51 Famous Temples of India | Memorable Temple Tour of India

Famous Temples of India

India is a famous for its rich cultural heritage, and you will find temples all over the length and breadth of the country which are revered by devotees throughout the year. Several festivals are held in these temples and elaborate rituals followed. Here, we are providing you a brief description of the 51 famous temples of India that deserve mention in the list of anybody wishing to have a temple tour of India.

1. Akshardham Temple, Delhi: Swami Narayan Akshardham Temple displays a millennia of the traditional Hindu culture and spirituality, inspired by Yogiji Maharaj. The temple complex features an Abhishek Mandap, Sahaj Anand Water Show, a thematic garden, and exhibitions. The imposing 10-storey high building has intricate carvings, sculptures and filigrees, bearing witness to the amazing craftsmanship.

2. Badrinath Temple, Uttarakhand: The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and has his dual forms as Nar and Narayan. It was re-established as a pilgrimage site by Adi Shankar in the 9th century, Also known as Badrinarayan, the temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is significant pilgrimage center of the Vaishnavites. It is most important temples the Char Dhams.

3. Kadarnath Temple, Uttarkhand: The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the destroyer of the universe. The ancient temple has been continuously reconstructed over a period of time. It sits among the snow-capped peaks.

4. Gangotri Temple, Uttarakhand: The temple is dedicated to the goddess Ganga. The temple is located the birthplace of Ganga and is situated amongst the magical surroundings.

5. Yamunotri Temple: Located opposite to Gangotri temple, it is dedicated to the goddess Yamuna who is made of black marble. The sanctity of the place provides a deep feeling of reverence. The temple is located that origin of rive Yamuna.

6. Vaishno Devi Temple: Located in Katra, Jammu, the temple is dedicated to Vaishno Devi also known as Mata Rani who is a manifestation of the goddess Durga. The temple is visited by nearly 8 million devotees each year. It is the second mist visited shrine after Tirumala Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The temple has three rock heads, called Pindis, instead of statues.

7. Dwarkadhish Temple, Gujarat: Also known as Somnath and Dwarka Temple, it is devoted to Lord Krishna. There is a flag on top of the temple that shows sun and moon, which is changed five times a day.

8. Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha: The temple has idols of Lord Krishna, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The temple organizes annual Rath Yatra which is witnessed by millions.

9. Sri Ventakateshwara Temple, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh: Situated in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, the temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Lord Vishnu, who is said to have appeared here to save the mankind from trials and tortures.

10. Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu: It is one of the ancient and largest temples of India. This 2500-year old temple is devoted to the goddess Meenakshi, an avatar of goddess Parvati, and her husband Sundareswar or lord Shiva. It has 33,000 sculptures and 14 gopurams or gateway towers. The temple is an exquisite work of art. It has enormous gopurams towering over the city of Madurai with rich carvings.

11. Chhattarpur Mandir, Delhi: Chhatarpur temple complex in Chhatarpur, near Mehrauli is made of white marble in both North and South Indian styles. The main deity of the temple complex is goddess Durga while there are also shrines for goddess Lakshmi, lord Shiva, Ganesha and Hanuman.

12. Golden Temple: Also known as Swan Mandir or Sri Harmandir Sahib, this the holiest shrine of Sikhs and remains alive with religious fervor throughout the year.

13. ISKCON Temple, Delhi: The temple in Delhi was built in 1998 by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Chants of Hare Krishna can be heard throughout the day in the temple. It follows a strict standard of worship with six aartis and six bhogas offered to the deities each day.

14. Kashi Vihwanath Temple: Located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the temples with Jyotirlinga, which are 12 in all. It was commissioned in 1780 by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar after earlier being destroyed by the Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb. It is located on the banks of river Ganga in Varanasi, the temple has one of the 12 Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva, also known as Vishwanath or Vishweshwara. The darshan of Jyotirlinga is believed to liberate one from the bondage of maya or the earthy entanglements of the world.

15. Kamakhya Devi Temple, Assam: Dedicated to the goddess Kamakhya, this is a popular and one of the most important destinations of India. This is an important site of trantric worhippers. It is one of the 51 Shati Peethas or divine places of the goddess Shakti. The inner sanctorum or the garbh griha has a yoni-shaped stone filled with water located in a cave below the ground level.

16. Lakshmi Naryan Mandir, New Delhi: Also known as Birla Mandir, the temple is thronged by thousands of devotees on Janmashtmi and Diwali. It is built in the Nagara style of architecture and is adorned with rich carvings, depicting scenes from the Hindu mythology.

17. Lotus Temple, Delhi: Also known as Baha’i House of Worship, it is open to the people of all faiths. There are no idols but huge halls for prayers and meditation. It’s the only temple Baha’I faith in Asia.

18. Somnath Temple, Gujarat: Located in Junagarh district of Gujarat, it is one the 12 temples with Jyotirlingas in India. The temple is dedicated to Somnath or the God of Moon.

19. Siddhivinayak Temple, Maharashtra: Dedicated to Lord Ganesha, the temple, it is one of the most prominent temples of Maharashtra. The temple sees the maximum number of devotees on Tuesday. It was constructed in 1801 by Deubai and Vithu Patil.

20. Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, Uttarakhand: Located atop a hill at 1675m, this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. According the legends, the venom oozed out during Samudra Manthan was ingested by the Lord Shiva at this very place.

21. Amarnath Temple, Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir: This cave temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It enshrines a lingam which is naturally formed on an ice stalagmite. The cave temple is covered with snow for the major part of the year except a short duration of summers. The temple cave is believed to be 5000 years old.

22. Bhairon Mandir, Delhi: The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is believed to have been constructed by Pandavas. It is unique in the sense that it allows the devotees to offer alcohol to the presiding deity Bhairon, a manifestation of Shiva.

23. Dakshineshwara Kali Temple, Kolkata, West Bengal: The temple was built by Rani Rashmoni in 1855. The temple complex houses 12 identical temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the primary Hindu pilgrimage centers of the Eastern India.

24. Mansi Devi Temple: Located in Hardwar, Uttarakhand, the temple is temple is dedicated to the goddess Mansa Devi. This holy abode of Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti, is said to have emerged from the mind of Lord Shiva.

25. Jwalamukhi Temple, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh: The temple is dedicated to the goddess with a flaring mouth. The natural gas comes from inside the ground which is lit by the priest. The fire is considered as a manifestation of the goddess Jwalamukhi who is worshipped in the form of flames. It is one of the 52 Shakti Peethas located in India.

26. Har ki Pauri, Haridwar, Uttarakhand: Har ki Paudi has a sacred bathing ghat. Taking a dip in the waters here is believed to help achieve salvation of ancestors. The evening prayer or aarti is performed at dusk on the banks of river Ganga which is offers an enthralling experience.

27. Kalighat Kali Temple, Kolkata: Located in Kolkata at the banks of river Hooghly, it is dedicated to the goddess Kali. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas where various body parts of the goddess are believed to have fallen. It was originally built in the 16th century.

28. Tirumala Tirupati Temple, Andhra Pradesh: The temple located atop Tirumala hills near Tirupati is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is a form of Lord Vishnu. The temple is also known with several other names such a Balaji, Govinda and Srinivasa. It is second in the assets after Sri Padmanabhswamy Temple in Kerala. 50,000 to 100,000 devotees visit the temple each day.

29. Shani Shingnapur, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra: The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Shanidev who is a personification of the planet Saturn. There is a five and a half feet back stone in the open air platform symbolizing Shani. The temple sees a large number of devotees on Amavasya or the New Moon day.

30. Mukteshwara Temple, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha: This gem of Odisha has exquisite carvings and sculptures that adorn it. The temple marks the culmination of all earlier artistic initiatives and stylistic developments in the state.

31. Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, Shirdi, Maharashtra: The temple is dedicated to Sai Baba whose teachings combined the elements of Hinduism and Islam. It the largest Sai Baba temples in India, and is flocked by a large number of devotees each Thursday.

32. Nathdwara Srinathji Temple, Rajasthan: Also known as Nand Bhawan or Nandalaya, the temple has an idol of Shrinathji who is self-carved in bas-relief out of a monolithic black marble that provides a mesmerizing sight to the eyes.

33. Jain Temple, Ranakpur, Rajasthan: The temple dedicated to Adinatha is made of light colored marble. It houses 1444 exclusively carved pillars, no two pillars are alike in design and sculpture. The great structure of the temple is well supported with the help of 1400 superbly carved pillars. The temple is designed to use only the batural light for illumination.

34. Hanuman Temple, Delhi: Located in Connaught Place in New Delhi, the temple is believed to be of the day of Mahabharata. Lord Hanuman is worshipped here as Sri Hanuman Ji Maharaj.

35. Khajuraho Temples, Madhya Pradesh: This is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the seven wonders of India. The breathtakingly beautiful temple is oozes creativity, grace and elegance. It has erotic sculptures and carvings that adorn the exterior of the temple.

36. Brahadeshwara Temple, Thanjavur: Also known as the Big Bull Temple, it was built during the reign of the great Chola Emperor, Raja Raja Chola. This ancient an architectural marvel. The temple was built in 1010 AD and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva is marks the culmination of the Dravidian style of architecture.

37. Vithala Temple, Hampi, Karnataka: The temple is built in Vijaynagar style of art and architecture. It has a gopuram with a hundred-pillared mandapa. The temple displays the craftsmanship and architectural brilliance of the artists.

38. Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha: The temple built in Kalinga style of architecture dates back to 1000 AD. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is built of sandstone and laterite. It is the largest temple in Bhubaneshwara.

39. Konark Sun Temple Odisha: This 13th century construction is a stunning creation of man. The temple is dedicated to Sun God and is magnificence personified. It is built in the shape of an enormous chariot with twelve pairs of wheels and drawn by seven horses.

40. Chamdundeshwari Temple, Mysore, Karnataka: the temple is dedicated to the goddess Durga, the fierce form of Shakti. The hill on which the temple is located is named after the goddess Chamundi, the incarnation of the Lord Shiva’s consort, Parvati.

41. Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the temple is seen reclined on the five-hooded serpent Anantha in a conscious cosmic slumber. Its granite pillars has elaborate carvings that adorn the corridor. It is the wealthiest temple in India, surpassing Tirumala Tirupati Temple.

42. Sabarimala Temple, Kerala: Located in the Western Ghat mountain ranges, it is believed to be the place where god Ayappan meditated after killing the demon Mahishi. The temple sees the largest number of pilgrims,, each year, around 45 to 50 million. It is open Mandalpooja, Makaravilakku and first six days of each Malayalam month.

43. Sripuram Golden Temple, Vellore, Tamil Nadu: The temple has vimanas and ardhamandapa coated in gold both from outside and inside.

44. Moti Dungri Ganesh Temple, Jaipur, Rajasthan: The temple is positioned on a small hill. There is an exotic palace named as Moti Dugngri Palace which belonged to Rajmata Gayatri Devi. It is has intricate stone carvings and exquisite lattice work.

45. Ramanathswamy Temple. Tamil Nadu: Lord Rama is believed to have worshipped Lord Shiva here after crossing over Sri Lanka. The temple located to Lord Shiva has one of the 12 Jyotirlingas where Shiva is worshipped as a Pillar of Light.

46. Jakhoo Temple, Himachal Pradesh: Located in the hilly town of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, the temple is dedicated to the monkey-god Hanuman. Ii is situated on Jakhoo hill and has a giant 108-feet statue of the lord at the highest altitude of 8100 feet.

47. Belur Math: Located at the west bank of river Hooghly in West Bengal, it is the headquarter of Ramakrishna Math and Mission. Belur Math was founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

48. Kanchipuram Temples, Tamil Nadu: It is one of the sacred places in India where devotees can attain Moksha, as per the Hindu mythology. There are three temples, viz. Kamakshi Amman Temple, Ekambareswarar Temple and Varadraja Perumal Temple, all three of them exhibit fascinating piece of architecture.

49. Kanyakumari Temple: Located at Kanyakumari island in Tamil Nadu, the presiding deity of the temple is Kumari Amman, also known as Bhagavathi Amman. The temple is considered to be 3000 years old and presents a mesmerizing scenic beauty due to its location by the side of the vast expanses of ocean.

50. Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu: Located at the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, it is one of the oldest known temples of South India. The Group of Monuments at the Mahabalipuram is a World Heritage Site. The 8th century temple was built under the patronage of Pallava rulers.

51. Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, Karnataka: The temple is dedicated to Lord Virupaksha, a form of Shiva. This UNESCO World Heritage Site hold an annual chariot festival.

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4 Top Ways to Get a Good Deal

Everybody loves a bargain. Being cautious and careful with your money doesn’t mean you’re not spending it at all; you’re just spending it in the right places. Getting a good deal is all about just that – knowing what you’re spending your money on and when and where to do it.

Getting the best price on a particular item will require different methods depending on what you’re buying, but in general there are a few simple considerations to make before splashing the cash.

Know what you’re looking for
Firstly, you’ve got to know what you’re looking for. If you only have a vague idea, then it is unlikely you’re going to thoroughly compare all of your options and look in the right places. This could require some scouting. Initial research or window shopping for the general item you’re after can help you hone in on what it is you actually want or need. Once you’ve identified the specific item or service, your real research can begin.

Get a quote if you can
Research into deals can be done via various methods, but one of the most proven to ensuring you know what you’re spending is to get a quote. A motor trader, for example, may get a trade insurance quote when looking to insure their company, while somebody with a broken car could get a quote on the repairs needed to their vehicle. These are two sides of the same spending coin – whatever service it is you’re shopping for, and a quote always enlightens you a little more.

Shop in the right places
When you know what it is you’re looking for, make sure you’re shopping for it in the right places. A large department store might have one of everything under the sun, but they may also only have a small selection of the exact items you’re looking for. An instance of this is children’s toys. A store that stocks clothes, televisions, food and toys will have fewer toys than an actual toy store. Going somewhere that specializes in the specific item you want will give you better choice and, if you’re lucky, a better price, too.

Shopping online also gives you a vast array of options and allows you to keep multiple tabs open at once in order to cross-check the prices. This is much simpler than having to write down or remember prices in physical stores.

Ask your friends
What are friends for? Helping you out, of course. Ask around your friends if any of them have recently bought the item or service you’re looking for, and find out where they got it from. This can give you a useful starting point when beginning your research.

A good deal isn’t only dependent on the price, but also on the quality of the product. Asking your friends is a good way of determining if they felt the purchase they made was good value, or otherwise. If you don’t have any friends who have recently invested in the item you’re shopping for, online customer reviews will provide the same advice.

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Want to Become a Snowboard Instructor? Here’s How

Becoming a snowboard instructor takes some serious commitment and a real passion for the sport. If you believe you have what it takes, there are several things that you can do to increase your chances of getting hired. Unless you live very close to the slopes, chances are you will also have to consider moving away from home. This is a big commitment, but one that is filled with life-lessons and amazing opportunities. Here is how you can live out your dreams and become a snowboard instructor.

Begin Planning

Becoming a snowboard instructor means planning for the future and knowing where you want to end up. This means you should do thorough research and see where is best for you. You also need to consider applying for visas to work and live in your chosen place, and it may be that you want to begin learning some basic phrases in another language to help you get by. Duolingo is a handy, free application for mobiles that allows you to learn languages in an easy to understand format. Even though many countries speak English, you may need another language to get ahead of the competition.

Take a Snowboarding Course

To become a snowboard instructor, you need to take a course and pass the exam. Each of these courses is tailored to suit your specific needs and level of experience. Whistler snowboarding delivers anything from 4 to 11-week courses, providing you with all the information you need to take a final exam and become an instructor. To take these courses, you will need to have enough money to pay for the course and for the additional extras that aren’t included in the course fees. Ensure you read the information properly before application. It may be worth working for a few months and saving everything you can before setting off on your new adventure.

Ensure You Have the Right Skill Set

There are many skills that you will need to acquire to become a great snowboard instructor. Of course, many of these you will learn whilst on your snowboarding course, but in the meantime, there are things that you can do at home to improve your skills. To teach, you need to have patience and approachability. If confidence isn’t your strong suit, this is something you will need to work on. If you have the opportunity, it may be worth teaching a friend or family member to snowboard, to get invaluable practice at teaching.

Applying for Jobs

Once you have all the necessary qualifications in place, it is time to apply for your dream role. Depending on what course you take, the company may assist you in getting a job, or you may even want to take a course to train to become a snowboarding instructor for that company. If you do want to set out on your own, ensure your CV is relevant and informative. Natives.co.uk is a fantastic place to find seasonal work.

Following the above steps will assist you in landing your dream job. Be sure to do appropriate research and make sure you are financially stable before taking a course. It could be a while before you find a job or get out there working!

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The Role of Women in Himalayan Art

Although not often centered in gallery spaces, both secular and religious artists of the Himalayas have been creating beautiful and powerful images of women for millennia. Recently, benefactors like Louise Gund and spaces like the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive have brought the focus back to female figures in this time-honored artistic tradition.

Buddhist Himalayan Art

Himalayan Buddhism focuses more on a mythological pantheon of protagonists and antagonists than the more zen-like Mahayan Buddhism. It's art is known for being colorful, erotic and lively. There are myriad depictions of divine women. Female identity is often intertwined with the concepts of wisdom, beauty, compassion, fecundity and power. Here are some examples of female figures to look for:

Mahapajapati Gotami

Himalaya is home to Buddhist nuns known as bikshunis or bikkhunis, that are often painted or drawn in murals. They are followers of the first bikkhuni, Mahapajapati Gotami, Buddha's maternal aunt and adoptive mother who was the first woman to both request and receive ordination from Gautama Buddha directly. She raised the Buddha after his birth mother, Maya, passed away. Maya and Mahapajapati were Koliyan princesses and sisters to Suppabuddha. The story of Mahapajapati and her 500 bikshuni companions was widely popular and existed in multiple versions over the centuries.

Tara

Tara is an important female figure in almost all branches of Buddhism- in Vajrayana Buddhism she is a female Buddha; in Mahayana Buddhism she is a boddhisattva; in Tibetan Buddhism she is specifically the boddhisattva of compassion and action. She is even known in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. She is also called the mother of liberation and represents the virtue of success from work. In the artistic record, she can be seen as a statue, painting, mural or thangka. One of her most famous depictions is the Holy Spoken Green Tara in Nyanang Phelgyeling Monastary, Tibet.

Palden Lhamo

Palden Lhamo or Panden Lhamo is a goddess or Dharmapala in Tibetan Buddhism. Her name translates to "Glorious Goddess". She is celebrated all over Tibet and Mongolia as a principle protector of the region, and is also claimed to be the tutelary deity of Tibet and its government. She is known to be a wrathful female protector, and the only female among the traditional 'Eight Guardians of the Law'. She is depicted as being deep blue with red hair and three eyes, often crossing a sea of blood on a white mule. She is also often shown drinking blood from a human skull. It is told that she killed her own son, who was destined to bring an end to Buddhism, and used his skin as a saddle for her mule.

Male figures and gods such as the Buddha or Krishna may come immediately to mind when thinking about historical Buddhist art. This may be due to how this art has been presented in International spaces, because women were not originally meant to take a back seat in this artistic tradition. It's wonderful that the archival and artistic communities are coming back to re-examine the role of women in Himalayan art and re-frame their interpretation.

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4 Benefits of Using Conveyor Systems in Different Industries

Over the past few decades, many industries have adopted the use of conveyor belts to reduce the amount of manual work necessary to transport large and inconvenient materials and objects. Every industry from material shipping to production has utilized these potent machines to their fullest extent. What is it that makes conveyor systems so beneficial to the efficiency of work in these facilities and how can rising industries benefit from them?

1. Continuous loading and offloading

Taking a bunch of items and transporting them via forklift or hand is something that takes quite a bit of time. Unloading these same items is both tiresome and time-consuming. It doesn’t help that there’s never a shipment that requires just one loading and unloading. Going back and forth from one end of a material shipping facility to the other wastes even more time. A continuous and automatic transport system can make this job a lot easier.

Conveyor belts don’t have to stop while shipments are placed on them. They continuously transport item after item, allowing you to simply load things on one end and unload them on the other one without having personnel move them. This happens over a long period of time, meaning you don’t have a lot of time constraints, as long as two people can load and unload from the conveyor.

2. Moving in both directions

Many products within material shipping and production industries will need to make several round trips around the facility before being ready to ship. Often, the manufacturing process will require that certain parts get reinforced using the same machine and then transported to a previous machine for additional modifications.

Transporting products and shipments manually back and forth would be tiresome, even with the use of transport equipment and machinery. A conveyor belt can be manned by one individual and transport hundreds of shipments in a short amount of time without moving from their controls.

It helps that conveyor belts can also be sped up and slowed down when production requires it. Some parts of the manufacturing process will take longer than others, and this variance can come in handy.

3. Saving tons of energy and fuel

Various industries require very large vehicles to transport material over short and long distances. For example, transporting large amounts of dirt and rocks is regular day-to-day work in the mining industry. In small-scale operations, this is often done with the help of large trucks. However, this is hardly an efficient solution. Loading debris and dirt into a truck takes time, and transporting consumes a lot of fuel.

There’s a much simpler way to transport materials that don’t have to be handled carefully. By utilizing conveyor belt pulleys, you can carry large loads of any material over a very long distance. This mechanism is a lot more efficient when it comes to fuel and power consumption. Plus, the continuous work of a belt pulley makes it possible to transport even more material over a shorter span of time.

4. No height limitation

Horizontal conveyor systems are absolutely essential within manufacturing facilities. They are the bread and butter of transportation for products. Factories often have several floors where work different stages of a product are being finalized. This means that every product needs to be transported across several different floors. Using elevators and cranes wouldn't be very efficient time-wise.

Luckily, conveyor belt systems can be made to transport items on an incline with relative ease. There’s basically no height limit and the risk of products falling is minimal. With the right protective railing, the chances are basically zero. It’s something you’ll see in every large factory that has multiple floors. Conveyor belts can even be designed to transport things on a near-vertical incline, lowering the amount of space that they take up.

Conclusion

It’s no wonder that so many industries choose to utilize these marvels of engineering. Conveyor belts are an efficient and easily operated solution to some of the most pressing problems in manufacturing and shipping industries. While they might already be spread out among countless facilities, conveyor systems are being used in new and creative ways to ease the burden of work in these industries. It’s hard to imagine a large-scale industrial facility that wouldn’t utilize them.

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