Shrinathji Temple
Shrinathji is the 7-year form of Lord Krishna. Shrinathji is a form of the Hindu god Krishna, appearing in the form of a seven-year-old boy. The main Shrinathji temple is located in the temple city of Nathdwara, 49 km northeast of the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan. Shrinathji is the central presiding deity of the Vaishnava sect known as Pushtimarg (the way of grace) or the Vallabh sect founded by Vallabhacharya. Shrinathji is mainly worshiped by the followers of Bhakti Yoga and Vaishnavas in Gujarat and Rajasthan and Bhatia and others. Vallabhacharya’s son, Vitthalnathji, institutionalized Shrinathji worship at Nathdwara. Due to the popularity of Shrinathji, the city of Nathdwara is known as ‘Shrinathji’. People also call it the city of Bawa (Shrinathji Bawa). Initially, the infantile form of Krishna was known as Devadaman (the conqueror of the gods, the superpower of Indra in the raising of the Govardhan hill by Krishna). Vallabhacharya named him Gopal and named his place of worship ‘Gopalpur’. Later, Vitthalnathji called him Shrinathji. The Shrinathji service is performed in 8 parts of the day. History Followers of Pushtimarg claim that the hand and face of the form first emerged from Govardhan Hill and then local residents (Vrajavasis) under the spiritual leadership of Madhavendra Puri began to worship the deity Gopal (Krishna). This Gopal deity was later called Shrinathji. Hence, Madhavendra Puri is recognized for discovering Gopal Devta near Govardhan, who was later adapted and worshiped as Shrinathji by Vallabhacharya. Initially, Madhavendra Puri worshiped the deity with raised hands and later, face. According to Pushtimarg literature, Shrinathji appeared to Shri Vallabhacharya at the Hindu Vikram Samvat of 1549 and instructed Vallabhacharya to begin worship on Mount Govardhan. Vallabhacharya arranged for the worship of that deity, and this tradition was carried on by his son Vitthalnathji. Shrinathji was brought to the Mewar region of Rajasthan via Agra and Gwalior to guard against the widespread destruction of Hindu temples during the oppressive reign of Aurangzeb. It is believed that the cart carrying the idol got stuck in the mud in the Sihar village of Mewar while traveling, and therefore the idol was installed in a temple with the permission of the then Rana of Mewar. According to religious myths, the Nathdwara Temple was built in the 17th century on a site marked by Shrinathji himself. The temple is also popularly called Shrinathji ki Haveli (Shrinathji’s house) because, like a normal house, it has the movement of a chariot (actually the original chariot in which Shrinathji was brought to Singhar), a place for milk. (Dushghar), a betel nut store (panghar), a sugar and sweet store (mishrighar and padghar), a flower store (phulghar), a functional kitchen (rasighar), a jewelry room (jewelry), a treasure (Kharcha Bhandar), a stable for chariot horses (Ashwashala), a hall (baithak), a gold and silver wheel (chakki). There are many important temples around the world where Shrinathji is worshiped. The “Nathdwara” of the Western Hemisphere is known as Vraj. It is located in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. More than 100,000 Hindus visit Vraj in a year. Temple priests and servants receive prasad instead of salary as a reward for their duties. Often this prasad is given or sold to guests who come to the temple for darshan. Followers of Shrinathji have a significant influence on Hindu arts, in the form of Pichwai paintings developed by him. These pictures can be in the form of cloth, paper, wall hangings or temples. These are fine and colorful devotional garments centered on the image of Shrinathji. Nathdwara Pichwai Kala is the center of Nathdwara painting. Nathdwara is known for the Rajasthani style of the city, called “Pichwai painting”. These Pichwai paintings are painted on the wall around the Nathdwara temple by renowned contemporary Nathdwara artists.
Shila Devi Temple
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]Shila Devi Temple is a temple located in the Amer Palace in the city of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was established here by Sawai Man Singh II. According to the information received from the local people, Shila Devi has been the family deity of the Kachwaha Rajput kings of Jaipur. Lakkhi fair is held in this temple which is quite famous. In this fair, huge crowds of devotees come here during Navratri to have darshan of the mother. The idols of Lord Ganesha and Hingla Mata, the Kuldevi of the Meenas, are also installed near the idol of Shila Devi. It is said that here Presently the temple is made entirely of marble stones, which was done by Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Originally it was made of lime. The doors of the temple are opened only after the daily offerings are made here and special offerings of gujiyas and coconut are offered here. In the upper part of this idol, from left to right, beautiful small-sized idols of Lord Ganesha, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Kartikeya are made on their vehicles. In the right arms of Shiladevi, Khadga, Chakra, Trishul, arrow and in the left arms shield, Abhayamudra, Munda and Dhanush are engraved. Earlier the idol of the mother here was facing east. After the establishment of Jaipur city, many obstacles started arising in its construction. Then Raja Jaisingh, after consulting with many big pundits, got the idol installed north-facing according to their advice, so that no other obstacle would be present in the construction of Jaipur, because the eyes of the idol were reading obliquely. Then this idol has been installed in the present sanctum sanctorum, which is facing north. This idol is made of black stone and is built on a rock. This idol of Shila Devi remains in the form of Mahishasura Mardini. Always only the face and hands of the idol covered with clothes and red rose flowers are visible. In the idol, the goddess is hitting Mahishasura with a trident of her right hand by pressing her with one leg. Hence the neck of the goddess is tilted to the right. This idol is considered miraculous. The idol of Hinglaj Mata of Ashtadhatu, the Kuldevi of the Kachwaha kings, is also built on the left side of Shila Devi. According to the belief, the idol of Hinglaj Mata has been brought from the Hinglaj Bhavani Shaktipeeth temple of Balochistan by the earlier ruling Meenas. The entrance of the temple is covered with a silver leaf on which the figures of ten Mahavidyas and Navadurga are inscribed. The main entrance of the temple is made of silver and the idols of Navadurga, Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandmata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri are engraved on it. Here Kali, Tara, Shodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Chhinnamasta, Tripurabhairavi, Dhumavati, Baglamukhi, Shrimatangi and Kamala Devi are depicted as the ten Mahavidyas. A red stone idol of Lord Ganesha is enshrined on top of the door. There is a window in front of the main gate, inside which is kept a silver drum. This nagara is played in the morning and during the evening aarti. On entering the temple, on the right side there is a beautiful painting of Mahakali and Mahalakshmi by artist Dhirendra Ghosh. Bengali architectural style is visible in some parts and pillars of the temple. Archaeological details of the idol are found at the entrance of the temple, according to which the idol of Shila Devi was brought by Raja Mansingh from Bengal. He was appointed governor of Bengal by the Mughal emperor Akbar. Then he was sent there to defeat the then Raja Kedar Singh. It is said that Mansingh sought blessings from that goddess statue for his victory in the war. In return, the goddess in a dream asked King Kedar to free herself. According to this condition, the goddess helped Mansingh to win the war and Mansingh freed the idol of the goddess from King Kedar and installed it in Amber. According to some other people, King Kedar presented this statue to Raja Mansingh after he was defeated in the war. According to another legend, King Kedar married his daughter to Mansingh and received the idol of the goddess as a gift. But King Kedar had got this idol built from a boulder lying in the sea and that is why the name of the idol is Shila Devi. Another belief also indicates its origin. According to this, this idol was lying on the beach of Bengal and King Mansingh brought it straight from the sea and brought it here. This idol was only in the form of rock and was black in colour. Raja Mansingh brought it to Amber and got the idol form of Mother made on it by the craftsmen and got its life established. A fair is held here twice a year in Navratri of Chaitra and Ashwin. On this occasion, special adornment of the mother is done. In these animals are sacrificed to please the goddess. Then here the members of the royal family of Udaipur and the feudal lords of the princely state of Jaipur participate in this celebration of Navratri. Special facilities for darshan are arranged for the visiting devotees. All the arrangements for the security of the temple are done by the police officers. Devotees take turns in the row and when the crowd is high, separate rows are arranged for women and men. After darshan in the main temple, there is a Bhairav temple in the middle, where devotees visit Bhairav after having darshan of the mother. According to the belief, Shila Maa’s darshan is successful only when the devotees return after seeing Bhairav. The reason for this is that after killing Bhairav, he had sought a boon from the mother in the last wish that after your darshan, the devotees should also have my darshan so that people remember Bhairav’s name along with the name
Birla Temple
Birla Mandir, Jaipur (Lakshmi Narayan Temple) is a Hindu temple located in Jaipur, India and is one of many Birla mandirs. It was built by the B.M. Birla Foundation in 1988 and is constructed solely of white marble. It is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu (Narayan), whose images appear inside, along with other Hindu gods and goddesses and selections from the Gita and Upanishads.Festivals such as Diwali and Janamashtami are celebrated at the temple. The temple is open daily with visiting hours between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM, as well as between 4:00 PM and 8:00 AM.It is located in Jaipur’s Tilak Nagar neighborhood near Moti Dungari hill. History Tradition states that a Maharaja sold the Birla family the land for the temple for one rupee.Construction began in 1977 under the direction Ramanauj Das and Ghanshyam Birla. It opened on February 22, 1988.
Ranakpur Jain Temple
Ranakpur Jain temple is a swetambar Jain temple at Ranakpur is dedicated to Tirthankara Rishabhanatha. The temple is located in a village of Ranakpur near Sadri town in the Pali district of Rajasthan. Darna Shah, a local Jain businessperson, started construction of the temple in the 15th century following a divine vision. The temple honours Adinath, the first Tirthankar of the present half-cycle (avasarpiṇī) according to Jain cosmology. The Ranakpur temple is one of the largest and most important temples of Jain culture. The campus includes various temples such as Chaumukha temple, Surya temple, Suparshvanatha temple and Amba temple. Temple History The construction is well documented in a 1436 CE copper-plate record, inscriptions in the temple and a Sanskrit text Soma-Saubhagya Kavya. Inspired by a dream of a celestial vehicle, Dharna Shah, a Porwal from Ghanerao, commenced its construction in 1389, under the patronage of Rana Kumbha, then ruler of Mewar. The architect who oversaw the project was named Dwepa. There is an inscription on a pillar near the main shrine stating that in 1439 Deepaka, an architect, constructed the temple at the direction of Dharanka, a devoted Jain. When the ground floor was completed, Acharya Soma Sundar Suri of Tapa Gaccha supervised the ceremonies, which are described in Soma-Saubhagya Kavya. The construction continued until 1458 CE. However, according to the audio guide provided to visitors to the site, construction lasted fifty years (and involved 2785 workers). Another source reports that construction continued until 1496, fifty years from 1446. The town of Ranakpur and the temple are named after the provincial ruler monarch, Rana Kumbha who supported the construction of the temple.
Nimbo Ka Nath Temple
Nimbo Ka Nath famously known as ‘Nimbo Ka Nath Mahadev Temple’, is the Lord Shiva temple. It is the centre of great faith of Pali’s people and Lord Shiva devotees in Pali. Located between Falna and Sanderao route, Nimbo Ka Nath is the same temple, which is according to hindu mythology, where Kunti, mother of the Pandavas, worshipped the Hindu deity Shiva during period of exile. Pandavas also established a Navdurga at this place and during Shivratri and Baisakhi Poornima fairs are organised here. How To Reach Nimbo Ka Nath Mahadev Temple, Pali By Road: Nimbo Ka Nath is located at the Falna and Sanderao route in Pali. One can easily reach here by bus or taxi from Falna. By Rail: Nimbo Ka Nath is well connected through nearest Pali Railway station to major cities railway stations like Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Chennai, Bikaner, Pali, Jaipur, Ahmedabad. By Air: Nimbo Ka Nath can be reach through nearest Jodhpur Airport (75 km) which is well connected with regular domestic flights to Delhi, Mumbai.
Somnath Temple Pali
Somnath Temple is a famous Lord Shiva temple in the Pali city. Temple shrine was constructed by the King of Gujarat Kumarpal Solanki in the Vikram Samvat 1209. Located in the main market of Pali, Somnath mandir has marvelous shilp art. Known for its rich history, Somnath temple has intricate carvings on the Shikar and pinnacle of the temple. Inside the Somnath mandir, there is a Shivling inside the Temple along with the idols of Parvati, Ganesha, and Nandi. Raj Kumar Pal Solanki brought this Shiva Linga from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.