Jammu & Kashmir – Lake of the Ashes of the Dead Gangbal Lake is arguably the most sacred body of water in India that is not a river. Located close to Mount Haramukh, it shares a history and culture with that sacred mountain devoted devoted to Lord Shiva, and many pilgrims to the area often visit both sites. Pilgrimages to the high mountain lake are very popular during the … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2015
GOVARDHAN
Uttar Pradesh (179 m) – Sacred Hill of Lord Krishna Govardhan Hill, located between New Delhi and Agra, is one of the most accessible of the major sacred Hindu mountains in India. It is believed to have been a sacred site going back to primordial times. In these early days, evidence indicates that the hill was once home to followers of Indra, the god of rain and storms. But he … [Read more...]
TRIKUTA
Jammu & Kashmir (1,585 m) – Sacred Mountain of Vaishno Devi Trikuta is actually a mythical mountain of Hindu legend, one of twenty that serve as foothills to the greatest mountain in Hindu cosmology, Meru. As the story goes, Trikuta is inhabited by several gods, and boasts, among other thing, magnificent gardens and lakes, frolicking elephants and triple peaks of iron, … [Read more...]
HARMUKH
Jammu & Kashmir (5,142 m) - Home of Lord Shiva Mount Harmukh is another of the mountains closely associated with the god Shiva, another possible location of his residence on Earth. It is also believed to be a place where a local man achieved Nirvana. Because of this, and because it is both more accessible and easier to ascend than many other mountains in this region of the … [Read more...]
MANIMAHESH KAILASH
Himachal Pradesh (5,653 m) – Home of Lord Shiva Manimahesh Kailash is one of the greatest mountains in India and among the most sacred mountains in the Hindu tradition. According to some legends, Manimahesh Kailash is one of the homes of Lord Shiva, one of the chief Hindu deities. This tradition is strong in particular because the mountain has yet to be successfully … [Read more...]
NANDA DEVI
Uttar Pradesh (7,816 m) – Sacred Mountain of the Goddesses Nanda and Sunanda Nanda Devi is arguably India’s most famous mountain. The tallest mountain located entirely within India’s borders, it is famous for several reasons. First, it is home to one of the world’s biosphere reserves, and as such has been declared a world heritage site. Second, its glacier is one of the three … [Read more...]
SHIVLING
Uttar Pradesh (6,543 m) – Sacred Mountain of Shiva Shivling is one of the great sacred mountains that is associated with the deity Shiva, for which it is named. Located in the Himalayas in northern Uttar Pradesh close to the border of China, it is neither quite as tall nor as prominent as other mountains in the vicinity. However, its almost perfectly pyramidal shape makes it … [Read more...]
SRILAKSHMI GOLDEN TEMPLE
Vellore, Tamil Nadu The Srilakshmi Golden Temple is one of the newest major temples in India, and the most important modern temple in the south of the country. Constructed less than ten year ago, much of the temple is covered in copper plate which is in turn covered in layer upon layer of magnificent gold leif artwork. Dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi, it is popular with the … [Read more...]
AKSHARDHAM TEMPLE
Delhi, NCT The Akshardham Temple in New Delhi is the religious architectural triumph of modern India. A temple of the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism, it was constructed at the turn of the millennium and is India’s most recent major temple. It is also, by some measures, the largest Hindu temple in the world. Despite the fact that it is barely a decade old, it has skyrocketed to … [Read more...]
RAJ GHAT
Delhi, NCT The Raj Ghat, the most famous ghat in Delhi, is possibly the most visited ghat in India, and arguably the most popular site of Hindu interest in the capital. Although the current ghat stands on an an ancient site, it is not for its ancient history that it has achieved great importance; but rather for its association with Mohandas Ghandi, the father of modern India. … [Read more...]
