St. Mary's GunadalaMatha Shrine Vijayawada

Name :  St. Mary's  Gunadala Matha Shrine 

Location :

Gundala Matha Shrine, or Mary Matha Shrine, known popularly as St Mary’s Church, is constructed on a hilly region Gunadala in Krishna district near Vijayawada. An iron cross, erected atop the hill, stands as a rare distinction of the shrine.

Shrine History :

Mother Mary is said to have appeared on this hill as on 11th Feb.1858.

Description :

One of the most popular churches and pilgrim places for Christians in Andhra Pradesh, A shrine for the Christians situated in Gunadala, a hilly region of district Krishna at Vijayawada is the Mary Matha Shrine or Gunadala Matha Shrine and its more popular name, St Mary's Church. It has the rare distinction of having an iron cross set up on the hill top. 

It houses a museum having a collection of ancient holy relics and precious gifts of the followers. The shrine is filled on Sundays and other important festivals and occasions. The annual feast for Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated with devotion and gaiety.its a famous pilgrimage place where people take the help of Mother Mary's prayers and lakhs of people come from all over places to worship, every February 9,10&11 more than 5 lakh people come to visit at the hill top.there are only steps way to go up the hill,and on the top there is a huge Jesus crucified statue

Annual Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes attracts many devotees and is celebrated with much enthusiasm and devotion. After getting their heads tonsured and breaking coconuts at the shrine, the devotees lined up to the grotto on the hillock to light candles.

The other side of extended gunadala hills haves historically important mogalrajapuram caves and a large statue of lord Shiva a top.

Gunadala Matha Festival

Gunadala Matha Festival was successful , more than 10 Lakh devotees attend this festival every year. Of those 10 Lakhs only 60% were Catholics means 4 lakh remaining people are mixed people from different religions ( Hindus, Muslims) and of course Protestants.

Ever year the Festival startes with Holy mass on 9th Feb at 6.30 AM and around 8.30 AM Adoration Started and will end on 11th Feb late night.

Many Religious ( Sisters , Priests, Deacons, Brothers, Seminary & Convent students) , General devotees from Vijayawada and other parts of AP also took part in this Adoration along with Jesus Youth of Vijayawada Diocese.

Contact : +91 9948695979, 0866-2450244

Websites :  http://www.gunadalamathashrine.com/

Chetti Thambiran Temple & Konganar Siddhar Samadhi (Karur - Tamil Nadu)

 

Name : Chetti Thambiran Temple & Konganar Siddhar Samadhi (Karur - Tamil Nadu)

Location :

From Trichy: 73km via Kangeyam. Break journey via Kangeyam via Vellakovil.
From Tiruppur: 40km via Kangeyam. Break journey via Kangeyam.
From Dharapuram: 19km towards Kangeyam. Frequent buses are available.
From Kangeyam: 14km towards Dharapuram. Frequent buses are available.
Nearest Bus Stop: Uthiyur aka Pon Uthiyur

Legend :

When the great Ramayana war happened between Rama and Ravana in Ceylon, Rama’s brother Lakshmanan was attacked by an arrow sent by Ravana which made him almost dead. So to cure him, Jambavan asked Hanuman to get a Sanjeevani herb from the Himalayan range in between the peaks of Rishabam and Kailasa. And Hanuman followed suit. But in the specified location in the hill between the 2 peaks he couldn’t find the herb. So frustrated he felt like breaking the hill into pieces. But he suddenly came up with the idea of lifting the whole hill and taking it to Jambavan and he did it. When he flew across the whole length of India from Himalayas to Ceylon a few pieces of the hill fell in several places along the length. One of it was in Uthiyur, where the sage Konganar Sithar meditated in a small cave at the top of the hill. Once Hanuman reached, Jambavan took the Sanjeevani herb from the hill and gave its juice to the whole battalion and saved everyone's lives.

Description :

It was a pretty small village with a hillock at one side. Not just a hillock, there were atleast 3-4. There was a little temple after a flight of 100 steps from the ground, which is the base temple ‘Uthanda Velayudhasamy Thirukoil’ with a huge water-well as well and the little path with few rocky steps beside the temple lead us to the base of a hillock and the steps ended there as well. There were few more little mandapams in a dilapidated condition.

 

This hill, till date, is considered to have all those medicinal plants including Sanjeevani. Though the program didn’t give any details about the medicinal plants in this it gave a decent coverage about the place on a whole with interviews from several locals. Though the program said that the place is near Kangeyam, I had no clue where in Kangeyam is this place. After searching the net for pretty long time, I found some details about this place. It was spelt Uthiyoor by some other site and atleast I got the info that its midway to Dharapuram from Kangeyam. We started off and were there at Uthiyur shortly.

There were few sculptures here and there, and also some hero-stones. But I couldn’t make out the era it could have been from. Must be Chola period with regards to its location, but which Chola king or which century, I had no clue.

From that point there was no proper path as well. The little temple like structure at the peak of one of the hillocks is destination. There is a little muddy pathway that is rocky at most of the places. Also there are several smaller pathways that lead to the hillock. The route is rocky and the hill is pretty vertical. Many places the muddy pathway will be missing. Filled with several plants that formed a decently thick forest-like area, several among these huge number of plants must be medicinal which would include the Sanjivani as well.

A route will be divided into 2 and there is a little board that shows an arrow to a route that reads “Route to Chetti Thambiran Temple”. A little more trek and will lead to the Chetti Thambiran Temple. This is a small temple formed by the space in between 2 rocks. The sounds heard here were freaky at times, thanks to the several rocks and boulders and heavy winds that blow through them. A little more climb from there will take us to the hill top and there was a little temple of Lord Ganesh.( Uchi Pillayar Temple)

 To reach Kongana sithar cave, we have to climb another hill with boulders atop (as you see in the picture below).

 

  To go there we have to use the other pathway where we were directed to Chetti Thambiran Temple. The other path leads to the peak of the hill to go to the Konganar Caves. Care had to be taken not to go to the edges of the boulders there. A fall from there could definitely prove fatal. Here again there is a little room created by the space between 2 boulders. It was here that Sage Konganar Sithar meditated and lost his physical self. Sithar’s are yogists who are in the high meditative state and lose their physical state and attain divinity.

There is a pathway to enter this cave from the rear as well. It could be entered from the rear side through a small tunnel like opening and crawled down into the cave. Else in a simpler way you could enter it from the huge front opening.

Food: There are a few local messes here. Nearest place for good restaurants and hotel is Kangeyam.

Contact number of Konganar cave Priest : +91 99425 32193

Websites : https://travel.bhushavali.com/2010/05/uthiyur-hills-aka-pon-uthiyur-konganar.html

Keesaragutta Shiva Temple, Rangareddy Telangana

Name : Keesaragutta Temple

Location :

Keesaragutta Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Siva and his consorts Bhavani and Sivadurga at Keesaragutta in Rangareddy district. It is about 40 km from Hyderabad and 10 km from ECIL. It is located on a small hillock.

Legend :

The temple draws thousands of devotees on Shivaratri Legend has it that Sri Rama installed the Siva lingam here to atone for the sin of killing Ravana, a Brahman. He selected this beautiful valley surrounded by hills and verdant greenery for the purpose and ordered Hanuman to bring a Sivlingam from Varanasi. Hanuman was late in arriving with the Siva lingam and as the auspicious hour was nearing, Lord Siva himself appeared before Sri Rama and presented a Sivilingam for installation. Hence the lingam in the temple is called Swayambhu Linga. It is also called Ramalingeswara as lord Sri Rama had installed the lingam.

Hanuman returned with 101 lingams for selection from Varanasi and felt aggrieved at not having his lingam installed. Hence he threw them all over the area. Even to this day several lingams are found scattered all over the place outside the temple. To mollify Hanuman, Sri Rama ordained that precedence would be given to him for worship at the temple. He also said that the hillock where the lingam was installed would bear his name kesarigiri i.e., Hanuman, the son of Kesari. Over a period of time, it has colloquially transformed and is now known as Keesara and the hill as Keesaragutta. Ever since, the rituals follow the command of Sri Rama.

Archaeological Excavations :Exploration and Excavations were conducted by the archaeological department in the surroundings of Keesaragutta Temple. Many Remnants of Brick structures and Shiva Lingas were found on the Hill north of the temple and a hillock near the water resource. The remnants belonged to Chalukyan Empire reign. Fortification walls, Yaga shala and Prayer hall's were excavated here. Some Vestige remnants and rock cut cisterns were found on the hills as an indication of Jainism and Buddhism Flourished contemporarily. On October 18, 2014, twelve idols of Jain Tirthankara dating back to the 4th-5th century were found near the temple steps at a depth of one foot which proves that Jainism co-existed along with Hinduism at Keesaragutta during the time of Vishnukundins in 4-5th century. But since 60 to 70 years thatakam family is working hard to develop the temple, and they are the founder trustees of the temple now.

Temple Timings :

6 AM TO 7 PM

How to Reach :

The temple is a near 1.5 Hr to 2 Hr drive from the city. When we were traveling, it was raining and the drive was very pleasant. How to reach Keesar
The village is in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh and is located about 18 km from ECIL X roads on the out skirts of Hyderabad (and about 45 km from Begumpet airport).
Keesara is a Town in Keesara Mandal in Rangareddy District in Andhra Pradesh State in India. Keesara is Main Town for the Keesara Mandal. Keesara is 75.9 km distance from its District Main City Rangareddy. And 35 km distance from its State Main City Hyderabad. Keesara is about 35 kms from Hyderabad. It has proper roads and driving direction is pretty easier. Andhra Pradesh state run APSRTS offers bus services from Jubilee Bus Station, Secunderabad and Imliban bus station and Koti.

Sevas/Utasavams :

Shiva kalyanam
Maha Shivaratri
Karthika Masam

Websites  :
http://manatemples.net/Pages/TE_Hyd_Keesaraguttta.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keesaragutta_Temple 

Bhramarambhika Mallikharjuna Swamy Temple

Name : Bhramarambhika Mallikharjuna Swamy Temple

Location :

It is located on a small hill nearby called Beeramguda Gutta in town located in Sangareddy district in Telangana.

Description :

The people are of the belief that the temple was established due to the effort of two sages named Bhoga Maharshi and Brugu Maharshi. Devotees find a Shiva Linga when they travel through an inner route of the temple. Known as second Sree Sailam, people believe that the temple here existed since the 13th century. The people believe that the inner route leads to Sree Sailam. There was a four feet statue of Lord Veera Bhadra earlier as a result of which the temple was called as Veerappa or Beerappa. Nowadays, the place came to be known as Beeramguda. The temple attained great significance during the reign of Kakatiyas and developed much in 1980's.

 

Websites :

http://www.templesofindia.net/temples/bhramarambha-mallikarjuna-swamy-temple-beeramguda

Sanghi Temple

Name : Sanghi Temple

Location :

Sanghi Temple Hyderabad is Situated in Sanghi Nagar which is 25 km away from Hyderabad city, Sanghi temple stands beautifully on the hillock ‘Paramanand Giri’.

Description :

Built in the Chola-Chalukya style of architecture, the temple is a place worth visiting. This temple was built in the year of 1991 which was completed in a just 18 months! And since then it has been attracting tourists from everywhere. As the name suggests, it was developed by a leading industrial group of Southern India - Sanghi Group. They primarily operate their business from the city of Hyderabad.

 As you further proceed, the stone elephant is seen at the stairway. There are three Gopurams seen at the foot of the hillock which are so tall and seen as if entering into the heavens. On the top of the temple complex one can see the shrine of Lord Anjaneya, the son of Anjana devi, and the son of wind God, who is believed to shower his blessings to his devotees and the red faced Lord Anjaneya is the embodiment of death to the demons and his very name drives away all evils.

In famous Sanghi Temple Presiding Deity Lord Venkateshwara inside the sanctum sanctorum is 9-% ft tall and is same as the one at Tirumala. Alankaram every day to the Lord at the Balaji temple. To the right is the abode of Goddess Padmavathi, the consort of Lord Venkateswara. Described as the epitome of love, mercy and compassion, the deity here is seated on a lotus and is also holding lotuses in her hand. The Ashtalakshmi temple is between the Balaji and Padmavathi temples. Bedecked with jewellery and garlands, Goddess Aadilakshmi in eight facets is seated holding a lotus and Abhaya mudra in her two hands and a lotus and Vara mudra (offering boons) in her other two hands. Close to the shrine of Lord Venkateshwara, is the temple of Lord SriRama, the symbol of man's conquest over evil. Accompanying the Lord are his faithful consort Sita, devoted brother Lakshmana and fervent devotee Hanuman, who is seated at the feet of the Lord with folded hands.

The temple of Lord Vijayganapathi is next to the SriRama temple. Known as the remover of all obstacles, his blessings are invoked prior to commencing any activity. Residing on the left of the Balaji temple is Lord Siva or the destroyer among the trinity. This all powerful Lord is seated on a lotus with a crescent moon decorating his hair and a trident in his right hand. Standing next to the Lord is Shakti Swaroopini Kamalambika. Further away is the temple of Goddess Durga. The dark moon faced deity clad in a saffron robe has three eyes. Decorated with omaments and hibiscus flower garlands, the Goddess holds a lotus in her right hand and the left hand reposes downward. The temple of Kartikeya is on the left of the Ganesh temple, fulfilling the tradition of his being on a hill top. The abode of Holding a staff in his right hand and resting his left hand on his waist, the loin clothed Kartikeya is like a Kalpavriksha fulfilling the desires of his devotees.

The Navagraha deities are the only ones that are in an open temple. Surya, the Sun God stands in the center and other Grahas surround him, each facing a direction over which he rules.

There is also a Pavitra Vanam or a Holy Garden in the temple complex where special leaves and flowers are grown for performing poojas. The complex also consist a Kalyana Mandapam for kalyanosthavam .The Mandapam is a raised platform with a decorated canopy over it. It is built in a style similar to the temples in the complex and blends perfectly into its surroundings. A well tended lawn in front provides plenty of open space for seating the spectators.

Timings & Pooja :

The Sanghi temple timings are from 8.30 am to 10.30 am and 4 pm to 6 pm. If you are keen on attending the pooja, plan your Sanghi temple visit around 6pm and 8pm. This temple is perfect getaway for a weekend. Either with family or alone, you can visit anytime with anyone! For those who are planning to visit over the weekends, there is no cause to worry as the Sanghi temple timings on Sunday is same as its timings on other days of the week.

If you are visiting Sanghi Temple, do try to catch the glimpse of the temple in night. When lighted, the view is spectacular.

Festivals :

Visiting during festivals such as Shivaratri, Sri Rama Navami, Krishnashtami, Vinayaka Chaturthi, Dussera, Hanuman Jayanthi and Brahmotsavams can be a good idea as these festivals are celebrated with much enthusiasm and devotion.

Tourist Attractions :

Tourists can also plan a trip to various other sightseeing places such as Ramoji Film City which is less than 1 km away from Sanghi temple, Birla Mandir, Golconda Fort, , Salar Jung Museum, etc. too. A slight planning of the day taking Sanghi temple timings is required so that you can visit the other places nearby within the same day itself.

Websites :
http://www.hyderabadtourism.travel/sanghi-temple-hyderabad

http://www.sanghitemple.in/

Bijasan Mata Mandir, Ujjain

Name : Bijasan Mata Mandir

Location :
This place is situated at dewas road 15 minutes drive from tawar and about 9 km from the Railway Station in village hamukhedi ujjain District of Madhya Pradesh.

Description :

There is an Tekri which is situted in gram Hamukhedi near Ujjain on Dewas road. On top approximately 1000ft above ground , there is a temple of Bijasan Mata. Bijasen Tekri: This hillock (tekri) has a small temple of Bijasen Mata, built in 1920. Mela is held here during Navaratri.

This Tekri has been given on lease to Dharma Vigyan Shodh Trust to devlop over 10 Lakh Plants and build nature temple where medication of various disease would be possible. Nakshtra Vatika would be build on this tekri for this purpose. This place is 11 km from  away from city.

That is also a sort of picnic spot where people used to come from all over the country. We can have a nice aerial view of Ujjain from the temple. The best thing about the temple is the huge  and marvelous statue of LION sitting in front of maa Bijasan. Lion was  looking extremely powerful and energetic. Mela is held here during Navratri.

Websites :

http://shashankshivhare.blogspot.in/2012/07/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

Sri Prasanna Anjaneyaswamy Temple, Ragigudda, Bengaluru

Name : Sri Prasanna Anjaneyaswamy Temple, Ragigudda, Bengaluru

Location :

Jayanagar, Bangalore - 560 069
Phone : 26580500, 26594255
email : ragiguddavk2009@gmail.com

Legend :

Sudharma was a peasant and kind woman who always helped the needy and in distress. She was a dharma chintamai and use to feed who ever comes to her house and had the practice of eating only after offering food to the visitor. She was given on marriage to the son of a palayakar in the outskirts of present Bengaluru. The daughter-in-law of a Palayakar was not liked by her mother in law. While Sudharma is generous and ever ready to help one and all, her mother-in-law was just oppose to all these. Sudharma was liked by all and the people use to bless her for her good nature and tell her that she will definitely be blessed by God.

One fine day just after the harvest, they had three visitors who were extremely bright and ‘tejasvi’, asking for biksha standing on the doorway of the house. Sudharma was too pleased to give some newly harvested ragi to these maha purush. [There is popular belief that the Ragi grain is blessed by Sri Raghava [Sri Rama] and Sri Kapila maharishi and hence the grain is also known as ‘Raghava Dhanya’.] At the sight of this, her mother-in-law became furious and said that the new grains cannot be offered as biksha to strangers. When Sudharma insisted to part with the ragi grains which she had already offered to them as biksha, her mother-in-law became more furious. The three ‘tejasvi’ purush stood there watching this. Sudharma told her mother-in-law that once the ragi grains had been offered as biksha it cannot be taken back, and it is an adharmic act. Mother-in-law stood her ground and refused the biksha to three maha purush. Sudharma felt that if the ragi grains could not be offered to these maha purush for food, the grains are of no use to her either. The moment she thought so, the heap of newly harvested ragi grains turned to stone and looked like a small hillock. Three maha purushas gave dharshan to Sudharma as Sri Brahma, Sri Vishnu, and Sri Mahadev and blessed her. And as per Sudharma’s wish stood there to bless one and all who come there seeking their blessings.

The heap of ragi grains turned into hillock use to be called as Raghava dhanya guddi then in the course of time it became Rahava guddi and now Ragigudda. The ‘trimurti’ who came there and is part of the incident is present to bless us all as per the wishes of Sudharma.

Description :

The huge temple complex is a feast to the eyes from the distance and enhances the devotee’s purity of mind. The complex could be seen built on ground level, at a smaller peak on the right of the main peak and at the main peak of the hillock.

At the ground level there is an office building on the left, a Prasad hall, a huge open air auditorium right in the front. Behind one can see goshala and through the passage that leads the devotee to have dharshan of ‘trimurthi’. On to the right side in the middle of the hillock one could see a temple complex with three vimana and devotees can have dharshan of Sri Ganapati, Sri Rajarajeshwari and Navagraha. The uniqueness of the Navagraha in this temple is that all the navagrahas are seen with their consort and mounted on their respective vahanas. The Sun is seen with his consorts Usha and Chaya in the higher pedestal on the chariot driven by seven horses.

Trimurthi Sannadhi :

Beautifully carved out Trimurties on single platform of 32 ft. tall monolithic blocks are seen in this Ragigudda temple complex. The devotees have the dharshan of Trimurties and seek the blessings in this kshetra Ragigudda.

The Ragigudda

The sannadhi of Sri Prasanna Anjaneyaswamy is on the top of Ragigudda. The temple at the top of the hillock if seen from one angle it will be seen as if the temple is on the back of an ‘annapakshi’ [a celestial bird] and floating in the air.

There is a separate step on the left that leads the devotee to the top of the hillock where Sri Hanuman’s sannadhi is present. After claiming around one hundred and fifty steps we land in a fairly big porch. In the centre we see big round pillar with lotus petal. One can see the main prakara on the left side. A huge wooden engraved arch way with Lord Hanuman in the centre and Sri Rama parivar on the right and Sri Siva parivar on the left is feast to the eyes of the devotee. In the sides of the arch way ‘dasavathara’ of Lord Vishnu is engraved.

Once entered in the hall, devotee could see the sannadhi of Lord in the center, sannadhi of Lord Rama parivar on the right and sannadhi that of Lord Siva on the left.

Devotee could see Lord Hanuman from the entrance itself. Lord Hanuman is seen with Sanjeevi Mountain on His left hand and in the right hand He holds a ‘gadha’ [mace] which is resting on His right shoulder. Lords’ tail is seen raised above His head and resting on the Sanjeevi parvath. He has put forward his left leg indicating that He will stamp down evil doers. Lord is seen wearing ornaments on His ankle, leg, hip, wrist, hands, chest, and neck. Lord’s head is covered with an ornamental crown. His ears has rathna kuntalam, on His forehead is urdha pundarikam. Lords eyes are seen glowing with karuna.

Festivals :

The annual function of this temple is Sri Hanumath Jayanthi which is celebrated on a grand scale. The twelve days mahotsava attracts huge devotees. There will be special poojas, abhishekams and homas during these days. Large numbers of devotees are served mahaprasada during this annual function.

Pooja Timings :

The temple will be open from 08:00-11:30 am and 05:00-08:30 pm, but on Saturdays and Sundays will be open till 12:30 and 09:00 respectively.

Mahamangalarthi : Morning around 11:00 am, on sat around 11:30 am and Evening around 08:00-08:30pm.

Websites :

http://www.geocities.ws/hanumantemples/kar/kar2.html  - All credit goes to Ms. Bawani Karthik, Coimbatore

Mahabhairav Mandir, Tezpur

Name : Mahabhairav Mandir

Location :


The ancient Mahabhairav Temple is located at a hillock on the northern part of Tezpur town, Assam.

Legend :

The temple was built for worshiping Lord Shiva by King Banasura. The Shiva linga of this temple is said to be made of 'Living Stone' which grows over slowly by the years.Some people believe that Bana obtained his boon while worshipping in this temple.

History :

The archeologists believe that the temple was built during 8th to 10th century A.D. by the kings of the Salasthamba dynasty. That originally there was a stone temple is evident from the huge pillars scattered all around the temple. But the original temple was destroyed during the Islamic invasions of the Middle Ages. It was however, rebuilt by successive kings and rulers, until it was heavily damaged by the catastrophic earthquake of 1897.

The present structure of the temple was built sometime in the early part of the present century by a devotee and monk Sri Swayambar Bharati, popularly known as Naga Baba. After a few years, another monk Sri Mahadeo Bharati built the “Nat Mandir” close to the temple. After a few years another devotee built the cement-concrete idols of Ganesh and Hanuman as “Dwarpaals” in front of the temple. Since then the developmental works of the temple had been somewhat sluggish although not completely stopped, one major work being the exquisitely curved ornamental frontispiece of the main entrance gate of the temple by a local artist, Sri Joy Das.

Description :

During the Ahom rule, the kings especially of the Tungkhungiya dynasty donated large area of Devottar land to the Temple and pujaris and Paiks were appointed to look after the temple. The responsibility of management was in the hands of a Borthakur. The temple is now managed by the Government through a managing committee headed by the District Deputy Commissioner. Shivaratri is celebrated in the temple with big festivity and people from all over the country visit it.

Festivals :

The Shivratri mela (Carnival ) during the Shivratri week is very famous all over Assam. Bhang (an Indian drug) laddoos, sold as prasad (offerings of the Lord ) are in very much demand. The mela is smaller than that in Sivsagar, but is nevertheless famous.This temple also conducts marriage ceremonies. People usually free pigeons in this temple as an offering, it is a wonderful sight to see hundreds of pigeons in this place.

Websites:

http://mahabhairab.org/