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Odisha Part 6: The Yogini Temple of Hirapur

I fell in love with this temple the first time I set eyes on it. Back in 2017 , I had been excited to see yet another Yogini temple, when I visited Puri. The resort I was staying at (and writing for), had arranged for a car and driver to take me around. The driver was happy to take me to most of the places I wanted to go, but when it came to Hirapur, he was appalled. He knew of the temple, but had never been there. It was a tantric temple, one not visited by women, and certainly not women travelling alone. He tried to convince me not to go, but my stubbornness and persistence paid off, and he reluctantly agreed when I told him that if he didn’t take me, I would find another driver who would. All along the way, he kept going on about the sinister things that happened at the temple, the tantric rituals that were performed at night…. An Odisha brahmin who took his religious duties very seriously, to the extent of stopping the car to perform the sandhyavandam when he deemed it time, he...
2 comments

Skywatch Friday - Mountains and a Temple

There is something about mountains that inspires devotion. Maybe it is the thought that they reach out to the skies, and are our connection to the heavens. Yet, the temples we build, are but specks against the backdrop of mighty mountains such as these.....



We saw this small temple with the Dhauladhar Ranges in the background, from the top of the Kangra Fort. 

It was a beautiful sight, a lot more impressive than my camera managed to capture, and it reinforced the thought of how small we were, and how insignificant, as compared to these mountains, which have stood here for centuries. Yet, it was deeply spiritual. No wonder someone wanted to build a shrine here! 

This post is part of Skywatch Friday. For more beautiful skies from around the world, visit the Skywatch Page. 

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Location: Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India

Comments

  1. arvAugust 21, 2015 at 2:46 PM

    the snow on the mountain in the background looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. R Niranjan DasAugust 22, 2015 at 12:20 PM

    Looks majestic! Nice shot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shoma AbhyankarAugust 23, 2015 at 3:28 PM

    nice...

    ReplyDelete
  4. AngelaAugust 25, 2015 at 9:01 AM

    Wonder landscape with great background of of mountain. Really interesting your picture.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AwantikaAugust 30, 2015 at 6:01 PM

    Wow.. nice capture. The mountain looks so beautiful which can't define in the words.

    ReplyDelete

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