Majestic Temples of India

Himavad Gopalaswamy Temple Chamarajanagar, Karnataka Himavad Gopalaswamy Temple is located in Gundlupete Taluk in Karnataka. Temple is called Himavad Gopalaswamy as Himavad means mist and Krishna as Gopalaswamy. Temple is also called Dakshina Govardhanagiri.  The Garbha Griham contains Vigraham of Krishna holding a flute under a tree. In this temple throughout the year just above the door leading to the Garbha Griham water drips constantly. The poojari explains the stories associated with the place and sprinkles this water.  Sthala Puranam says that, Agastya Muni, performed tapasya and as a result Mahavishnu  blessed this place and promised to reside here. Muni then went to the Sahyadri Mountains and prayed to Shri Krishna.  Agasthya Muni wished Krishna to come here with Rukmini and Sathyabhama. Shri Krishna agreed, but said that Saptha Rishis should worship him everyday. Thus Vigraham was made and Prathista was done. Even today, it is believed that the Saptharishis ...

Stories of  Guruvayurappan  Sri Krishna Leela Tulabharam story of Guruvayurappan Tulabharam is an offering of giving one’s weight  equivalent in fruit, sugar, butter or other grains, to Bhagwan.   Once there lived a cobbler who lived near Guruvayur temple. He had a practice of taking Lottery ticket always. Whenever he takes a ticket he will first pray to Guruvayurappan that if he wins he will offer a Tulabharam. Everytime he repeated saying this offering using Sugar, jaggery, butter etc.. but he didn't win lottery money a single time.  He became dejected but couldn't stop himself from buying a ticket. One day he took a ticket of 1 crore rupees and went directly to Guruvayurappan and prayed that if he wins he will offer Tulabharam using Theertha Jalam. That time he won prize of 1 crore, thus cobbler became very rich. He came to temple to offer Tulabharam. As he went near Tulabharam counter he was ashamed to tell his offering is with Theertham because he was ...

Veeranarayana Temple Gadag, Karnataka Veeranarayana Temple is located in Gadag District of Karnataka. Mahavishnu is worshipped here as Veeranarayana. This is one among Pancha Narayana temples. Vigraham here is with four arms, two arms holding the Shankha and Chakra and other two arms showing the Abhaya mudra and Varada mudra.  Sthala Puranam says that, king Vishnuvardhana was a great follower of Ramanujacharya, who cured an illness of a  Hoysala Princess. Vishnuvardhana constructed 5 temples for Mahavishnu, one being this temple. The Vigraham is glorified with Veera Kavacha signifying victory in battle. Mahavishnu in this temple is believed to have come from Badrinath. It is believed that Kumar Vyasa, who wrote Kannada Mahabharata completed writing the work  here after worshipping Mahavishnu. Kumar Vyasa wrote one sloka which is in the wall of the temple, chanting it gets is considered very auspicious.  Sri Vanitheyarasane Vimala Raa Jeeva Peethana Pithane Jagakathi ...

Swetharanyeswarar Temple Thiruvenkadu, Tamil Nadu Swetharanyeeswarar Temple is located in Thiruvenkadu. Paramashiva is worshipped here as Swetharanyar and Parvathi Devi as Brahma Vidyambigai. Temple is one among the Paadal Petra Sthalam and also one of the Navagraha Temples.  Navagraha Parihara Sthalam is of Budhan ( Mercury). Temple is one among Shakthi Peethas, and Devi is worshipped as Pranava Shakti. Swetharanyeswarar Temple is called Adi Chidambaram, as it is said that Paramashiva performed Tandavam here first. Sthala Puranam says that, Marutwasura, an Asura, was troubling the Rishis and the people of Thiruvenkadu. Everyone prayed to Paramshiva who sent Nandi to fight. Nandi fought and threw him in sea. Marutwasura, obtained Trishul of Shiva and started to attack again. Nandi couldn't fight and was injured with trishul. Vigraham of Nandi here have marks of this attacks. Later Paramashiva came as Aghora Murthy and destroyed the asura. Bhudan ( Mercury) worshipped Paramashiva he...

Mullakkal Bhagavathy Kshetram Alappuzha, Kerala Mullakkal Bhagavathy Kshetram or Mullakkal Rajarajeshwari Kshetram is located in Alappuzha District of Kerala. Durga Devi is worshipped as Mullakkal Devi here. Roof of Shri Kovil is kept opened as Devi is Vana Durga here.  Sthala Puranam says that, King Devanarayana, who was a Devi bhaktan went to the Kodungaloor Bhagawathy Temple and wished to have a Devi temple at his place. That night, devi appeared in his dreams and told that she would come along with him.When king returned to Alappuzha he kept his umbrella in the jasmine garden. The umbrella got fixed there. Later, devaprashnam was held and found Devi's presence. Thus temple was built here. Vada nevidyam is very famous here for Devi.  Mullakkal Chirappu and Navarathri is famous in Temple. Upadevas are Hanuman, Subramanya, Ganapathy and Paramashiva.  Mullakkal Amme Sharanam

Kailasanathar Temple Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu Kailasanathar Temple is located in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu. Paramashiva is worshipped as Kailasanathar here. Temple is one among the 9 Navagraha Koils in Tamil Nadu. Soma ( moon) is worshipped here.  Sthala Puranam says that, there lived a nayanar in the area named Appoodi Adikal, who was a shiva bhaktha. He was a great follower of Thirunavukkarasar. One day, Thirunavukkarasar came to the area and accepted Appoodi Adikal's request of having lunch at his house. Appoodi Adikal sent his son to gather some banana leaves. On the way, Appoodi Adikal's son was bit by a posionous snake. It is said that Thirunavukkarasar revived his son back to life.  Another story says that, Chandra who married all daughters of Dakshan, was partial to Rohini. This angered Daksha and he cursed Chandra to lose his powers. Chandra prayed to Kailasanathar here and is said to retain all powers. Koil Theertham is called Chandra Pushkarini. Anna Prasanam, t...

Pundarikaksha Perumal Temple Trichy, Tamil Nadu Pundarikaksha Perumal Temple is located in Thiruvellarai of Tamil Nadu. Temple is one among the 108 Divya Deshams. Mahavishnu is worshipped as Pundarikaksha Perumal and Lakshmi Devi as Pankajavalli.  Sthala Puranam says that, Sibi Chakravarthy, did Prathista of Vigraham here. Once, when Sibi Chakravarthy was staying here, he saw white bear hiding inside a hole. The king soon found that Markandeya Maharshi was doing Tapasya in that hole. Markandeya Maharshi instructed the King to fill the hole with milk. Mahavishnu appeared there and adviced the King to build a temple there. Thus was Prathista done here. Another story says that, Paramashiva worshiped perumal here for getting relieved from a dosham.  It is also said that, Lakshmi Devi did Tapasya here to Mahavishnu. Temple also has Vigrahams of Narasimha and Varaha. Temple is said to be older than Srirangam Temple. Ratholsavam is celebrated during Tamil month of Chittirai  Om ...