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Diwali > India Kali
Temple |
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Dakshineswar
Temple |
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In the year 1847, the wealthy widow Rani Rasmani
prepared to go upon a long pilgrimage to the sacred
city of Banaras to express her devotions to the
Divine Mother. In those days there was no railway
line between Calcutta and Banaras and it was more
comfortable for rich persons to make the journey by
boat rather than by road. We are told that the
convoy of Rani Rasmani consisted of twenty four
boats carrying relatives, servants, and supplies.
But the night before the pilgrimage began, the
Divine Mother, in the form of the goddess Kali,
intervened. She appeared to the Rani in a dream and
said, "There is not need to go to Banaras. |
| Install my statue in a
beautiful temple on the banks of the Ganges river and
arrange for my worship there. Then I shall manifest
myself in the image and accept worship at that place."
Profoundly affected by the dream, the Rani immediately
looked for and purchased land, and promptly began
construction of the temple. The large temple complex,
built between 1847 and 1855, had as its centerpiece a
shrine of the goddess Kali, but also had temples
dedicated to the deities Shiva and Radha-Krishna. A
scholarly and elderly sage was chosen as the head priest
and the temple was consecrated in 1855. Within the year
this priest died and his responsibility passed to his
younger brother, Ramakrishna, who over the next thirty
years would bring great fame to the Dakshineswar temple. |
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Kalighat
Temple |
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The present temple was built in 1809 on the site of an
ancient temple. It is also known as the Kalighat
temple. It is on the name of this temple that English
gave the place name Calcutta which is anglicized form
of Kalikata. The legend says that a finger of the
Sati, wife of Lord Shiva, fell here. |
| Since then it has been
an important pilgrimage site. But the temple is
dedicated to the destructive side of Shiva which takes
the form of Kali. She requires sacrifice daily to
satisfy her blood lust so every morning goats are
sacrifices on the alter of the temple. The temple is
busy through out the year and is surrounded by poor who
come to have free meal. The Hospital for Dying Destitute
by Mother Teresa is near the temple and every one is a
welcome visitor here.
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Tarapith
Temple |
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Some 300 miles from Calcutta, Tarapith is situated
on the banks of the north flowing Dwarka river, in
Birbhum, in West Bengal. The temple that was built
by Vasistha got buried under the earth with the
passage of time. Tarapith as it stands today, was
built by Joybroto, a merchant, who received
directions from Tara Maa in his sleep to unearth the
'brahmashila', or the sacred stone, to set it up as
a shrine in a proper place. Tara Maa of Tarapith,
another form of Kali, has two hands, is garlanded
with snakes, is adorned in sacred threads, and has
Shiva lying in her left lap sucking her breast.
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| Since then it has been
an important pilgrimage site. But the temple is
dedicated to the destructive side of Shiva which takes
the form of Kali. She requires sacrifice daily to
satisfy her blood lust so every morning goats are
sacrifices on the alter of the temple. The temple is
busy through out the year and is surrounded by poor who
come to have free meal. The Hospital for Dying Destitute
by Mother Teresa is near the temple and every one is a
welcome visitor here.
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Mahakalika
Temple |
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Maa Mahakalika temple,
Pawagadh is one of the biggest tourist and
pilgrimage centres in the dynamic state of Gujarat
which attracts lakhs ot tourists and pilgrims every
year and tops the list of educational institutions'
excursion programmes.
From the city of Baroda, at a distance of 45 Kms.
the old town of Pawagadh is located. The entire area
is mainly forest land and very picturesque. |
On
the hill top, the ancient famous temple of
Mahakalika is located. It is beleived to be one of
the 51 Shakti Peeths. The right toe of Goddess
Kalika fell here. On the ground floor of the temple
is Shakti Peeth and idol of Goddess Kali visited by
Hindus and on the roof of the building is a Mazar of
a Peer, visited by Muslim devotees. In the same
structure, two places of worship stand and two sets
of devotees visit them in perfect peace and harmony.
A unique distinction indeed.
Goddess Mahakalika has been fulfilling wishes of
millions of devotees for thousands of years.
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Kamakhya
Temple |
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The Kamakhya Temple in
Assam is one of the most venerated Shakti shrines in
India, and is regarded as one of the Shakti Peethams
associated with the legend of Shiva and Daksha Yagna.
Kamakhya is located on a hill - Neelachala Parvat or
Kamagiri near the city of Guwahati in Assam. Shakti,
residing on the Kamagiri hill is known as Kamakhya, the
granter of desires. Assam traditionally has been known
as the Kamarupa Desa and has been associated with
Tantric practices and Shakti worship. |
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temple was destroyed in early 16th century, and then
rebuilt in the 17th century by King Nara Narayana, of Cooch Bihar.
Images of the builder and related inscriptions are seen
in the temple. The Kalika Purana, an ancient work in
Sanskrit describes Kamakhya as the yielder of all
desires, the young bride of Shiva, and the giver of
salvation.
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Karni Mata
Temple |
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The Karni Mata temple,
30 kms from Bikaner, is dedicated to an early
fifteenth century mystic who was considered to be a
reincarnation of goddess Durga. The specially of the
temple is that it is inhabited by legions of brown
rats which scurry around the complex without aby
fear. The rats are believed to be repositories of
the souls of dead charans, the traditional bards.
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Bikaner's ruler Ganga Singh had the whole temple
built in marble. The domes of the temple are made of
silver and gold. The manadap and the panels above
the image are also golden. Devotees place offerings
in silver and gold when their prayers are answered.
The elaborate works on the main gate of the temple
is a tribute to the fine craftsmanship of the
artisans of those days. On the occasion of Navratri,
this temple hosts a fair which attracts hordes of
pilgrims from places far the near. |
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Kalkaji
Temple |
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Situated in Nehru
Place (New Delhi), Kalkaji Temple is a very old
temple and the oldest part was built up in 1764 A.D.
The Kali Temple in Kalkaji boasts of an existence of
3,000 years, although the oldest surviving portion
of it dates to 1764-1771 when the Marathas were in
power.Kalkaji temple dedicated to the Goddess Kalka
Devi.
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| Kalkaji
mandir is very famous and has numerous devotees
thronging it on many religious occasions, throughout
the year. Small red flags decorate the temple then,
and women outnumber men among the devotees. Folklore
is replete with tales of the Kalkaji temple, so much
so that one does not know where legend ends and
history begins. |
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Chamunda Devi
Temple |
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Chamunda Devi is a
Shakti shrine, 10 km west of Palampur, on the Baner
River. This colourful shrine has a wrathful form of
Durga or Chamunda. The idol in the temple is
considered so sacred that it is completely hidden
beneath a red cloth.
It is situated on the bank of Ban Ganga. With all
the natural surroundings ideally suited for
meditation prayers and spiritual attainments. This
was the cremation ground for 22 villages and
supposed to be a place which gives solace, spiritual
attainments in the form of Mahakali Chamunda. |
| Here
Lord shiva is present in the form of death,
destruction & dead bodies along with Devi Chamunda.
Devotees offer prayers, worship and give offerings
for their ancestors. It is thought to be sacred to
take a dip in Ban Ganga and to read and recite the
writings of Shat Chandi. In the old days, people
used to offer sacrifices also to the deity. Kanyas
(unmarried baby girls) are worshiped. Also Lord
shiva is worshiped with Holy water from Ban Ganga.
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Jwalamukhi
Temple |
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Recognized as one of
the 51 Shaktipithas of India, the Jwalamukhi Devi
Temple, tended by the followers of Goraknath, is set
against a cliff. The picturesque temple, built in
the Indo-Sikh style, is a modern building whose dome
is of gilt, gold and pinnacles and possesses a
beautiful folding door of silver plates, presented
by the Sikh Raja Kharak Singh.
Dedicated to the "Goddess of Light", the Jwalamukhi
temple is one of the most popular Hindu temples in
Northern India. The temple located on a small spur
on the Dharamshala-Shimla road at a distance of
about 20-kms from the Jwalamukhi Road Railway
Station attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year. In
this temple there is a copper pipe through which
natural gas comes out. |
| After
Daksha Yoga Bhagna, Lord Shiva placed the burnt dead
body of Sati on his shoulders and started wandering
about in a state of madness. To save the world from
the destructive wrath of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu
started cutting the limbs of the dead Goddess
Parvati one by one. The places where they fell
became sacred centers for the worship of Shakti. The
tongue of Sati fell at the place where the temple of
Jwalamukhi is situated. The flames that come out of
the openings in the earth’s surface are regarded as
the manifestations of the fallen tongue of Sati and
are worshipped as “Jwalamukhi Devi” (Goddess, who
emits flames from her mouth).
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Vaishno Devi Temple |
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The shrine of Mata
Vaishno Devi is one of the most visited pilgrim
sites in India. Situated at a height of 5, 300 ft.,
the site is located inside a cave in a hill. One of
the most visited pilgrim sites in India, the shrine
of Mata Vaishno Devi is located in a cave, amidst
the folds of the Trikuta Bhagwati hill at a height
of 5, 300 ft., in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J
& K). |
The
temple of Vaishno Devi is dedicated to Vaishnavi,
the human manifestation of Goddess Shakti. Within
the temple is the deity in the form of a five and
half feet tall rock with three Pindies or heads. It
is written that the goddess to achieve her destiny
of finally merging with Lord Vishnu assumed the form
of a human and was born as Vaishnavi, in the
household of one Ratnakar.
The holy cave shrine of Vaishno Devi is nestled in a
beautiful recess of the Trikuta Mountains forming a
part of the lower Himalayas. It is located 61 km
north of Jammu at a height of 5,200 feet above the
sea level in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In the
cave there are images of three deities viz. the
Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati.
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