World Pilgrimage Guide

                              Jyotir Linga Shiva Temples Of the three gods of the Hindu trinity, Shiva is the most commonly worshipped in India today, Vishnu being the second, and Brahma the third. The origins of Shiva are found in a pre-Aryan fertility god and also in a fierce deity of the  Vedas  called Rudra. Shiva is a god of many and often contrasting characteristics. He is associated with the creative energy of the universe, and at the same time with its destruction. Literally his name means 'One in whom the universe sleeps after destruction and before the next cycle of creation'. It is said that all that is created must one day disintegrate; this disintegration is a return to the formless void from which creation may once again spring forth. Shiva is the dynamic power behind this endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Shiva may be worshipped in both his anthropomorphic form, as a...

Willong Khullen Manipur Remotely located in the mountains of northern Manipur, the magnificent collection of standing stones of Willong Khullen is one of the most mysterious and unstudied sacred places in the entire world. There are approximately 150 standing stones, many as tall as 23 feet (7 meters) and absolutely nothing is known about them. Where the stones are from, who carved them, how they were transported to this site, how they were used, when the site was constructed – all of these are mysteries yet to be solved. Martin Gray  is a cultural anthropologist, writer and photographer specializing in the study and documentation of pilgrimage places around the world. During a 38 year period he has visited more than 1500 sacred sites in 165 countries. The  World Pilgrimage Guide  web site is the most comprehensive source of information on this subject. For places for travelers in visit now Shakti Pitha Temples Jyotir Linga Shiva Temples ...

                                    Shakti Pitha Temples The primary sacred places of the goddess in India are known as  Shakti Pithas  and they are listed in different texts as being 4, 18, 51 or 108 in number, each of these sites being associated with a particular part of Shakti's body. A fascinating legend gives insight into the miraculous healing powers of the Shakti Pithas. History Shakti Pitha was the daughter of King Daksa and Queen Prasuti. She was also the wife of Shiva, whom King Daksa disliked for being a rough ascetic and for marrying Shakti against his wishes. King Daksa once held a great ceremony, called a  yagna , to which he invited neither his daughter nor son-in-law Shiva. Shakti was offended by this slight and attended the ceremony uninvited. Insulted by Daksa, she took her life by immolating herself in the ceremonial fire. On hearing this news, Sh...

Srisailam is a census town in Kurnool district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Srisailam mandal in Kurnool revenue division the town is famous for Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga Temple and is one of the holy pilgrimage sites for Saivism and Shaktism sects of Hinduism. The town is classified as both Jyotirlinga and Shakti Peetha. At a distance of 160 km from Nandyal, 181 km from Kurnool, 229 km from Hyderabad, 263 km from Vijayawada and 527 km from Bangalore, Srisailam is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva situated on the banks of River Krishna in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the most important pilgrimage centers of Lord Shiva in India and also one of the top Places to visit in India . Srisailam is also one of the most popular weekend getaways from Hyderabad. Srisailam is famous for Srisailam Temple & Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The sanctum enshrines Lord Mallikarjuna i...

Haridwar meaning ‘Gateway to God’ is one of the seven holiest places of the Hindus, located on the banks of River Ganges. It is the place where river Ganga descends to the plains. Haridwar is also spelled as Hardwar or Hari-Dwar. Haridwar is also known as the home of Devi Sati and the palace of her father Daksha. In ancient times, the town was referred to as Gangadwára   the place where the Ganges descends to the plains. A paradise for nature-lovers, Haridwar presents kaleidoscope of Indian culture and civilization.  Haridwar also termed as 'Gateway to Gods' is known as Mayapuri, Kapila and Gangadwar as well. The followers of Lord Shiva (Har) and followers of Lord Vishnu (Hari) pronounce this place Hardwar and Hardwar respectively as told by some. It is also a point of entry to Dev Bhoomi and Char Dham (Four main centers of pilgrimage in Uttarakhand) Viz. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. Haridwar is a typical place to start a pilgrim's ...

Haridwar is district of Uttarakhand state in India. Haridwar is place where the river Ganges enters in plain areas north India after flowing 250 km from its origin Gaumukh (Gangotri Glacier). Haridwar is the destination where people from across the India visit for pilgrimage and to take a holy dip into the holy river Ganges. Haridwar city is an ancient and it is one of the most sacred cities in India. The diverse nature of the Hindu religion has attracted foreign visitors from all around the world. Foreigners always attracted to Haridwar because here they can closely experience India's complex culture, various Hindu rituals and the ancient civilization. Haridwar 30 kms from Rishikesh and 90 kms from Mussoorie and 220 kms from Delhi Haridwar contains two words Hari and Dwar. Hari means god and Dwar means gate. Haridwar means gateway to the god. There are four holy temples Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath on the hills also known as chardham. Haridwar is lik...

The city of Amritsar is a historical one and one of the holiest cradle of the Sikhism religion. The Harmandir Sahib or the Darbar Sahib is the most sacred shrine of Sikhism. It is renowned by the name of Golden Temple in India and is one of the most visited pilgrimage site and one of the most popular tourism destinations in India. The Golden Temple The Har Mandir Sahib is believed to be established as a small temple in the year 1577 by a certain sage called Guru Ram Das but the foundation stone from Lahore was laid under the care of Fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjun in the year 1589. The modern temple is however built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the year 1830. The temple is placed at the centre of a manmade lake is made of marble, copper and bronze with the dome being foiled with gold, thus conferring the name of Golden Temple to Harmandir Sahib. The Sikh community reveres the temple as their holiest shrine and is the home of Akal Takht sect. The gurudwara is encompassed by w...

Banaras is the most visited pilgrimage destination in all of India . One of the seven Holy Cities, one of the twelve Jyotir Linga sites and also a Shakti Pitha site, it is the most favored place for Hindus to die and be cremated. Myths and hymns speak of the waters of the Ganges River as the fluid medium of Shiva's divine essence and a bath in the river is believed to wash away all of one's sins In recent years the Ganges River has drawn attention for its ungodly level of pollution. But the bathers are immune to all this. Nearly 2.5 million of them come each year to Banaras , this holiest of cities, on the banks of the most sacred of Indian rivers.   According to Hindu legend, Lord Shiva unleashed the Ganges from the knot of his hair. For centuries, its rich floods lent fertility to the soil of the central Gangetic plains, which nourished some of India's most prominent ancient civilizations. Varanasi is a heap of mismatched temples and narrow steps located o...

Worship of shivalinga is considered the prime worship for the devotees of Lord Shiva. Worship of all other forms is considered secondary. The significance of the shivalinga is that it is the resplendent light (flame) form of the Supreme - solidified to make the worship of it easier. It represents the real nature of God - formless essentially and taking various forms as it wills. The 12 jyotirlinga temples                               There is a Sanskrit shloka that lists the twelve jyotirlinga temples. “Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile Mallikarjunam| Ujjayinya Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram || Paralyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram | Setu Bandhethu Ramesam, Nagesam Darukavane|| Varanasyantu Vishwesam Tryambakam Gautameethate| Himalayetu Kedaaram, Ghrishnesamcha shivaalaye|| Etani jyotirlingani, Saayam Praatah P...

Maharaja Dhanya Manikya founded the Tripura Sundari Temple in the year 1501. It is said that he actually founded the temple for Lord Bishnu, but later on due to a revelation in his dream, he carried on the idol of Mata Tripura sundari which is made up of Kasti stone from Chittagong of Bangladesh and installed it in the temple.  It is considered to be one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. According to Hindu Mythology, Peethasthans are those places where the body parts of Devi Sati fall have fallen. As per “Pithamala Grantha”, Sati’s right foot falls here during Lord Siva’s “Tandava” Dance.  All these information’s are gathered from the manuscripts of the Temple. But these manuscripts have got destroyed during the course of time. Tripura Sundari Shakti Pitha Temple, Matabari, Tripura The temple is known to be the congregation of people from different religions and culture. The unique feature of the temple is that people from any religion can offer Puja to Sri Sri Ma...

Located in the city of Tiruchirappalli, on a small island between branches of the rivers Kaveri and Coleroon, stands the massive temple of Srirangam. The most revered of the 108 pilgrimage shrines of Vishnu, and the largest temple complex in all of India, it is surrounded by seven concentric walls (the outermost wall having a perimeter of over 3 kilometers) and 21 towers called gopurams.                              Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple complex is composed of 7 concentric walled sections and 21 towers gopuram The southern gopuram of the temple, called the Rajagopuram, is 239.5 feet tall and, as of 2016, is the tallest in Asia. The construction of the Rajagopuram began during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire. However, construction was halted after his death and the structure of the Rajagopuram remained incomplete for over 400 years. The monumental task of completion of...

A temple that resides in the heart of every single Bengali and is highly revered for being the sanctum sanctorum of Goddess Kali along with the place-of-stay of one of the greatest mystics and yogis of all times, Ramkrishna Paramhansa and his consort and spiritual companion, Maa Sarada Devi.  The Dakshineshwar Kali Temple with the untiring efforts of Rani Rashmoni was the result of a dream that the Rani had seen before undertaking a pilgrimage to Benaras (now Varanasi). The large temple complex, built between 1847 and 1855, had as its centerpiece a shrine of the goddess Kali, and there were also temples dedicated to the deities Shiva and Radha-Krishna.  A scholarly, elderly sage was chosen as the head priest and the temple was consecrated in 1855. Within the year the priest died and his responsibilities passed to his younger brother, Ramakrishna, who over the next thirty years would bring great fame to the Dakshineswar temple. Kali temple of Dakshineswar ...