Bara Imambara, Lucknow city, UP.  

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There is nothing related to temples in this post. As we had a day in our hand before returning back to Hyderabad, we halted at Lucknow.

Lucknow


We had a day break in Lucknow. The city is capital of Uttar Pradesh. Lot of places to visit here, but we saw only Bara Imambara and a bit of shopping. We were tired by this time. The weather was horrible, one reason for our tiredness. The city is famous for chikankari or shadow work embroidery on fine muslin cloth.


The places one can visit are Bara Imamabar, Chota Imamabar, Botanical garden (Islander Baugh), and State Museum.


  1. Bara Imambara:






    The building and the place is very impressive. It was built in the year 1784 by fourth Nawab of Awadh known as Asaf-ud-Daula. Due to the famine in the year 1784, as part of relief work it was constructed. The Bara Imambara is famous historically and also for the architect. It is one of the important places of worship for Muslims during Muharram.





    The construction is of unique style. The central hall is 50 meters length and 15 meter height which is considered as largest arched hall in the world. Unique factor about the hall is there are no pillars or beams to support the roof of the hall.



    We see Rumi Darwaza with décor and close to it stand Aurangzeb’s mosque stands on a platform known as Lakshman Tila. There is a picture gallery which displays life size portraits of Nawab's of Awadh. Bulbulaiya







    Bara Imambara is well known for its incredible maze called Bulbulaiya. This is located in the upper floor of the monument. We have steps to reach the place. The place is full of balconies and passages, leading you up and down. Without the help of guide it is difficult to come outside on our own. One can view the scenic beauty of the city from the top of the floor which is breath-taking. The monument is open from 6am to 5pm.





  2. Shah Bauli
    This is a seperate building at Bada Imambara. The building is of 7 floors. As you take the step down you are in the 4th floor and 3 floors down, it's a big well. It was the place where queens have their bath. Renovation work is going on at this place.

Temples of Neimisaranyam  

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  1. Hanuman Mandir








    Hanuman Ghat is the place on top of a small hill where we see Viswaroopa Hanuman carrying Sri Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders. We had to climb few steps to the main sanctum. Near the entrance to left we see Makardwaj (son of Hanuman). In front of Sri Hanuman sanctum we see idols of Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana



  2. Sukha Maharishi temple








    This is near Hanuman Mandir. Here we see Sukar in bronze idol in a separate sanctum. In front of this sanctum we see a room in which books of all 18 Puranas and Vedas are preserved.



  3. Balaji Temple










    Here as we enter we see Dwajasthambam, and we enter into a hall where we see Balaji in main sanctum and Padmavathy Thayar in different sanctum.



  4. Durga temple:






    Durga Devi is considered as sister of perumal here. In the main sanctum we see Durga Devi and as we go around we come across another small sanctum in which we see Durga matha in Aruruvam, which is supposed to moolavar and nothing is clear to vision.



  5. Chakkra teertham







    This is in round shape and we have hectogn sort of pond around the chakkra teertham. we have steps to reach the water in the pond. The steps are too slippery. This is the pushkaram of this place. We have a sanctum for SriChakkrtazwar and Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana.



  6. Ahobila Matt:








    One of Ahobila Matt jeeyar attained paramapadham here and as a rememberence they have a sanctum for him. The sanctum is in the mutt premises. We have darshan of Sri Lakshmi Narashimar idols to which pooja’s are performed by a preist.




    Priest family takes care of the piligrims who visit the place. There are rooms to stay and food is arranged in mutt, if informed in advance. This is only for Brahmin community.

Devadhana Perumal, Neimisaranyam, UP.  

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  1. Neimisaranyam


    Nimisaranyam is 85 kms from Lucknow to Sitapur road. The place is on the banks of River Gomathy. There are few temples to visit.



    Devadhana perumal, One of the Divya Desam, Hanuman temple, Veda mandir, Durga temple, Chakkra teertham and Ahobila matt. A lady by name Mrs.Vinaya is arranging for taxi for your tour from there to Ayodhya, Allahabad and Varnasi. If someone is interested they can contact to the cell phone number 09936046748 She is a tamilian lady and travelers from south can converse in tamil to avoid confusion.


    Neimisaranyam:


    This place was arayanyam once, and it is considered sacred place to penance and attain divine power. The whole forest is worshiped as Supreme Lord. According to legends Lord chooses this place to establish Dharma. Vrittasura was troubling the sages and they prayed Lord to give a remedy for their issue. The Lords requested Maharishi Dadichi to give his bones to create a weapon to kill the demon. The maharishi obliged and they were able to get rid of the demon Vrittasuran.



    Sthala puranam says, Sutha puranikar recited 18 puranas for the benefit of Maha Rishi’s, in this place.


    The reason for the name Neimisaranyam is once Maharishi’s along with Sownakar, went to Lord Brahma, and asked him to show a place where they can do meditation and yagnas. Brahma took the wheel of his charriot and rolled it down. He said the place where wheel stops, that would be the ideal place for them. They wheel stopped at this place which was Aranyam


    Nemi means chakkram and the place it stopped, was Aranyam and hence the name.



  2. Devadhana perumal temple:



    This is one of 108 temples of Divya Desam. This is One of 8 Swayam Vektha kshetrams. The rest are Badri, Pushkaram, Srirangam, Salagramam Srimushnam, Vanamamalai, Pushkaram and Tirupathy. The place is regarded as Tapovanam.







    Main Deity is Devadhana Perumal in standing posture and in the main sanctum next to perumal we see lot of saligrahamas. In front of the main deity sanctum we have the darshan of Garudazwar. Goddess Pundarikavalli is seen if different sanctum. She is also known as Sri Hari Lakshmi, Sri Hari Priya.



    Sthala Vruksham is Thapovanam. All the trees in this forest are considered as sthala vruksham and hence it is known as Thapovanam.
    River Gomathy and Chakra Teertham are the pushkaram of this place.



Ayodhya Temples  

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  1. Kseereswarnath temple:





    Main deity Lord Siva in the form of Lingam known as Kseereswarnath. This temple was built by Queen Kausalya to her dughter-in -law. The temple is a small one.


  2. Valmiki Ramayan Bhavan:





    This is a marble building with a big hall. Complete Ramayana is written on the walls of the hall. there are pillars on which we see embossed pictures relating to Ramayana. To one side of the wall on a platform, we see sage Valmiki with Lava and Kusha to either side. The doors are seen with beautiful carvings.

Sri Ram Darbar, Ayodhya.  

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  1. Ram Darbar:








    There is a big hall and in the hall we see idols of Sri Rama, sita and Lakshmana. We also see a set of small idols there. This is the palace where Sri Rama and his courtiers meet, and he ruled the kingdom from here.



  2. Bada sthan:







    This is King Dasaratha's palace. Thre is a big hall we get to see the complete family. we see the idols of his four sons with their consorts Sri Rama and Sita, Lakshmana and Urvasi,Bharata and Mandavi , Sathrugana and Sruthakirthi.



  3. Bada Hanuman is just a gate way sort. Nothing much to see inside.







  4. Kala Ram Mandir:


    The temple is constructed at the place where Sri Rama performed Aswamedha yaga. About 300 years ago Raja of Kulu built a new temple which was improved by Ahalyabai Kolkar of Indore in the year 1784. The main deity of Sri Rama is of black stone which was recovered from Sarayu River. The temple is near Nageshwarnath temple and it was closed when we went there.



  5. Nageshwarnath temple:



    We reach the temple after crossing the bridge which was also constructed in the same year 1784.
    The temple was built by Prince Kusha, Sri Rama's son.







    According to legend this was the only place survived till the time of King Vikramaditya and rest of the city was ruined and covered by forest. King Vikramaditya located the city Ayodhya, with the help of this temple.



    Prince Kusha lost his armlet which was lost when he had his bath in River Sarayu. Nagakanya picked the armlet and gave it to Prince with whom she fell in love. Nagakanya was a devotee of Lord Siva, so Prince Kusha built this temple for her.



    Inside the sanctum we see Lord Siva in linga form, and a Dara pathra is hanging above the Siva Lingam. we see Ganesha to the front of main sanctun. Here we see different forms of Lord Siva's painted to walls. There is a seperate sanctum for Adi Siva Lingam. The present temple was built in the year 1750.

Ayodhya, UP  

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  1. Ayodhya:


    This is one of 108 Divya Desam. Birth place of Lord Sri Rama.



    Ayodhya is situated on the bank of River Sarayu. This place is 7 kms from Faizabad. This is a popular pilgrimage centre. The ancient city of Ayodhya according to Ramayana was founded by Manu. This is one of the seven sacred cities



    According to Purana. Ayodha is famous for its close association of Ramayana. It’s a city full of sacred temples and historical significance. Atharvana Veda describes Ayodhya as “a city built by Gods and being prosperous as Paradise itself”. Various faiths have grown and prospered simultaneously in different periods. Jains consider that 5 tirthankars were born in Ayodhya and the first Tirthankar Rishabadev is one amoung them.



  2. River Sarayu:



    The River was full of water and water flow was wild. We did enjoy the dip in the river. Some sort of arrangements is made for changing dress. There is lot of cows with panda’s standing there to do the godhan pooja for pilgrims.



  3. Hanuman Gadi






    This is temple of Hanuman and it is most popular temple of Ayodhya. The temple is in center of the town. One has to climb about 70 steps to reach the main sanctum. The main temple there is statue of Anjana Devi with Bal Hanuman on lap. Legend says Hanuman stays here and guarded the Ramkot. The faithful belief is that all the wishes are granted with a visit to the temple.



  4. Kanaka Bhavan:







    This is the palace of Sri Rama. We climb few steps and enter into a big hall. Here we get to have darshan of Rama’s Paduka. This was the place from where Rama climbed into the chariot, to leave Ayodhya for vanavasam



    There is another mandapam in which we have the main sanctum. Here we see Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana. There are two sets of idols we see here, one is the main idol and the other was worshipped by Sri Krishna. This is the place where Rama and Janaki matha lived. Main deity is decorated so well we hardly feel like leaving the place.




  5. Sri Ram Janma Bhoomi
    This is the main place of worship in Ayodhya. This is the site of the ancient citadel of Ramkot which stands on the elevated ground in the western part of the city. Lot of checking is there. We are not allowed to take anything inside. One has to walk a lot to reach the main place. They have kept the idol of Seetha Sri Rama and Lakshmana. It is so far we hardly get to see clearly and has to imagine and feel happy. We have the darshan of Hanuman to the side


  6. Janma Bhoomi Karyalaya:








    This is the place where the work is going on for the construction of Sri Rama mandir. There is a model of the temple is exhibited. Pillars with carvings, designed ceiling material, doors and all the designed stones to the sides of the walls are ready. They intend erecting the temple with these ready materials by year 2013.

Temples of Allahabad  

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  1. Veni Madhavar:



    This is temple is near Saraswathi ghat, and it is one of the famous temples of Allahabad.








    Veni madhavar temple is in Taraganj.
    Here main deity is known as Veni Madhavar. This is one of Panchava Madhava Kshetram. This is a small temple and darshan of Veni Madhavar in Allahabad is important.



  2. Siddeswarar temple


    The temple is in Taraganj. This is very old temple. Here we see Main deity Durga Devi and other deities like Pancha Mukha Hanuman, and Navagraha. This is the only temple with Navagraha here.



  3. Someswarar temple:

    Here the Siva Lingam ws installed by Chandran also known as Soman and hence the name someswarar.



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  4. Baradwaja Ashram:






    This place is 6 kms from Taraganj, and it is opposite to Ananda Bhavan. According to Purana Saint Baradwajar Ashram was here from the age of sri Rama lived. It says Sri Rama stayed for some period during his 14 years of vanavasam.




  5. Akshaya vat:



    The immortal tree lies inside the fort within the Patalapuri temple. The tree stands in a niche above an underground shaft which is said to lead to Triveni. We are not allowed inside.

  6. Ashoka pillar:



    This pillar is of polished sand stone of 10 meter height, dating back to 232BC. The pillar has persian inscription of Emperor Jahangir in scriptd on it commemorating his accession to the throne.

Hanuman mandir, sankrar mandapam and Triveni sangamam. Allahabad.  

Posted by Shamala Krishnan

Allahabad


This place is about 135 KMS from varanasi.
Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, blessed by gods, came to be known as 'Prayag' or 'Allahabad'. Foreseeing the sanctity of the place, Lord Brahma also called it as 'Tirth Raj' or 'King of all pilgrimage centres.' The Scriptures - Vedas and the great epics - Ramayana and Mahabharata, refer to this place as Prayag.


  1. Thriveni sangamam






    The sacred Sangam, is the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. At the Sangam, the waters of the Ganges and the Yamuna can be distinctly seen to merge into one. Once in 12 years Kumba mela takes place attracting people from all over the country.



  2. Hanuman Mandir


    The temple is in kila ghat, near the Sangam.







    This temple is unique in North India. Here the 20’ big idol of Lord Hanuman is seen in a reclining posture. When the Ganga is in spate, this temple gets submerged.



  3. Sankar Viman Mandapam



    The mandapam is 130 feet high with three floors. Near the entrance gate we see the idols of Kumarila Bhattar and Jagatguru Shankaracharya, meeting and to the other side, discussion between Mandana misrar and Adi sankarar.







    As you enter the temple we see Kamakshi Deviin sitting posture (with 51 Shaktipeethas around). On the outer wall of Kamakshi sanctum, we see Panchamukha gayathri, Moogmbikai, Durgai, Vindhyavasini , Ganga matha and saraswathy Tapas Kamakshi sculptures and paintings of life history of Adi sankarar.



    In the second floor Vishnu as balaji and veni Madhavar in front of him. We see 108 saligrahma in the sanctum. As we go around we can see the sculptures of Narashimar, Vamana etc. All around the wall beautiful paintings from Ramayana is seen.



    In the third floor Yoga sahastra Linga is seen made of one single stone. We can see 1008 small lingas in one big lingam which weighs 10 tones. There is a Rudrakshra mandapam for sahasra lingam in the sanctum. In this floor around the sanctum we see Dwadasa Lingam Pichadanar, Somaskandar, Dandayudhapani, Ardhanreeswarar, sankara Narayanar idols, and Siva leela paintings to the walls.



    The temple doors are made of sandal wood with beautiful carvings. As we come outside we have the darshan of Sowbaghya Ganapathy.


  4. Akshyavat:


    The immortal tree within the Patalauri temple, has found mention in the description of several ancient scriptures, writers and historians. The tree stands in a deep niche above an underground shaft, which is said to lead to Triveni.We are not allowed inside, so we did not visit the place.

Sita samhitha sthal, Up  

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  1. Sitamari


    This place is about 7 kms from Raiyapur.



    As per Purana Sita was abandoned by Sri Rama. She stayed in Baradwaj Ashram and
    gave birth to Lava and Kusha
    . After the kids grew up and they met Sri Rama, she wanted to leave the world and she merged with her mother Bhoodevi forever in this place.





    UP tourism has developed this place as a tourist spot. we see a Hanuman statue, siva lingam and Sita in a basement room relating to the story of he merging with her mother.






    There is a big hall where they have kept Sita idol as if she is within the earth. beautiful glass paintings are to the walls. The doors are adorned with pictures relating to Ramayan. There is water running to the sides of this place.

Vindhyachal, Mirzapur, UP.  

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From Varanasi we went to Vindhyachal, sakthi peetam.

  1. This place Vindhychal is about 60 kms from Varnasi and 8 kms from Mirzapur. Its on the rail road of Allahabad to Mogalsarai. There is a station by vindhyachal and also Mirzapur.








    This is one of the sakthi peetam and goddess if known as Vindhyavasini. Sathi devi's left Leg thumb fell here and it is considered as one of the sakthi peetam.


    Goddess Durga after having killed demon Mahishasura etablished herself here. In later years she defeated Sumba and Nisumba.


  2. Sitakund

    This is one of the popular attractions at Vindhyachal. It is said that when Sri Ram, Sita and Lakshman were returning home after their exile, Sita became very thirsty at this place. Since water was not easily available, Lakshman pierced an arrow and immediately a fountain of water came out.


    In memory of Ram, Sita and Lakshman and Goddess Durga a temple was constructed. One can quench their thirst here at the Sitakund. After climbing 48 steps to the Sita Kund the track leads to another low hillock, where the AshtabhujaTempleis situated.


  3. Ashtabuja
    This is supposed to be the main sakthi peetam.






    As purana says she is supposed to be Maha maya Kali whom Kamsa lifted up thinking that it was Devki's 8 th child.


    Near Ashtabhuja temple, there is another cave temple with a narrow path. The cave roof is so low and the passsage is too narrow, one has to bow down and enter into in single row, to have a glimpse of the Goddess Kali.
    We see bairavar to the side near by.


    Besides these temples there are many more temples at Vindhyachal. In Ramgaya there is one more Jagadamba ashtabuja devi temple, and Ramanadhar temple. This place is aboout 3 kilometer away from vindhyavasini temple There are also the Brahmakund and Agastyakund whose waters are very sacred and it is believed that bathing in these water can relieve one from their sins. Besides, there is also an Ashram of Anandamayee Ma.


  4. Mirzapur temples


    Budhenath temple

    The temple is in Mirzapur town. This is Siva temple and the main deity is known as Bhudeswar. We see Bairvar near the entrance of the temple.


  5. Thadakeswaranath temple





    The temple is near district court of Mirzapur town. Main deity is Thadakeswarar in Linga form.

Sarnath  

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  1. Sarnth


    Sarnath is about 1o kms distance from the holy city of varanasi.








    Lord Buddha came to sarnath after he attained enlightment in Bodh Gaya. He delievered his first sermon in relgious language, in the deer park here. He set in motion, the wheel of Law {Maha Dhrmachakra Pravarthan}.. On the day before his death Lord Buddha included Sarnath along with Lumbini, Bodh gaya and Kushinagar as four sacred places for his followers.


    Emperor Ashoka spread Lord Buddha's message of Love and Compassion, through out his vast empire. He visited sarnath around 234 BC, and errected a stupa here. Several Buddhist structures were raised between 3rd century BC and 11th century AD. The museum, temple and ruins are all in walkable distance.


  2. Dhamek stupa






    The most remarkable structure at sarnath is the cylindrical Dhamek sthupa, 28 meters in diameter at the base and the height is 43.6 meters. It is built partly of stone and partly of brick


    The stone facing the lower part is adorned with delicate floral carving of gupta origin.


  3. Mulagandha Kuti vihar.



    The ancient Mulagandha Kuti temple is amoung the brick ruins of Sarnath. This modern temple is erected by the Mahabodhi Society.







    It has excelent frescoes made by Kosetsu Nosu , Japans foremost painter, and rich repository of buddhist literature.



  4. Sarnath Museum.


    A rich collection of Buddhist sculptures comprising numerous Buddha and Bodhisathava images. Considered amoung the finest specimen of Buddhist art are housed at the museum. The museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM, and closed on fridays.



  5. Japanese Temple of Lord Buddha






    The other places of interest at Sarnath are Dharmarajika Stupa, the sadharmachakkra vihar's at excavated ruins, and magnificent Lion capital, India's national emblem at Sarnath Museum.

Temples of Varnasi.  

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  1. Durga temple:



    This is 1000 year old temple.


    Main deity is swayambu Durga matha. As we enter there is a small temple, where we see Siva in the form of lingam.







    Inside the temple we have the darshan of Durga matha and as we go around we have the darshan of Bairavar, Saraswathy, Lakshmi, and Vishnu. Outside the temple premises we have the darshan of Sankata Hanuman


  2. Tulasi manasa mandir:



    The temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Rama. The temple was built in the year 1964 and it is on the site where Goswamy Tulasidas wrote the epic “Ramacharithramanasa”. The construction of temple is of marble stones. We see Hanuman in front of the temple.






    As we enter inside we see idol of Tulasidasar with the book Ramacharitramanasa. Tulasi Ramanayan is written on the walls of the sanctum. The main idol is lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman. To one side Annapurna Devi, and Lord Siva as Bikshadanar is seen, and to the other side Sathyanarayana Swamy.



  3. Sri Rama temple:






    The temple is in huge premises. Lot of checking is there. We are not allowed to take anything inside. We find lot of monkeys here. There is a sanctum for Lord Rama, Sita and lakshmana. In front of the main sanctum of Sri Rama we see Hanuman.



  4. Swamynarayan temple


    The temple is near ghay ghat. The temple construction appears like a chariot.





    Inside it’s a big hall where we see Swamynarayan and Lakshminarayan idol made of eight elements. To one side we have darshan of Lord Siva and Parvathy. To other side we see palliarai. Here we see Radha krishnar and Swamynarayan pictures. We can see Ganesha and Hanuman also.



  5. Birla mandir:






    Uma Maheswara mandir built by Birla family. In the main sanctum we see Lord Siva in Linga form. We are allowed inside the sanctum. Outside the sanctum to one side we see Durga and Lakshminarayanar in different sanctums. The temple is in Banaras university campus.



  6. Varahi temple


    The temple is in Thripura bairvi Ghat. Goddess is big in size and known as Padala Varahi. She is in basement and no one is allowed inside. Only poojari can go inside to perform pooja. There is small hole in ground level from there, we can have the darshan of Varahi. The temple is closed by sunrise (by 6.30 am). They close the door and again the darshan time is next day morning only.
  7. Bindu Madhavar temple


    The temple is in Pancha ganga Ghat. This temple is one of the pancha Madhava Kshetram. The main deity is Saligrahama stone. Only after our visit to the temple, sthala yatra is completed.



  8. Kamakoteeswarar temple: The temple was constructed by Kanchi matt. The temple is constructed in south indian style according to panchayadhana rules.





    Main deity Lord Siva is known as Kamakoteeswarar, and Goddess Kamakoti devi. Siva Lingam is of Narmadha stone, Goddess Kamakoti is of emerald. We see sanctum of Lord Ganesha, Thirumal and Sooryanarayanar. Ganesha and soorya idol is of red stone. To one side we see pallikondasivan in different sanctum. The temple is near Hanuman ghat.



  9. Kanchi Kamakoti Sankaramatt


    This is in Hnuman ghat. This is branch of Kamakote Peetam of Kanchi. Veda patasala is also there. Rooms are available for stay.
  10. Kala Bairavar temple


    The temple is in Visweswara ganj. Kalabairvar is one form of Lord Siva. Normally only the face is seen, to have the full darhan you have to pay. There are 8 bairava temples are there in Kasi. He is supposed to be Kaval deivam {protecter} of Kasi. Biravar is the person who punishes people for sins.



  11. Gowdi Matha temple






    This is the last temple to visit in Kasi. She was supposed to be grama devata, when Kalabiravar was declard as Kaval deivam

    Purana: she got annoyed with Lord Siva and Planned to take the benefits, of devotees who visit Kasi. Lord Siva was horrified and he made a deal with her. He asked her to stay at the border of Kasi town and she can take the 50% of Kasi visit benifts if they do not visit her.


    Gowdi matha was cooled down and she said she will be happy with the people who offer her conch to her. There is no need to take anything other than the conch which is available near the temple. The panda {poojari} asks us to repeat, what he says. The benefit of counch is your’s and the benefits of visiting Kasi is mine.



  12. Tridev Temple





    The temple is constructed 6 months back. There is a big hall as we enter inside, the deities are kept in three comparments.


    In the center we see Sri rama , Sita, and Lakshmana. We also see ganesha to upper side and Hanuman in lower side of Sri Rama's left side. to the right side we see Radha Krishnar to upper side and Lord shiva parvathi to lower. To the left corner of the hall we have the darshan of Annapurani, and to the right corner, Trisulam.

Kasi Vishwanathar Temple  

Posted by Shamala Krishnan in

Kasi being the oldest city of the world This is an importnt piligrimage center, it attracts large number of people from all over the world.

Varnasi is famous for Hinduism, spirtualism, mysticism and Indian Philosophy. These are reflected in temples ashrams, ghats and numerous sects.


Kasi town is full of narrow lanes, and without a guide it is not possible to visit the temples. The temples look like a house and the lanes are too confusing.

Kasi is very old town with lot of temples. Visiting all the temples is not possible in short stay. I am giving information about the temples which we visited.


Invaders destroyed the old Viswanadhar temple, and the present Viswanadhar temple was constructed by Queen Ahalyabai Holkar of Indore in the year 1776.


Once again Aurangzeb destroyed the temple to replace it with gayanvapi mosque. However, one can see the remnants of the temple in the intricate and fine artwork of the western wall of the Mosque.


Viswanadhar temple and the gyanvapi Mosque are adjacent to each other. The temple is in a narrow lane. Lot of security measures is taken and we cannot take anything inside the temple. Shopkeepers are taking care of your belongings.


  1. Viswanadhar temple is one of the Jyothir Lingam.


    The temple is like a mandapam with four side’s door.


    Main deity Viswanadhar is to a side in this hall. Reason for this is as per Akashvani information they were asked to keep camphor in the main mandapam and it would light on its own and the main deity was supposed to be installed in that place. From outside the temple looks like a house and the gopuram (sikaram), can be viewed only from inside.


    The main gopuram was gold plated by Maharaja Ranjeet sing.
    First we come across, darshan of Dundi Vinayakar. There are about eight Vinayakar around the temple out of which he is important.


    Viswandhar Lingam is smooth black stone seated in a silver plinth. We have darshan of Avimuktheswar, Bhavani, subramanyar, and Mahakal {Bairavar}.
  2. Visalakshi temple

    The temple is in different place. The goddess is seen in sitting posture.


    Annaporna Devi temple is of marble stones. Here Goddess Annapurna
    has a container and in another hand she has Agappai {spoon}.

    We see Srichakkra Meru yantram in front of Annapoorani Devi installed by Adi Sankarar.

    We see Bikshadanar in silver near her. To either sides of Annapoorani we see Sridevi and Bhoodevi. The center mandapam is in octogen shape.

    In front of Annapoorani we have the darshan of Sri Sathya Narayanar.


    Golden Annapoorani darshan is only for three days during Deevali festival. There are two main entrances known as Dharma Dwaram and Biksha Dwaram.

Vyasa kasi. Vyaseswarar, Rameswarar and Durga temple  

Posted by Shamala Krishnan in , , , , , , , , , ,

  1. Vyasa Kasi (Ram Nagar)






    The temple is to the other bank of the river. Here we visit Palace, Vyaseswarar temple, Vyasar, Sukar and Vyaseswarar in linga form. We have the darshan of Rameswarar on our way to Vyaseswarar temple. All these are inside the palace premises.


    We reach the temple by passing through subway {Cave} like thing. We see surya chakra as we get down from vysar and sukar temple


  2. North Durgai Amman temple:


    The temple is a kilometer away from the palace. This area is known as Vyasa kasi. The temple dates back to 8th century. It is built in Nagara style and its one of the most important temple of the city.


    The “Sikara” of the temple consists of several small spires layered one above the other. "Sri Chakkra" is installed in the main sanctum. She is known as Shima Vahini, and also as Jagadatri.







    In front of main sanctum we see Lion sculpture facing goddess.


    We see small temple for Chinnamastha (one form of sakthi) in the temple compound. This is marble idol. Even here we had our darshan through grill and it was dark. We had darshan with torch light.


    On the day we went there there was RathYatra of goddess.



Varnasi, River Ganges and Ghats  

Posted by Shamala Krishnan

We are glad to share our travel trip to Varanasi, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Ayodhya, Nemisaranyam and Lucknow.


Inspite of certain difficulties we had to face, we did enjoy our trip and it was a memorable one. The trip was for ten days including train travel. All arrangements were done only by phone calls, so there were problems in communication about taxi rates. They do not disclose everything and take it for granted that we are aware of it. This was the first time we faced such problem.


I feel south is much better in many things than north. Their taxi driver are not ready to show the places which you ask for, instead he decides for you, and say those are the places visited by pilgrims normally. This was major problem in going around the places of our choice. We were able to see just 60% of our choice.


Taxi or auto is not the mode of transport recommended for Kasi, since the lanes are narrow; always one has to walk a lot to reach the temples. I will try to give hints about the places which we missed, along with the one which we visited, so that it can help someone who goes through the information about our trip.


  1. Varnasi:


    We did minimum rituals in Ganges shore after a dip in Ganges. The prohit arranged for a boat to travel from one end to the other end of Varnasi shore.


    The great river banks at Varanasi, is built high with eighteenth and nineteenth-century pavilions and palaces, temples and terraces, are lined with an endless chain of stone steps. We got down from the boat in certain ghats and the rest we saw only from the boat.



  2. Ghats


    The five important ghats are Asi ganga Ghat, Dasaswameda ghat, Adi kesava ghat Pancha ganga ghat, and Manikarnika ghat.






    At every point one has to climb atleast 50 steps we had to go up and pass through small lanes to reach the temple. We took the boat from Kedar ghat.


  3. Kedar Ghat


    We had darshan of Kedareeswarar in this ghat. The temple is in South Indian style. We see Nalwar sculpture on the temple walls. The shiva lingam was huge one.


  4. Thirupura Bairavi Ghat:


    Here in this ghat we have varahi temple to visit. The temple is opened from 4 am and it is closed by 7am before sun rise. Here she is known as pdala varahi.


    Goddess Varahi is in basement room and no one is allowed inside other than poojari. We have a room to ground level and here there is a small opening just to peep through to have Pada darshan of varahi amman.


    There is one more hole from where you can see a portion of Goddess varahi. The distance from where we look down to see varahi is about 10’feet from ground level.


  5. Bindu Madhavar ghat:



    We have Bhindu Madhavar temple here in this ghat. This is one of the panchava madhava kshetram. The main deity Bhindu madhavar with four hands is of saligrahma stone. They say the yatra completes only after a visit to the temple.


  6. Hanuman ghat:



    Kanchi Kamakoti Sankara math, with patasala is on this ghat.


    Kamakshi temple is near by. The temple was constructed as acharaya wanted it.

    Main deity is Kamakoteswarar, and goddess Kamakoti devi. Siva linga is of saligrahama stone. The sculpture of goddess kamakoti devi is of green stone, Ganesha and Soorya dev are of red stone. In the temple we see pallikonda sivan also. The gopuram is of south Indian style. We see different forms of Lord Siva as we go around the main sanctum.


  7. Sindhya ghat :


    we have a Dattatreyar temple. We see padam of Dattatreyar


  8. Ghya ghat:


    Swamy Narayan temple is seen in this ghat.


  9. Mani karnica ghat: There is a small vishnu shrine and Padhuka of marble stone on the embankment of the ghat. chakkra teertham is there wich we cannot see.



  10. Pancha ganga Ghat:



    Important for pinda pradhanam. {ritual}



  11. Adi kesava ghat :



    This is the place where vishnu landed first as an emissery of and stands on the original site of the city before it spreads southwards. It is to the outskirts of city. Here River Orna mees with River ganges and sangamam takes place.