindu  Mother Goddess   Mahalakshmi . The words "maa" and "mata" are commonly used in  India  for " mother ", and thus are often used in connection with Vaishno Devi. Vaishno Devi Mandir  ( Hindi :  वैष्णोदेवी मन्दिर ) is a  Hindu temple  dedicated to the Hindu Goddess, located in  Katra  at the  Trikuta Mountains  within the Indian state of  Jammu and Kashmir . The Temple or Bhawan is 13.5 km from Katra and various modes of transportation are available from katra to Bhawan, including Ponies, Electric vehicles and paalkhis operated by 2 or 4 persons. Helicopter services are also available up to Sanjichhat, which is 9.5 km from Katra. [1]  Bhairon temple is another 1.5 km from Bhawan.

Raghunath Temple Raghunath Temple  consists of a complex of seven  Hindu  shrines, each with its own Shikhara. It is one of the largest temple complexes of north India. It is located in Jammu in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The temple was built during the period 1822–1860 by order of Maharaja Ranjit Singh while Jammu was under his administration by Maharaja Gulab Singh. The temple has many gods in its complex of shrines, but the presiding deity is Rama, an Avatar of Vishnu. The Mughal architecturalinfluence is seen in all the spiral shaped towers which have gold plated spires, except the tower over the main shrine which is said to be in Sikh architectural style. The niches in the walls of the shrines are decorated with 300 well crafted images of deities. The paintings in the 15 panels of the main shrine are based on themes from Ramayana,abharata, and Bhagavad Gita. The t...

Kheer Bhawani Kheer Bhawani  is a temple dedicated to the Goddess Kheer  Bhawani  (originally just Bhawani) constructed over a sacred spring. The worship of Kheer Bhawani is universal among the  Hindus  of  Kashmir . The temple is situated at a distance of 14 miles east of Srinagar  near the village of Tul Mul. The term  kheer  refers to rice pudding that is offered in the spring to propitiate the Goddess, which became part of the name of the temple. As is the custom with Hindu deities, she has many names: Maharagya Devi, Ragnya Devi, Rajni, Ragnya Bhagwati, and so on. It is the most important temple for the followers of  Historical Vedic Religion  in Kashmir, known as the  Kashmiri Pandits . Around the temple is an area covered with smooth and beautiful stones. In it are large, old-growth  chinar  trees beneath which the pilgrims sit or sleep on mats of grass. While most of the colours do not have any p...

Chamunda Chamunda  ( Sanskrit :  चामुण्डा ,  Cāmuṇḍā  ;  Kannada: ಚಾಮುಂಡ  ), also known as  Sachchi Mata,   Chamundi ,  Chamundeshwari, (ಚಾಮುಂಡೇಶ್ವರಿ) and  Charchika , is a fearsome aspect of  Devi , the  Hindu   Divine Mother  and one of the seven  Matrikas  (mother goddesses). She is also one of the chief  Yoginis , a group of sixty-four or eighty-one  Tantric  goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess  Durga . The name is a combination of  Chanda  and  Munda , two monsters whom Chamunda killed. She is closely associated with  Kali , another fierce aspect of Devi. She is sometimes identified with goddesses  Parvati ,  Chandi  or  Durga  as well. The goddess is often portrayed as haunting cremation grounds or fig trees. The goddess is worshipped by ritual animal sacrifices along with offerings of wine and in the ancient times...

Hidimba Devi Temple Hidimbi Devi Temple , also known variously as the  Hadimba Temple , is located in  Manāli , a hill station in the State of  Himāchal Pradesh  in north  India . It is an ancient cave temple dedicated to  Hidimbi  Devi, wife of  Bhima , a figure in the Indian epic  Mahābhārata . The temple is surrounded by a cedar forest at the foot of the  Himālayas . The sanctuary is built over a huge rock jutting out of the ground which was worshiped as an image of the deity. The structure was built in 1553. The Hidimba Devi Temple has intricately carved wooden doors and a 24 meters tall wooden "shikhar" or tower above the sanctuary.The tower consists of three square roofs covered with timber tiles and a fourth brass cone-shaped roof at the top. The earth goddess Durga forms the theme of the main door carvings. The temple base is made out of whitewashed, mud-covered stonework. An enormous rock occupies the i...

Chintpurni Chintpurni  ( Hindi :  चिंतपूर्णी   Punjabi :  ਚਿੰਤਪੂਰਨੀ ) is a major pilgrimage center and one of the  Shakti Peethas  in  India . The Chintpurni shakti peeth (Chhinnamastika shakti peeth) is located in  Una district   Himachal Pradesh  state, surrounded by the western Himalaya in the north and east in the smaller Shiwalik (or Shivalik) range bordering the state of  Punjab. The Chintpurni Shakti Peeth houses the temple of Chinnamastika Devi or  Chinnamasta  Devi.  Chhinnamasta  or Chinnamastika temple is one of the 7 major and 51 total Shakti Peethas . Here,  Chhinnamasta  is interpreted as the severed-headed one as well as the foreheaded-one. The temple dedicated to Mata Chintpurni Devi is located in District Una of Himachal Pradesh. Mata Chintpurni Devi is also known as Mata Shri Chhinnamastika Devi. Devotees have been visiting this Shaktipeeth for centuries to pray at the...

Baijnath Temple Vaidyanath (‘the Lord of physicians’.)Siva Temple, Baijnath Baijnath (32° 3’ North lat. And 76° 41’ East long.), a small township in the Dhauladhar range of western Himalayas, 16 km from Palampur in the Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh is famous for its 13th century temple dedicated to Siva as Vaidyanath, ‘the Lord of physicians’. Originally known as Kiragrama, the town lies on Pathankot-Chakki-Manali highway (National Highway No. 20) almost midway between Kangra and Mandi. The present name Baijnath became popular after the name of the temple. The town is located on the left bank of the river Binwa, a corrupt form of ancient Binduka, a tributary of river Beas. The Baijnath temple has been continuously under worship ever since its construction in 1204 A.D. by two local merchants named Ahuka and Manyuka. The two long inscriptions in the porch of the temple indicate that a temple of Siva existed on the spot even before the present one was constructed...

Bhuteshwar Temple Bhuteshwar Temple  is a Hindu temple, in the series of 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra, dedicated to Bhuteshwar, a manifestation of Shiva.Situated in  Jind , Haryana, the city noted for its countless temples that are devoted to Lord Shiva. The ruler of the district, Raghbir Singh, constructed a temple, which came to be known as the Bhuteshvara temple. This temple is dedicated to Shiva. It has a large water tank all-around it and this is the reason that the Bhuteshvara temple is also recognized as Rani Talab. The word 'ta-lab' is a Hindi word, which means pond. The tourists almost all round the year visit this well-known temple. There are a lot more to see in Jind, like the Hari Kailash temples, Jawala Maleshvara tirath, Dhamtan Sahib Gurudwara and the Surya Kund tanks. One very famous temple, which holds much significance regarding the history of the district, is the Jayanti Devi Temple. The other places of worship are the ...

Kanwari Kanwari , also spelled  Kunwari ,  Knwari  or  Kwari , is a village of 7,000 population, in Hansi Tehsil, Hisar-1 Rural Development Block,Hansi (Vidhan Sabha constituency) and Hisar (Lok Sabha constituency)of Hisar District of Hisar Division in the Haryana state of India. It is situated 166 kilometres (103 mi) from the national capital Delhi and 24 kilometres (15 mi) from the district headquartersHisar on the Hisar-Tosham road. After Independence of India in 1947, Kanwari became part of Punjab. Once Haryana was formed as a separate state in 1966, Kanwari became part of the Hisar district, state of Haryana State. Kanwari has an old Shiva temple called  Baba Shri Giri  (the lord of mountains) and an Akhara (abode) for sadhus (Hindu mystics) as well as a temple of...

Agroha Dham Agroha  ( Devnagari : अग्रोहा धाम) is a  Hindu temple  complex in  Agroha ,  India . Construction started in 1976 and was completed in 1984.  The temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess  Mahalakshmi . The decision to construct the temple was made at the convention of All India Aggarwal Representatives in 1976. The trust was established for this purpose under Shri Krishna Modi and Rameshwar Das Gupta.  The land was donated to the trust by Laxmi Narain Gupta and construction was started under the supervision of Tilak Raj Aggarwal. The construction of the main temple was completed in 1984 while construction of other features started in 1985 under Subhash Goel.

Sannihit Sarovar Sannihit Sarovar  is a sacred water reservoir in Thanesar in Kurukshetra district. It is believed to be the meeting point of seven sacred Sarasvatis.The  sarovar , according to popular belief, contains sacred water. Bathing in the waters of the tank on the day of Amavasya (night of complete darkness) or on the day of an eclipse bestows blessings equivalent to performing the  ashvamedh yajna . Bathing in this  sarovar  is believed to offer peace to wandering and unhappy souls. Prayers and  pind daan , amemorial service for the dead, is performed here. Alongside the sarovar are small shrines dedicated to LordVishnu, Dhruv Narayan, Laxmi Narayan, Dhruv Bhagat, Sri Hanuman and Goddess Durga. The Sannihit Sarovar is believed to be the abode of Lord Vishnu.

Brahma Sarovar Brahma Sarovar  is an ancient water tank sacred to  Hinduism  in  Thanesar , in the  state  of  Haryana  in  North India . Hinduism  lays emphasis on taking bath for internal and external purity. Most religious sites have water tanks or sarovar in or near the temple / gurdwara . According to stories of myths, Lord Brahma created the universe from the land of Kurukshetra after a huge yajna. The Brahma Sarovar here is believed to be the cradle of civilization. The sarovar is also mentioned in the eleventh century AD memoirs of Al Beruni, called ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’. The sarovar also has a mention in Mahabharata citing its use by Duryodhana as a place for hiding himself under water on the concluding day of the war. A sacred shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva stands within the sarovar, accessible by a small bridge. According to scriptures, bathing in this sarovar incre...

Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple The ancient  Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple , dedicated to Lord  Shiva  is situated in  Thanesar , a holy town in the  Kurukshetra district  of Haryana . It was here that the  Pandavas  along with  Krishna  prayed to  Lord Shiva  and received his blessings for victory in the battle of  Mahabharata . The ninth  Guru , Shri  Tegh Bahadur  stayed at a spot near the Sthaneshwar Tirtha that is marked by a  gurdwara  just besides this temple. Legend has it that the waters of the tank adjoining the temple are holy. A few drops of water cured the King Ban of leprosy. No pilgrimage of  Kurukshetra  is believed to be complete without a visit to this ancient, holy temple. The tank and temple lie a short distance from the  Thanesar  town, which gets its name from this temple. It is also believed that Lord Shiva was first worshipped here in the form of a...

Mata Mansa Devi Mandir Mata Mansa Devi  is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti, in the Panchkula district of Haryana state inIndia. The temple complex is spread of 100 acres (0.40 km 2 ) of the Shivalik foothills in village Bilaspur, near Mani Majra, andPanchkula, 10 km from Chandi Mandir, another noted Devi shrine in the region, both just outside Chandigarh. It is one of the prominent Shakti temples of North India. Thousands of devotees visit the shrine from various parts of the country, and especially during the Navratra mela, this number rises to lakhs everyday for the nine auspicious days Maharaja Gopal Singh of Mani Majra constructed the present main temple of Shri Mansa Devi, which is situated on the Shivalik foothills in village Bilaspur, Tehsil and District Panchkula, during the peri...