Veeranarayana temple, Gadag

About the temple

This is the place where kumarvyasa is said to have written the Mahabharata in kannada language in front of lord veeranarayana. The gopuram looks amazing with statues of various gods and goddesses. This temple is one among the pancha narayana kshetram in Karnataka established by udayavar and king vishnuvardhan.

How to reach

Gadag is around 60 kms from Hubli. Hubli is well connected with other major cities by rail and road. Deccan airways offers air services from Bangalore to Hubli. Gadag is an important railway station connecting sholapur, hubli and bellary. The distance between Gadag and Bangalore is 480 kms.

Nearest railhead: Gadag

Nearest airport: Hubli

Search terms: Gadag, gadhag, ghadag, veeranarayana

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Tiruninravur Bhaktavatsalar temple

The main gopuram

Inside the first parikrama

About the temple

Bhaktavatsalar perumal is the presiding deity at Tiruninravur. The temple is one among the 108 divyadesam of Srivaishnavas and a part of tondai naadu divyadesams. The lord here is in standing position facing east. The story behind this temple goes to say that Samudraja, the father of goddess Mahalaxmi had prayed to Lord Vishnu here. Hence, the lord had come to this place and decided to stay here. Goddess laxmi also followed and hence the place is known as tiru ninra vur, the place where the lord stayed.

Another story associated with this temple is that one of the alwars, tirumangai alwar had visited this place, but left without singing a pasuram in praise of the lord. The lord apparently followed him and later he sang a pasuram praising the lord. Another pasuram was also sung for lord bhaktavastsalar by tirumangai alwar from a place called tirukkannamangai.

How to reach

Tiruninravur is 30 kms from Chennai. Suburban trains from Chennai central to Arakonam, Tiruvallur, Tiruttani and Kadambattur stop at Tiruninravur. After getting down, from one side you can reach the Chennai Tirupati highway while the other side goes to the temple and Poonamalle. Share autos, private autos and buses are available to go to the temple. Private autos charge Rs 20 one way while share autos charge Rs 5 one way. You could even walk down to the temple.

The temple is about 2 kms from the station. An alternate route is through poonamalle. Buses plying from poonamalle to tiruninravur station stop at the temple first before reaching the station.

You could also reach tiruninravur station from other places on the Chennai-Tirupati highway by bus, cross over the track and reach the temple.

Nearest railway station: Tiruninravur (suburban), Chennai Central (rail head)
Nearest airport: Chennai

Vimanam and Pushkarni

The pushkarni or temple pond is known as Varuna pushkarni while the vimanam is known as Srinivasa utpala vimanam.

Sannadhis

Bhaktavatsala perumal
Ennai petra taayar
Andal sannadhi
Sudarshanar
Adi sheshan
Acharyas
Vishwaksena

Other temples closeby

Yeri katha rama temple-

This temple is right behind the bhaktavatsalar temple. The temple is on the banks of a huge lake. Lord rama looks splendid with laxmanan, sita and hanuman.

Hanuman temple-

This temple is in front of the main entrance of bhaktavatsalar temple.

Hrudayaliswarar temple- A big Shiva temple is close to the bhaktavatsalar temple and the gopuram can be seen from Bhaktavatsalar temple. Follow this link to know more about the temple ...Hrudyaliswarar temple

Temple Timings and Contact Details

The temple is open from 7.30 am to 12 noon in the mornings and from 4.30 pm to 8.30 pm in the evenings.

The priest to be contacted is Sri Manivanna Bhattar (26390434-STD Code 044)
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Vrindavan

About Vrindavan

Vrindavan is the place where Lord Krishna was brought up. There are numerous temples and bathing ghats along the river Yamuna in Vrindavan. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. It would be better to hire a private vehicle for a one day tour of Vrindavan and Mathura.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has constructed a beautiful temple here.

How to reach

Vrindavan is just 15 kms from Mathura.

Nearest Railhead: Mathura

Nearest Airport: Agra

Special Occassions

Janmasthami is celebrated in a very grand manner here.
Search Terms : Brindavan, Brindhavan, Vrindhavan, Vhrindavan

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Mathura- The birth place of Lord Krishna

About Mathura

Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu was born at Mathura. The lord’s parents Vasudev and Devaki were imprisoned here by King Kansa, Lord Krishna’s uncle because he was told that the eight son of Vasudev and Devaki would kill him. King Kansa kept killing all the kids born to Vasudev and Devaki. But when the eighth son was born in the form of Lord Krishna, a miracle happened and all the doors of the prison opened for Vasudev to take Lord Krishna away from the prison. Vasudev then placed Krishna in a basket and carried him across the river Yamuna to Brijbhoomi when Krishna was brought up by Nand and Yashoda. The son was then replaced by a girl child in the prison and when King Kansa came to kill the girl child, the kid took the form of a goddess and warned him that his days are numbered since Krishna is born to free the earth of Kansa’s clutches.

How to reach

Mathura is easily accessible and close to the national capital of India, New Delhi. Distance between Mathura and Delhi is 145 kms and between Agra and Mathura is 58 kms.

Nearest Rail head: Mathura
Nearest Airport: Agra


Other places of interest

Dwarkadesh temple is a worth visiting temple with paintings of Lord Krishna.

Vishram Ghat is the place where the lord is said to have taken rest after killing Kansa.

Govardhan hill- Lord Krishna is said to have lifted his hill to provide protection to people from heavy rains when he was young.

Search terms : Mathura, Madhura, Matura

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Lord Venkateshwara Temple, Tirumala

Night View of the Temple

Day View of the Temple

About the temple:

Lord Venkateshwara temple is situated on the seventh hill Venkatachalam and popularly known as the lord of the seven hills (Vrushabadri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Simhadri, Neeladri, Venkatadri and Seshadri). The temple is the richest temple of India, considering the amount of donations and gifts offered by devotees. Several thousands of devotees come to the temple and one has to stand for several hours to get darshan of the lord here for very few seconds. Various tickets are available and it is better to book in advance to avoid delays in having darshan. Online booking is possible and thumb impression ticket booking centres are there in various cities. Devotees keep calling out the lord’s name, Govinda Govinda while moving the queue.

The temple is one among 108 divyadesams of Srivaishnavas. The day to day activities of the temple is controlled by the TTD , which is Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.

Important Facts regarding the temple

The Vimanam, Ananda Vimanam of the temple is completely gold plated.

Goddess Laxmi resides on the Lord’s chest and there is a separate sannadhi for Lord Venkateshwara’s mother. An interesting story regarding this is that the Lord’s mother is overseeing the activities of the madapalli (kitchen).

How to reach:

The temple is located in chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is easily accessible by all modes of transport.

After reaching Tirupati, one can easily travel to Tirumala by road. Several devotees also climb the hill by foot. It takes about 4 hours to reach the temple premises by foot from Alipiri.

Nearest Rail head: Renigunta Junction (Tirupati is just 10 kms from here)
Nearest Airport : Tirupati at Renigunta

Pushkarni:

The Pushkarni is close to the main temple. There is a small temple of Varaha Murthi there and it is believed that one should visit this temple first before visiting Lord Venkateshwara’s temple.

Prasadam:

The devotees are given free prasadam after darshan and free meals tickets are also distributed. The temple is very famous for its Ladoo prasadam.

Where to Stay:

There is choice between free accommodation and paid accommodation for devotees in the holy hills. There are lots of ashrams and guest houses.


Important Festival and Busy Season

Surya prabha seva

Garuda vahana seva

Hanumantha vahana

Simha vahanam seva

Mohini avataram

Hamsa vahana seva

Chinna sesha vahana seva

Sarva bhupala vahana seva

Pedda sesha vahana seva

Kalpa vruksha vahana seva

Dhwajarohana mahotsava

Snapana tirumanjana seva

The main festival of the temple is Brahmatsovam that is held during September. The tirumala hills are jam packed during this festival and during the months of April- June. Devotees visit the temples especially during the auspicious days of Vaikunta Ekadashi and New Year.

What to see :

Apart from Lord Venkateshwara temple in Tirumala hills, there are few more interesting places worth visiting.

Akashaganga :

This place is 3 kms from the temple.

Paapavinasham :

This place is just 5 kms up from the temple.

Venugopala Swami Temple : A temple devoted to Lord Krishna is there up on the hills.

All these three places are easily accessible by road. Either you could hire a private vehicle or go by Govt buses that run frequently on this route.

When you come down to Tirupati you can visit

Govindarajar Temple :

This is a very big temple right in the center of Tirupati town, close to the railway station. Lord Vishnu is the presiding deity with his consorts. The temple remains crowded most of the times. The street to the temple has lot of shops on both sides.

Kondandarama Temple :

This temple of Lord Rama and his consorts is about 15 minutes walk from Govindarajar temple and is a very old temple worth visiting. This is not so famous as Govindarajar temple, yet very calm and beautiful.

ISKCON Temple :

This is a recently built Krishna temple by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. A very beautiful, clean and well maintained temple of Krishna, Radha and gopikas. It is close to the point from where people start walking to reach the tirumala hills.

Alamelu mangapuram :

The temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara’s consort, Padmavathi thayar (Alar mel mangai). Lot of buses and autos are available to reach the temple that is not very far from the city.

For more information visit http://www.tirumala.org/

For e-services (online booking for darshan and stay) visit http://www.ttdsevaonline.com/

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Rishikesh

About Rishikesh

Rishikesh is on the way to Badrinath and Kedarnath from Haridwar. It would take just a little more than half a day to cover the important places in Rishikesh. The weather remains very pleasant and cool throughout the year due to the cool Ganges and Himalayas surrounding it. Rishikesh offers lot of other adventurous activities like trekking, river rafting and is an important Yoga center. There are several temples nearby.

How to Reach

Rishikesh is only 24 kms from Haridwar and is well connected by road with all major cities.

Nearest railhead : Haridwar
Nearest Airport: Dehradun

Places to see

Lakshman Jhoola

This is a hanging bridge across the Ganga river without any pillars. It is a very old bridge and is said to be originally built by Lakshman, Lord Rama’s brother in jute. Later, it was converted into an iron bridge. It is a very nice experience crossing this suspended bridge with the view of the Ganges below and the Himalayas surrounding it.

Ram Jhoola



This is a comparatively recently constructed suspended bridge across the Ganges and this place comes before Lakshman Jhoola. It is also known as Shivanand Jhoola. Walking down 2 kms one can reach the Lakshman Jhoola.

Triveni Ghat

Taking bath in this very popular bathing spot is said to be very auspicious since three mountain streams come together at his place. A bath here is said to relieve the devotee of all the sins committed till date. Pooja is done in the evening and lamps are set afloat in the Ganges after it.

13-Storey Building (Kailashanand Mission Ashram)

This building is on one side of the Lakshman Jhoola. Every floor of the building has small temples and shops. The view of Ganges and Himalayas from the topmost floor is breathtaking.

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Haridwar and the Ganges

About Haridwar

Haridwar is considered to be one among the seven most holy pilgrimage cities as per the Hindu traditions. Haridwar actually means “Gateway to the Abode of Gods”. One has to pass through Haridwar to reach Kedarnath and Badrinath. The ideal period to be in Haridwar is during September to June. You surely will be able to spot groups of sadhus belonging to different mutts, clad in saffron clothes moving around Haridwar. Don’t forget to carry Ganga Jal (water) back with you…you get cans, bottles and even small copper vessels for this.

How to Reach

Haridwar is the place where the Ganges touches the plains after flowing through the Himalayas. It is easily accessible by road from the capital of India, Delhi and also other major cities in North India. The distance between Haridwar and Delhi is 200 kms. Share autos are available for moving around Haridwar.

Nearest Railhead : Haridwar
Nearest Airport : Dehradun (65 Kms)

Where to take bath in Haridwar

Har-Ki-Pauri is the place to take bath at Haridwar as the Ganges enters the plains exactly over here. It is said to be the place where Lord Vishnu’s foot print is present on the wall. It is considered to be a very auspicious to take bath here and the Ganga Aarti is also performed here.

What to see –

There are many old and new temples and tourist attractions in Haridwar.

Ganga Aarti :

Ganga aarti is a sight surely not to be missed at Haridwar. It is performed daily at 7 pm. It is absolutely splendid to see aarti being performed simultaneously in all the temples in the banks of the Ganges. After the aarti, thousands of lamps are lit and floated in the Ganges.

Mansa Devi Temple :

This beautiful temple is situated on the top of the hill overlooking the Ganges. The goddess is said to be very powerful and a fulfiller of wishes of devotees. One can reach the temple either by climbing up the hill or through the Ropeway.

An extraordinary view of the Ganges and Haridwar is possible from the temple.

Chandi Devi Mandir :

This is another temple of a goddess atop a hill on the other side of the Ganges. There is a ropeway here also like Mansa Devi Temple to go up. A superb view of Haridwar and Ganges can also be had from here.

Sapta Rishi Ashram :

This place is around 5 kms from Haridwar and is said to be the place where the Ganges splits into seven channels. The history goes on to say that Ganga split into seven parts so as to keep moving without disturbing the seven sages or Rishis who were doing meditation there.

Bharat Mata Mandir:

This is a very famous tourist attraction and a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata (Mother India). There are seven floors in this temple with each floor being dedicated to some special personalities like freedom fighters, saints etc. The ground floor has a statue of Mother India and a huge 3-D Map right in the centre.

Vaishno-Devi Temple :

This temple is an exact replica of the very famous Vaishnodevi temple in Jammu, India. One has to pass through small tunnels and caves like in the original temple to have darshan of Mata Vaishnodevi, another powerful goddess in India. This temple is on the way to Bharat Mata Mandir.

Of late, several new and fantasy temples have come up in Haridwar that are increasingly becoming famous tourist attractions.

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Tondanur Temples

About the Place

After leaving Srirangam, Ramanujacharya stayed for many years at Tondanur before travelling further to Melkote. Here, Ramanujacharya relieved the Jain king Bittideva’s daughter from evil spirits. When the king embraced Srivaishnavism, around 12,000 jain scholars reached the Narashima temple in Tondanur where Ramanuja was staying and asked the saint to enter into a debate with them regarding religion. When Ramanujacharya answered all their questions simultaneously taking the form of adishesha, all of them accepted him as their guru and they too embraced Srivaishnavism.

How to Reach

Tondanur is just 8 kms from Pandavpura in Mandya District, Karnataka. Pandavpura is linked to the Bangalore-Mysore Highway. Also, Tondanur is just 20 kms from Melkote. While travelling from Melkote to Pandavpura, Tondanur is a diversion on the right side.

You need to pass through the village and sugarcane farms on both sides to reach the temples. It would be ideal to hire some private vehicle to visit these temples. Distance between Bangalore and Tondanur is about 130 kms.

Lake

A lake was constructed at Tondanur during Ramanuja’s stay. It is popularly known as ‘Tirumala Sagara’ and also Moti-Talab meaning Pearl Lake. A dip in this lake is said to be very auspicious.

Temples in Tondanur

There are three ancient temples in Tondanur.

The first is Laxminarayana or Nambinarayana temple where the lord holds shanku, charka, gadha and padma in four hands. Nambi Narayana in this temple holds the Chanku on right and chakra on left, which is very rare. The lord is holding it so to perform smashrayana for Tondanur nambi.

Exactly opposite the temple is Gopalakrishnaswamy temple.

Lord Krishna looks splendid in the Gopalakrishnaswamy temple with his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama.

The third temple of Lord Yoga Narasimha is a bit away from these two temple and is on a small hillock.

The lake is close to the YogaNarasimha temple. Ramanujacharya looks splendid in shesha avataram in this temple. The priest also shows a small glass box with a bag inside that is said to be brought by Ramanujacharya when he came to Tondanur.

Search Terms

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