Category Archives: Holy Places

Trivandrum and Tiruvattar

Sri Ananta Padmanabha Swamy Temple (Trivandrum)

Sri Ananta Padmanabha temple is one of the most prominent temples of India. It is considered as one of the 108 Vaishnava temples (divya sthanam), one of the seven moksha sthalas and one of the six Narayana sthalas. Lord Balarama, Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited this temple. The temple is located inside the east fort in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It is the holiest abodes of Lord Vishnu. The main deity, Sri Padmanabhaswamy, is a form of Vishnu in Anantha sayanam posture (in yogic eternal sleep of yoga-nidra). This is an ancient temple and the city of Thiruvananthapuram derives its name from the name of the presiding Deity enshrined in the temple. This city is also called Syanandoora puram.
Inside the temple altar, Lord Vishnu is in a reclining position over Ananta Shesha. He is enjoying the aroma emanating from the lotus held in His left hand, and His right hand is blessing Lord Siva. There are three doors through which we can have the darshan – the Lord’s face, then His Navel and His lotus feet. Through the first door, the worship is offered to Siva; through the second entrance Brahma prays to Lord Vishnu from his lotus navel, and through the third door is Lord Vishnu’s lotus feet, which are the only shelter and suitable means for a devotee of Lord by which one can cross over the ocean of material existence. Sri Devi and Bhu Devi, the two consorts of Lord Vishnu stand by His side and Lord Brahma is seen on a lotus, which emanates from the navel of Vishnu. Sages Bhrigu, Markandeya and assembly of celestials like Narada etc. are also present.
Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is considered as one of the seven Parasurama Kshetras. Texts including the Puranas, particularly the Skanda Purana,Padma Purana, Vayu Purana, Varaha Purana and Brahmanda Purana have references to this holy site. In the Padma Purana, there is reference to the temple of Ananta sayanam, where the Lord Vishnu is having his yoga-nidra. In the Skanda Purana, Sethu Mahatmya, Brahmakhanda Chapter-52, verses 102 to 105 indicates the most important places of pilgrimages which include the Ananta Padmanabha Swamy temple. It is also mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam canto 10 chapter 79 that Lord Balarama visited “Syanandoorapuram” in the course of His pilgrimage. An entire chapter named Anantapura Mahatmyam in Brahmanda Purana is dedicated to this temple.
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came here to Sri Ananta Padmanabha temple during His South India tour as mentioned in Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 9.241-242. Lord spent two to three days before the beautiful darshan of Sri Ananta Padmanabha Swamy in chanting and dancing to the kirtan of the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Here, Lord Vishnu gave darshan to sages like Divakar Muni and Bilvamangala Thakur.

Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari formerly known as Cape Comorin, is a town in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It lies at the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent

Kumari Amman (Kanyakumari) Temple, Kanyakumari

The 3000-year-old Kumari Amman (Mother) temple at Kanyakumari is dedicated to goddess Kanyakumari. The name Kanyakumari literally means “virgin goddess.” She stands in eternal vigil protecting the land. The temple is surrounded by a stone wall and stands on the edge of the ocean.

Ayodhya


Ayodhya also known as Saket, is an ancient city of India, birthplace of Lord Rama and setting of the epic Ramayana. It is adjacent to Faizabad city at the south end in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya used to be the capital of the ancient Kosala Kingdom. It has an average elevation of 93 meters (305 feet).

Temples and mosques exist side by side in all architectural splendor in the twin cities of Faizabad and Ayodhya.

It is an important pilgrimage centre about 110 km from Lucknow

Ayodhya has been regarded as one of the seven most important pilgrimage sites (Saptapuri. The birth spot of Rama was marked by a temple, which was demolished by the orders of the Mughal emperor Babur and a mosque erected in its place. The Ayodhya dispute concerns the activism to rebuild a Rama’s temple at the site.


According to one derivation, “Ayodhya” is said to derive from the name of King “Ayudh,” mentioned in scriptures as a forefather of Lord Rama.


In the more accepted etymology, in word “Ayodhya”, ‘A’ is feminine negation of the word Yodhya which comes from the root Yudh (to fight). A (negation) + Yodhya (winnable) + ā (feminine suffix). So, literally, the name translates as “A city that cannot be fought and won over in a war” or “unconquerable citadel”

The city is located at the banks of the Sarayu River and was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala. The city was known to be founded by Manu, father of Mankind. It is one of the most frequently visited pilgrim spots and is famous for its various temples which are visited by people of various Indian religions. Here’s the list of the best places to visit in Ayodhya.

Rameshwaram

Rameshwaram Temple
Rameshwaram, a major pilgrim site about 160 km south-east of Madurai is held in high esteem by all. It is one of the most prominent holiest pilgrimage places in India.