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Hindu Religious Centers
In Rajasthan
Of the literally thousands of temples, a
few have come to be known as major
pilgrimage centres, and include the
following:
Brahma Temple, Pushkar: Though he may
have no other temple sacred to his memory,
Brahama seems to have take full advantage of
the only one where prayers are offered to
him. Not only did he perform a yagya or
ritual fire ceremony here, he also dropped a
lotus from his hands to create the lake
where people bathe before offering him
prayers. A silver turtle at the entrance of
the marble temple is a symbol of his means
of transport (the gods had various animals
on which they moved along their heavenly
paths).
Pushkar is best known for its Brahma temple,
though it is by no means the only temple
here, with as many as four hundred temples
lining the banks of the lake. Spires form a
skyline that, when the vesper bells ring,
are worthy of the kingdom of haaven itself.
Though it is visited throughout the year,
Pushkar in November, during the time of its
annual fair, is a colourful mass of people
and celebrations coinciding with the largest
camel fair held in the world.
Eklingji Temple, Udaipur: The founder
of the Mewar dynasty that ruled from
Chittaurgarh, Bappa Rawal had a miraculous
dream in which he prayed before an image of
Shiva which resulted in the removal of
problem that had been troubling him in his
waking hours. He resolved then to build a
temple to Shiva, and so the complex had its
genesis, 24 km north of Udaipur. Edlingji,
this particular manifestation of Shiva, has
ever since been regarded as the true ruler
of the kingdom in whose name the maharanas
governed Mewar, and has been the tutelary
deity of the Sisodia clan.
Eklingji consists of a complex of 108
temples, coinciding with the number of beads
in the rudraksh necklace that sadhus use for
meditation. The temple dedicated to Eklingji
is the tallest of them all, its black stone
idol a representation of the linga with four
faces that have four images in the cardinal
directions of Surya, Brahma, Vishnu and
Rudra. The complex also has a life-size
image of Bappa Rawal, and its numerous
temples have carved images of Ganesh,
Ambamata, Kalika, as well as other
Shivalings, and brackets with images of
celestial nymphs.
Govind Devji Temple, Jaipur: The
family temple for the Kachchwahas of Jaipur,
and open to the public, the idols in the
temple, brought here from Vrindavan, are
believed to have been carved by Vajranath,
one of the freatest sculptors of the time,
and grandson of Krishna. No wonder, the
Krishna image has such a bewitching
countenance.
The temple was consecrated as part of the
City palace complex by Sawai Jai Singh II. A
simple temple, with an open pavilion
surrounded by columns, and with a tiered
courtyard, obeisance and ritual worship at
the temple is deemed high on the scale of
merit. Mounted on a silver throne, and
ornamented with gold jewellery, the idols
are particularly venerated during
janamashatmi, the monsoon celebrations
coinciding with Krishna's birth anniversary.
Shrinathji Temple, Nathdwara: A
Krishna temple with an image carved from a
single block of black marble, Nathdwara has
a history that is only a few centuries ago.
Faced by Aurangzeb's persecution, Goswami
Dev carried this particular idol from
Mathura in a chariot seeking to bring it to
Udaipur. However, a wheel of the chariot got
stuck in the sand and toil as they would,
the people could not pull it out. Seeing it
as an act of divine will, it was decided
that the image of the lord would be
consecrated on the very spot, and so the
temple of Shrinathji came to be.
At the temple, glimpses of the idol are
permitted for short intervals at fixed times
of the day, and it is believed that the
faithful see him in different moods
associated with his life. The curtain cloths
behind the idol have also given rise to one
of the better known are forms of Rajasthan,
its famous cloth paintings or pichwais. The
ruling house of Udaipur has always come to
pray at the temple, and as the head of his
clan, it is not surprising that the maharana
is also popularly known as Shriji among his
people. Nathdwara is 48 km from Udaipur.
Amber's Kali Temple: A 16th century
temple dedicated to the goddess, it has
exquisite silver doors. Also in Amber are a
number of other Shiva temples.
Bijolia and Menal: Located on the
Kota-Chittaurgarh highway, these are Shive
temples dating back to the 10th century, and
have carved images of Shiva, Parvati and
Nandi that are particularly note worthy for
their craftsmanship.
Galtaji: Rising sharply from a deep
gorge are hills where the medieval Hanuman
temple, popularly known as Galtaji, has a
mass following.
Kaila Devi: This hilltop timple has a
following throughout Rajasthan, and is 24 km
from Karauli. It becomes a point of
pilgrimage in the months of Chaitra
(March-April) and Ashadha
(September-October).
Kolayat: An ancient pilgrimage spot
associated with the great sage Kapil Muni,
it is 50 km from Bikaner, and has a number
of temples around the ghats of the lake.
Osian: Off the Jodhpur-Bikaner
highway, and 65 km from Jodhpur, this was
once a major centre of pilgrimage both for
Hindus and Jains. The remaining temples are
like a cathedral to their grand faith in the
medieval ages.
Ranthambhor's Ganesh temple: Famous
as a tiger reserve, the fort within the
sanctuary has a Ganesh temple that has a
large following among the people of
Rajasthan. |
