Temples

Shikharji (Śikharjī), also known as Sammed or Sammet Shikharji, is one of the Holiest pilgrimage sites for Jains, in Giridih district, Jharkhand. It is located on Parasnath Hill, the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand. It is the most important Jain Tirtha (holy place) by both Digambara and Śvētāmbara, for it is the place where twenty of the twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras ( priests of Dharma) along with many other monks attained Moksha. It is one of the five principal pilgrimage destinations along with Girnar, Pawapuri, champapuri, Dilwara, Palitana and Ashtapad Kailash.

Lingaraja Temple is located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The temple is devoted to Lord Harihara, which means it is dedicated to Hari (Lord Vishnu) and Hara (Lord Shiva). The temple was built in the 11th century, this place of worship houses a Swayambhu Shivalinga, which is believed to be 8 feet in diameter and 8 inches tall. The architecture of the Lingaraj Temple is the top tourist attraction of the city and it can only be visited by Hindus. Thousands of devotees visit the temple across the year, but this number increases mainly in festivals like Mahashivratri and Ashokastami that are celebrated.

ISKCON Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir or the temple of the Vedic Planetarium also called ISKCON Mayapur, is a Hindu mandir and the headquarters of ISKCON, located in Mayapur, West Bengal. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu deity Radha Madhava. Construction of the temple was started in 2010 and when completed it will be the world's largest Hindu temple and one of the tallest temples located nearly 130 km from Kolkata.

Kapil Muni Temple is dedicated to Sage Kapila Muni and is situated at Sagar Island about 100 km west of Kolkata in West Bengal. It is believed that the deity was positioned in 1437 A.D. by Swami Ramanand. The current structure is a recent one and it has a stone block, considered to be the representation of Sage Kapil. There is also Gangasagar Mela held in the place which is the largest fair in West Bengal also festivals like Makar Sankranti are celebrated.

Mahabaleshwar Temple is situated in Gokarna, Karnataka. It is one of the pilgrimage sites in South India. The importance of Mahabaleshwar temple in many Puranas like Bhagavata Purana, Sthala Purana, Guru Purana and Skanda Purana. The Hindu saint Sri Adi Shankaracharya established the Ramachandrapura Mutt in Gokarna. Lord Shiva is the main deity at Mahabaleshwar temple. This temple is between the rivers Gangavali and Agnashini and the temple is also famous as Dakshina Kasi and Bhookailasa. The top of the Atmalinga is the only part of the Linga that is visible to devotees. But during the Ashta Bandana Kumbhahishekam, a festival that happens once every 40 years, the entire Atmalinga is shown to the devotees as the image of Lord Shiva in the temple is 1500 years old.

Mukharvind is a temple located in the village of Jatipura in Goverdhan that lies at a distance of around 28 km from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The temple is at the base of Goverdhan hill known as the place of Lord Giriraj. Mukharvind Temple in Jatipura is the starting point of Saat Kosi Parikrama of Govardhan Hill and one of the easy routes covering 21 Km. This route starts from Mukharvind and then via Govardhan village, Manasi-Ganga kund, Udhav-kund, Radhakund, Anyuar village, Govind-kund, Punchari village, Surabhikund and back to Mukharvind Temple. The best time to visit the Mukharvind Temple of Jatipura is between October and March. Govardhan Puja is the main festival celebrated with great joy when thousands of devotees come to visit. Annakut, the special offering to Lord Girirajji is organized here a day after Diwali. Shringar Darshan, Shringar Aarti and Shayan Aarti are the best time to visit Mukharvind Temple at Jatipura.

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It is dedicated to Lord Anantha, an avatar of Lord Vishnu. Thiruvananthapuram is literally known as The land of Lord Anantha. Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is among the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu and it is one of the wealthiest temples in the world. The architecture of the temple is an amalgam of Kerala style and Dravidian style and the temple features a 100-foot tall gopuram. Inside, in the main shrine there is an 18-foot idol of the principal deity lies on Adi Shesha in the Ananthasayanam posture. Padmanabhaswamy Temple celebrates two major festivals like Painkuni (March and April) and Alpasi ( October and November), Special celebrations also take place during other festivals of regional and national importance.

Shri Yantra Mandir is located in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh. The construction of Shri Yantra Temple started in 1991 and is expected to be completed within seven to eight years. The construction work of this is done only in Guru Pushya Nakshatra. Guru Pushya is most auspicious for the formation of Nakshatra. The incomplete Shri Yantra Mandir is actually the Shri Yantra Mahameru Shakti Peeth. It is being built under the Bhartiya Prachya Yog Shodh Sansthan. The temple is the brainchild of Acharya Mandaleshwar of the Attal Akhada Sri Swami Shukdevanadji and is being constructed according to the ancient tenets of the Hindu temple building contained in the ancient Agama Shastras. The reason why the Shri Yantra Temple is still not completed even after more than 30 years is that construction is undertaken only during the Guru Pushya Nakshatra, which is considered auspicious. The Guru Pushya Nakshatra falls on an average of about 4 to 5 days a year.

Shree Tulja Bhawani Temple is located in Tuljapur, Maharashtra. Tuljabhavani Temple is known as Kulswamini of Maharashtra as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj used to visit this temple regularly. The temple is a complete Shaktipeetha among the three and a half Shaktipeethas in Maharashtra. This holy place is known as Bhavani (Bhagwati). The Bhavani Temple of Tuljapur is the Kulswamini of Maharashtra, the inspirational deity of King Shri Shiv Chhatrapati. It is believed that Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Hindavi Swarajya, blessed the establishment by giving Bhavani Talwar.