Mundeshwari temple

Name : Mundeshwari temple

Location :

Mundeswari temple is located 10 kilometres from the small town of Bhabhua, 120 kilometres from Varanasi and 175 kilometres from Patna in Bihar. This temple, one of the earliest specimens of Nagara temple architecture in Bihar, situated at a village Ramgarh on a 600 feet high hill.

History :

As per the prevalent version, the temple was built in the period of 3-4 BC with the Narayana, or Vishnu, as the presiding deity. The statue of Narayana has disappeared due to the ravages of time. During 348 AD, a new deity Viniteswara was set up as a minor deity in the temple, holding a subsidiary position to Narayana, the main deity.

Around the seventh century AD, Shaivism (Religion based on Lord Shiva) became the prevalent religion and Viniteswara, which was a minor deity, emerged as the presiding deity of the temple. The Chatur Mukhalingam (Lingam with four faces) representing him was accorded the central place in the temple, which it holds even now.

After this period, the Cheros, a powerful aboriginal tribe and the original inhabitants of the Kaimur hills, ascended to power. The Cheros were worshippers of Shakti, as represented by Mundeswari, also known as Maheshmardini and Durga. Mundeswari was made the main deity of the temple. However, Mukhalingam still occupied centre stage in the temple. So the image of Durga was installed in a niche along one wall of the temple, where it resides to this day, while the Mukhalingam survives as the subsidiary deity, though in a central position.

Description :

Situated atop the Kaimur Hill (608ft), the temple is in an octagonal shape. Since the temple buit in 3century B.C. rituals and worship have been taking place at the temple without a break. Thus making it one of the oldest functional temple in the world.



On entering the door, the pride of place is held by a lingam with four heads in the centre of the temple. This is the “Chatur Mukhalingam” which represents the Viniteswara , said to be set up in 348 AD by Dandanayaka Gomibhata.



To the right of this central statue is the presiding deity of the temple, Durga or Maheshmardini with ten arms and riding a buffalo representing an Asura. This is unique in itself, as generally Durga is represented as killing the ‘asura’ in the form of a buffalo. There is exemplary lattice work in stone on the window nearest the door and a variety of figures of dancers and musicians on the front temple door.

The clear indication that Shiva and Shakti were worshipped here is also an indication that the temple might be part of the Tantric cult which is quite popular in the Eastern part of India.

Apart from Shiva and Shakti, the temple also has idols of other popular gods in the Hindu pantheon including Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu and Mother Goddess. Temple materials and idols can be found scattered near this very rare octagonal shaped temple.



Experts believe that the temple was built during the Shaka Era. Interestingly, the present caretaker of the temple is Muslim, yet another example of the religious harmony same as we can see in Amarnath yatra.

Museum :

Various steps have been taken to improve the area in recent times. Of great interest is the museum built halfway up the hill on a small peak by itself. This museum, being new, is a small island of excellence, a clean, sparkling building with the paint still fresh on its walls. It has one big hall and an additional smaller room. The big hall has a collection of various statues and rock carvings mostly dating to the 6th and 7th centuries AD. It contains figures of religious significance drawn through the ages. The sculptures are well labeled but need more exhaustive descriptions regarding the significance of the exhibits. The smaller room has a large number of photographs of the rock paintings of the stone age period found in and around Karar village in the Kaimur Hills. Due to lack of space, some rock sculptures are languishing in the open space encircling the museum.

Festivals :

The temple attracts devotees during festivals like Ramnavami and Shivratri. People from these districts flock to the temple regularly all round the year. Of particular significance is the period of Navratra when thousands of people from the Rohtas, Gaya, Aurangabad, Bhojpur, Varanasi, Mirazpur and surrounding districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh districts come to the temple and a mela is held. During this period, the temple and the area around the hill is a riot of colour.



The guest house at the base of the hill, the concrete road up the hill, the sodium vapour lamps lighting up the temple and the hill road in the night and the market complex built for the mela have brightened up the whole environment recently.

Websites :

http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/01/mundeshwari-temple-in-bihar-is-it.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/297555/Unknown-wonders-of-Eastern-India-Mundeswari-Temple.html

http://picasaweb.google.com/arusinha/Mundeshwari#

Hiranyakeshi Temple

Name : Hiranyakeshi Uppam (temple) is a place from where the Hiranyakeshi River springs originated from the mouth of caves.

Location :

Hiranyakeshi Temple is located at Amboli in Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra. It lies at the origin of Hiranyakeshi River.

Description :



The river Hiranyakeshi originates from a cave adjacent to the temple of Goddess Parvati at the foot of a mountain. Water rushes out with tremendous force to fall into a squarish tank or ‘Kund’, from where it flows out. Hiranyakeshi temple houses a Shivling, Ganapati idol and of course the Hiranyakeshi Devi idol. Hiranyakeshi is name of Mata Parvati, the one with Golden hair, Hiryana being Gold and Kesh means hair. The temple is said to house a natuarally created shivlingam (Swayambhu)made of red stone. However this lingam cannot be seen as it is covered by another Shivlingam which is used for daily offerings and prayers. There is also a statue of Mata Parvati with golden colour hair.

This River came from DEER like Statchue. In Sanscrit DEER called as HIRAN. So name Hiranyakeshi.



The nearby Maruti Mandir was built by a holy baba from Goa. The Hiranyakeshi is a Purvamukhi River means east facing,the river Hiranyakeshi flows eastwards. Fishing can be enjoyed at the river. Its flow around 80Km and then joins the Ghataprabha River.

Cave Temple :

Next to this temple, there is an entrance to a cave which is not safe to enter in the monsoons when it becomes a safe harbour for a lot of creepy crawlies.



Local people say that an expeditiation was held in 1981 a seven member team from Pune which revealed that there are seven water Kunda (pond)behind the temple and after that there is also a cave which can accomodate 200 people. The place is a delight for natural beauty lovers. The area is covered by dense forests and you can even spot some rare breed of birds in this area.



Website :

http://www.oktatabyebye.com/travel-blog/1582-travel-blog-rambling-around-4579.html

http://chiksunny.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/01/spectacular-sindhudurg.htm

Vyasa Muni Guha & Jnana Saraswathi Temple - Basar

Name : Vyasa Muni Guha

Location :

Basar is a village situated on the banks of river Godavari in Andhra Pradesh.
Vyasa Muni Gruha, is a cave on top of a hill next to the Jnana Saraswathi Temple in Basara.

Legend :

According to a popular legend great sage Vyasar along with his son sage Shuka and other disciples desponded and dejected by the Kruskethra War left on a pilgrimage towards Dakshinapatnam (southern India). He retired on the banks of River Godavari for a penance. This was later called Vasar in his honour and gradually is being called as Basar.

During his stay, Sage Vyasa bought three handfuls of sand and made them into three heaps daily after the morning bath. The heaps have transformed into the divine trio The Lakshmi, The Sarada and The Gowri. The idol made of sand is smeared with turmeric.

Another popular legend from Brahmanda Purana says that Sage Valmiki prior writing his magnus opus The Ramayan; installed Goddess Saraswathi and seeked her blessing. One can find the marble samadi of Valmiki near the Saraswathi temple.



Description :

Vyasa Muni Gruha, is a cave on top of a hill next to the Jnana Saraswathi Temple in Basara. This cave has a narrow entrance and one has to wriggle through it to enter the small enclosure. Here you can see an idol of sage Ved Vyasa. Legend says that Ved Vyasa stayed here during his tapasya.



Alternate Location :

Vyasa did most of his writing work on the banks of the river Saraswathi. You can see his cave near the beginning of the Saraswathi waterfall, 4 km from Badrinath. See Vyasa, Saraswathi and Yamuna. Unfortunately for us the river Saraswathi started drying up thousands of years ago and went underground in those ancient days. Today we can see the remnants of civilization on what was once the Saraswathi river bed. For a long time people thought that the Sarawathi was an imaginary river, but now, we know that it was a real river.

Temples nearby :

The temple of Goddess Saraswathi at Basar is one among the two temples of this Goddess. The other is in Kashmir. Built at the confluence of the rivers Mangira and Godavari this temple is adorned by the goddess of knowledge and wisdom The Goddess Saraswathi. The image of Lakshmi stands besides the Goddess Saraswati in the sanctum sanctorum.

Due to the presence of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali, Basara is considered as the abode of the divine trinity. Devotees stream the temple for the ritual of ‘AksharaAbhishekam’ of their children; the formal starting of education deeming it to be auspicious.



You can see the temple lined with small shops selling notebooks, slates, writing pads of various shapes and sizes. Devotees buy the stationary and perform Aksharabhayasam of their children. This was conducted in the outside Parihara with a priest in front of a bronze idol of Saraswati. The beauty of this place is its calmness, not being crowded and no queues compared to most temples in India. The nearby mountain has an Idol of Goddess Saraswati on the top of the rock.

Festivals :

The annual festivals of ‘Devi Nava Rathri’, ‘Dattatreya Jayanthi’, and ‘Vasantha Panchami’ are celebrated with utmost dedication and devotion.

Website :

http://www.nirmalcity.com/basar_saraswati_temple_telangana.html

Koh Sireh Temple

Name : Koh Sireh Temple

Location :

Koh Sireh Temple, which sits at the top of a steep hill close to Phuket Town on the east side.

Description :

I could not collect more information about this temple from Internet.
The only website which had good info is http://www.kirjon.com/sacred-sites/sireh_temple.htm

The temple is situated on the top of a steep hill.
You also can enjoy great views over the town Phuket and the Phang Nga bay.
There is a Big reclining Buddha statue on the temple and the temple has stairs decorated with dragon sculptures.



The temple attracts crowds from Phuket during Kathina Festival, a day when Buddhists offer donations at temples all over Phuket.Because of previous thefts at the Koh Sireh Temple, which sits at the top of a steep hill, there is tight security during these festivals.

Website :

http://www.kirjon.com/sacred-sites/sireh_temple.htm

Bhimashankar Temple

Name : Bhimashankar Temple

Location :

Bhimashankar Temple is located in the village of Bhorgiri 50 km north west of Khed, near Pune, in India. It is located 110 km away from Pune in the Ghat region of the Sahyadri hills.
Regular pilgrims near Mumbai visit Bhimashankar from Karjat via Khandas.

Legend :

Eons ago in the dense forests of Dakini, on the lofty ranges of the Sahaydris lived an evil Asura by the name Bhima with his mother Karkati. Compassion and kindness shivered in the presence of Bhima. The divine and the mortals were scared of him alike. But he was confronted by certain questions about his own existence which continuously tormented him.

When Bhima could no longer sustain his agony and curiosity, he asked his mother to unveil the mysteries of his life. He urged his mother to tell him who his father was and why he had abandoned them in the wilderness of the forest. After much hesitation and with a lingering fear, Karkati his mother, revealed to him that he was the son of the mighty Kumbhakarna, the younger brother of the Lankadheeswara - the mighty all powerful King Ravana of Lanka.

Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Lord Rama annihilated Kumbhakarna. Karkati told Bhima, that his father was killed by Ram in the great war. This infuriated Bhima and he vowed to avenge Lord Vishnu. To achieve this he embarked on a severe penance to please Lord Brahma.

The compassionate creator was pleased by the dedicated devotee and granted him immense prowess. This was a terrible mistake. The evil tyrant caused havoc in the three worlds. He defeated King Indra and conquered the heavens. He also defeated a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva – Kamarupeshwar, and put him in the dungeons.

He started torturing Rishis and Sadhus. All this angered the Gods. They all along with Lord Brahma beseeched Lord Shiva to come to their rescue. Lord Shiva consoled the Gods and agreed to rescue them from the tyrant. On the other hand Bhima insisted and ordered Kamarupeshwar to worship him instead of Lord Shiva.

When Kamarupeshwar denied, the tyrant Bhima raised his sword to strike the Shiva Linga, to which Kamarupeshwar was doing abhishekam and pooja. As soon as Bhima managed to raise his sword, Lord Shiva appeared before him in all his magnificence.

Then the terrible war began. The holy sage Narada appeared and requested Lord Shiva to put an end to this war. It was then that Lord Shiva reduced the evil demon to ashes and thus concluded the saga of tyranny. All the Gods and the holy sages present there requested Lord Shiva to make this place his abode. Lord Shiva thus manifested himself in the form of the Bhimashankar Jyotirlingam.

It is believed that the sweat that poured forth from Lord Shiva's body after the battle formed the Bhimarathi River.

Description :

There are 2 ways to go, basically the Ganesh route and Shidi(ladder) route once you reach the base village of Khandas near karjat. Shidi route is much shorter but risky and should be avoided in rainy seasons if you are not well experienced.

It is believed that the ancient shrine was erected over a Swayambhu Lingam (that is the self emanated Shiva Lingam). It can be seen in the temple that the Lingam is exactly at the centre of the floor of the Garbagriham (the Sanctum Sanctorum).



This temple also has shrines to Bhairavanath and Devi, and a temple tank by name Shivaganga.

Bhimashankar is also the source of the Bhima river, which flows south east and merges with the Krishna river near Raichur. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines in India. Bhimashankar Temple is a buzzing temple with beautiful architecture. The Bhimashankar trek to the top goes through beautiful jungles, cliffs, plains and some thrilling patches.

Within the temple precincts there is also a small shrine dedicated to Lord Shani Mahatma (also called Shaneeswara).



There are Buddha style carvings of Amba-Ambika, Bhootling and Bhimashankar in the hills of Manmaad near Bhimashankar. This is at a height of 1034 mtrs. A big size bell in Hemadpanthi structure built by Nana Phadanavis is also a feature of Bhimashankar. Various places that could be visited in Bhimashankar are Hanuman Lake, Gupt Bhimashankar, Origin of River Bhima, Naag Phani (view point), Bombay Point, Sakshi Vinayak and a lot more.



Three worship services are offered every day. Mahashivratri is a season of greate festivity here.

Flora and Fauna :

Bhimashankar is a conserve red forest area and wildlife sanctuary where a variety of birds, animals, flowers, plants can be seen. A rare animal "Shekru" can be found in deep woods. Bhimashankar is worth visiting for jungle lovers and trekkers as well as for pilgrims. There is a beautiful spot called Naagphani (Snakes hood) from where one can see vast landscapes. Also an observant trekker can see the rare and huge shekru (mountain squirrel).

Theerthams :

The Mokshakund thirtha is located behind the Bhimashankara temple, and it is associated with the rishi Kaushika. There are also the Sarvathirtha, the Kusharanya thirtha where the Bhima river begins to flow eastward, and the Jyanakund.

Kaushika Maha Muni is said to have did 'Tapas' (penance) here. The place where he bathed is called Mokshakund thirtham which is located behind the Bhimashankara temple.

Accommodation :

Pilgrims usually stay here for three days. The local upadhyayas or priests make arrangements for the lodging and boarding of pilgrims at a small cost. Visitors are accommodated in either temporary hutments or in dharamshalas near the village. A new dharamshala is under construction. There are ST buses to return back.

Website :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhimashankar_Temple

Marthanda Bhairava Temple - Jejuri

Name : Marthanda Bhairava Temple. It is also known as Khandoba, Mhalsakant or Malhari Martand.

Location :

Jejuri in Purandhar district, located to the southeast of the Pune city in Maharashtra. The town is known for being the venue for one of the most revered temples in Maharashtra.

Description :

Regarded as the ‘God of Jejuri’, Khandoba is held in great reverence by the Dhangars, one of the oldest tribes in India. The temple is an ornate structure with little resemblance to other temples of the region. It is on the summit of an unpretentious hillock with a wall running around it like the ramparts of a fort.

A series of over 200 steps of dressed stone lead up to the temple. Flanking the steps on both sides are tall, tapering stone pillars with provisions for lamps.



In the innermost shrine of the temple, Khandoba appears as a linga, but what is strange is that his counterpart, Mhalsa Devi too appears as a linga. The two lingas are covered with silver masks, and dressed colourfully in all finery to symbolise divinity.

Khandoba, above anything else, is acknowledged to be the God who answers prayers, who fulfils every wish. The worshipper, in turn, is counted upon to take a vow before the deity that if the wish were granted, his or her gratitude would be demonstrated through an offering, penance or sacrifice.

The offering may be in various forms, simple gestures like sponsoring a special puja for the God, circumambulating the temple a number of times in obeisance or donating money to erect another deepmala.

Festivals :

A sword competition is held every year at the temple on the occasion of Dusshera. The one who lifts the sword of the temple high up, for the maximum time, is declared the winner.

Website :

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/110573/mythical-tales-jejuri.html