Architectural Wonders of India

Somnath Temple, Gujarat The Somnath temple located in Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat, India is believed to be the first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. It is an important pilgrimage and tourist spot of Gujarat. reconstructed several times in the past after repeated destruction by several Muslim invaders and rulers, the present mandir was reconstructed in the Chalukya style of Hindu temple architecture and completed in May 1951. The reconstruction was started under the orders of the Home Minister of India Vallabhbhai Patel and completed after his death. Presently the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi is the chairman of Somnath Mandir trust. This temple, as per the history, was destructed as many as 17 times. Mahmud Ghazini invaded the temple, broke the Shivling and stole 20 million dinars  HISTORY OF SOMNATH TEMPLE  It is believed that the Moon (Chandra) got cursed by his father-in-law, Daksh. To Daksh cursed him that he would lose...

Stambheshwar Mahadev, Gujarat Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple is the disappearing temple which is situated about 40 miles from Vadodara in the small town of Kavi Kamboi of Gujarat.  This Lord Shiva temple was found around 150 years ago. The specialty of this ancient temple is it’s location close to Vadodara in Gujarat, the Stambheshwar Mahadev temple shares shores with the Arabian Sea. Lord Shiva resides here, and blesses those who dare to venture into it. It is one of the most famous temples in India. situated in Kavi Kamboi, Gujarat, this 150 year old Shiva Shrine is flanked by the Arabian Sea on one side and the Bay of Cambay on the other. According to Kumarika khand in Skanda Purana, this Shivling was established by Bhagwan Kartik after he killed Tarkasur.   MYSTERY OF THIS TEMPLE The only weird thing about this temple is that it can be visited only during hours of low tides. In hours of high tides, the temple is swallowed up completely by the sea, and it reappears hou...

Amarnath Temple, Jammu and Kashmir Amarnath cave is a Hindu shrine located in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,756 ft), about 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir and reached through Pahalgam town. The shrine forms an important part of Hinduism, and is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave is surrounded by snowy mountains. The cave itself is covered with snow most of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for pilgrims. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu and other devotees make an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave across challenging mountainous terrain. The Amarnath temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, temples throughout South Asia that commemorate the location of fallen body parts of the Hindu deity  Sati . HISTORY OF AMARNATH TEMPLE According to legend,...

Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand Kedarnath Temple is a Hindu temple (shrine) dedicated to Shiva. Located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river, Kedarnath is located in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Due to extreme weather conditio ns, the temple is open to the general public only between the months of April (Akshaya Tritiya) and November (Kartik Purnima, the autumn full moon). During the winters, the vigraha (deity) from Kedarnath temple is carried down to Ukhimath and where the deity is worshiped for the next six months. Kedarnath is seen as a homogenous form of Shiva, the 'Lord of Kedarkhand', the historical name of the region. FACTS ABOUT KEDARNATH TEMPLE Fact-1 The Creation of Kedarnath Legend says that when Nar and Narayana-the two incarnations of Lord Vishnu performed a severe act of austerity in the Badrikashraya of Bharat Khand, they worshipped a Shivalingam which emerged out of the Earth beautifully. This in turn pleased Lord Shiva who then appeared be...

Jagannath Temple, Orissa The  Shree Jagannath Temple  is an important  Hindu temple  dedicated to  Jagannath , A form of  Vishnu , in  Puri  in the state of  Odisha  on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by King  Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva , first of the  Eastern Ganga dynasty. THE SPECIALITY OF THIS TEMPLE - 1.) Defying Nature's Code of Conduct Even a child knows any piece of cloth is dominated by the wind to fly according to its course. The same principle has numerous applications; from the giant sails on your ship to a small flag in your hand all follow the same code. But it looks like the flag mounted on the top of the Jagannath Temple is a unique exception to the principle. This particular flag flows in the opposite direction to the wind's course without any scientific background to back it up. 2.) The Climb Every day a pri...

Konark Sun temple, Orissa   Konark Sun Temple (Konark Surya Mandir) is a medium town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometers from the capital of the state, Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple, also known as the Black Pagoda, built in black granite during the reign of Narasimhadeva-I. The name Konark comes from the combination of the Sanskrit words Kona (corner or angle) and Ark (the sun), in reference to the temple which was dedicated to the Sun God, Surya. The Uniqueness of the Sun Temple at Konark lies in the fact that it was built using the concept of magnets. The peak of the temple was said to be a giant 52 ton magnet. A massive magnet was placed at the temple top and each two stones of the temple are inserting by iron plates.  The statue of the Sun inside the temple was said to be floating free in air based on the unique arrangements of the main magnet and the reinforced magnets ar...