Most beautiful temple in India

[veerakumar]

TAJ MAHAL located in Agra Uttar Pradesh

[Perfection]

@veerakumar

Is it a temple ?. May be !@#.

[Perfection]

Tiruvannamalai Arunachal temple, Tamil Nadu : Temple tower is of 66 m with 1000 pillared hall, 80 km from Vellore/ Katpadi. Ginjee fort (40 km).

Tiruvannamalai is the home of Annamalayaar or Arunachaleswarar (Shiva worshipped as a Shiva Lingam) and Unnamulaiyaal (Apitakuchambaal - Parvati), is one of the largest temples in India. It occupies a special place in the Saivite realm and is regarded as one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams (one of the five grand temples associated with the five basic elements) – associated with the element Fire, the other four being Tiruvanaikkaval (Water), Chidambaram (Space), Kanchipuram (Earth) and Sri Kalahasti (Wind) respectively. Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of a massive column of fire, whose crown and feet, Bhramma and Vishnu attempted in vain to reach. A celebration of this manifestation is seen today in the age old traditions observed in the Shivaratri and the Kartikai Deepam Utsavams held here.

Antiquity : There is an air of deep mysticism around the temple, the hill and its environs and the town itself has been known for its long association with Yogis, Siddhas, the well known spiritual savant Ramana Maharishi and several others. The origin of this temple dates way back in time, although much of the temple structure as seen today, is a result of building activity over the last one thousand years. Seventh century Tamil poetry glorifies this temple. All of the four Saivite saints Appar, Sambandar, Manikkavacakar and Sundarar have sung the glory of this temple and it was at this temple that Arunagirinathar began composing his immortal work Tiruppugazh. Muthuswamy Deekshitar’s kriti Arunachalanatham pays tribute to the presiding deity of Tiruvannamalai.

Architecture : The ancient and vast Arunachaleswarar Temple as it stands today is the result of several centuries of building, alteration and extension. A Nandi faces the main shrine in each of its five prakarams. The outermost prakaram houses the thousand pillared hall and the Shiva Ganga tank and is pierced on four sides with colossal Gopurams. The fourth prakaram includes the Bhramma Tirtham, and its eastern gateway Vallala Gopuram holds a statue of King Ballala. The third prakaram which dates back to the 12th century AD has several Linga Shrines, and the Kili Gopura entrance. In the East side of the prakaram stands the Flag Staff while the Northern side is home to the massive shrine of Unnamulai Amman. The 3rd prakaram surrounds the roofed 2nd prakaram which houses the pantheon of deities associated with Shiva, which in turn surrounds the shrine of Annamalaiyar.

Worship and Services :

An elaborate protocol of worship services marks each day at the Tiruvannamalai temple where about a hundred and fifty people are attached to the temple including priests, musicians, singers, carpenters, potters, washermen, palanquin bearers, garland makers, administrators, guards etc.

The day begins with the ceremonial arrival of Ganga to the shrine, from a tank in the Southern part of the town on an elephant through the Southern, Tirumanjana Gopuram. This water cleanses the entrance to the second prakaram, and then the next ritual involving the waking up of Shiva and Parvati in the bedchamber. The Shiva-Meru returns to the Annamalaiyaar shrine while the image of Parvati returns to the Unnamulaiamman shrine.

Six other pujas are offered at the temple, the first one at 6 am, and the last one at night where the Shiva Meru and the image of Parvati are processionally brought into the bed chamber. Each service is accompanied by chants of invocation, dedication and praise. In the south west corner of the prakaram, the sacrificial fire ritual takes place, ending with the consecration of vessels of water which are used in the ablution of Annamalaiyaar and Unnamulai Amman.

Festivals :

Several festivals dot the Tiruvannamalai temple town's calendar. Each occurrence of the full moon is a celebration in itself, as hundreds of thousands throng to circumambulate the Annamalai hill, considered to be a reperesentationof Annamalaiyar himself. The festivals of the temple are remarkably intertwined with the life of the locals, marking the so called subtle transcendence between the human and the divine states. In addition to the various festivals, Tiruvannamalai celebrates four annual Bhrammotsavams (10 day festivals) the most famous of which is the Kartikai Bhrammotsavam (in the Tamil month of Kartikai Nov 15 - Dec 15).

The Arudra Darisanam in the month of Margazhi (Dec 15 through Jan 15) is a celebration of the cosmic dance of Shiva. The Tai Poosam festival which occurs in the month of Tai (Jan 15 through Feb 15) is also of great significance. The Tiruvoodal festival, enacting a mock quarrel between Annamalaiyaar and Unnamulai Amman is enacted in the presence of Sundaramoorthy Nayanaar in the Tiruvoodal Street, a street that has been earmarked for this annual event. During this quarrel, Parvati enters the temple alone by herself, leaving Shiva outside, and Shiva (Annamalaiyaar) circumambulates the Annamalai hill (himself), and during his trip, grants liberation to the rishi Bhringi. His jewels get stolen in the west side of the town and he then recovers stolen jewellery in the eastern side of the town, and then returns to the temple the folowing morning.

In the month of Maasi, (Feb 15 through March 15) Shiva is crowned as the King in the absence of a royal heir to King Ballala of the Hoysala dynasty (an early 14th century ruler) whose statue adorns the Vallala Gopuram. Interestingly Ballala's death is announced as an element of the festival tradition during the Tai Poosam celebration season. Associated with these
events, Annamalaiyaar visits Pallikondapattu, one of the villages to the east of Tiruvannamalai, where the King's palace is said to have stood.

The Parivettai (Royal hunt) festival is a part of the two Bhrammotsavams celebrated during the winter and summer solstices. This festival represents a royal hunt on the borders of the town.

The celebration of Kartikai Deepam marks the conclusion of the ten day Bhrammotsavam in the month of Kartikai (Scorpio , Nov 15 through December 15). Each of these festival days is marked by the procession of the Pancha Murthys (Somaskandar - Annamalayar, Unnamulaiyaal, Ganapati, Subramanyar and Chandikeswarar) in gaily decorated mounts.

Most noteworthy among these are the Rishabha Vahana Utsavam celebrated on the fifth evening of the festival and the Rathotsavam, celebrated on the seventh day of the festival.

Kartikai Deepam is preceeded by the Bharani Deepam celebration when a lamp is lit in the main shrine of the temple following a fire sacrifice before the shrine of Surya. A small bowl of ghee lighted at this fire is used to light five other lamps representing the five aspects of Shiva. Preparations begin for the Kartikai Deepam which is to be celebrated in the afternoon.

A group of fishermen carry a portion of this fire inside a container of baked earth to the summit of the mountain where a large copper utensil filled with offerings of ghee and pieces of cloth has been placed.

Crowds begin to throng the temple complex, and a discernible order prevails among the crowd as the tens of thousands gathered begin their patient wait for the auspicious moment when the Deepam celebration would reach its peak.

In the meanwhile, preparations go on for the afternoon’s climax. Four of the five decorated Pancha Murthys are brought out from the main shrine of the temple and housed in Vimanams in the 3rd prakaram of the temple, facing the flag staff and the Annamalai hill. The last to arrive is Annamalaiyar who comes out of the second prakaram, dancing with his consort.

The crowd waits to catch a glimpse of the deepam which is then brought out of the inner shrine towards the Utsavar Annamalayaar. The anticipation of the lakhs gathered there can only be experienced, not described in words. The deepam is brought out in a gait by the bearers and a deeparadanai is offered to the Utsavar, and at this very instant, the lamp on the hill is lighted as the crowd breaks into a frenzied devout cheer, yet retaining the order that was there when it was just beginning to assemble. The human mass gathered within and around the precincts of the temple, along with the residents of the town and neighboring towns catch sight of the flame atop the Annamalai hill, cherishing the age old belief that it is a representation of Shiva himself, who appeared in the form of a flame whose origins could not be deciphered by the other two of the Trinity namely Bhramma and Vishnu. Keeping with tradition, the inner sanctum doors close, with the arrival of the deepam outside, and it is believed Annamalaiyaar is to be worshipped only as the beacon until the next morning when the shrine is reopened.

Access and Accomodation : Tiruvannamali (located in the erstwhile North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu) has several hotels and ashrams and it attracts visitors from all over the world - Ramanashramam and Seshadri Swami ashram being examples.

Each occurrence of a full moon attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The Kartikai Deepam celebration also attracts lakhs (hundreds of thousands) to the extent that all incoming traffic is halted at the boundary of the town on the day of the festival. The government of Tamil Nadu runs special bus and train services during the occasion. By car, it is a four to five hour drive from Chennai, and there are several 'point to point' non-stop bus services. Tiruvannamalai is located on the railway line linking Villuppuram and Katpadi, and is therefore connected conveniently by rail to centers such as Tirupati and Thanjavur.

Tirukkoilur with the Trivikrama temple and the Veeratteswarar temple, Saathanur Dam, and Vellore with its Jalakanteswarar Fort Temple are some of the nearby attractions.

[visualpeach]

I think India would be a great place to go to ^^. even though I hear its a bit dirty there. My friends go there sometimes for a month at a time, but they have family there. ^_^ But some places I do want to see..

[Perfection]

India is one of the beautiful country with lot of tourist importance places to visit. One really need months to see India in full. No other country provides this much variety of things to see. India is visited by more than four million foreig tourists a year and is a popular tourist destination for budget travellers and trekkers.

India is a developing country and around 25 % of the population lives below poverty line. India's progress is hindered by the population explosion. You cannot get the cleaness of a Euorpean country in India. Indian cities has it's own flavour, to enjoy it, come and travel in India. India has a rich cultural heritage, around 27 UNESCO world heritage centres, famous Taj Mahal and lot to see.

Indian Himalaya provides ample opportunites for trekking, river rafting, skiing, skating, camping, animal watching etc.

[Perfection]

Bhuvaneshwar : Land of temples and capital of Orissa.

Lingaraj temple : The 54 m high temple is surrounded by more than 50 smaller temples, dates from 1090 to 1104. The granite block representing Tribhuvaneshwar (Lord of three worlds), is bathed daily with water, milk and bhang (marijuana). The main gate has statues of two mustachioed yellow lions. Closed for non-Hindus.

Vaital mandir (temple) : This 8 century double storey Kali temple was a centre of eroticism and bloody sacrifice.

Parsurameshwar mandir : It is a collection of 20 smaller temples of which Parsurameshwar mandir is the well preserved. It has lively bas-reliefs of jolly elephant and horse processions, and Shiva images.

[Perfection]

Mukteswar, Siddheswar & Kedargauri temples : Mukteswar temple is near Parsurameshwar mandir. This 10 century temple is one of the most ornate temples in Bhubaneshwar. The ceiling carvings and stone arch are particularly striking but the beautiful ached torana in front, clearly showing Buddhist influence. Siddheswar (Lord Ganesh) is in the same compound, while Kedargauri mandir is over the road.

Raja Rani mandir : The temple is famous for it's ornate deul (temple sanctuary) and tower. The temple has statues of eight dikpalas (guardians), nymphs, embracing couples, elephants and lions languish in niches and decorate the pillars (Admission Rs 5).

Brahmeshwar mandir : This 9 century small temple has finely detailed sculptures with erotic elements.

State museum : It has Orissa's best collection of rare palm leaf manuscripts, traditional and folk musical instruments, Bronze age tools, an armoury and a fascinating display of Orissan tribal anthropology (Admission Rs 1, Monday closed).

Udayagiri & Khandagiri caves : The 1st century Jain rock cut shelters are ornately carved (Admission Rs 5, 15 caves). No bus, so take share auto from the city (6 km).

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Puri Jagannath temple : The mighty Jagannath temple is one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites in India and is famous for it's Rath Yatra (Car festival). It has jet black deity with large, round, white eyes (closed to non Hindus). Non Hindus can view the temple from the roof of the Raghunandan library with permission.
The 1198 AD temple is surrounded by two walls, it's 58 m high sikhara (tower) is topped by the flag and wheel of Vishnu. The eastern entrance is guarded by two stone lions and a pillar crowned by the Garuda.

Jagannath, brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra reside supreme in the central jagmohan (assembly hall). The brothers have arms but no hands, while smaller Subhadra, sitting in between, has neither. Priests continuously garland and dress the three throughout the day for different ceremonies. Incredibly, the temple employs about 6000 men to perform the complicated rituals involved in caring for the Gods. As estimated 20,000 people are dependent on the temple for their livelihood. The kitchen with 400 cooks, is reportedly the largest in the world.

[Perfection]

Rath Yatra (Car festival - June/July) : It commemorates Krishna's journey from Gokul to Mathura. Jagannath, brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra are dragged along Grand Rd in three 'rathas', to Gundicha mandir. The main car of Jagannath is 14 m high, runs on 16 wheels, each of 2 m in diameter. Four thousand professional temple employees haul the cars, which take enormous effort.

The gods take a week long 'summer break' in the Gundicha mandir before being hauled back to Jagannath mandir. After the festival, the cars are broken up and used for firewood in the temple's communal kitchens or for funeral pyre fuel.

Puri has a long sandy beach with a long ribbon of old hotels. One can see sand sculptures by local artists at the beach. Beach festival (Nov) is the best time to view Orissan artforms, odissi dance and sand sculptures. Puri is 60 km from Bhuvaneshwar (2 hour by bus), while Konark is 30 km from Puri.

[Perfection]

Konark temple : The majestic Sun temple is a world heritage site constructed in the mid 13th century. The jagmohan was closed off and filled with rocks and sand to prevent it from collapsing inwards. The main entrance is guarded by two stone lions crushing elephants and leads to the intricately carved nritya mandapa (dancing hall).

The temple was conceived as the cosmic chariot of the sun god, Surya. Seven mighty horses (representing the days of the week) pull the chariot on 24 stone wheels (representing the hours of the day). The base and walls present a chronicle in stone of Kalinga life. Many are in the erotic style for which Konark is famous and include entwined couples as well as solitary exhibitionists. Sometimes they're minute images on the spoke of a temple wheel, at other times they're life sized figures higher up the walls.

[Perfection]

Archaeological museum : It contains many sculptures and carvings found during the excavation of the Sun temple (Admission Rs 5, Friday closed).

Chandrabagha beach : This clean beautiful beach is 3 km from Konark on the Puri road.

The nestling beach for olive ridley turtles are Gahirmatha within the Bhitarkanika national park (100 km north of Bhuvaneshwar), Devi near Konark and Rushikulya (the best place to view) near Chilka lake. During late October to early December, turtles swim up from deeper waters beyond Srilanka to mate and lay their eggs on Orissa's beaches. Then in January they congregate near nestling beaches and, if conditions are right, they come ashore for over five days. Hatching takes place 50 to 55 days later. Hatchlings are guided to the sea by the luminescence of the ocean.



Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the smallest of the sea turtles, that can weigh as much as 45 kg. It is named for the olive color of its heart-shaped shell. In 2007, around 130,000 turtles nested on the beaches of Gahirmatha, Orissa. The villagers of Kolavipalam in Kozhikkode (Calicut, Kerala) district have been burning midnight oil to ensure the survival of the visiting Olive Ridley turtles. Every year, the turtles come to nest in the 20 km beach, which stretches between Pavyoli and Kottapuzha estuary, some 45 km north of Calicut.

It forages offshore in surface waters or dives to depths of at least 150 meter to feed on bottom dwelling shrimp, crabs, sea urchins and other animals crustaceans, mollusks and tunicates. Olive Ridley are sometimes seen feeding on jellyfish in surface waters. An average clutch size is over 110 eggs which require a 52 to 58 day incubation period.

[expertgamer]

did someone here mention tajmahal
......
is tajmahal a temple?
or something

[Perfection]

Hi friend,

Taj Mahal is not a temple. It is a mausoleum (tomb) made by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world located at Agra, India.


Tamil Nadu has colossal temples with their towering rainbow coloured gopurams, intricate rock carvings, music and complex classical dance - bharata natyam. The pilgrim cities of Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai (Arunachal temple), Chidambaram (Nataraja temple), Kumbakonam, Tiruchirappalli (Rock fort temple and Ranganathaswamy temple), Thanjavur (Brihadiswara temple), Madurai (Sri Meenakshi temple), Rameswaram and Kanyakumari worth a visit. The 13 km long Marina beach (second longest beach in the world) and the Mahabalipuram are the attractions near Chennai. The famous colonial hill stations - Ooty and Kodaikanal - have cool climate and scenic.

[Perfection]

Chennai

St. George fort : Built in 1653 by the British East India company is now houses State secretariat and Legislative Assembly. The 46 m high flagstaff at the front is a mast salvaged from a 17th century shipwreck. Fort museum (Rs 2, Friday closed) has a collection of military memorabilia from the British and the French East India companies, as well as the Raj and Muslim administrations. St. Mary's church (1680) is the first English church in Madras.

High court : The red Indo-Saracenic structure (1892) at Parry's corner is said to be the largest judiciary building in the world after the Courts of London. You can wander the court building to admire the architecture.

Government museum, Egmore : One of the best museums in Chennai (Rs 15, Camera Rs 200, Friday closed) with fine archaeological section, natural history and zoology section. The bronze gallery of ICICI is also worth a visit. The nearby National art gallery can be visited with the same ticket. On either side of the gallery are the children's museum and Modern art gallery.

[Perfection]

Chennai Tourist information

Vivekananda museum (Rs 1, Wednesday closed) is located at Ice house near the lighthouse at Marina beach.

The neo gothic style San Thome cathedral is near the Marina beach. Kapaleeshwar temple with it's 39 m high towering gopuram is a landmark of Chennai. Ramakrishna Mutt temple is another temple with orange clad monks.

Guindy national park, snake park and children's park are in Adayar. Valluvar Kotlam memorial shaped like a chariot (1976). Kishkinda fantasy park with 3D theatre, Vandalur zoological park (35 km), Pulicat (59 km, backwaters, boating, bird sanctuary, beach).