Bheemunipatnam

Name : Bheemili or Bheemunipatnam

Location : Bheemunipatnam popularly known as 'Bheemli' is located at a distance of 24 Kilometers North east of Visakhapatnam. The place derived its name from 'Bhima', one of the Pandava Brother.

Deity : Lord Narasimha

The beautiful beach at Bheemli is considered to be one of the safest and calmest for swimmers. On the top of a hill, there is a light house and a small shrine dedicated to Lord Narasimha.

Once a Dutch settlement, the 17th century ruins of a fort and cemetery built by the Dutch are seen here. The cemetery named Hollanders Green has some tombs embossed with the skull and cross bones motif of sea pirates.

Lord Varaha Lakshmi Nrusimha Swamy temple

Name : Simhachalam hill

Location : Simhachalam - the hill of the lion is located at a distance of 18 km from Vishakapatnam

Deity : Varaha Lakshminarasimha, combining the iconographic features of Varaha and Narasimha. The image resembles a Shivalingam covered with sandal paste. It is only once a year, during the Chandana Visarjana that the sandal paste is removed, and the image is seen by pilgrims.

Legend has it that the Ugra (angry) form of Narasimha as he killed the demon Hiranyakashipu was so fierce that the image is kept covered by sandal paste throughout the year.

Temple History: Kulottunga Chola I of Tamilnadu, made endowments to this temple, as evidenced from inscriptions dating back to the year 1087. The Vengi Chalukyas of Andhra Pradesh renovated the original shrine in the 11th century. Much of the structure as it stands to day is the result of renovation by Narasimha I, of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, in the second quarter of the 13th century CE. Krishna Deva Raya, the Vijayanagar monarch visited this temple in the year 1516, as seen from inscriptions here. There are as many as 525 inscriptions in this temple.

It is said to be the second richest temple in the State after the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirupati, the Simhachalam temple in the city draws a large number of devotees not only from Andhra Pradesh but also from neighbouring Odisha and other states.

Noteworthy features of the temple: This temple boasts of a beautiful stone chariot drawn by horses. The Kalyana Mandapa within the temple has 16 pillars with bas reliefs depicting the incarnations of Vishnu. Narasimha, the man lion incarnation of Vishnu is seen in several depictions throughout the temple.

Website : www.templenet.com/Andhra/simha.html

ANJANERI

Name : Anjaneri

Location : Anjaneri Village, Nashik Dist., Maharashtra

Description : Anjaneri a spiritual place lies before Tryambakeshwar infact before Bramhagiri mountain. This is the birth place of Hanuman.

The fort of Anjaneri, being the birthplace of lord ‘Hanuman’, has a great historical importance. Lord Hanuman was the son of ‘Pavan’ (the wind) and ‘Anjani’, and hence the fort is called as ‘Anjaneri’. Anjaneri is one of the important forts in the ranges of Tryambakeshwar near Nasik.

The Nasik-Tryambakeshwar road is branched at a distance of 20 km from Nasik as ‘Anjaneri Phata’.

The primary way to reach the Anjaneri fort is from Anjaneri village. One should get down at Anjaneri Phata, which is 20 km away from Nasik on the Nasik-Tryambakeshwar road. Anjaneri village is at a walking distance of 10 to 15 minutes from Anjaneri Phata. Two pinnacles called ‘Navara’ and ‘Navari’ can be seen from Anjaneri village.

The way to fort goes through Anjaneri village itself. Next to that there are some steps, through which we reach the plateau of Anjaneri. It takes almost one and the half hour to reach this plateau from Anjaneri village. This path leads to a wonderful trekking adventure through various sceneries of Waterfalls, caves, Anjaneri lake , Healing lake etc.

Pictures of the scenic beauty of Anjaneri can be viewed at http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xPm4DM0UK_4hLu1SRGIg1A

Kondagattu

Name : Kondagattu

Location : Kondagattu is located on the Karimnagar-Jagityal-Nizamabad State Highway at around 35 Kms from Karimnagar and 15 Kms before Jagityal.

Deity : Lord Anjaneya Swamy (Hanuman)

Legend : According to the folklore, the temple was constructed by a cowherd some 300 years ago.

Description : This breathtaking temple of Lord Anjaneya Swamy. Situated amidst hills, valleys & water springs Kondagattu is blessed by nature and very scenic. The present day temple has been built 160 years ago by Krishna Rao Deshmukh. It is believed that if a women offers puja for 40 days at this temple then she will be blessed with a child.

Apart from the temple, the fort of Kondalaraya & Bojjapotana caves are worth seeing at Kondagattu.

Lord Hanuman : Lord Hanuman was born in Anjaneri (now a hilltop temple). Anjaneri is near Triambakeshwar, Nasik - a pilgrim village in Maharashtra State. He is the son of Anjani and Maruti, born with the blessings of 'Vayu', the wind god (also called Pavan). He is considered to be an avatar (incarnation) of Lord Shiva.

Sukuh temple

Name : Candi Sukuh temple

Location : It is located in Berjo Village, Argoyoso district, in the slope of mount Lawu 35 Km east of Solo at a height about 910 m above sea level.

Description : The temple stretches from the east to the west with the main gate in the west. Sukuh Temple is decorated with wayang stone carvings of Hindu origin, the only erotic temple in Java. The stepped pyramid is like the ones in South America of the Maya culture. The temples are distinctive compared with other ancient temples in Central Java such as Borobudur and Prambanan, and its uniqueness lies in the landscaping, statuettes, and relief. The temples occupy an 11,000m2 area and consist of three terraces, each connected with an ascending alley. The most influential part is the last terrace, at the very back of the compound. At this very sacred area, once erected a homogenous phallic statue, which is now displayed at the National Museum, Jakarta.

Another interesting and controversial factor of this historical site is the artistic relief on its floor, which depict male and female organs symbolizing the birth of life. This kind of construction is common in prehistoric time, especially in the megalithic era of pundan berundak (terrace grave). The temple consist of three terraces, the first terrace is the lowest level, followed by the second and the third above it. The terrace are connected with stairs to each other, each of it has an entrance gate. The temple has believed to be constructed in the 15th century during the declining years of Majapahit Empire. The relief found beside the first gate are believed had mean (sengkalan) reads Gapura Buta Aban Wong and Gapura Buta Anahut Bubut, meaning the year of 1359 saka or 1437 AD.

Johnson, the resident of Surakarta, first discovered the temple in 1815 in a very poor condition during the period of Raffles government.

At Sukuh, sex is neither porn nor erotica; Rather it is spiritual, transcendental. At Sukuh, sex is the blending of male and female energies to create a new energy of rebirth.

Other Hill Temple nearby : CHETO TEMPLE




Cheto Temple is located about 5 km north and 500 m above Sukuh Temple.The layout of temple is similar to Sukuh except that it comprises many more (14) terraces.
The most interesting that still remain is a complicated figures composed of stones laid flat on the ground.

Borobudur - Indonesia

Name : Borobudur

Location : Borobudur temple located in the Jogjakarta city on central Java.

Borobudur is the biggest Buddhist temple in the ninth century. It was built by King Samaratungga from the Syailendra Dynasty. Borobudur temple is the one of the best-preserved ancient monument in Indonesia that are most frequently visited by over a million domestic as well as foreign visitors. It also had been acclaimed by the world as a cultural heritage. The architectural style has no equal through out the world. It was completed centuries before Angkor Wat in Kamboja. Borobudur is one of the world's most famous temples; it stands majestically on a hilltop overlooking lush green fields and distant hills.

Legend : It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit words "Vihara Buddha Uhr" Means "the Buddhist Monastery on the hill". Borobudur is a terraced temple surmounted by stupas, or stone towers; the terraces resemble Indonesian burial foundations, indicating that Borobudur was regarded as the symbol of the final resting place of its founder, a Syailendra, who was united after his death with the Buddha.

Temple Architecture : Borobudur is built of gray Andesite stone. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.

The walls of the Borobudur are sculptured in bas-reliefs extending over a total length of six kilometers. It has been hailed as the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist relieves in the world, unsurpassed in artistic merit and each scene an individual masterpiece.