The Ram Raja Temple in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India.

The Ram Raja Temple in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India.

This is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage and receives devotees in large numbers regularly and is also commonly known as Orchha Temple. The annual domestic tourist number is around 650,000 and the foreign tourist number is around 25,000. The daily number of visitors to the temple range from 1500 to 3000 and on certain important Hindu festivals like the Makar Sankranti, Vasant Panchami, Shivratri, Ram Navami, Kartik Purnima and Vivaha Panchami the number of devotees who throng to Orchha range in thousands. In India this is the only temple where Lord Ram is worshiped as a king and that too in a palace. A Guard of Honour is held everyday, police personnel have been designated as Guards at the temple, much in the manner of a king The food and other amenities provided to the deity at the temple are a royal repast. Armed salutation is provided to Lord Ram every day.

In the temple Raja Ram is accompanied by Sita (on the left), brother Laxman (on the right), Maharaj Sugreev and Narsingh Bhagwan (on the right). Durga Maa is also present in the darbaar on the right side. Hanumaan ji and Jamwant ji are praying just below Sita. The speciality of this temple is that Lord Ram has a sword in his right hand and a shield in the other. Shri Ram is sitting in Padmasan, with the left leg crossed over the right thight

The story of Ram Raja Temple according to many local people goes like this: The King of Orchha Madhukar Shah Ju Dev (1554 to 1592) (मधुकर शाह जू देव) was a devotee of Banke Bhihari (Lord Krishna) of Brindavan while his wife Queen Ganesh Kunwari (गणेश कुंवरि), also called Kamla Devi, was a devotee of Lord Ram. One day the King and the Queen (गणेश कुंवरि) went to Lord Krishna’s temple but the temple had closed by that time. The queen urged the king to go back but the king wanted to stay. So both the king and queen decided to stay back. They joined a group of devotees who were singing and dancing in praise of Lord Krishna outside the temple. The king and queen also joined in the prayers and started to sing and dance. It is believed that Lord Krishna and Radha personified and danced with them and golden flowers were showered from the heavens at that moment.

After that incident the king asked the queen to accompany him to Braj-Mathura the land of Lord Krishna, but the queen wanted to go to Ayodhya. The king got annoyed and told the queen to stop praying child form of lord Ram and accompany him to Braj. But the queen was adamant, after which the king said that “You keep praying to Ram but Ram never appears in front of us, unlike Lord Krishna who danced with us along with Radha the other day. If you are so adamant to go to Ayodhya then go, but return only when you have the child form of Ram with you. Only then will I accept your true devotion.” The queen took a vow that she would go to Ayodhya and return with the child form of Ram or else she would drown herself in Ayodhya's Sarayu river. The queen left the palace and started the long journey to Ayodhya on foot to bring Lord Ram with her to Orchha. She didn’t tell the King before leaving that she had ordered her servants to start building a temple (Chaturbhuj Temple) when she brings Lord Ram with her.

On reaching Ayodhya, the Queen started praying to Lord Ram close to Laxman Fort near Sarayu river. She ate only fruits, then she gave up fruits and ate only leaves, and eventually she gave up all food. The Queen fasted and prayed for about a month but Lord Ram did not appear, so eventually in despair, she jumped into the river at midnight. Just then something magical happened and Lord Ram appeared in child form in the Queen’s lap.

Lord Ram told the queen that he was happy with her prayers and she could ask for a boon, at which the queen asked Ram to come with her in child form to Orchha. Ram agreed to go but he put forth three conditions: “I will travel only in Pukh Nakshatra. When Pukh Nakshatra will end I will stop and resume only when Pukh Nakshatra sets in again. In this manner I will travel from Ayodhya to Orchha on foot along with a group of sages. Secondly, once I reach Orchha, I will be the King of Orchha and not your husband. Thirdly, (since the child form of Ram would travel in the queen’s lap), the first place you seat me will be my final place of stay and will be famous by the name of Ramraj." The Queen agreed and started her journey to Orchha with baby Ram in her lap. Since the queen travelled only in Pukh Nakshtra it took 8 months and 27 days for the queen to reach Orchha from Ayodhya on foot (between 1574 to 1575).

King Madhukar Shah meanwhile had a dream where Lord Banke Bihari scolded him on discriminating between Lord Ram and himself. Lord Banke Bihari reminded the King that Lord Ram and he are one and the same, there is no difference. King was very apologetic when he woke up and found out that the queen was returning from Ayodhya. The King went to receiver the queen with horses, elephants, servants, food, etc. and apologized to the queen. The queen did not accept king’s apology and refused the comforts offered to her by the King. The Queen claimed that she now possessed everything one could ever ask for (Lord Ram in child form). On returning to Orchha, the queen went back to her palace with baby Ram and retired in her room for the night, only to take Lord Ram to the Chaturbhuj Temple the next day. But according to Lord Ram’s conditions he took the first place where he was seated, hence Lord Ram transformed into an idol and got transfixed in the queen's palace itself. To this day the Ram Raja Temple is in the queen's palace (Ranivaas or Rani Mahal) and not in the Chaturbhuj Temple (Orchha) which is right next to the palace. Originally, lord Ram was standing position and the queen was serving Him 3–4 hours everyday in standing position and used to get tired. Lord Rama requested to serve Him siting only but queen replied that Your Lordship is standing then how she can sit . The deity of Lord Rama sat down on hearing this from queen (source Bhaktmal by Nabhadasji Maharaj) . Additionally, as promised by the queen, Lord Ram is the King (Raja) of Orchha, hence the name Ram Raja Temple.

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Kabilar Kundru Tamil Nadu, India.

Kabilar Kundru

Kabilar Kundru or Kabilar rock is a hill rock in the middle of the Ponnaiyar River near Tirukoilur in Viluppuram district, Tamil Nadu, India.

It is known for Tamil poet Kapilar did Vadakirrutal (fast unto death) here, after his friend Vēl Pāri killed in a battle. It is one of the protected monuments in Tamil Nadu by the Archaeological Survey of India.

East of the Tirukoilur has the Siva Temple situated on the banks of River Pennar. Near to the temple on the banks of the river, there exists Kabilar(Saint) Kundru (tiny mountain).

Tirukoilur is one of the "Ashta Veeratanams" [Ashta - eight Veeratanam - Place of Bravery].

Lord Shiva took various forms(incarnations) to destroy evil and establish justice, of which eight Avatars(forms) are very famous and Tirukoilur is one of them.

Kapilar was refliterature Sangam poet. He was a contemporary of Karikala Chola, Irunkōvēl and Vēl Pāri. He was the close friend and confidant of Vēl Pāri, one of the Vēlir kings. He was born in Thiruvadhavur in the Pandyan Kingdom. Initially a poet at the Pandyan court, he would leave at an early age and show his talent at various places before finally ending up at the court of Vel Pari.Kapilar would hear about the generosity and virtue of Vēl Pāri, a powerful Vēlir King who ruled over Parambu nādu, a heavily fortified kingdom that comprised about 300 villages, and pay him a visit. They would go on to become the thickest of friends. He would be his confidant and stay with Vēl Pāri until the latter's last breath.

During this period the three crowned Tamil kings were in the process of expanding their empires and turned the independent Velir chiefs into sub-ordinates or eliminated them. When the three crowned Kings besiege the kingdom of Parambu, Vēl Pāri a warrior like no other will refuse to bow and face them head on. Kapilar would sing some of the most notable poems in praise of his patron during this time. In the end, Vēl Pāri would finally be killed by treachery after defying them for years.

Kapilar, a true friend, would then take the two daughters (Angavai & Sangavai) of Vēl Pāri and go in search of appropriate grooms. He would knock on the doors of the other Vēlir kings and unsuccessfully plead with each before finally giving up. He would be let down each time as the other Vēls would fear retribution from the 3 crowned kings. The most notable of these encounters is when he sings to Irunkōvēl and the latter would throw an insult and shut the door on the great poet. He would finally leave the two princesses in the care of Brahmins.

The death of his friend will affect him so greatly that he would perform vadakirrutal, one of the Tamil acts of committing suicide. He would sit facing north and starve himself to death. The place where kabilar committed suicide by starving is now called as Kabilar Kundru.

It is one of the protected monuments in Tamil Nadu by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Amrutesvara temple Karnataka state, India.

Scene from the Ramayana sculpted on the Wall of Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura 67 km north of Chikmagalur town in the Chikkamagaluru district of the Karnataka state, India.
 

Meenakshi Amman ,Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Tiru-aalavaai and Meenakshi Amman Kovil,Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

An amazing temple in India.
Meenakshi Amman Temple (also called: Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Tiru-aalavaai and Meenakshi Amman Kovil) is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River] in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2,500 year old city of Madurai and is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature though the present structure was built between 1623 and 1655 CE. It houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers), ranging from 45–50m in height. The tallest is the southern tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high, and two golden sculptured vimanas, the shrines over the garbhagrihas (sanctums) of the main deities. The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 on Fridays, and receives an annual revenue of sixty millionINR. There are an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple.

Meenakshi (IAST Mīnākṣī Tamil மீனாட்சி) is an avatar of the Hindu goddess Parvati - the consort of Shiva, one of the few Hindu female deities to have a major temple devoted to her. The name "Mīnachchi" means fish-eyed and is derived from the words "mīna" meaning fish and "akṣi" meaning eyes. The lady goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple, not Sundareswarar, unlike most Shiva temples in South India where Shiva is the principal deity. According to Hindu legend, in order to answer the prayers of the second Pandya king Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai, Parvati appeared out of the holy fire of the Putra Kameshti Yagna (sacrifice for childhood) performed by the king. According to another legend, the goddess herself gave notice to Kanchanamalai in one of her previous births that Kanchanamalai would have the privilege of mothering the goddess. The happy king named the girl "Tadaatagai" and as the heir to the throne, Tadaatagai was trained carefully in all the 64 sastras, the fields of science.
The Meenakshi temple is believed to have been founded by Indra (king of Deva celestial deities) while he was on a pilgrimage to atone for his misdeeds. He felt his burden lifting as he neared the swayambu lingam (self formed lingam, a representation of Shiva used for worship in temples) of Madurai. He ascribed this miracle to the lingam and constructed the temple to enshrine it. Indra worshipped Shiva, who caused golden lotuses to appear in the nearby pool. Tamil literature speaks of the temple over the last two millennia. Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Hindu saint of Saiva philosophy, mentioned this temple as early as the 7th century, and described the deity as Aalavai Iraivan. The temple is believed to have been sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in 1310 and all the ancient elements were destroyed.
The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by first Nayak king of Madurai, Viswanatha Nayak (1559–1600) under the supervision of Ariyanatha Mudaliar, the prime minister of the Nayak Dynasty and the founder of the Poligar System. The original design by Vishwanatha Nayak in 1560 was substantially expanded to the current structure during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak (1623–55). He took considerable interest in erecting many complexes inside the temple. His major contributions are the Vasantha Mandapam for celebrating vasanthorsavam (spring festival) and Kilikoondu Mandapam (corridor of parrots). The corridors of the temple tank and Meenatchi Nayakar Mandapam were built by Rani Mangammal.
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