13.) MAA CUTTACK CHANDI TEMPLE in CUTTACK, ODISHA

MAA CUTTACK CHANDI TEMPLE  in CUTTACK, ODISHA

Maa Cuttack Chandi Temple is an ancient temple, the presiding deity of Cuttack, Odisha. The festivals like annual Durga Puja and Kali Puja are celebrated in grand manner in this temple. The Durga Puja commencing from dark fortnight of Ashwina Krishna Astami till Ashwina Shukla Navami  and Vijayadasami  is one of the prominent festivals in this temple. The Cuttack Chandi deity has four hands holding Paasha (noose), Ankusha (goad), gesture dispelling fear (Abhaya) and granting boon (varada). She is worshiped as Bhubaneswari Mahavidya  (the queen of Universe) by sevayats belonging to Utkal Brahmin every day.  Maa Chandi is worshiped in various incarnations of Maa Durga.

What the legend say :  The Maa Cuttack Chandi temple at Seikf Bazar, Cuttack in Odisha  is one amongst the 51 Shaktipithas in the country. Many a saing and legends are there on the appearance of Maa Cuttack Chandi.

One such legend depicts : Before the Marathha reign (15th century) in this area, the worship of Maa Chandi was existent in the premises of the Barabati Fort in Cuttack. In the 16th century many a temples were destroyed by Kalapahada at the instance of Muslim rulers. During such period, the idol of Maa Chandi was shifted to a nearby place south of the Barabati fort. The age-old centurions of Seikh Bazaar residents are of the opinion that there existed a dense forest surrounding the Barabati fort. Once a cowherd of that locality, Govinda Behera by name went to the forest for grazing of cattle and sat on a stone lying in the forest. He felt an unusual sensation with trembling in his body while sitting. Later in the same night, he saw a dream in which Maa Chandi told that she remains buried under the same stone where he was sitting in the forest. Govinda Behera on the next day informed about his dream to one sevayat Daina Panda by name. There after the news was transmitted to the king. At the directive of Kanika king , the place was excavated and Govinda Behera  brought the idol to a nearby banyan tree (presently at Chandi Chawk) and with due rituals the worship of Maa Chandi commenced. Kanika king helped for construction of a temple there. Since then the worship of Maa Cuttack Chandi is in continuance at the existing temple. Lot of people assemble daily to worship the deity and their desires are fulfilled, as believed, at the grace of MAA CHANDI.          

Ref : The Oriya daily Newspaper "SAMAJ" Dt.04/12/2013.

Different vesas of Maa Cuttack Chandi :>>>>>>>>>

Maa Chandi in Jaya Durga vesa

Maa Chadi in Mahishamardini vesa

Maa Chandi in Bhubaneswari vesa

Maa Chandi in Siddheswari vesa

Maa Chandi in Duro Chandi vesa

Maa Chandi in MahaKali vesa

Maa Chandi in Matangi vesa

Maa Chandi in Ugratara vesa

Maa Chandi in Bagalamukhi vesa

Maa Chandi in Jagadhatri vesa

Maa Chandi in Maha Saraswati vesa

Maa chandi in MahaLakshmi vesa

Maa Chandi in Shodashi vesa

Maa Chandi in Gayatri vesa

Maa Chandi in RajaRajeswari vesa

Maa Chandi in Vaishnavi vesa

Maa Chandi in usual vesa

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12) 108 HANUMAN TEMPLE AT BHUBANESWAR, ODISHA

108 HANUMAN TEMPLE AT BHUBANESWAR, ODISHA

In Hindu mythology, amongst the worship of gods & goddess, the worship of Lord Hanuman, a loyal devotee of Lord SRIRAM is one of them. It is a very old worship as found in sanatana dharma. It is also believed that one earns lot of ‘punya’ , equivalent to crores of births , having darshan of 108 Hanuman in temple. Although, the Hanuman worship is considered from the Ramayana period in Treta yuga but the mythological epics speaks of Hanuman worship originating from the day Sun & the Moon exist. Based on this, the worship of Hanuman is in continuance in Indian culture.Though the worship of Lord Hanuman is existent all over India but it is believed that the worship of 108 Hanuman in temple initially has begun from Allahabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh . In this context, in Odisha the 1st 108 Hanuman temple exist at Bhubaneswar ( Unit-1). The worship of Hanuman in South India in the form of Kiskindhya Hanuman is described in mythological script.

On  Makara Sankranti day, the worship of 108 Lord Hanuman at Bhubaneswar is celebrated in grand manner with pious and festive mood. Lot of people participate the worship in the temple at Unit-1.

Construction of temple : In a collective decision taken by few pious people agreeing to commence the construction of a 108 Hanuman temple at Unit-1, Bhubaneswar , the work got planned . With devoted and sincere efforts , it took shape towards completion towards end of 20th century. The 108 statues (bigrahas) of Lord Hanuman were got prepared by sculptors of Chhatia village. Later, the statues were brought from Chhatia and from 3rd to 5th March 1999 with great interest and splendour, the temple as well as the statues were consecrated performing vedic rituals. In those 108 statues,  various carved inscriptions like Dhyana mudra, Ashirbada mudra, Bira mudra, SitaRam darshan mudra, Rudra mudra, Ramsevak mudra, Kirtan mudra, prominently exhibited which are worth mentioning. People have great faith on worship pf Lord Hanuman in this temple . The temple gets crowded on Tuesday and Saturday and festive days by lot of devotees for worship of Lord Hanuman

The experienced saints are of the views that worship of 108 Lord Hanuman in a temple results in earn of virtuous deeds and fulfilment of desire. The coincidence of Sancranti on Tuesday is considered very effective day for the worship with any particular desire.

Ref : Information collected from Odia daily newspaper "Samaj" dt.14th April 2015.

Other few bigrahas as found on the walls of the temple are :

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11.) LORD ALLARNATH TEMPLE , BRAHMAGIRI, PURI

LORD ALLARNATH TEMPLE , BRAHMAGIRI, PURI

Temple view

Entrance to Temple

Lord ALLARNATHJI

There is a saying  that in Satya Yuga, Lord Brahma came and worshipped Lord Vishnu  on top of a hill. One day, Lord Vishnu appeared and said, “I am very pleased with your worship. Make a four-armed Deity of Me holding shankha (conch shell), chakra (disk), gada (club), and padma (lotus). The Deity should be made from a piece of black stone. Also install a Deity of Garuda”. Lord Vishnu also said, “This place will be called Brahmagiri (Brahma’s hill) because you have worshiped me here”.

According to mythology, the rulers of Alwar in Rajasthan had established the temple here. The temple was later known as Alwarnath or Alarnath.

The History depicts, in 1610 A.D., Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at Alarnath during anavasara period of Lord Jagannath. Anavasara is the two weeks period when Lord Jagannatha take rest in isolation from the rest of the world after suffering from fever due to the annual bathing festival (Snana Yatra). Lord Chaitanya claimed that he visualised the appearance of Lord Jagannath in Alarnath and spent a long period in worshipping the deity here. It is believed that those who can not worship Lord Jagannath during his stay in the sick chamber can get the blessings of the deity if they visit the Alarnath temple.

Sri Vigraha’s Love of Devotees: There is a Legend relating to the eruption marks on the right hand, on the face, on the chest of the Lord. In the long past a poor Tamil Kama Brahmin priest named Sri Ketan was serving the Lord on bagging alms. He had a 12 yr old son Madhasudan by name. On one occasion, the Tamil priest remained absent for a long time as he was out to a distance place, The boy was serving and doing pooja in the absence of the father. One day the boy prepared ‘Khiri’ in the Kitchen and took the container and placed it before the Lord. He offered it as “Naivedya’ to the Lord and closed the door of the temple. There after, boy played with other children for some time. Then he came and opened the temple door and found that ‘Khiri’ had remained in the container as he had placed it. The boy felf that the Lord had not accepted his offer of Khiri and so began to cry in grief. He prayed to the Lord.

Oh Lord! Please eat this Khiri, Father has been to a foreign land I don’t know the process of Pooja and offerings, So I am praying at your lotus feet.

The boy’s this emotional entreaty moved the heart of the Lord. To please the boy, the Lord accepted and ate the ‘Khiri’. The container fell empty. The boy returned home in joy. On seeing the empty Container the mother asked the boy- where is Prasad ? The boy replied “The Lord ate up the “Khiri’. How will then be any Prasad ? A doubt cropped up in the mother’s mind. She thought like this.

‘Even though her husband does the offering after this sixteen procedures of Pooja, Prasad reaches home in the container, How is it that the Lord ate up and emptied the pot without any utterance of Mantra’ ?

On the second day, the mother watched the offering made by her son through a small hole on the door. To her utter astonishment, she found that the Lord descended from the Singhashan and began eating the Khiri.

After some days when the priest Sriketan returned home his wife told him about this matter. The mind of the Brahmin was filled with suspicion, So he also watched through the hole the offering of ‘Khiri’ made by his son to the Lord and was amazed to see the Lord part taking ‘Khiri’. To prove the truth, innosence and simplicity of the boy the Lord started eating the ‘Khiri’ even through it was too hot. While the Lord was in the state of eating the hot ‘Khiri’ the Brahmin opened the door and as a result the hot khiri spilled over the body of the Lord which left these eruption marks for all times. The Lord bore the brunt owing to his love for his devotee.

Priest Sriketan implored to the Lord if you eat away all the ‘Prasads’ how will we live? The Lord replied “I ate up the Naivedya’ as the boy offered it with love and I appear before you also because of the boy’s love and reverence. The Lord asked the priest to beg him any boon that he liked. But the priest instead of listening to the Lord went on repeating his question. As a consequence the Lord got annoyed and cursed him to be extirpated along with his clan. He took Madhusudan, his dear devotee to Baikuntha or heaven.

After this event, due to the absence of priest the Lord remained un worshipped for several years. When Gajapati Maharaja Sri Purusottam Dev was returning home after his Victorious Kanchi campaign, he visited the Lord and got to know about plight. He made the arrangement for his pooja by sending two Brahmin families from Bashista gotra and one family from Bhara dwaja gotra. These three Brahmin families carried on the pooja of the Lord according to the scriptures. The kind made all arrangements for the maintenance of the servitors. The Progenitors of these three families are carrying on the Pooja system with pump and ceremony to this day.

Ref : http://odialive.com/alarnath-templebrahmagiri 

NB : More information can be obtained from Sri Sudhakar Suar, Contact No: +918338895563
          and information on MAA LAKHMI temple from Sri Debabrata Suar, No:+917681061037

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HE gives Response to Call with Devotion :

Undaunted devotion and trust is the key to reach at HIM. Even if somebody do not go to temples, do not put efforts to offer flowers and prasadam (Naivedya) to God but has full selfless devotion in mind, then he/she can make the impossible to possible. According to Shakespeare: “Impossible is a word found in fool’s dictionary.” God immediately responds to those who surrender to HIM with selfless devotion. Within twinkling of an eye, the desires of those devotees are fulfilled by God.

Such an incident was happened in the remote village ‘Palanka’ adjacent to ‘Brahmagiri’ where the temple of Lord Allarnath exists. The incident has been heard from one of the sevayat (devotee) of Lord. The true story was heard by one of the joint secretary of the revenue department of govt. of Odisha, Sri Sudhasu Sekhar Bhuyan.

One Muslim family was residing in ‘Palanka’ village adjacent to ‘Brahmagiri’. Dildar Hussein was the jaminder in that village. He had lot of property and uncountable grains of paddy and rice which were stored in a house called ‘Khamar’ (grain go down).In the event of famine or any calamity as needed by the villagers, the grains were distributed to them by the jaminder.

The old grain go down of the jaminder in course of time converted to the Tahsil office of the government.

In the year 1991-’93, the khamar or the grain go down was the office of the Regional Revenue Department of state govt. By the grace of Lord Allarnath the secured khamar still exists. In the first part of 20th century, there occurred a dangerous cyclone. The whole area was devastated. Lot of big trees got uprooted and fell lie on the ground. The age old houses were collapsed. The terrible sound of the cyclonic storm mingled with the cries of the living being including animals and birds of that village were really heart touching. Villagers of the ‘Palanka’ village were very much effected and afraid of the situation called for by nature. Dildar Hussein, the jamindar, was in deep grief stricken thought – what will happen to the khamar (go down)? If the grain go down is completely destroyed, then after the cyclone what the villagers will be fed ? Being disappointed, he reached at the Allarnath temple, situated in front of the khamar. Being a Muslim, he had no rights to enter the Hindu temple. Standing in front of the Lord Allarnath temple, with folded hands, he prayed to Lord Allarnath saying: “ Oh, my beloved Lord Allarnath, kindly bless to protect the khamar as well as the grains stored inside. If protected, then the villagers will be fed and they will be saved from starvation.”

Surprisingly, just after 15 minutes of his prayer to Lord Allarnath, at once, the cyclonic storm subsided miraculously. There was no harm to the khamar or the grains stored by Dildar Hussein.

Dildar never went to the temple nor offered any puja in his past days but he had undaunted selfless devotion to the Lord. Although a Muslim by religion, he understood the Almighty God is one. He never prayed for his self anything to the God but when the danger was faced, he prayed selflessly with folded hands to the Lord Allarnath for the sake of the villagers, for the welfare of the mankind. His selfless prayer and emotional entreaty melted the heart of the Lord.

Due to the grace of Lord Allarnath, the khamar got untouched by the devastating cyclone and at present the same khamar building stands as the revenue office there. In 1991 – ’93, it was a thatched house but presently it stands as a pucca building.


It is the grace of Lord Allarnath believed as Lord Vishnu, the Lord Jagannath.

Source : Information collected from Odia daily newspaper “PRAMEYA”- dt.14th July 2015 

Allar nath Temple(Dt.10.7.15)

Blogger&his wife in temple premises(Dt.10.7.15)

Allar nath Temple Dt.10.7.15.                                           

The stone in front of Lord Allarnath in which
Sri Chaitanya melted his full body-imprint.

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10. KEDARNATH JYOTIRLINGA TEMPLE IN UTTARAKHAND

KEDARNATH JYOTIRLINGA TEMPLE IN UTTARAKHAND

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The lingam at Kedarnath, unlike its usual form, is pyramidal and is regarded as one of the 12 jyotirlings.

Hindu mythology

According to Hindu History, during the Mahabharatha war, the Pandavas killed their relatives; to absolve themselves of this sin, the Pandavas undertook a pilgrimage. But Lord Vishweshwara was away in Kailasa in the Himalayas. On learning this, the Pandavas left Kashi. They reached the Himalayas via Haridwar. They saw Lord Shankara from a distance. But Lord Shankara hid from them. Then Dharmaraj said: “Oh, Lord, You have hidden yourself from our sight because we have sinned. But, we will seek You out somehow. Only after we take your Darshan would our sins be washed away. This place, where You have hidden Yourself will be known as Guptakashi and become a famous shrine.”

From Guptakashi (Rudraprayag), the Pandavas went ahead till they reached Gaurikund in the Himalayas valleys. They wandered there in search of Lord Shankara. While doing so Nakul and Sahadev found a buffalo which was unique to look at.

Then Bheema went after the buffalo with his mace. The buffalo was clever and Bheema could not catch him. But Bheema managed to hit the buffalo with his mace. The buffalo had its face hidden in a crevice-in the earth. Bheema started to pull it by its tail. In this tug-of war, the face of the buffalo went straight to Nepal, leaving its hind part in Kedar. The face is Doleshwar Mahadev in Sipadol, Bhaktapur, Nepal.

On this hind part of Mahesha, a JyotirLinga appeared and Lord Shankara appeared from this light. By getting a Darshan of Lord Shankar, the pandavas were absolved of their sins. The Lord told the Pandavas, “From now on, I will remain here as a triangular shaped JyotirLinga. By taking a Darshan of Kedarnath, devotees would attain piety”. A triangular shaped rock is worshiped in Garbhagriha of the temple. Surrounding Kedarnath, there are many symbols of the Pandavas. Raja Pandu died at Pandukeshwar. The tribals here perform a dance called “Pandav Nritya”. The mountain top where the Pandavas went to Swarga, is known as “Swargarohini”, which is located off Badrinath. When Darmaraja was leaving for Swarga, one of his fingers fell on the earth. At that place, Dharmaraj installed a Shiva Linga, which is the size of the thumb. To gain Mashisharupa, Shankara and Bheema fought with maces. Bheema was struck with remorse. He started to massage Lord Shankara’s body with ghee. In memory of this event, even today, this triangular Shiva JyotirLinga is massaged with ghee. Water and Bel leaves are used for worship.

When Nara-Narayan went to Badrika village and started the worship of Parthiva, Shiva appeared before them. Nara-Narayan wished that, for the welfare of the humanity, Shiva should remain there in his original form. Granting their wish, in the snow-clad Himalayas, in a place called Kedar, Mahesha himself stayed there as a Jyoti. Here, He is known as Kedareshwara.

source :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedarnath_Temple

Pilgrims traditionally first visit Yamunotri and Gangotri and bring with them the holy waters from the sources of the rivers Yamuna and Ganga and offer abhishekams to Kedareshwara. The traditional pilgrim route is Haridwar - Rishikesh - Devaprayag - Tehri - Dharasu - Yamunotri - Uttar Kashi - Gangotri - Triyugnarayan - Gowrikund and Kedarnath. Alternatively, the route to Kedar from Rishikesh is via Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Ukhimath. Near Kedarnath is the source of the river Mandakini. Mandakini joins Alakananda at Rudraprayag.

Kedarnath Temple in winter

9. BADRINARAYANA TEMPLE at BADRINATH , UTTARAKHAND,

                 BADRINATH TEMPLE

                       

One of the four Char Dham and Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites....

Badrinath temple sometimes called Badrinarayan temple, is situated along the Alaknanda river, in the hill town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand state in India. It is widely considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples, and is dedicated to god Vishnu. The temple and town are one of the four Char Dham and ChotaChar Dham pilgrimage sites. It is also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites. The temple is open only six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), due to extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region.

Several murtis are worshipped in the temple. The most important is a one meter tall statue of Vishnu as Lord Badrinarayan, made of black Saligram stone. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu. The murti depicts Vishnu sitting in meditative posture, rather than His far more typical reclining pose. In November each year, when the town of Badrinath is closed, the image is moved to nearby Jyotirmath.

The temple is approximately 50 ft (15.0 metres) tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof. The facade is built of stone, with arched windows. A broad stairway leads up to a tall arched gateway, which is the main entrance. The architecture resembles a Buddhist vihara (temple), with the brightly painted facade also more typical of Buddhism temples. Just inside is the mandapa, a large pillared hall that leads to the garbha grha, or main shrine area. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carvings.

The main shrine area houses the black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan, sitting under a gold canopy, under a Badri Tree. There are fifteen more murtis around the temple that are also worshipped. These include murtis of Nara & Narayana, Narasimha (the fourth incarnation of Vishnu), Lakshmi, Narada, Ganesha, Uddhava, Kubera, Garuda (the vehicle of Lord Narayan), and Navadurga. Hard sugar candy, Tulsi, and dry fruits are the typical prasad offered at Badrinath temple.
The Tapt Kund hot sulphur springs just below the temple are considered to be medicinal—many pilgrims consider it a requirement to bathe in the springs before visiting the temple. The springs have a year-round temperature of 45°C.

Source : https://www.facebook.com/SreeguruBabajiMahavtarBabaji/photos

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Badrinath Temple in winter

Alakananda River & Badrinath Temple

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