Shaktipeetha

				Shaktipeetha Sati, the daughter of Daksha prajapathi, is the first wife of Lord Shiva. Daksha dislikes Shiva. Once, Daksha sets to perform a Yagna. He invites all deities except Shiva (His Son-in-law) for the Yagna. Sati though uninvited, attends the Yagna as its being performed by her father. There, she not only was ill-treated but also had to hear ill-talks about lord Shiva (her husband). Dishonored by her parents and others, Sati bųrnt herself in the Yogagni and ied. Knowing this, Lord Shiva, destroys Daksha yagna. In this exalted state, Shiva carries the bųrnt body of Sati on his shoulders and wanders round the world. The whole world was scared of this act of Lord Shiva. To control Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, followed him and made the body of Sati in to pieces with his Chakrayudha. After the whole body disappears from his shoulders Lord Shiva was back to normal state and blesses the world. He told that “The places where the parts of Sati (Devi) had fallen will become Shakti peethas”. At all the Shakti peethas, Lord Shiva also appeared in different forms and performed Tapasya.
				Bhadrakali Temple in holy city Kurukshetra(Haryana) is also considered as one of the 51 holy Shakti peethas. The temple is dedicated to Bhadrakali a form of shakti. This is considered to be one of the fifty one Shakti pithas of India. It is believed that the right ankle of Sati fell here in the well. The "consort of Savtri is called Sthanu". Hence, the city is called "Staneshwar" meaning abode of Shiva. It is believed that the mundun (hair removing) ceremony of Srikrishna and Balarama was also performed in this temple.
				Sr. No. Shakti Body Part or Ornament Bhairava Place 1 Kamakshi Ottiyana (Ornament covering stomach) Kala Bhairav KanchiPuram, Kamatchi temple,Kamakoti Peetam mentioned in Lalita Sahasram,Trishati,Astothram etc. 2 Indrakshi / Nagapooshani Hand Rakshaseshwar / Naayanar Sri Lanka, in Nainativu, Jaffna 3 Mahishmardini Eyes Krodhish Naina, a little distance from Sukkur Station from Karachi, Pakistan 4 Sunanda Nose Trayambak Sugandha, situated in Shikarpur, Gournadi, about 20 km from Barisal town, Bangladesh, on the banks of Sonda river. 5 Mahamaya Throat Trisandhyeshwar Amarnath in Kashmir, India from Srinagar through Pahalgam 94 km by Bus, Chandanwari 16 km by walk 6 Siddhida (Ambika) Tongue Unmatta Bhairav Jwalamukhi, Kangra, Devi’s tongue fell here and the idols are Devi as Ambika (Mother) and Shiva as Unmatta (Furious). This is located near Pathankot, H.P., Jwalamukhi Road. 7 Ambaji Heart Ambaji , at Anart, Gujarat, India 8 Mahashira Both Knees Kapali Nepal, near Pashupatinath Temple at Gujyeshwari Temple 9 Dakshayani Right Hand Amar Manas, under Tibet at the feet of Mount Kailash in Lake Mansarovar, a piece of Stone 10 Girija/Viraja/Biraja Navel Jagannath Biraja in Utkal present Orissa, India 11 Gandaki Chandi Temple Chakrapani Gandaki from Pokhara, Nepal about 125 km on the banks of Gandaki river where Muktinath temple is situated 12 Goddess Bahula Left Arm Bhiruk Bahula, on the banks of Ajay river, at Ketugram 8 km from Katwa, Burdwan, West Bengal, India. 13 Mangal Chandika Right Wrist Kapilambar Ujaani, 16 km from Guskara Station under Burdwan district of West Bengal, India 14 Tripura Sundari Right Leg Tripuresh Udaipur, Tripura, at the top of the hills known as Tripura Sundari temple near Radhakishorepur village, a little distance away from Udaipur town of Tripura, India 15 Bhawani Right Arm Chandrashekhar On the Chandranath hill near Sitakunda station of Chittagong District, Bangladesh. The famous Chandranath Temple on the top of the hill is the Bhairav temple of this Shakti Peetha, not the Shakti Peeth itself. 16 Bhraamari Left Leg Ambar Trisrota, at Salbari village under Boda division of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India 17 Kamakhya Genital Organ Umanand Kamgiri, Kamakhya, at the Neelachal hills near Guwahati, capital of Assam, India 18 Jugaadya Great Toe (Right) Ksheer Khandak yogaadya at Khirgram under Burdwan district, West Bengal, India 19 Kalika Right Toes Nakuleesh Kalipeeth, (Kalighat, Kolkata), India 20 Lalita Finger (Hand) Bhava Prayag near Sangam at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 21 Jayanti Left Thigh Kramadishwar Jayanti at Kalajore Baurbhag village of Falzur Pargana under Jayantia Thana of Sylhet district, Bangladesh. This Shakti Peetha is locally known as Falizur Kalibari. 22 Vimla Crown Sanwart Kireet at Kireetkona village, 3 km from Lalbag Court Road station under district Murshidabad, West Bengal, India 23 Vishalakshi & Manikarni Earring Kalbhairav Varanasi at Manikarnika Ghat on banks of Ganga at Kashi, Uttar Pradesh, India 24 Sarvani Back Nimish Kanyashram, Kanyakumari the Bhadrakali temple within the precincts of Kumari temple, Tamil Nadu, India (also thought to be situated in Chittagong, Bangladesh) 25 Savitri Ankle Bone Sthanu Present day Kurukshetra town or Thanesar ancient Sthaneshwar, at Haryana, India 26 Gayatri Two Bracelets Sarvanand Manibandh, at Gayatri hills near Pushkar 11 km towards north-west from Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. 27 Mahalaxmi Neck Sambaranand Shri Shail, at Jainpur village, near Gotatikar, towards north-east 3 km from Sylhet town, Bangladesh 28 Devgarbha Bone Ruru Kankalitala, on the banks of Kopai river 10 km towards north-east from Bolpur station of district Birbhum, Devi locally known as KankaleshwariWest Bengal, India 29 Kali Buttock (Left) Asitang Kalmadhav on the banks of Shon river in a cave over hills near to Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India 30 Narmada Buttock (Right) Bhadrasen Shondesh, at the source point of Narmada river in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India 31 Shivani Right Breast Chanda Ramgiri, at Chitrakuta on the Jhansi Manikpur Railway line in Uttar Pradesh, India 32 Uma Ringlets of Hair Bhutesh Vrindavan, near new bus stand on Bhuteshwar road within Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India 33 Narayani Teeth (Upper Jaw) Sanhar Shuchi, in a Shiva temple at Shuchitirtham 11 km on Kanyakumari Trivandrum road, Tamil Nadu, India 34 Varahi Teeth (Lower Jaw) Maharudra Panchsagar place not known (thought to be near Haridwar) 35 Arpana Left Anklet (Ornament) Vaman Karatoyatat, at Bhabanipur village 28 km distance from interior Sherpur. Alight at Bogra station under district Bogra, Bangladesh 36 Shrisundari Right Anklet (Ornament) Sundaranand Shri Parvat, near Ladak, Kashmir, India. Another belief: at Srisailam in Shriparvat hills under Karnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India 37 Kapalini (Bhimarupa) Left Ankle Sarvanand Vibhash, at Tamluk under district Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India 38 Chandrabhaga Stomach Vakratund Prabhas, 4 km distance from Veraval station near Somnath temple in Junagadh district of Gujarat, India 39 Avanti Upper Lips Lambkarna Bhairavparvat, at Bhairav hills on the banks of Shipra river a little distance from Ujjaini town, Madhya Pradesh, India 40 Bhramari Chin (Two Parts) Vikritaksh Jansthan, at Godavari river valley near Nasik, Maharasthra, India 41 Rakini or Vishweshwari Cheeks Vatsnabh or Dandpani Sarvashail or Godavaritir, at Kotilingeswar temple on the banks of Godavari river near Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh, India 42 Ambika Left Feet Fingers Amriteshwar Birat, near Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India 43 Kumari Right Shoulder Shiva Ratnavali, on the banks of Ratnakar river at Khanakul-Krishnanagar, district Hooghly, West Bengal, India 44 Uma Left Shoulder Mahodar Mithila, near Janakpur Railway station on the boarder of India-Nepal 45 Kalika Devi Tubular Bones of the Feet Yogesh Nalhati,known as "Nalateshwari Temple" near Nalhati station of Birbhum district by rickshaw, West Bengal, India 46 Jayadurga Both Ears Abhiru Karnat place not known 47 Mahishmardini Portion between the eyebrows Vakranath Bakreshwar, on the banks of Paaphara river, 24 km distance from Siuri Town, district Birbhum,7km from Dubrajpur Rly. Station West Bengal, India 48 Jashoreshwari Palms of Hands & Feet Chanda Jessoreswari, situated at Ishwaripur, Shyamnagar, district Satkhira, Bangladesh. The temple complex was built by Raja Pratapaditya, whose capital was Ishwaripur. 49 Phullara Lips Vishvesh Attahas village of Dakshindihi in the district of Bardhaman, near the Katwa Rail Station, in West Bengal, India 50 Nandini Necklace Nandikeshwar Sainthia, locally Known as "Nandikeshwari" temple. Earlier Nandipur/Now in Sainthia Town. only 1.5 km from Railway Station under a banyan tree within a boundary wall, Birbhum district, West Bengal, India 51 Kottari Bramharandhra (Part of the head) Bhimlochan Hingula (Hinglaj) Devi’s mind or brain fell here and the idols are Devi as Kotari (Durga) and Shiva as Bhimlochan (Terrible eyed or the third eye). The location is towards 125 km from Karachi, Pakistan. 52 Danteshwari Daant (Teeth) Kapalbhairv Danteshwari ( Kuldevi Of Baster State ), Dantewada Baster 80 km's from Jagdalpur Chhattisgarh

Adi Badri Narain Shri Kedar Nath: Airavateshwar Temple

Adi Badri Narain Shri Kedar Nath: Airavateshwar Temple: Airavateshwar temple is situated in the Darasuram district of Tamil Nadu.This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, where Shivaji sits here i...

Airavateshwar Temple

Airavateshwar temple is situated in the Darasuram district of Tamil Nadu.This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, where Shivaji sits here in the form of Shivalinga.This temple was built by the King of Chole Dynasty Rajraja II in 12th century.

This temples are a fine examples of Dravidian style of architecture.This temple is so famous for its art works, that it has been ranked by UNESCO as World heritage along with Brihadeshwar Temple in Tanjavur and Gangekondacholishram in Cholapuram. This temple is a major sacred place for Hindus.
  

Chola Temple 
Airavateshwar Temple is a great confluence of history and religion.This temple along with its religious significance is also a sacred place for Hindus.There is a famous tale about this temple. It is believed that Raja Indra;s elephant Airavat worshipped Lord Shiva here, due to which this place was named Airavateshwar.As per the story once Airavat cause of his mistake was cursed by Rishi Durwasa, that he will lose his white colour and become ugly.



Due to this curse, Airavat’s colour started changing which made him upset. Then he worshiped Lord Shiva here , and got relief from this curse by taking a dip in the water of this temple and got back his colour and beauty.Since then this temple was named Airavateshwar Temple. The idol of Airavati is placed inside the temple, on which Lord Indra sits.
 


Other than this there is one more story which says , that the king of Mrityulok Yamraj , also came here to get relief from its curse. It is said that when got cursed by a Rishi , due to which his entire body started getting the burning sensation and to get relied from this pain he got know about this temple.Yam with full dedication worshipped in this temple and took a dip in its holy water and got relief from his body’s burning sensation. Since then this holy water filled lake is known as Yamtirtham.

Brihadeshwara Temple - A World Heritage Temple

Brihadeshwara Temple - or the Big Temple is an outstanding example of Chola architecture. It was built by the great Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I in the 10th century.

 What makes the construction so unique is the diversion from the usual temple building norms of having a tall gopuram (spire over the entrance) and a smaller vimana (the tower over the sanctum). Here, the vimana soars high while the gopuram remains stunted. The 65m tall, 14 tiered pyramid shaped vimana rises from a square base and is topped by a huge monolithic cupola carved out from an 81-tonne block of granite.



The tower is a testimony to the engineering skill of the Chola architects who planned its construction in such a way that the shadow of the cupola never falls on the ground. In keeping the 'bigness' of the temple is the gigantic lingam in the shrine and the massive Nandi (Shiva's bull vehicle) at the portal.


The inner wall of the sanctum has sculpted 108 dance poses called karmas performed by Lord Shiva himself. The Shiva lingam is called Peruvudaiya, Rasjarajeshwaramudvya. It is a huge lingam, which is set in a two-storeyed sanctum. Rajaraja Chola crowned it with 12.5 ft tall finial of 9.25 kilograms of choppers plated with 800 grams of gold.

A huge statue of Nandi measuring 6 m length and 3.7 m in height faces the inner sanctum. The statue of Nandi was created from a single rock piece and weighs 25 tonnes. It is in fact one of the largest statues of Nandi bulls in India. The temple also has a spacious ground, number of pillared halls, shrines and 250 lingams.

For more details please connect to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brihadeeswarar_Temple

World Biggest Hindu Temple - Angkor Wat, Cambodia : The largest Sri Maha Vishnu Temple in the world

World Biggest Hindu Temple - Angkor Wat, Cambodia 

: The largest Sri Maha Vishnu Temple in the world 

Angkor Wat (Cambodia)  is not only the largest Hindu Temple, but also one of the wonders of the word. Yet, unknown to many Hindus all around! An architectural marvel and a piece of world heritage. Indians know more about Taj Mahal and almost nothing about this temple at Angkor Wat. Religion apart, this beautiful temple and it's intricate architectural wonder that signifies a symbol of Science and Mathematics in ancient times. There might not have been any Civil Engineering at that time, but even today the Engineers of Modern days, will have to bet their heads to recreate smething like this. Likewise, there are many wonders which people do not know about. We are lost in Eiffel Tower and things like Egyptian Pyramids, but there are lot more of Indian marvels and structures, in other places - why, even in China, Japan & Singapore also!

For more details, please goto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat

First Visit to Shri Aadi Badri Nath Shri Kedar Nath Tirth, Kathgarh

These are pictures of the dhaam when it was know as 'MACHLI-BANDAR-MATH' as there are fishes in the river and monkeys all around this place.   This Teertha was managed by Dandi Sadhus belonging to the said Math.  Later Government of Haryana acquired this temple and made a shrine board to manage it.  So now we do not find any reference to the Math anymore.

 

भण्डारा

श्री आदि बद्री नारायण श्री केदारनाथ तीर्थ पर हमारी मित्र-मण्डली ने 1 जनवरी 2012 को (अन्नपूर्णा अष्टमी के दिन) पूजा-अर्चना की व श्रद्धालुओं के लिये भण्डारा आयोजित किया। इस समाचार को 'दैनिक भास्कर' ने 2 जनवरी को व 'आज समाज' ने 3 जनवरी को प्रकाशित किया।

विडम्बना यह है कि 'आज समाज' के अनुसार भंडारा श्राईन बोर्ड Shri Kapal Mochan, Shri Badri Narayan, Shri Mantra Devi & Shri Kedar Nath Shrine Board ने आयोजित किया, जो कि सर्वथा असत्य है। अत: पत्रकारों से निवेदन है कि वे पहले सत्यता की जांच कर लें तभी समाचार प्रकाशित करें।