Deshnoke, Rajasthan The Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan is one of India’s best known, if for a really spine tingling reason: this is the one with the rats. Well over ten thousand (maybe over twenty thousand) of the creepy mostly black rodents call this temple their home. They roam fearlessly through the temple halls, generally indifferent to human visitors, who often present … [Read more...]
BRAHMA TEMPLE
Pushkar, Rajasthan The Brahma Temple in Pushkar is one of the very few temples in India dedicated to Brahma, the god of creation. Of all of the major Hindu deities, Brahma is arguably the most underrepresented. Because of this scarcity of places of worship, virtually any temple to Brahma is considered an important one, and this is arguably the most important center for his … [Read more...]
KEDARNATH TEMPLE
Kedarnath, Uttarakhand The Kedarnath Temple is one of the Jyotirlingas, one of twelve Hindu temples of particularly special importance to the deity Shiva. It is traditionally the fifth temple of the list, though not necessarily in either importance or in order to be visited. Per the Jyotirlinga legend, Shiva appeared on the spot as a beam of light. The Kedarnath Temple is the … [Read more...]
SOMNATH TEMPLE
Prabhas Patan, Gujurat The Somnath Temple has one of the most dramatic stories of any temple in India. Considered to be the most resilient of all of India’s major Hindu sites, the temple has been torn down and rebuilt at least a dozen times (averaging about once a century throughout most of its existence). It is one of the twelve Jyortlingas sites, temples which house relics … [Read more...]
BADRINATH TEMPLE
Badrinath, Uttarakhand The Badrinath Temple is one of India’s most important pilgrimage temples. It is the northernmost of the four Char Dham, or Sacred Abodes, among the holiest places in Hinduism. It was established as such in the 9th century by the Hindu saint Shankara. The smallest and most inaccessible of the four sacred abodes, it is probably the least visited of the … [Read more...]
DWARKADISH TEMPLE
Dwarka, Gujarat The city of Dwarka and the Dwarkadish Temple are among the holiest sites in India and enjoy two very important distinctions: It was one of the seven sacred pilgrimage cities. It is also the westernmost of the four Char Dham, or Sacred Abodes, among the holiest places in Hinduism. It was established as such in the 9th century by the Hindu saint Shankara. It is … [Read more...]
DARGAH SHARIF
Ajmer, Rajasthan The Dargah Sharif of Ajmer is the most important Islamic shrine in India. It was built in honor of Moinuddin Chishti, one of the greatest Sufi theologians and missionaries of the 12th century. Moinuddin Chishti was pivotal both in the early development of Sufism but also in the spread of Islam across Northern India. He is also highly venerated by the Hindus … [Read more...]
