Pavala Malai

Name : Pavalamalai

Location : Gobichettipalayam, Erode

Description : The main deity here is Arulmigu Muthukumaraswamy. Because of the cultural and religious importance, people prefer Gobi for marriages of their kith and kin. People around the world, conduct their marriage rituals here. These are the only info i got about this temple till now. I shall collect more info about this temple and add in future.

Website: http://www.kaumaram.com/aalayam/index_pavalamalai.html

El Templo del Sol - Machu Pichu

Name : El Templo del Sol (or) Temple Of Sun

Location : Machu Pichu, Peru

Description : The Sun Temple was a ceremonial temple to honor the Inca god of Sun. The Temple is the only round building in the complex. A very sacred structure, only the emperor and high priests would have been allowed inside.

In the center of the temple you can see a sacrificial stone which was used in worship. There are two windows in the temple. On the two solstices of the year, at sunrise, the sun shines directly into the Sun Temple through these two windows and forms a rectangle on the sacrificial stone.

The winter solstice was on June 21st and people gather to see this rare occurrence.

Website : http://www.senorbiallas.com/Peru2004/solsticio.htm

Songshan

Name : Songshan

Location : is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism and is located in Henan province on the south bank of the Yellow River in China. Its summit is 1,500 meters above sea level.

Description : The Historic Monuments of Mount Song have been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Tentative List.

Despite the mountain being one of the Daoist sacred mountains, the mountain is predominantly Buddhist today. It is home to the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism, and even today the temple's collection of stupas is the largest in China. The Zhongyue Temple is also located here, one of the earliest Taoist temples in the country. The Songyang Academy nearby was one of the four great academies of ancient China. The mountain and its vicinity are populated with Taoist and especially Buddhist monasteries. The 6th century Songyue Pagoda is also located here, as well as Tang Dynasty (618–907) pagodas within the Fawang Temple.

Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Song

Heng Shan

Name : Heng Shan

Location : It is located in Shanxi province in China. At 2,017 m, it is one of the five tallest peaks in China Proper is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism. It is sometimes known as the Northern Heng Shan, and should not be confused with the Southern Heng Shan in Hunan Province. Both mountains have the same pronunciation in Chinese, and the Southern Heng Shan is also one of the Five Sacred Mountains.

Description : During the Han Dynasty, a temple called the Shrine of the Northern Peak (Beiyue Miao), dedicated to the mountain god was built on Hengshan's slopes. While periodically destroyed and rebuilt, this temple has an uninterrupted history from Han times to the present day.

The Hanging Monastery, built in 491, has survived more than 1,400 years. The extant monastery was largely rebuilt and maintained in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The most famous temple at Hengshan is not Daoist, but is actually the Buddhist Hanging Monastery (Xuankong Si). The Hanging Monastery stands at the foot of Mt. Hengshan and is one of the most dramatic sights at Hengshan - a wooden temple clinging to the cliff side, appearing to defy gravity with only a few wooden posts as support.

The buildings were restored in 1900 and there are 40 wooden halls and structures linked by an ingenious system of pillars, posts and walkways.

Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Heng_(Shanxi)

Mandar Hill Temple

Name : Mandar Hill Temple

Location : Mandar Hill is roughly 700 feet high. It is situated about 30 miles south of the Bhagalpur town in Bihar. There is an eastern railway line connecting Bhagalpur with Mandar Hill. Mandar Hill station is about three miles from Mandar Hill. There is also an all- weather road that connects Bhagalpur with Dumka.

Legends : Mandar is associated with
1) Amritmanthana which suggests that the hill was used by the gods to churn the ocean to procure amrit. The serpent, Basukinaga offered to serve as the rope and has left behind an impression of the coil on the granite hill.

2) It is believed that panchjanya, the conch shell used in Mahabharat War was discovered here in the Sank kund.

3) The puranas refer to various sacred places on the hill which is also believed to be the abode of Vishnu under the title of Madhusudana or the destroyer of a demon called Madhu who was killed by Vishnu and then covered by the Mandar hill. Kalidasa’s kumarasamahava refers to foot marks of Vishnu on the slopes of Mandar.
Besides inscriptions and statues there are numerous rock cut sculptures depicting various Brahmanical images.

4) The hill is equally revered by the Jains who believe that their 12th Tirthankara attained nirvana here on the summit of the hill.

Description : At the salvation place on Mandar Hill, a grand Jain Mandar Hill Temple is erected. A pair of feet images (about 3000 years old) are installed there.

There is a place where Lord Vasupoojya attained Kevalgyan (supernatural knowledge) near the place of salvation. Three pairs of ancient feet images are installed here.

Near the place of salvation, a beautiful cave temple is viewable with 5-feet-tall standing idol.

Website : http://bhagalpur.bih.nic.in/tourism.html

Pachaimalai

Name : Pachaimalai

Location : The temple is located in Gobichettipalayam, a quiet town in the Erode district. Gobi has two hill temples - Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai. This is considered to be a great reason to justify the town's ethics.

Legend : Once upon a time, Saint Dhurvasar reached Kunnathur that lies 18 KMs south of present Gobi town. He worshipped at Shiva temple at Kunnathur. Then he found out that a place called Modachur on the outskirts of present Gobi town is a good place to perform his routine worship of Shiva. While workshipping, he wanted to have Darshan of Lord Subramanya. Not finding a temple, he went into penance to find out the best place for the worship. He found through his penance that there is a Subramanya temple on a small hill at a distance of around 1.5 kms from Modachur and the main deity faced west. The saint reached the hill to find Lord Subramanya and continued his worship. He also learnt the similarities between the temple and Palani where the Lord is facing west as Dhandapani.

Description : The Poojai activities at Pachaimalai are renowned. The 'ArthaJama' poojai resembles the one at Palani. Arulmigu Balamurugan takes the simplest form with white clothes sans his ornamental jewels. This is the most peaceful scene, one can ever get in his life.

Other deities residing in the temple are Vidya Ganapathi (form of commonsense, quick wit and knowledge), Maragatheeswarar, Maragatha Valli, Guru Dhakshinamurthy, Kalyana Subramanyar, Anjaneyar, Navagraham and Kala Bhairavar. Urchava Murthys are Dhandayudhapani, Shanmugar, Subramanyar Pradhosha Moorthy and Aiyappar. Golden Chariot and Golden Peacock mount have been donated by the public to the Almighty. A wooden chariot runs around the hill during Panguni Uthiram Chariot Festival.

Temple's Speciality : The temple is renowned for the 'Vaasthu' poojai where people bring the first brick to perform poojai at the Sannidhanam. 'Ayyappa Maalai' in Karthigai month is also started here. Couples who are in need of children perform their Sashti fasting here. It is a belief that the couple in fasting at Pachaimalai would get a child. Anyone who is not married pray 'Kalyana' Subramanyar and Guru Dhakshinamurthy for their requests to be answered.

Website : http://www.pachaimalai.in/Eng/ind.htm