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Showing posts with the label Nainar Kovil

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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
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Peacocks

The first half of this year has been especially good as far as travel is concerned. I have visited so many places in the last 6 months that for the very first time, I am actually worried about forgetting details of the trip before I write them down! Which reminds me that I am seriously lagging behind with my posts ! 
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Skywatch Friday - Sunset between the trees

I took this photograph more than 2 years ago, on a trip to our home town....Before any of you think its a normal thing, well, for us, it isn't! It is our 'home-town' only in name, for we have no 'home' there..... we just go there (or rather try to go there) at least once a year to visit the temple there...... As it happens, I haven't visited the temple since then, but have a real yearning to visit again, which has only intensified after seeing this pic, which was taken just after we left the temple... It was a wonderful trip, which we made as a family, visiting almost 75 temples in just 10 days!!! Wish I could make another such trip again!!! For more skies around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday
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Diwali Tour Part 2 – Rameswaram and Nainar Kovil

Rameswaram Temple If Varanasi is the heart of the land that is India , Rameswaram is the foot. A journey to Kashi is invariably linked with a visit to Rameswaram. Aeons ago, it was Rama who consecrated the lingam at Rameswaram to atone for his sin of killing Ravana and all the other Rakshasas. Much, much later, in the holy city of Varanasi, Tulsidas made His story available for the common man in his own dialect with the Ramcharitmanas. At Rameswaram, the lingam is bathed with many materials, as in all places but the most important of them all is the water of the holy Ganges, obtained all the way from Varanasi. All through the year, the temple is thronged by devotees from all over India, all carrying a brass or copper pot of Ganges water as an offering to the lord. As at Varanasi, the rites to one’s forefathers occupy an important part of a journey to Rameswaram. The Teertha Shrardham at Rameswaram is traditionally performed at Dhanushkodi, the farthest point of India in this directio...
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Shivaratri Experiences

6th March is Shivaratri … the day , or rather night which is especially dear to Lord Shiva, when all over India, North to South, East to West, people worship Shiva through the night. Rich or poor, young or old, whichever caste they may belong to, people put aside their differences, and gather together to worship His symbol, the Lingam. Shivaratri means different things to different people- for some, it makes no difference whatsoever-it’s just another festival, just like any other…. For some, it is the night of devotion….For some, like my parents-in-law, it’s the night they spend at the temple, singing bhajans, and soaking in the atmosphere…. For my mother-in-law, the ultimate Shivaratri would be at Prashanthi Nilayam, watching Sri Sathya Sai Baba take out a lingam from his mouth…. For me, personally, Shivaratri meant little till my marriage. I accompanied my mother to the temple, and that was all… Now, however, Shivaratri brings to my mind, the magical atmosphere at Nainar Kovil, our ...
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