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

Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumaal

Name : Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumaal

This hill has various names like Sri Vaikundagiri, Dhakshina Garudagiri, Dhakshina Venkatagiri, Dhakshina Seshagiri, Varaaha Kshethram and Ramanuja Yogagiri. This ancient temple has some interesting legends attached to it.

Location :

Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor lies about 70 kms from Chennai and 18 kms from Chengalpattu. While going from Chennai, after crossing Chengalpattu, one can find Padaalam Cross Road (Koot Road) from where a road goes off GST Road on the right side. This road leads to Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor.

Legend :

The Blog post http://www.dharsanam.com/2008/03/thirumalai-vaiyaavoor-sri-prasanna.html lists a lot of legends associated with this temple. I mention only one below. Pls visit the blog to see other legends associate with this temple.

During the battle between Sri Rama and Raavana, Lakshmana fainted on the battle field. Sri Rama sent Sri Hanuman to bring the Sanjeevi hill to cure Lakshmana. Sri Hanuman brought the Sanjeevi hill as told by Sri Rama. It is said that Sri Hanuman worshipped Sri Varaaha Perumaal and Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Puramaal on this hill, on the way back to Lanka, carrying the Sanjeevi hill. As Sanjeevi hill should not be placed on ground, it is said that Sri Hanuman shifted the hill from His right hand to left hand to offer obeisance to the Gods here. As the holy Sanjeevi hill was not kept on ground here by Sri Hanuman, this place came to be known as Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor (திருமலை வையாவூர்).



Description :

The temple is beautifully located on the hill top. There are about 500 steps on the hill to reach the temple. There is a proper road also to reach the temple by vehicles. Though the main deity is Sri Venkatesa Perumal the Aadhi Murthy here is Sri Varaaha Perumaal. One has to first visit Sri Varaaha Perumaal before visiting the main deity. Sri Varaaha Perumaal is seen with Sri Lakshmi facing west. Also, when the temple is opened, Sri Varaaha Perumaal’s shrine is opened first and all the offerings are made to Him first, before others.

The main deity Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal is seen facing west. The Lord is beautifully decorated with ornaments and gives dharshan exactly as in Thirupathi. Goddess Sri Alarmel Mangai Thaayaar has a separate shrine here. There are separate shrines for Sri Aandaal and Sri Ramanuja too.

The inner praakaarams have lot of stone pillars and spread on a wide area. The pillars have some exquisite carvings on them.

The Theertham for this temple is called Varaaha Theertham which is at the foot of this hill. The path to the Theertham is not motorable but looks beautiful when seen from the hill top.

Sri Anjaneyar shrine (Lord Hanuman) is present facing the hill opposite to the stair way to the temple. Sri Garuda Bhagavan is seen on specific corners on the wall, guarding the Lord.

It is also said that people visiting Thirupathi should also visit Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor and bathe in Varaaha Theertham and worship Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Perumaal here, only after which the pilgrimage gets complete.

Other Tourist Attractions :

One can reach Vedanthangal from here. You can plan for a day trip to visit Perumal and also enjoy the day in vedanthangal.

Website :

I took the entire information from the blog http://www.dharsanam.com/2008/03/thirumalai-vaiyaavoor-sri-prasanna.html

Mata Chintpurni Devi

Name : Mata Chintpurni Devi is also known as Mata Shri Chhinnamastika Devi.

Location :

Chintpurni is situated at the altitude of 940 metres and is part, Una district, Himachal Pradesh. The temple is situated on one of the highest peaks of the Sola Singhi range of hills. It is about 3 km west of Bharwain which is located on the Hoshiarpur - Dharmashala road. This road is part of the State Highway network and is normally kept in good shape throughout the year.

Private vehicles are usually not allowed beyond the Chintpurni bus stand which is about 1.5 km from the Temple. You would have to walk this distance.

Legends:

1. Chhin-Mastika : It is said that a devotee named Mayidass, who was an ardent devotee of Goddess Durga, disco- vered this spot. As per the old myth, Mayidas was born in village Athar (District Patiala of Punjab). His father had three sons and Mayidass happened to be the youngest one. Like his father, Mayidas used to spend much of his time in the worship of mother goddess. Due to this he was not able to help in the family business. Owing to this aversion to business, his brothers separated from him.

One day, while going to his inlaws house, he sat to rest, under a banyan tree, Mayidass fell asleep. While sleeping he dreamt a divine giri full of radiance and blazing. The divine girl ordered Mayidass to built a temple at the same spot and she said she is staying under the tree in "Pindi- Rupa.' and known as Chhin-Mastika.

2. Chhinnamastika Name: Why and How?

As per Markandeya Purana it is believed that after the victory of Mother 'CHANDI' over all demons, the two disciple companions Ajay and Vijay begged of mother, to quench their blood thirst. On hearing this goddess 'Chandi' cut her own head and quenched the thirst of her disciple companions. That is how goddess was named as Chhinnamastika.

As per legends and Puranas the abode of 'chhinnamastika Devi should be surrounded on all sides by 'Rudra Mahadeva.' That means that the temple of goddess should be surrounded by four Shiva temples. The holy temple of Chinta Purni bears testimony to this fact.

Description :

Devotees have been visiting this Shaktipeeth for centuries to pray at the lotus feet of Mata Shri Chhinnamastika Devi. Some parts of the holy feet of Sati are said to have fallen here, while Lord Vishnu shot arrows to cut the corpse into pieces.

The Chintpurni Temple besides having the idols of Mata Shri Chhinnamastika Devi and Mata Shri Chintpurni Devi also has the idol of Chhina Mastaka, the killer of the demon Nishumbha. This temple is revered by the Hindus in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and it is believed that the Goddess Chintpurni is the remover of all troubles. They bring with them their worldly concerns and seek blessings from the Devi.

It is believed that if you ask something from the Devi with a true heart, your wish will be granted.

Apart from the holy shrine, according to Manav Bhardwaj, the place is full of picturesque surroundings. Some very nice places for sight seeing, indoor and out door activities are situated in and around Chintpurni.

Festivals :

The Navaratra fairs in Shravan (August), Kartik (October) and Chaitra (March-April) are very popular with devotees when accommodation is very tight. Other popular days are Sankranti, Purnima and Ashtami.

Website :

http://www.mantraonnet.com/9shrines/chintapurni.html

Jakhu Temple

Name : Jakhu Temple

Location :

This temple of lord Hanumanji is situated at the height of about 8500 ft. in the east of historical ridge ground in Shimla city. This temple is very easily approachable and is one of the most sought after site to be visited not only by the devotees and pilgrims but also by the tourists of all age groups visiting Shimla, the Hill capital of Himachal Pradesh.

Legend :

According to mythology, during the battle between lord Rama and Ravana at Lanka, Lakshmana the younger brother of lord Rama was injured from an arrow from Meghnad and turned senseless. In order to save his life, when lord Hanuman was moving towards Himalaya to get sanjeewani herb, all of a sudden he saw Yaaku sage on Jakhu mountain in penance. This place was named Jakhu, after the same sage. In order to gather more details about sanjeewani, lord Hanuman landed here. As a result of which Jakhu mountain which earlier was much higher, half sunk into earth.

After getting all the clarifications about the herb, lord Hanuman started his journey towards mount Dron. However, his friends accompanying him felt asleep here due to long distant tiring journey. When they woke up, all of them were sad on not finding lord Hanuman with them. All of them decided to stay here. Their successors can be seen roaming in this area even today.

Lord Hanuman had even promised the sage Yaaku to meet him during his back journey. However due to shortage of time as a result of wickedness of Kaalnemi, he had to return back to Lanka via shorter route. So Yaaku sage got very sad. At the same time lord Hanuman appeared before the sage and told him the reason for not keeping his promise. When lord Hanuman disappeared, an idol of lord Hanuman appeared by itself and is present in the temple till date. This temple of lord Hanuman was constructed by the Yaaku sage in remembrance of lord Hanuman.

Description :

Situated in the thick forests of Jakhu hills, there are hundreds of monkeys in and around the temple, who have made this temple and the area around it their habitat. You can easily offer them eatable with care, from a distance, without any danger of their harming you.

Visitors must remove shoes (and leave them in the "shoe house") before entering the temple. There are several eateries at the temple site. Local visitors ring the bell for good luck before making the descent back into Shimla.

Website :

http://shimla.com/Temples/jakhu.htm

Ma Bhagwati Tara Devi Temple - Shimla

Name : Ma Tara Devi Temple

Location :

Situated at the Tara Devi hill this temple is located at a distance of 10 Km from Shimla. "Ma Bhagwati Tara Devi" temple is located on Tarav Parvat in the western side of shimla Town about 15 Km from Shimla situated by the side of Kalka- Shimla National Highway near Shoghi.

Legend :

The history of this temple dates back to about 250 years when this temple was built here. There is a belief that the goddess Tara was brought to Himachal Pradesh all the way from the eastern state of Bengal . Hundreds of years ago a king from the Sen Dynasty visited this area. This king had brought his family deity in the form of a small gold Idol encased in a locket which he always wore around his upper arm.

For many years the idol remained encased but in the 96th generation of sen dynasty, Raja Bhupendra Sen one day had an unusual experience while hunting in the dense forest of Juggar , near by the present temple, where he had a vision of his holy family deity goddess :"Ma Tara" along with her Dwarpal Bhairav and Hanuman Ji, who expressed her keen desire to be unveiled before the people. The Raja immediately donated 50 bighas of land on the name of Ma Tara and got constructed a temple there, in which a wooden idol of the Goddess was installed in accordance with Vaishnav traditions.

Later on Raja Balbir Sen of the same dynasty had a dream in which the Goddess expressed her desire to be installed on the hill top of Tarav Parvat. The Raja on the advise of one of his pandits named Bhawani Dutt got a beautiful Idol prepared out of ‘Ashtadhatu’ from one Gusanwu artisan at his capital Junga and carried it over an Elephant named ‘Shankar’ and had it installed in the Vikrami era, 1825 on the Hill Top of Tarav Parvat, where it stands in all majesty and grandeur even today. The Sen dynasty of the erstwhile Keonthal State till date is carrying on with the age old tradition of worshipping their family deity Ma Tara on Ashtami during Shardiya Navratras.

Description :

This temple is dedicated to goddess Tara.The temple besides normal visiting days is thronged by devotees from all parts of the country in large number during the Navratras. The road meandering uphill through the sweet smelling pine forests and lush green meadows with the cool gentle breeze touching one softly infusing a freshness and vigor in the devotees, pilgrims and tourists visiting this holy shrine.

The location of the temple on the Hill top makes it appear that the goddess Ma Tara Devi seems to keep everyone under the protective gaze, showering innumerable blessings on her worshippers.

Festivals :

Each year a fair is also held during Ashtami of Shardiya Navratras in the temple complex. The wrestling is an age old tradition of this fair every year.

Website :

http://shimla.com/Temples/taradevi.htm