Da Ming Temple - Yangzhou Province China

Name : Da Ming Temple

Location :

Da Ming Temple is located on a hillslope in the northwestern suburb of Yangzhou on Shugang Hill in China.

Description :

Daming Temple is one of tbe oldest temples in the City, having a history of over 1,500 years. The original temple was built by a monk called Jian Zhen about 1,500 years ago. The temple was seriously damaged during the Taiping Rebellion at the beginning of the 20th century. The present structure is a reconstruction dating from the 1930s. Da Ming Temple sits on a hill and features various precious cultural relics, memorial archways and a nine-storey pagoda.

Once Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty toured Yangzhou and was unhappy to see the name of the temple "Daming", which means "great Ming" (Ming dynasty was ruled by the Manchus,a minority Qing succeeded Ming) For fear that it might remind people of the Ming dynasty he renamed the temple “Fajing Temple” and put it down in his own handwriting.(Emperor Qianlong was a good calligrapher). In the spring Of 1980 in reparation for the exhibition of the statue of MonkJian Zhen the Yangzhou Municipal Government hanged it back to "Daming Temple" Thus, Qian long's inscription“Fajing Temple” became a mere historical relic.

The Temple :

In the main hall (Mahavira Hall) sit three Buddhist images. In the centre is yamuni,to his east Master of the Medicine to his west is Amitabha. On each side Of Sakyamuni stands one Of his ten disciples. The 0lder one on his 1eft represents experience and prestige, the younger one on his right represents wisdom and knowledge. On the eastern and western sides are 18 Arhats.

On the northern side six Buddhist images represent six founders Of the Chan Sect Of Buddhism., At the back is an island on sea with Guanyin(God or Goddess of Mercy)Standing on the head Of a huge turtle. According to Buddhist Sutra he can deliver all living creatures from any suffering. Those in misery need only call him and he will come to their rescue. He is sometimes portraited as a man and some time as a woman. Actually he has a man's body but a woman's appearance,representing kindness.

In front Of Daming Temple there is an ancient decorated archway in the midst Of ancient trees. It bears the inscription “Ruins of Xiling”. In AD 601(Sui dynasty)a nine-storey, Xiling(Soul Living) Tower was built in the compound of Daming Temple. Many famous poets of the Tang dynasty visited and mounted the tower and wrote moving poems. Later Xiling Tower was burnt down leaving only its ruins. In the latter years of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279), a nine-story pagoda, the Qiling, was built on the temple grounds.



Five big Chinese characters are inscribed on the eastern wall Of the Temple" the First in "Huaidong" which mean that the scenery of Daming Temple was the best and most worth visiting in Yangzhou. These are the words of praise taken from a famous poet of the Northern Song dynasty Qin Shaoyou,who once toured this place and was fascinated by its beautiful scenery a famous poet of the Northern Song dynasty Qin Shaoyou, who once toured this place and was fascinated by its beautiful scenery.



A recent addition to the temple complex is the Jian Zhen Memorial Hall, built according to Tang Dynasty methods and financed with contributions raised by Buddhist groups in Japan.

Festivals :

Before the New Year's Day each year, a lot of people come here to burn joss sticks and worship Buddha; also some Japanese tourists come here to ring the bell for the purpose of praying for happiness and safety.

Websites :

www.damingsi.com/english.htm

http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_25349.htm

Wikipedia about Da Ming Temple

Thoth Hill

Name : Thoth Hill

Location :

Thoth Hill (Berg Thoth) is located high on the southern spur of the great plateau which forms the backdrop to western Thebes in Egypt.

Description :

It was named Thoth Hill because of a large number of limestone fragments of three baboon statues found in the vicinity during Flinders Petrie's 1909 investigation of the ruins. The hill is also sometimes referred to as the "Crown of Thebes".

Thoth Hill is the site of two temples, an archaic temple that may date to around 3,000 BC and would be the oldest temple built on the West Bank at Luxor, and built upon it, a later temple built by an 11th Dynasty pharaoh known as Sankhkare Mentuhotep.

The Archaic Temple



Beneath the Middle Kingdom structure of Sankhkare Mentuhotep, the oldest known temple in the Theban region was only recently discovered. Made of stone, it was very small and had a similar plant to the later temple built upon it, though it probably only had a single chambered sanctuary. Interestingly, the older temple appears to have had a pylon entrance, just as the newer temple. However, considering the age of this temple, this would be most unusual. Also like the later temple the earlier site was surrounded by an enclosure wall, and had a free standing inner sanctuary, though the older temple has only a single room within the sanctuary while the newer temple had three.

This older temple was slightly offset in its axial alignment (by about 2 degrees towards the south). It was built upon an artificial terrace, as was the newer temple. Egyptologists believe that the older temple was oriented towards the helical rising of Sirus, and have determined that the older temple's orientation would have been correct in about 3000 BC, at the very beginning of Egypt's dynastic period. The star Sirius was worshipped as the god Horus, and apparently because the later temple was probably dedicated to Horus, Egyptologists believe the older structure was as well.

The Horus Temple of Sankhkare Mentuhotep



The newer temple, first investigated by Petrie, was thought by him to be a Sed-festival chapel. There is a Sed-festival building within the area to the west but he was wrong about Sankhkare Mentuhotep's temple. Investigation by the Hungarians revealed that it was instead a small temple of Horus. However, they also apparently investigated the Sed-festival temple as well, which revealed roofing beams and columns made of imported tropical sycamore wood.

The 11th Dynasty temple is made of mudbrick and consisted of an entry pylon and walls surrounding a free standing inner sanctuary with three rooms at the rear (northwest). The floors of the newer temple were covered in plaster. This temple was more closely aligned with the modern helical rising of Sirus. Found among the ruins were foundation deposits and fragments of the foundation text and dedicatory inscriptions form the fine limestone door jambs.

This site became known to modern explorers relatively late. The ruins were only discovered in 1904 by George Sweinfurth. It was later examined by Petrie in 1909, but not very thoroughly and only for a few days. Not until a Hungarian expedition led by Gyozo Voros for Eotvos Lorand University between 1995 and 1998 was the site systematically investigated. The older temple was unknown until this expedition's work. The newer temple was investigated first, during the seasons 1995-1996 and the older temple during the season of 1996-1997.

The area is somewhat difficult to reach. The hill is surrounded by desert ravines and the ancient route leading up to the temple is difficult to ascend.

Artifacts

Restoration work has also apparently been completed on the artifacts found at Thoth Hill, including ceramics recovered form the new temple and pottery from the older stone temple. Items from the older temple included cylindrical jars and rectangular basins also thought to be of archaic date. The fragmentary baboons that provided the site with its name were also restored and are believed to date from the 11th Dynasty.

Website :

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thothhill.htm

Chaturshringi Temple

Name : The Chaturshringi Temple

Location :

This Hindu temple is located in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. The temple is located on the slope of a hill on Senapati Bapat Road.

Legend :

The legend associated with the temple is that, once there was a rich and prosperous merchant who was an ardent believer of Goddess Chaturshringi and visited all Her temples everywhere. It is said that the idol of Goddess Chatshrungee, now enshrined in the temple, was discovered by a trader. The goddess appeared in his dream and instructed him to unearth the idol.

Description :

It is said to have been built during the reign of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosle. The temple is looked after by Chaturshringi Devasthan (Temple) trustees, with full dedication.

Chaturshringi (Chatur means four) is a mountain with four peaks. The Chaturshringi temple is 90 feet high and 125 feet wide and is a symbol of power and faith. One has to climb more than 100 steps to reach the shrine of Goddess Chaturshringi. In the temple premises there are also temples of Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesh. This includes eight miniature idols of Ashtavinayaka. These small temples are located on the four separate hillocks.



The presiding deity of the temple is Goddess Chaturshringi, also known as Goddess Ambareshwari. She is also considered as the presiding deity of the city of Pune. The temple is maintained by the Chaturshringi Devasthan Trust.

Festivals :

One of the major attractions of the Chaturshringi temple of Pune is the Navratri Festival, organized every year in the month of October-November. Devotees visit the temple in large numbers to attend this festival.

Website :

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

Palitana Jain Temples

Name : Palitana Jain Temples

Location :

Palitana is a religious Jain city, Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is located 50 km South-West of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre for Jains.

Myths :

Some people call the following encounters myths some give facts and some believes them which lives in the heart of every follower of Jainism.

* 1. The moolnayak murti-Lord Adinath's idol breathed 7 times, when it was first placed over there.
* 2. A layer of silver gets accumalated on idol every night and that serve as the priest's fees rather gift from god.
* 3. A small idol of Lord Suparshvanath Swami around 10" used to fly everynight from one of near by temple to Lord Adinath`s Palm.
* 4. There is only and only one tree in the entire Temple Campus below which it is believed to hide the jewels, pearls, relics and other ornaments of time before humans.

The town is considered by many Jains to be more important than the temple covered hills of Jharkhand, Mt Abu and Girnar. Palitana was the capital of a princely state of the Gohil Rajput clan. It is also one of the greatest tourist attractions in Gujarat for foreign tourists. Every year millions of people come to visit these temples. Palitana is the place where millions and millions of Jain sadhu and muni got salvation. For the Svetambar Jains Shetrunjay is the earliest and, next to Sammet Shikhar in Bihar, the most sacred mountain.

There are hundreds of other temples (besides those on the Shatrunjaya hills). Guest houses (dharmashalas) are found in Palitana city. It is believed that every Jain should visit Palitana at least once in his lifetime to get "Bhavya" status (fit to attain nirvan or salvation).

Description :

The Palitana temples are considered the most sacred pilgrimage place (tirtha) by the Jain community. There are more than 1250 temples located on the Shatrunjaya hills.

The main temple on top of the hill, is dedicated to 1st tirthankar lord Adinath (Rishabdeva). On the top the Shatrunjai Hill is a cluster of Jain temples ( 873temples ), built by generations of Jains over a period of 900 years, from the 11th century onwards. However, destroyed by the Muslim invasions in 14th and 15th centuries, the temples were built anew in 1500. The temples are managed by the Anandji Kalyanji Trust of the Kasturbai Lalbhai group. From the foot of the hill to the top there are 3,800 and odd stone steps cut to facilitate climbing.



No one is allowed to sleep overnight including the priest, because the temple city has been built as an abode for the Gods. A recently concluded count reveals that there are a total of more than 27,000 idols of jain god on this mountain alone.

Not only temples, Shatrunjay Hill also offers a beautiful view of the surrounding scenery. From here you can also see the biggest irrigation project in Saurashtra. The waters of the flowing Shatrunjay river are said to confer merit in the bather as well as cure various diseases.

For pilgrims visiting of foot there are three circumambulatory routes. The shortest leads round the temples along the outer wall; the other follows the foot of the mountain. The third, about forty kilometres long, frequents en route five temple sites where pilgrims may stay overnight before continuing their holy walk. The major event of the year takes place on the day of the full moon in the month of Phalgun (Feb./March) when some ten thousands of pilgrims go round the Shetrunjay hill, the 'Lord of Peaks'.

Website:

http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/Gujarat/Palitana.htm

Nagamalai Alayam, Muar (Johor)

Name : Nagamalai Alayam

Location :

This pre-existing natural temple is unique, as the shrine has been sanctified in a lush tropical hill forest in Muar (Johor) of Malaysia

Description :

In 1972, Gopala Menon, the founder of the temple had a vision of Sri Chakra, instructing him to build a shrine for Naga Amman, in a nearby hill forest. After receiving the vision, he immediately set out to the hill. After clearing up a path, he found several natural formed snake mounds and also an earthen bee hive. The natural formed earth mounds were seated below an arched limestone, that resembled a ‘pancha mukam’ (five faced) snake hood. Gopala Menon started meditating at that area, and experienced peace and serenity. He was told that he was from a lineage of Naga Amman devotees, and was entrusted to take care of this temple.

He then was given another spiritual instruction, to dig up a well at the bottom of the hill. At the precise location was an underground spring, and was to be used to wash and cleanse the devotees before proceeding to the shrine.

Naga Amman had blessed Gopala Menon with inner vision, and therefore was given spiritual instructions easily. The snake mounds were the private abode of Naga Amman and her seven virgin maidens. Also present, was a ‘siddhar’ (holy person possessing supernatural powers), who lived in the bee hive. After which, Gopala Menon came daily, lighted up camphor for the shrine and performed prayers. Soon, many devotees started attending the prayers and word got around about this hill forest temple.



Many ardent devotees witnessed the movement of ‘nagas’ (divine serpents) around the vicinity of the temple. Some have witnessed a golden hued ‘naga’ coming out from the mound, slithering away into the forest. Other devotees have heard ‘Naga Kanni Oli’, whereby is a powerful sound indicating the movement of ‘nagas’. One particular day, Gopala Menon found a coconut with a trunk shaped shoot. He was then instructed by Naga Amman to build a shrine for Lord Ganesha at the bottom of the hill. This was to allow devotees to obtain blessing from Lord Ganesha prior to ascending the hill forest temple.

Certain rules were established by Naga Amman, and conveyed to Gopala Menon. Those were to restrict devotees ascending the temple hill after 7pm, as the ‘nagas’ would come out in human form during this period. Naga Amman also advised to restrict menstruating women praying at the shrine, prohibit meat and alcohol, and to disallow footwear on the sacred hill. Devotees wishing to perform prayers for Naga Amman are advised to bring fresh cow’s milk, jasmine flowers, ‘payasam’ (sweet dessert) or ‘sakkara pongal’ (rice pudding).

Website :

http://mysticaltemplesofmalaysia.blogspot.com/2010/08/nagamalai-alayam-muar-johor.html

Charchika Temple

Name : Charchika Temple

Location :

This temple is situated on Ruchika Parbat on the bed of the Renuka river. In the small town of Banki in Cuttack district

Legend of Renuka river :

The Renuka river was created by the flood of 1982. It's believed that one devotee who worshiped Maa Charchika after pleasing her took away all ornaments of Maa Charchika and build a house where River Renuka is currently flowing now. As Maa Charchika was not happy so she created this River Renuka to punish him and to make him home less.

Description :

This temple is situated in the heart of Banki. This is one of the oldest Shakti place in Orissa. The presiding deity is an eight-armed goddess Chamunda, locally known as Maa Charchika devi. She is seated on a human body and wearing a garland of human skulls. She displays khadga, shula, katari and varadamudra in her four right hands whereas the four left hands represent severed head, blood-cup, ‘’damru’’ and leaving a finger of the remaining hand soaked in blood. This temple is situated on the top a small hillock Ruchika Parbat on the bed of the Renuka river in the small town of Banki in Cuttack district of Orissa.

The present temple was built in the 19th century. But the remarkable point is the enshrining deity Maa Charchika on iconographical point of view can be assigned to the 9th – 10th centuries A.D. i.e. Bhaumakara rule in Orissa.It is believed that the Charchika idol was created by Parashurama. The temple has a pidha vimana, jagamohana and a wooden mandapa known as "sunyavahini mandapa" of impoverished Kalingan order. Stone is used for the construction of the temple and the entire surface is thickly lime plastered and white washed.

The ceiling of the mandapa is made of wood whereas the pillars are in stone. The ceiling of the mandapa is profusely carved and painted.The wooden ceiling of the mandpa is relieved with episodes from Bhagabata Purana with intervening decoration of animals and birds like - elephant, duck, parrot, peacock, etc; floral motifs, lotus medallions, scroll and jali works, animal hunting, horse rider, gaja-vidalas, makaramukha,mithuna and maithuna images. Besides, the parsvadevata niches enshrine four-armed Chamunda, four-armed Mahisasuramardini Durga and an eight-armed Chamunda on the north, west and southern side respectively.

Festivals :

It's good to visit the temple at the time of Dasara, a Hindu festival in the month of October thousands of divotee used to come to get the blessing. Kumarpurnima a Hindu festival celebrated 5 days after Dusshera is very famous here.

One more Temple of Maa Charchika is at Mathura Near River Yamuna.

Website :

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