Sravaanabelagola

Shravanabelagola is a city located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore. The statue of Gommateshvara Bahubali  is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural activity under the patronage of Western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad. Chandragupta is said to have died here in 298 BC (Before christ)  after he became a Jain monk and assumed an ascetic life style. Jainism in this place is above two thousand years old.
Shravanabelagola has two hills, Chandragiri and Vindhyagiri. Acharya Bhadrabahu and his pupil Chandragupta Maurya are believed to have meditated there. Chandragupta Basadi, which was dedicated to Chandragupta Maurya, was originally built there by Ashoka in the third century BC. Chandragiri also has memorials to numerous monks  who have meditated there since the fifth century AD, including the last king of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Manyakheta. Chandragiri also has a famous temple built by Chavundaraya, who was a disciple of Nemichandra.
The 58 feated tall statue of Gomateshwara is located in Vindhyagiri hill. It is the world's largest monolithic stone statue.

Tirupathi

Located in the hill town of Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh), the temple is also known as Tirumala Venkateshwara temple. The temple is devoted to Lord Venkateshwara, who is popularly called 'Vaddikasulavadu','Venkata ramana','Govinda' and is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Venkateshwara Tirupati Balaji is the second richest religious site with people offering money and gold to their Lord running into millions, each day.
The ancient temple has been visited by the rulers of many grand dynasties of Southern India. The temple celebrates many festivals, most famous among them is Brahmotsavam which goes on for 9 days and witnesses a great mass of the devotees.
The laddoos (a kind of sweet), which are given in the form of prasadam in the shrine are famous around the world for their unique delectable taste. As a religious ritual, people get their heads tonsured in large numbers over here, so much so that every year about 6 million US dollars are earned through the auction of hairs.

Daily Sevas

On any day the arjitha sevas that are performed to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara commences
-:Suprabhatam
-:Archana
-:Thomala Seva
-:Ekantha Seva(not open to piligrims)

Weekly Sevas

During the week days, each day has a specific ritual of worship which has a religious significance. Such sevas are called Weekly Sevas.

->Vishesha Puja (Monday)
->Ashtadala Pada Padmaradhana (Tuesday)
->Sahasra Kalasabhishekam (Wednesday)
->Tiruppavada Seva  (Thursday)
->Abhishekam-Vastralankara Seva-Nija Pada Darshanam (Friday)


Periodical Sevas

The periodical sevas are the annual events of religious significance performed in Tirumala following the importance of particular asterism.

Teppotsavam or float festival-------5 days a Year (March)
Vasanthotsavam------------------------3 days a year (March or April)
Padmavathi Parinayam---------------3 days a year (May)
Abhideyaka Abhishekam------------3 days a year (June-Annual)
Pushpa Pallaki---------------------------(July)
Pushpa Yagam---------------------------(November)
Koil Alwar Thirumanjanam-----------(4 times in a year)
Pavithrotsavams--------------------------3 days a year(August)

The tickets for all the arjita sevas and festivals are sold in 90 days advance for the benefit of the devotees to make their visit and participate in the holy event in the Srivari Temple.

How To Reach?

By Air:
Tirupati Airport is located 14 km from the town and has regular flights from Delhi and Hyderabad. It is a domestic airport and Jet Star and Kingfisher have daily flights from Hyderabad, except on Tuesdays and Indian Airlines operates daily flights from New Delhi. The airport has one terminal.
By Train:
Tirupati Railway Station is located in the town itself on Katpadi-Renigunta rail route. There are train connections like Kanyakumari Express, Ernakulam-Hyderabad Sabari Express, Tirupati Express, Krisna Express and Venkatadri Express from many places in the region including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.
By Bus:
There are a lot of bus connections from within Andhra Pradesh and from Tamil Nadu. Express buses are much faster than the ordinary variety. Cabs are a comfortable road travel option though somewhat expensive. The distance from Chennai is 137kms and driving time is around 3 hours by road.

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Golden temple, Amritsar

Sri Harmandir Sahib (also known Darbar Sahib or Golden temple) is the most religious pilgrimage place for Sikhs. The temple was built on the values of universal brotherhood and equality. The four doors, opening in the four prominent directions, openly welcome people from any faith or race to seek religious and spiritual contentment. The structure, revered for its superb architecture, is built on a level lower than that of the immediate surroundings, symbolizing the value of humility.
The holy scripture of Sikhs, Guru Granth Sahib, was first placed in Sri Harmandir Sahib after its compilation and first Granthi (or head priest) of this Sikh pilgrimage centre in India, was Baba Buddha ji.

Kedarnath

Located in the Himalayan range of Garhwal area (Uttarakhand), Kedarnath temple is one of the most sacred Shiva temples in the world. This holy abode of Shiva is said to be built by the Pandavas to atone for their sins committed during their battle with Kauravs. The temple was restored by Adi Sankaracharya in 8th century. It is one of the chota Char Dhams of Uttarakhand and requires a pilgrim to walk a distance of 14 kms over the hill surface. One can make use of a pony(small horse) or manchan to simplify the journey.
Surrounded by the glaciers and snow-covered peaks and standing at a height of 3,583 m, the temple is closed during winters due to severe cold conditions. Even the idol of Lord Shiva is shifted to Ukhimath and worshiped there throughout the 5/6 months for which the extreme conditions prevail.

Badrinath temple

Badarinath Dham is considered as one of the most worshiped centres of pilgrimage located in the  Himalayan heights in the Garhwal hill tracks (Uttarakhand). Situated at the height of 3133 m (10248 feet) above sea level. The route to Badarinath is one of the most fascinating one due to the lofty hilly terrain, curves and cliffs amidst the most scenically beautiful place on the earth.

At Badarinath Lord MahaVishnu is believed to have done his penance. Seeing the Lord doing his penance in the open, Goddess Mahalaxmi is believed to have assumed the form of Badari tree to provide him shelter to face the onslaught of the adverse weather conditions, therefore the name Badari Narayan. It is believed that Lord Vishnu revealed to Narad rishi that Nar & Naryans forms were his own. It is also believed that Narad rishi, who also did his penance here, is even now worshipping the supreme God with Ashtakshara mantras.

The image of Badarinarayan here is fashioned out of Saligramam. Badarinarayan is seen under the Badari tree, flanked by Kuber and Garuda, Narad, Narayan and Nar. Mahalakshmi has a sanctum outside in the parikrama. There is also a shrine to Adi Sankara at Badarinath.

Behind the temple of Lord Badarinarayan is the Lakshmi Narsimh mandir, with shrines to Desikacharya and Ramanujachary.At Badarinath one can witness one of the greatest wonders of Nature in the Hot water springs of Taptkund on the banks of ice chilled river Alaknanda. The temperature of the water in the Kund is 55 degree centigrade whereas the normal temperature in this region for most part of the year remains at 9-10 degree centigrade to sub-zero levels. Before visiting the temple the pilgrims take a holy bath in the Taptkund.

Birlamandir, Delhi

Laxmi Narayan Temple, also known as Birla Mandir, is one of Delhi's major temples and a major tourist attraction. Built by the industrialst Sh. J.K. Birla in 1939, this beautiful temple is located in the west of Connaught Place.

The temple is dedicated to Laxmi (the goddess of prosperity) and Narayana (The preserver). The temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi on the condition that people of all castes will be allowed to enter the temple.

Jagannath Temple, Puri

Shri Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu lord of the Universe is the supreme solace and saviour of countless devotees around the world. since time immemorial, His monumental and magnificent Shrine at Shri Purusottam-Kshetra (Puri, Orissa) one of the four major Dhamas of India has been a most sacred centre of pilgrimage and worship symbolising and uploading one of the greatest spiritual and cultural heritages of the world.

The most frrequently depicted theme involves the holy Triad of the Jagannath Temple - Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra

The deities of the Puri temple are generally known as the Trimurti (trinity) and also as Chaturdhamurti. Some scholars think that originally there was only image of Jagannatha as the object of worship called Nila Madhava and when Nila Madhava disappeared, king Indradyumna fabricated the body of Jagannatha out of a log of wood that was picked up from the sea, as per a divine direction. Scholars suggesting that originally there ,were only two deities, cite the example of a temple found in the Cuttack district in Orissa belonging perhaps to the seventh century A.D., where the images only of Jagannatha and Balabhadra have been carved and Subhadra is not to be seen there.
It is, therefore, believed that when there was a great resurgence of Saktism from the 7th century onwards, there was a successful attempt to instal an image of the mother goddess (Durga or Sakti) in the Puri temple by the side of Jagannatha. According to some others, installation of the image of Durga or Sakti, who is also known as Bhadra, Mangala etc., might have taken place during the visit of Sankaracarya to Puri. In the Konarka temple built in the 13th century A.D. about a century later than the Puri temple, there is a panel of three images. Jagannatha is seen in the middle and to his left is Durga killing demon Mahisa, while to his rjght is A linga (phallus) representing Siva. From this, it is deduced by some scholars that this might have been the original trio of the Puri temple, indicating the equal importance to Vaisnavism, Saktism and Saivism. In such a case, it is deduced that originally there was one image representing Visnu or Madhava and Siva and Durga were added subsequently.
There is another theory that Bhadra or Mangala (Durga) came to be called Subhadra and at the time of Vaisnavite preponderance, she was introduced as Krisna's sister, whose name is also Subhadra. Similarly one of the names of Siva is Virabhadra. Somehow, at a time of Vaisnavic effloroscence, he was transformed into Balabhadra. The second half Of this name i.e., 'Bhadra' was retained and the first half was substituted by Bala.When he was thus called Balabhadra, he was introduced as the elder brother of Krisna.

Festivals

It is said that there are twelve 'Yatras' (festivals) of Shri Jagannath as mentioned below, but actually there are more festive rituals performed throughout the year.

1. Devasnana Purnima (May-June)
2. Ratha Yatra (June-July)
3. Snana Yatra (Full moon day in the month of Jyeshta)
4. Dakshinayana Yatra (On the day of Karkata Sankranthi)
5. Parshwa Parivarthan (In the month of Bhadra)
6. Deva Utthapana (In the month of Kartika)
7. Prabarana or Parvana Sasthi (In the month of Margasira)
8. Pushyabhiisheka (Full moon day in the month of Pushya)
9. Makar Sankranti (In the month of Pushya)
10.Dola Yatra (In the month of Phalguna)
11.Damanaka Chaturdashi (in the month of Chaitra)
12.Akshaya Trutiya

How To Reach?

By air:

The nearest airport is Bhubaneswar, From here puri is about 60 km.

By Train:

Puri is a terminus on the East Coast Railway having direct express and super fast train links with New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Okha, Ahmedabad, Tirupati etc. Some important trains are Kolkata (Howrah) Puri Howrah Express, Jagannath Express; New Delhi; Purushottam Express. Khurda Road Station, 44 km, from Puri is convenient rail head for train to Chennai and Western India.

By Bus:

The bus stand near the Gundicha Temple provides connections to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, service every 10-15 minutes. Minibuses to Konark leave every 20-30 minutes and also from Jatiababa Chhak. There are direct buses for Kolkata and Visakhapatnam.

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