Temples dedicated to male Gods bear the aroma of dominant hegemony of male gods. Hanuman Temples in India of India are the anchors to the bandwagon. Lord Hanuman Temples in India regarded as the symbol of bravery, loyalty and courage in the Hindu mythology.
Lord Hanuman Temples in India are numerous and plenty. Lord Hanuman is well-known for his bravery, power, selfless service, courage, devotion and loyalty. He is a great devotee of Lord Rama. He is the symbol of devotion, knowledge, valour, strength, courage, and humility and stanch dedication to virtue or justice. He is omnipresent, and can be available just by chanting the name Ram.
Hanuman, the Monkey God, is also a noble hero in Hinduism. There is a number of Hanuman Temples in India where the deity of this God is worshipped. This deity is a provider of courage, hope, knowledge, intellect and devotion. He is pictured as a robust monkey holding a mace or gada that is a sign of bravery and having a picture of Lord Rama tattooed on his chest, which is a sign of his devotion to Lord Rama. He is called as Mahaveera or the great hero and Pavan-suta or son of air. He is also called as Bajarangbali.
Shiva Temples in India
Shiva temples in India are the major places of attractions for pilgrims coming from different corners of the country. Lord Shiva is considered to be one of the most significant Hindu pantheons. There are several temples in India which are devoted to the Lord Shiva. The Lord is considered to be very kind and he is famous for obliging his devotees and therefore, he is also called as Bhole Shankar. The Indian Shiva temples also display a remarkable architectural design and thus attract a large number worshippers as well as tourists.
One of the most prominent Shiva temples in India is the Kashi Vishwanath temple situated in the oldest existing city in the world, Varanasi. The word `Kashi` is derived from the word `Kas`; the meaning of which is to shine. There is repetitive mention of the word Kashi in the scriptures like the Upanishads, Brahmanas and the Puranas. The oldest center of learning in India is Kashi and its University is famous even today for its Philosophy, Sanskrit and Arts faculties. In the 7th century, the Chinese traveler by the name of Hyuen Tsang visited Varanasi. Filled abundantly with mythological legacy and tradition, Kashi is believed to be the original ground formed by Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi is devoted to the Lord Shiva. The temple was destroyed due to several invasions in the past and it was again reconstructed by Rani Ahilyabai of Indore in the year 1776. The Kashi Vishwanath temple is a living example of Indian spiritual values, tradition and culture. This temple in Varanasi is a witness to the visit of several renowned saints like Ramkrishna Paramhansa, Adi Shankaracharya, Goswami Tulsidas, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Guru Nanak and a number of other renowned spiritual personalities.
Vishnu Temples in India with their religiosity and serenity bring out the age-old concept of Vaishnavism. Lord Vishnu is the preserver God of the trinity or trimurti, has four hands. Reckoned as the preserver of the universe Vishnu is basically the eternal, unchangeable and immutable illustrating the very traditional concept of Hinduism `Omnipresence of the Omnipotent`.
Lord Vishnu`s preserving and protecting powers have been evidenced to the world in a variety of forms, called Avatars. Numbers of temples are there in India to offer puja to Lord Vishnu in His varied form. Some of the important Lord Vishnu temples in India are:
Thousand Pillar Temple situated in Warangle, Lakshmi Narayan Temple in New Delhi, Cave Temple at Badami. Guruvayoor Temple at Trichur, Tirubhalla Temple at Alapuzha, Badrinath Temple in Badrinath, Vithala Temples in Hampi, Sri Mahalasa Temple at Mangueshu, Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Chamba, Deogarh Temple in Gwalior, Thirunavaya Temple in Malappuram, Thirunelli Temple in Wayanad, Ananta Vasudeva Temple in Bhubaneshwar, Sas Bahu Temple in Udaipur, Ulahalanda Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram, Parthasarathy Temple in Chennai, Varadaraja Temple in Chennai, Ananthapura Lake Temple in Kasaragod, Ranchhodraiji Dakor in Ahmedabad, Hayagriva Temple in Guwahati, Ananthasana Temple in Udupi, Keerthinarayana Temple in Mysore, Jagan Mohini Keshava Swami Temple in Rajahmundry, Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kubara Perumal Temple in Tiruvannamalai.
Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and the god of transitions, is generally installed at the entrance way of several Hindu temples. This is done to prevent the undeserving from entering, which is similar to his role as the doorkeeper of Goddess Parvati. The Ashtavinayaks temple in Maharashtra is perhaps the most well known temples of Ganesha. It contains 8 separate shrines, namely Ranjangaon, Ozar, Lenyadri, Theur, Mahad, Pali, Siddhatek and Morgaon. Lord Ganesha, also known as Ganapati, Pillaiyar and Vinayaka, is one of the most popular Hindu Gods, who is widely venerated throughout the world. He is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He is extensively worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains as well
There are various other sacred temples of Ganesha through the country. Some of the most visited temples are situated at Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; Valsad, Dholaka and Baroda in Gujarat; Baidyanath in Bihar; Raipur (Pali), Nagaur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; and Wai in Maharashtra.
The important temples of Lord Ganesha in southern India are established in Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh; Idagunji and Hampi in Karnataka; Pazhavangadi, Malliyur, Kasargod and Kottarakara in Kerala; Suchindram and Rameshvaram; Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukesvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli and the Karpaka Vinayakar Temple in Tamil Nadu.
Sun Temples in India are even plenty in number and point towards the religiosity of Indian mass towards the Sun God. Vedic scriptures of the Hindu religion depict the sun as the store house of inexhaustible power and radiance. The Vedas include hymns describing the celestial body as the source and sustainer of all life on earth. The origin of the worship of the Sun in India is thus several centuries old.
Even Puranas are incessantly imbued with references to Sun God. The Ramayana speaks of Sage Agastya initiating Lord Rama into sun worship through the Aditya Hridaya Mantra. The astronomer and astrologer Varahamirhira makes references to the intricacies of ceremonies connected with the installation of the icon of the Sun. It is also said that Iran was once a center of solar worship and that some of the Magha priests of Iran had been brought to India to officiate in ceremonies.
Several temples enshrining the Sun God as the principal deity is but a common scene. Several temples dedicated to Shiva, feature a small shrine for Surya the Sun God. In addition, it is believed that Surya, the Sun God has offered worship at several of the shrines in Tamil Nadu; many of these shrines have been designed in such a way that the sun`s rays illuminate the sanctum (of Shiva) on certain days of the year. Several of the South Indian Temple Tanks also bear the name Surya Theertham or Surya Pushkarini.
Dakshinaarka temple at Gaya, Bihar, The Bhramanya Dev Temple at Unao in Madhya Pradesh, Sun Temple at Surya Pahar in Assam, Suryanaar Temple near Kumbhakonam in Tamil nadu, The Sun Temple at Konark, Orissa, are some of the Sun Temples of India.
