Articles — Pilgrimage

Recognized as one of the 'Shakti Peethas', Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is situated in the folds of the 'Trikuta Hill' in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir. This abode of Goddess Durga is supposed to be one of the wish fulfilling places, where millions of devotees from India and abroad gather for Mata Vaishno Devi's blessings. People who visit the shrine constitute a heterogeneous profile comprising of wealthy & poor, aged & young, males & females from within and outside the country. The Shrine of goddess 'Vaishno Devi' is reached by an arduous climb. The scenic beauty, the landscape around and the constant...

Panch Kedar refers to five holy places of the Shaivite sect dedicated to god Shiva. Panch Kedar temples are located in the Garhwal Himalayan region in Uttarakhand, India. The Kedar Khand region of the Garhwal Himalayas is home to Panch Kedar temples named as Kedarnath, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheswar and Kalpeshwar. In these Five Kedars Lord Shiva is worshipped in five divine forms.  All of them are situated in the Kedar Valley. At Kedarnath, situated at the head of the Mandakini River, the Linga is a natural rock that resembles the hump of a bull. Madhyamaheshwar, situated at the base of Chaukhamba Peak is at an...

Shri Murudeshwar Temple or Murudeshwara Shiva Temple is famous Lord Shiva  temple, located in the beach town of Murudeshwar, 16 km from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka. Murudeswara or Murudeshwar means Shiva or Eeshwara and the statue of Lord Shiva here is the World's tallest Shiva Statue, measuring 123 feet (37 m) in height. The statue of Lord Siva is constructed so that it directly gets sun light and thus appears sparkling. Located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, the town of Murudeshwara is also a beautiful picnic spot bounded by the hills of Western Ghats and situated...

Shri Lingaraj Temple is one of the oldest temples of Bhubaneswar, in Odisha ,India . This thousand years old temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is an outstanding specimen of the Orissa style of temple building. Shri Lingaraj Temple is the largest temple of Bhubaneswar - the highly revered Hindu pilgrimage center famous as “the city of temples” or “Temple City of India”. was built in the 11th century by Somavamsi dynasty while the surrounding complex was built later by the rulers of Ganga Dynasty. Lord Shiva is enshrined as ‘Lingaraj' means 'the king of Lingas', where 'linga' is the phallic...

Shri Amarnath cave temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. An enshrined image of ice naturally formed in a cylindrical form which resembles Lord Shivlinga, begins to take its shape on the first day of the bright half of the month and reaches its full size on the full moon day (Poornima). After getting its fullest shape, it begins to wane and disappear on the new moon day. According to the tradition, the largest ice formation is considered as Lord Shiva Linga, one on the left side of the linga is an ice formation of Lord Ganesha, and on the right...

Pashupatinath temple, is dedicated to Shiva and is situated beside the Bagmati river in Nepal.  Pashupati literally means Lord of the animals and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Pashupatinath Temple is a famous 5th century Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva(Pashupati). The square two-tiered building stands on a single-tiered plinth in an open courtyard. The temple has silver-plated and gilt doors with niches on both sides containing images of gold painted guardian deities.  This richly decorated temple with wooden sculptures is believed to make wishes come true. One of the most astonishing decorations of the temple is the huge golden statue of Nandi -...

Mount Kailash is located in the Kailash mountain range of the Trans-Himalayas. For Hindus, Buddhists, Bonpos and Jains alike it is the most sacred mountain in the world, attracting thousands of pilgrims every year to circumnavigate the holy mountain by foot in the belief that it brings good fortune. In Buddhist and Hindu cosmology, Mount Kailash is the earthly manifestation of Mount Sumeru, which is the spiritual center of the universe. Mount Kailash holds significant power, as the very tip of the mountain is the central point of the cosmos’ rotation. In Sanskrit Kailas means luminous crystal. Hindus believe Mt.Kailash to be the...

Gorakshya Peeth Siddhachal Mrigasthali is located at the ancient place, loved by many siddhas over the time. This place is considered to be loved by lord Shiva and Parvati. Gorakshya Peeth Siddhachal Mrigasthali is located inbetween Pashupatinath at North, Guheshwori at south and Gauri-Ghat at West. It is surrounded at its three sides by Bagmati river. This is the famous place where Shiva used to roam in the form of deer. This is the place where Gorakshya Nath Meditated and Macchendra Nath blessed him. Now, there is a Gorakh Nath Temple and ashram with many Nath Yogis at this place....

Ambubachi Mela, also known as Ambubasi festival, is held annually during monsoon in the Kamakhya Devi Temple at Guwahati, Assam. In 2016, the beginning date of Ambubasi Mela is June 22 and the festival ends on June 25. The Ambubasi festival is related to the Tantric cult and is also known as Kamakhya Devi Puja. It is believed that Goddess Kamakhya goes through her menstrual cycle during these days and therefore the temple remains closed for three days. The Ambubasi mela is one of the numerous religious fairs and festivals celebrated with religious fervor in India. Various legends and beliefs...

Pancha Bhoota Stalam or Pancha Bhoota Sthala refers to the five Shiva temples, dedicated to Shiva, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature- land, water, air, sky, fire.  Pancha indicates Five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams and each of the lingams representing Shiva in the temple have five distant names based on the elements they represent. Indian belief associates the origin...