KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE.

KASHI VISHWANATH TEMPLE.

Ø     Kashi Vishwanath temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located in Benaras, the Holiest Place of Hindus and center of earth in Hindu Cosmology where at least once in life a Hindu is expected to do pilgrimage and if possible pour the remains or ashes of cremated ancestors here on the River Ganga.

Ø     It is in state of Uttar Pradesh, and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest of Shiva temples.

Ø     The main deity is known by the name Vishwanatha or Vishweshwara meaning the Ruler of the universe.

Ø      The temple town that claims to be the oldest living city in the world, with 3500 years of documented history is also called Kashi and hence the temple is popularly called as Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Ø     Due to 15.5m high golden spire, the temple is sometimes called as the Golden Temple, similar to the Golden temple, a Sikh Gurudwara at Amritsar.

Ø     The temple has been referred in Hindu theology since a very long time and as a central part of worship in the Shaiva philosophy.

Ø     The temple has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. The Gyanavapi mosque, which is adjacent to the temple, is the original site of the temple.

Ø     The original temple was destroyed by aurangzeb who built a mosque in its place, but the traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque.

Ø     The current structure is believed to have been built by Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.

Ø     Since 1983, the temple is being managed by Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Ø     During the religious occasion of Shivratri, Kashi Naresh that is King of Kashi is the chief officiating priest and no other person or priest is allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. It is only after he performs his religious functions that others are allowed to enter.

Ø     The linga the main deity at the shrine is 60 cm tall and 90 cm in circumference housed in a silver altar.

Ø     There are small temples for Kaalbhairav, Dhandapani, Avimukteshwara, Vishnu, Vinayaka, Sanishwara, Virupaksha and Virupaksh Gauri in the complex.

Ø     There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi also called as the the wisdom well and it is believed that the Jytorlinga was hidden in the well to protect it at the time of invasion.

Ø     It is said that the main priest of the temple had jumped in the well with the Shiv Ling in order to protect it from the invaders.

Ø     Varanasi becomes immensely sacred due to the existence of Mahadev  that is Lord Shiva.

Ø     The never ending joyous spirit of the city is in close proximity with the essence of Kashi Vishwanath.

Ø     Displaying a gesture of impeccable harmony, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and a Mosque in Varanasi co-exists in the same premises.

Ø     The Kashi Vishwanath temple registers a stunning visit record that tolls to around 3000 visitors every day. At certain occasions, the numbers reach lacs.

Importance of the temple

Ø     The temple is widely recognized as one of the most important places of worship in Hindu religion and most of the leading Hindu saints, including Adi Sankaracharya, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Goswami Tulsidas, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Gurunanak have visited this site.

Ø     A visit to the temple and a bath in the river Ganges is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to Moksha means liberation.

Ø     Vishweshwara Jyotirlinga has a very special and unique significance in the spiritual history of India. Tradition has it that the merits earned by the darshan of other jyotirlinga scattered in various parts of India accrue to devotee by a single visit to Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Ø     Deeply and intimately implanted in the Hindu mind, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple has been a living embodinent of our timeless cultural traditions and highest spiritual values.

Ø     On January 28, 1983 the Temple was taken over by the Govt. of Uttar Pradesh and it's management ever since stands entrusted to a Trust with Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh. Former Kashi Naresh, as president and an Executive Committee with Divisional Commissioner as Chairman.

Ø     In the year 1785 a Naubatkhana was built up in front of the Temple by the then Collector Mohammad Ibrahim Khan at the instance of Governor General Warren Hastings.

Ø     In 1839, Two domes of the Temple were covered by gold donated by Punjab Kesari Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.

Ø     Third dome but was remained uncovered, Ministry of cultures & Religious affairs of U.P. Govt. took keen interest for gold plating of third dome of Temple.

Ø     Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the temple.

RITUALS

Ø     The Temple opens daily at 2.30a.m. in Mangala Aarati 3 to 4 a.m. ticket holders are permitted to join. From 4 to 11 a.m. general Darshan is allowed. 11.30 to 12 a.m. mid day Bhog Aarati is done.

Ø     Again 12 noon to 7 p.m. devotees are free to have darshan. From 7 to 8.30 p.m. evening Sapta Rishi Aarati is done after which darshan is again possible uptill 9 p.m.

Ø     When Shringar/Bhog Aarati starts. After 9 p.m. Darshan from out side only is possible. Shayana Aarti starts at 10.30p.m.The Temple closes at 11p.m.

Ø     As Puran says Kashi Vishwanath Baba is divided in to 3 parts of Trishul [1]Kedareshwar [2] Vishweshwar [3] MahaMritunjay. According to puran the person who stays at the end of his life time gets moksha.

Ø     People who live in kashi get Aarth, Dharma, Karma, Moksha. The Temple is also known as the Golden Temple.

STRUCTURE OF LORD’S MINISTRY

Ø     Lord Vishwanath is treated as Absolute king of Kashi. Lord Hareshwar and Brahmeshwar are his minister and assistant minister,

Ø     Lord Bhairavnath is the incharge of law and order.

Ø     Similarly Lord Tarkeshwar is the cashier and Lord Veereshwar is the storekeeper and other phallus of Shiva are treated as protectors of the subjects.

Ø     In the courtyard of Vishwanath temple there are one hundred and fifty phallus of Lord Shiva.

Ø      Dharamrajeshwar is the main one. The whole team is known as Royal Court of Lord Shiva.

The temple structure

Ø     The temple complex consists of a series of smaller shrines, located in a small lane called the Vishwanatha Galli, near the river. The linga the main deity at the shrine is 60 cm tall and 90 cm in circumference housed in a silver altar.

Ø     There are small temples for Mahakala, Dhandapani, Avimukteshwara, Vishnu, Vinayaka, Sanishwara, Virupaksha and Virupaksh Gauri in the complex.

Ø     The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Banaras consists of a mandapa and a sanctum, besides many subsidiary shrines. The sanctum has a linga made of black stone and is set into the center of the floor in a square silver altar.

TIRUPATI BALAJI TEMPLE

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple

Ø     Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a famous Hindu temple of Lord Vishnu in the form of Lord Venkateswara located in the hill town Tirumala, near Tirupati in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Ø     It is located 580 kilometres (360 mi) south of state capital, Hyderabad and 157 kilometres (98 mi) north west of Chennai.

Ø     The temple is situated on Venkatadri, one of the seven hills of Tirumala, and hence is also known as the Temple of Seven Hills.

Ø     The presiding deity of the temple, Lord Venkateswara, is also known by other names - Balaji, Govinda and Srinivasa.

Ø     The temple is reportedly the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world.

Ø     The temple is visited by about 100,000 to 200,000 pilgrims daily, while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most visited holy place in the world.

Ø     In Sri Vaishnava tradition, the temple is considered one of the 108 Divya Desams.

Legend

Ø     Thondaiman, ruler of the Thondaimandalam that is present day Kanchipuram is believed to have first built the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in a dream.

Ø     To date, this history is reflected by various Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Grantha scripts etched on the Temple prakara walls.

Ø     The Sangam literature of Tamil such as that of Silapadikaram and Satanar Manimekalai, dated between 500BC and 300AD, mentions Thiruvengadam that is Tirupati by the appellation "Nediyon Kunram" as the northernmost frontier of the Tamil kingdoms.

Ø     Discovery of the Venkateswara deity is described as an act of divine providence: There was a huge anthill at Tirupati, and one day a local farmer heard a voice from the heavens asking him to feed the ants.

Ø     By chance the local king heard the voice and began supplying milk for the ants himself. His compassion resulted in the liquid uncovering the magnificent idol of Venkateswara hidden within the anthill.

Ø     Srivaishnavite tradition opines that the Rig Veda verse 155.1 makes an indirect reference to the temple. One such translation goes as

“The person, devoid of wealth and vision, is implored to go to the hill which burns up all evil (vikata for Venkata) and drives away all obstacles to peace and prosperity.”

Ø     Thondaiman, ruler of Thondaimandalam in the ancient Tamil nadu present day Kanchipuram and the sourroundings, is believed to have first built the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in his dream.

Ø     He built the Gopuram and the Prakhara, and arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in the temple.

Ø     Later on, the Chola dynasty vastly improved the temple and gave rich endowments. To date, the various Tamil Grantha scripts are still seen inscribed upon the temple prakara walls.

Ø     Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra.

Ø     The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha, a Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu.

Ø     The Varaha shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara.

Ø     There is also the Ranga Mandapam, which is to the left side of the temple as one enters. This is where the main deity, Sri Ranganatha Swamy of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, was protected for a period of almost 60 years during attacks by Malik Kafur in the 14th century.

Medieval history

Ø     It was under the regime of the Vijayanagara emperors that the temple attained the majority of its current wealth and size, with the donation diamonds and gold.

Ø     The coronation ceremonies of the emperors were also held at Tirupati. In 1517, Krishnadevaraya, on one of his many visits to the temple, donated gold and jewels, enabling the Vimana (inner shrine) roofing to be gilded.

Ø      The Maratha general Raghoji Bhonsle visited the temple and set up a permanent administration for the conduct of worship in the temple.

Ø     Among the later rulers who endowed large benefactions were the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal.

Ø     In 1843, with the coming of the East-India Company, the administration of the Sri Venkateswara Temple and a number of shrines was entrusted to Seva Dossji of the Hathiramji Mutt at Tirumala as Vicaranakarta for nearly a century until 1932, when Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was established as a result of the TTD Act, 1932.

Modern history

Ø     The temple attracts approximately 75,000 pilgrims every day.

Ø     The popularity of the temple can be judged by its annual budget, estimated at Rs 10 billion in 2008, and comprised mostly of donations.

Ø     Devotees give donations which runs into the millions. TTD, the organisation running the welfare of the temple, runs various charitable trusts whose funds are derived from the budget and donations from the devotees.

Ø     Venkateshwara's abode is in the Venkatadri hills near Tirupathi.

Ø     Thus, the main temple of Venkateshwara is the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple.

Ø     The Tirumala temple is believed to be the richest temple in the world.

Ø     The Tirumala Hill comprises seven peaks, representing the seven hoods of Adisesha, thus earning the name, Seshachalam.

Ø     The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri.

Ø     The sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara is located on the seventh peak, Venkatadri  and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini.

Ø     The temple complex comprises a smaller traditional temple building along with a number of modern queue and pilgrim lodging sites.

Ø     The goddess Sri or Lakshmi Vishnu's consort resides on the chest of Venkateswara, and thus he is also known by the epithet Srinivasa meaning the one in whom Sri resides.

Ø     Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Padmavathi reside on his either chests.

Ø     The deity is considered the Kali yuga varada, that is 'the boon-granting Lord of Kali yuga'  meaning the fourth and final age of the Hindu cycle of ages.

Ø     With His conch, He creates the cosmic sound from which the creation has manifested. And with His disc, He destroys ignorance and ego in the beings, thus liberating them.

Ø      Lord Venkateswara is believed by followers to be a very merciful deity form of Vishnu, being the fulfiller of every wish made to him by the devotees

Ø     The roof with shining golden exterior of the inner temple that houses the presiding deity is named "Vimanam" in a Hindu temple.

Ø     In the Tirumala temple, it holds a very special place as the Ananda Nilayam meaning Abode of Happiness or Bliss literally with its imposing view, magnificence, and readily recognizable identity to any devotee familiar with the temple and its fame

Ø     From the Tirumamani Mandapam, you can enter the Bangaru Vakili to reach the inner sanctum sanctorum.

Ø     There are two tall copper images of the dwarapalakas Jaya and Vijaya on either side of the door.

Ø     The thick wooden door is covered with gilt plates depicting the Dashavataram of Lord Vishnu.

Ø     The doorway is directly in line with the Padi Kavali and the Vendi Vakili. It admits pilgrims to the Snapana Mandapam.

Ø     Suprabhatam is sung in front of this door.

Ø     Laddu is the world famous prasadam given at Tirumala Temple.

Ø     recently the Trust has taken copy right of Laddu prasaddam, hence, no one can prepare the same Laddu.

Ø     Many other delicious prasadams are also available including curd rice, tamarind rice, vada and sweet pongal.

Ø     Free meals are given daily to the pilgrims, and on Thursdays, the Tirupavadai seva occurs, where food items are kept for naivedyam to Lord Srinivasa.

Ø     Many devotees also have their head tonsured as an offer.

Ø     The daily amount of hair collected is over a ton. The hair thus gathered is sold by the temple organization a few times a year by public auction to international buyers for use as hair extensions and in cosmetics bringing over $6 million to the temple's treasury.

Worship of Lord

Ø     Lord Vishnu is Worshiped  as said by Sage Mareechi, And as per that, Lord Vishnu here should be worshipped 6 times a day.

1. UshaKala Aradhana - Aradhana or Worship should start and finish before Sunrise

2. Prathakala Aradhana - Worship should start after sunrise and finish before Noon

3. Madhyanika Aradhana - Worship should start and finish at noon

4. Aparahana Aradhana - Worship should start when the sun starts to descend

5. SandhyaKala Aradhana - Worship should start and finish around the sunset

6. Ardharatri Aradhana - Worship should start after the horizon is completely dark

Ø     All the Worship is done by Vaikhanasa Priests who are doing the Hereditary services for generations.

Ø      Only these priests have the right to touch and offer services to the Lord.

Ø     These set of Archakas are called Mirasidars means Owners & Share holders of the Temple.

Ø     The 4 families of the Tirumala Temple which are in this Mirasi is

• Gollapalli Family
• Peddintti Family
• Paidipalli Family
• Tirupathammagari Family 

 Festivals

Elephants marching during festival at Tirumala

Ø     The town celebrates most Vaishnava festivals including Vaikunta Ekadasi, Rama Navami and Janmashtami with great splendor.

Ø     While the Brahmotsavam celebrated every year during September is the most important festivals in Tirumala, when it receives millions of devotees over a short span of a week.

Ø     Other major festivals include Vasanthotsavam  conducted during March-April and Rathasapthami is another festival, celebrated during February, when Lord Venkateswara's deity is taken on procession around the temple chariots.

TEMPLE ARCHITECHTURE

Ø     The architechtural style in which the entire temple of tirupati – balaji has been built is termed as the dravidian style of architechture.

Dravidian Architecture

Introduction

Ø     Dravidian Architecture is an Architectural style of South India, which evolved around 6th century A.D. and developed for about 10 centuries.

Ø     This style has produced number of magnificient buildings. This growth had been patronised by various dynasties, that ruled this region.

Ø      Architectural Historian sub divide the period of Dravidian Architectural growth into

1. Pallava Period

2. Chola Period

3. Pandava Period

4. Vijayanagara Period

5. Nayakkar Period.

Ø     Pallava period provided us with several buildings to early stage of the development of this style.

Ø     Earliest ones are rock-cut temples. Later the temples carved in one stone and in the later stages, the constructed temples.

Ø      Pallavas introduced the technique of building in stone into Tamilnadu.

Ø     Period of Chola domination was the golden age for Dravidian Architecture.

Ø     Under the rule of great kings Rajaraja and his son Rajendra Chola, arhitectural activities got unprecedented royal patronage and the temples built during this period include large ones such as Great Temple of Thanjavur.