The temples are so numerous that it is difficult to arrive at the total number of Temples in India.
Thiruvarur Thiagaraja temple by Night,Tamil Nadu.
(The government list of temples) is as follows:
Tamil Nadu—34,000 temples
Andhra Pradesh—43,000 temples
Karnataka—34, 000 temples
Kerala—28,000 Bagavathy temples (Travancore and Cochin Devaswam Board –TCDB-alone has 1800 temple)
(Four South Indian States alone total over 108,000 temples!!!)
Maharashtra—45,000 temples
Mathura Brindhavan area—5000 temples
Himachal Pradesh—over 2000 temples and sacred places
India has 29 States and seven Union Territories. all unified by One culture..
Along the banks of 1500 mile long Holy Ganges, thousands of sacred places! And along the 1500 mile long Himalayas every foot is considered sacred place. No need to mention about Badrinath, Kedarnath and Kailash.
Kanchipuram near Chennai alone has 108 temples. Madurai in Tamil Nadu has 50 temples.
On the banks of Cauvery we have innumerable temples built by the Tamil Kings,.
We have down south other temples by Hoysalas, Kakatiyas,
These do not include rock temples and village deity Temples.Chalukyas ,Nayakas….
Parashurama built 108 Shiva Temples.
In Kerala you find Bhagavathi Temple in every Village.
And we have modern temples, like Hare Krishna movement and in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka one can see virtually every street has a Temple in some form or the other.
In Tamil Nadu, every Peepal tree has a Vinayaga/Ganesha Idol.
I would venture to guess that there might be between 7 and 8 Lakh temples in India.
Some of them have been found are in a difficult terrain.
They have fascinating histories.
Patal Bhuvaneswar.Pithogarh.
One such is Pathala Bhuvaeswara temple, in Uttarkhand,India
Patal Bhuvaneswar Cave Entrance.
‘The first human to discover this cave was Raja Ritupurna who was a king in Surya Dynasty who was ruling Ayodhya during the Treta Yuga. The story starts with Ritupurna and King Nala. It is said that once, King Nala was defeated by his wife, Queen Damayanti. In order to escape his wife’s prison Nala requested Ritupurna to hide him. Ritupurna took him to the forests of the Himalayas and asked him to stay there. While going back home he was fascinated by a deer which ran into woods and went after it. He could not find it and took rest under a tree. He had a dream where the deer was asking Ritupurna not to chase him. His sleep broke and as he woke up and went to a cave where a guard was standing. After enquiring about the cave he was allowed to go inside. Right at the entrance, Ritupurna met Sheshnag who agreed to take him through the cave. It carried him on his hood. He saw the marvels of Gods taking place inside. He all the 33-crore gods and goddesses including Lord Shiva himself. It is said that after his visit, the cave was closed for ages with a slight prediction in the Skandpurana that it will be reopened again in Kaliyuga. Shankarcharya in Kalyug, during his temporary visit to Himalayas re-discovered this cave. Since then regular worship and offering are being done at this place.
Patal Bhuvaneswar Location Map.
According to belief King Rituparna of the Sun dynasty (Surya Vansha) discovered the cave in ‘Treta yug’. It has been described in the ‘MANAS KHAND’ of ‘SKAND PURAN’. Adi Shankaracharya visited this cave in 1191 AD. That was the beginning of the modern pilgrimage history, at Patal Bhuvaneshwar.[2] The journey inside the cave has to be carried in feeble lights, holding protective iron chains. The Stone formations of Sheshnag can be seen, holding earth, heaven the world beneath. ‘Havan’ (fire sacrifice) is performed in a dimly lit, solemn atmosphere, under the spell of holy chants. You’ll also be impressed by theto visit these parts form the celestial heights of His abode in Kailash.The cave, it is believed, is connected by an underground route to Mount Kailash.[3] it’s believed that Pandavas, the ‘Mahabharat’ heroes proceeded towards their last journey in the Himalayas after meditating here, in front of Lord Shiva.This hidden pilgrimage situated at 1,350mts above sea level is mainly dedicated to Lord Shiva.Almost every god that you would have heard of resides in this mystifying cave. It is also believed that you can worship at Patal Bhuvaneshwar is equivalent to worshipping at Char Dham of Uttarakhand.
The priest family, the Bhandaris are performing religious rites at Patal Bhuvaneshwar since the time of the Adi Shankaracharya. More than 20 generations in the line. They are a treasure house of legends, lores, anecdotes and information about this holy place. It is also believed that this cave is internally connected to the four abodes /seats (Char Dham)
“This awesome cave is believed to be as old as the earth itself. It has been mentioned in detail in the 103 chapter of Manaskhand of “Skanda Purana”. The first human who entered this cave was king “Rituparna” of Suraya Dynasty during the “Tretayuga”. It is said that during his visit, he had encountered several demons and “Sheshnaag” himself acted as his guide.One can see the gateway of the great ages in Patal Bhuvaneshwar. There are four entrances inside the cave named as ‘Randwar’ ‘Paapdwar’, ‘Dharamdwar’ and ‘Mokshadwar’. The Paapdwar was closed soon after the death of Ravana and the Randwar, literally, the road to war, was closed down after the great Mahabharata war. At present only two gateways are opened. You can see the tongue of Kali Bhairav, Aravati of Indra, hairs of Lord Shiva and several other wonders inside the caves of Patal Bhuvaneshwar.
How to reach Patal Bhuvaneswar.
The nearest airport to Patal Bhuvaneshwar is Pantnagar Airport. Pantnagar Airport is situated 244kms from Patal Bhuvaneshwar. Taxis are easily available to Patal Bhuvaneshwar from Pantnagar Airport. Patal Bhuvaneshwar is well connected by motorable roads with major towns of Kumaon.
By Train
The nearest railhead to Patal Bhuvaneshwar is Tanakpur situated at a distance of 154kms. Taxis and buses are easily available from Tanakpur Railway Station to Patal Bhuvaneshwar, Gangolighat, and Lohaghat etc. Tanakpur is well connected with major destinations of India like Lucknow, Delhi, Agra and Kolkata. Trains are frequent to Tanakpur Railway Station.
Patal Bhuvaneshwar is well connected by motorable roads with major destinations of Uttarakhand state. Buses from ISBT Anand Vihar are available to Tanakpur, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Lohaghat and many other destinations from where you can easily hire a local cab or bus to reach Patal Bhuvaneshwar.
Lord Rama, while He was in Dandkaranya discovered a Swayambhu(self-made) Shiva Linga in a Cave in Odisha.
This is the Gupeshwar Mahadev Temple, in a Cave.
The shrine is called “Gupteswar” which means the “Hidden God”. It is so named because it was lying hidden in the cave for a very long period. One can reach it by climbing the 200 steps flanked with rows of champak trees. The entrance of the cave is about 3 m wide and 2 m in height. There are also several other caves nearby. Inside the second cave there is a large stalactite. People worship it as the udder of God Kamadhenu (the divine cow) and wait under it with outstretched palms to collect drops of water which fall only at long intervals.
However, with the passing of time, the temple was abandoned. Later, in the last part of the 19th century, a hunter of the Ramgiri area found the lingam. Since then the lingam has been worshipped by the tribes of Koraput region. In Shivaratri (a Hindu festival) Gupteswar Temple draws over 200,000 devotees from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. People suffering from incurable diseases come here to worship the God and remain here for months in the hope of getting cured.
How to reach
Gupteshwar is 55 Km fromJeypore, Koraput District in the state of Odisha, India.
Gupeshwar Mahadev,Odisha
There is no direct public transport available to reach Gupteshwar, you have to hair a vehicle from Jeypore or from nearby places. Usually rugged vehicle or MUV are better choice for this hill road. Even though it is tar road but in several places ditches are there and in some places high slops are there.
Ater travelling 12 KM from Jeypore you will cross Patraput bridge, this is one of the picnic spot of Jeypore residents. After crossing the bridge within 1 KM distance you will reach a Y junction. Straight road will go to Boipariguda ( 9 KM ) and then Gupteshwar, left side road will take you to Lamtaput ( 22 KM ), Machakund ( 45 KM ), Jalaput ( 59 KM ), Vizag (198 KM).
These caves are in Satpura range in Madhya Pradesh at Pachmarhi.
Pachmarhi is a hill station and has other tourist attractions
Pandava CavesOne of the Caves of The Pandavas
Draupadi Kund
It is widely known as Satpura ki Rani (“Queen ofSatpura“), situated at a height of 1100 m in a valley of the Satpura Range in Hoshangabaddistrict. Dhupgarh, the highest point (1,350 m) in the central India region and the Vindhyaand Satpura range, is located here.
The Legend:
These caves were built by five Pandavabrothers of Mahabharatha era during their fourteen years of exile.
The caves are situated on a hilltop and provide an excellent vantage point.
How to Reach Pachmarhi.
Amongst these five caves, the most well ventilated and the spacious one is the ‘Draupadi Kuti’, named after Draupadi, the wife of the five Pandava brothers. The darkest of all the caves is the ‘Bhim Kothari’, named after the toughest of the five brothers – Bhima. All the five caves are hewed in a rough manner, which however do not mar their beauty or attraction. People visit the humble sanctuaries that relate their name with the Mahabharata, round the year.
Though Pandava caves proudly associate with Mahabharata, many archaeologists contradict the fact. They believe that these caves belong to the Gupta period (9th or 10th century AD) and even predict their construction by Buddhist monks. Traces of an ancient brick-built stupa have been unearthed on top of the caves, which dates back these caves to the Buddhist period. Archeologists believe the stupa is a remnant of the regime of King Ashoka.
Airport . Bhopal 144 Kms.
Railway Station. Bhopal.
Bus station.Bhopal,Chhindwara.
Buses start from Habibganj ISBT of Bhopal and generally take close to 5–6 hours to reach Pachmarhi.
Other Tourist spots in Pachmarhi and around.
Pachmarhi is blessed with very rich flora and fauna. It has endless nature spots, lush greenery, breath-taking views, waterfalls, mountain streams, rich and rare wildlife. Some of the popular spots are as follows
Dhupgarh
Highest point of Satpura ranges. It is known for sunrise and sunset view point. At night one can see the lights of the neighboring towns such as Itarsi. At the day time the view of the lush green valley offers a captivating view. One can reach the top either by road or by trekking.
Chauragarh
This the second highest peak. It is a pilgrimage site with Lord Siva’s temple at the top.
B-Hill and B-Falls
This is another hill very close to the township. On the hind side of this hill a big waterfall called B-fall. It is a popular picnic spot as it offers pristine water flowing down this fall.
PanarPani
Panarpani has a natural fresh water lake with forest around.
Sangam
This is a conflux of mountain streams behind Dhupgarh. The water in these streams is crystal clear in all seasons except of course autumn.
Jatashankar and Mahadeo caves
These are mountain caves with fresh water dripping from them. One can witness ecosystem at work out here with mountains feeding the streams with fresh water, the water that they soak-in during autumn. As the name suggests, these caves and many others like these are abode of lord Siva.
Silver Falls
Also called Rajat Prapat/Big Fall. The falls comes 2800+ feet roaring down the gorge creating a sliver streak that gives its name. The view of dense, serene, virgin forest and stream is simply mesmerizing.
Apsara Vihar
This is a mountain stream that creates a beautiful natural water pool, cascades and waterfall in its a course.
Other waterfalls
Pachmarhi’s ecosystem is blessed with many waterfalls. To name a few are Silver Fall, B-Fall, Little Fall, Duchess Fall etc.
Rich Biosphere
One would love to get lost in the forests of Pachmarhi, particularly in the summer, as it is full of fruit trees such as – mangoes, jamun, custard fruit and lesser known but very delicious local fruits such khatua, tendu, chunna, khinni and chaar. The forest is also known for its richness in medicinal plants and herbs.
Wildlife
The jungle has tigers, panthers, bear, deer, bison, wide variety of birds etc. Tigers have retreated deeper in the forest though.
Thiruvarur Thiagaraja temple by Night,Tamil Nadu.
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