Dharma Sastha, populaly known as Lord Ayyapa is considered to be the Custodian of Dharma in Kali Yuga.
His Temple at Sabarimala attracts millions of pilgrims during the Makar Sankaranthi where a Divine Orb appears in the sky when the Arthi is performed .
Of the temples of Kerala for Ayyappa, the following temples were consecrated by Parashurama.
Lord Ayyappa.
Achan Koil,
Aryan Kavu and
Kulathu Puzha.
The following is a List of Ayyappa Temples in Kerala.
“The Hindu temple typically involves a multiple set of ideas.
The temple is generally oriented to face East, the auspicious direction where the sun rises to dispel darkness.
Rameswarm Temple Corridor
The temple design includes the archetypal image of a Cosmic Person spread out yogi-like, symmetrically filling the gridded space of the floor plan, his
navel in the center, and it includes the archetype of the cosmic mountain, between earth and heaven, of fertility, planets, city of the gods, deities, etc.).
One encounters these simultaneous archetypal themes and meanings conveyed (and hidden) in the semi-abstract forms in many Hindu temples.
There are rules of shape and proportion in the authoritative texts of Hindu tradition, the Agamas.
Vaasthu Purusha,Cosmic Man. The Vastupurusa pinned down on the ground by the gods12 The body of the Vastupurusa is supposed to be sensitive at a number of points called marmas. The well-being of the Vastupurusa assures the well-being of the building and, by implication, its owner. An important criterion for any building, therefore, is to avoid injury to the marmas located on the body of the Vastupurusa. To ensure that this is achieved, texts prohibit any direct construction upon the marmas themselves. The marmas are specifically said to lie at the intersection of major diagonals, seen as the veins (siras or nadis) of the purusa
Basics.
Selection of site.
Soil and location are examined by acarya and shilpi., The Bhupariksha.
Then the planning off Nagara/Grama nirmana. the layout of town, its size, breadth of different levels of streets, locations and sizes of facilities like water tanks are determined based on the size of town. There are different names for different sizes of towns, like grama, kheta, kharvata, durga, nagara.
Location of Brahma Sthana, the Location of the Temple in the town is decided.
Temple is usually in the center of village so that every one has easy access.
Grama Vinyasa is the name of the Process.
Then the size of temple is determined.
For this, size of the image of main deity is to be known, since the size of a temple is always a fixed multiple of the size of image of main Deity.
Then wood/metal/stone is selected for the image.
The icon has three parts, main icon (vigraha), pedestal (peetha) and platform (adhisthana or upa peetha).
The tests to determine quality of stone are prescribed by the Agamas.
There are three kinds of stone, male female and neuter.
When hit with an iron rod if the stone produces good sound and spark, it is male and should be used for the main icon.
If it produces sound but not spark it is female and should be used for pedestal.
If it produces neither, it is neuter and should be used for platform.
There are various standards for the relative proportions of image, gopura, prakara .
Salyodhara: Undesired things like bones are dug out.
Adyestaka: Laying down the first stone
Nirmana: Then foundation is laid and land is purified by sprinkling water. A pit is dug, water mixed with navaratnas, navadhanyas, navakhanijas is then put in and pit is filled. Then the temple is constructed.
Murdhestaka sthapana: Placing the top stone over the prakara, gopura etc. This again involves creating cavities filled with gems minerals seeds etc. and then the pinnacles are placed.
Garbhanyasa: A pot made of five metals (pancaloha kalasa sthapana) is installed at the place of main deity.
Sthapana: Then the main deity is installed.
Pratistha: The main deity is then charged with life/god-ness.
The Thirteen Procedures before Daily Worship.
Anujna: the priest takes permission from devotees and lord Ganesha to begin rituals
Mrit samgrahana: Collecting mud
Ankurarpana: Sowing seeds in pots of mud collected and waiting till they germinate
Rakshabandhana: The priest binds a holy thread on his hand to take up the assignment.
Punyahavacana: Purifying ritual for the place and invoking good omens
Grama santi: Worship for the good of village and to remove subtle undesired elements
Pravesa bali: Propitiation of various gods at different places in the temple, rakshoghna puja (to destroy asuric elements) and of specific gods like Kshetra palaka (devata ruling the town)
Vastu Santi: Pacifying puja for vastu (this happens twice and this is the second time)
Yagasala: Building the stage for homas, along with vedika.
Kalasasthapana: Installing kalasam
Samskara: Purifying the yaga sala
Kalasa puja, yagarambha: Woshipping the kalasa as god and propitiating deities through fire
Nayanonmeelana, Pratimadhivasa: Opening eyes of the god-image, installing it and giving it life.
Then specific worship is done to deity, as prescribed. For instance in the case of Siva, this is followed by Astabandhana and Kumbhabhisheka.
“prasada (Prasad) 1. an illumined ease and clarity.2. [food offered to a deity or to a spiritual teacher; this same food distributed to devotees as a blessing].”
Situated in Dantewada, south-west of Jagdalpur, at the confluence of the holy rivers Shankini and Dhankini,both the rivers have different colors,this six hundred year old temple is one of the ancient heritage sites of India and is a representation of the religio-socio-cultural history of the Bastar region. Little is known about this shrine to much of India. The vast temple complex today is truly a standing monument to centuries of history and tradition. With its rich architectural and sculptural wealth and its vibrant festival traditions, Danteshwari Mai temple serves as the most important spiritual center for the people of this region.
Dantewada Danteshwari
Temple of Danteshwari
Danteshwari,Faghun Mela
Fagun Mela is Special here.
Dasara is a very important festival here.
How To Reach.
Monday – Friday: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM , Saturday: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM , Sunday: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM , Public Holidays: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM
Devotees have to wear Dhoti before entering the Temple.
The Danteshwari Temple is situated at a distance of about 84 km from the city of Jagdalpur.
It is located in Dantewada, to the south-west of Jagdalpur, near Bastar Palace and Gole Bazaar and at the confluence of the holy Dhankini and Shankini rivers.
The Fires continue to burn without any Fuel being added.
Mughal Emperor Akbar visited this Temple to verify this.
How To Reach.
By Air: Gaggal airport, also known as Dharamsala airport, in Kangra valley is about 40 km away from Jwalamukhi. This airport connects domestic flights to Delhi. International travelers have to connect through Delhi Airport, which is about 450 km away from Dharamsala. Delhi Airport is connected to all major cities in India and abroad.
By Road: Regular bus services ply regularly from several cities to Jwalamukhi and Kangra. Private luxury buses are also available from Delhi and other north Indian cities.
By Rail: Nearest railway station is Kangra Mandir but all trains do not stop here. The nearest railhead is Pathankot, about 85 km away from Dharamsala. Pathankot is well connected to all major cities in India.
Temple Timings.
Timings – Opening & Closing:
Monday – Friday: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM ,
Saturday: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM ,
Sunday: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM ,
Public Holidays: 6.00 AM – 7.00 PM
The Legends:
One is known to all, that of Daksha Yaga and Sati immolating herself.
According to another legend, the Goddess appeared in a dream to a Brahmin in faraway South India, and directed him to proceed to the hills of Kangra in the shadow of the Dhauladhars and search for small tongues of flame leaping from the ground. The Brahmin, it is said responded discovered the sacred spot and in due course of time, erected a temple. Some people believe that Jwalamukhi represents the flaming mouth of Jalandhara, the demon whom Lord Shiva crushed to death by placing on him a huge mass of mountains.
Dhyanu Bhagat is well known devotee of Maa Durga. It is him who spread Devi Mata’s name. He lived at the time of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Dhyanu Bhagat was going to Jwalaji with a group of pilgrims. Akbar summoned him to his court to inquire into the nature of their Goddess. Dhyanu Bhagat told him She is all powerful and answers the prayers of Her devotees.
To test Her power Akbar cut off the head of Dhyanu’s horse ordering him to have the Goddess put it back. Dhyanu went to Maa Jwalaji and prayed day and night to no avail. Out of desperation he cut of his own head and offered it to Devi Maa. She then appeared to him riding a lion. She reconnected both his head and that of the horse. Devi Maa also offered Dhyanu Bhagat a boon. He requested that it should not be so difficult for pigrams to show their devotion. Mata said that in the future if someone offered a coconut she would accept it as if they had offered their own head. To this day people continue to offer coconuts to the Goddess in Her temples all over the world. After the knowing that the head of horse is reconnected, Akbar the great Mughal Emperor visited the temple. The water course which today drips into a tank in the temple premises is said to have been constructed by Akbar in an attempt to douse the jets of flames in the temple.
The story goes that when the flames refused to be vanquished by the water channel specially constructed for the purpose, Akbar with utmost humility, became a devotee of the Goddess, and overcome by emotion, presented a chattra (umbrella) of gold to the Goddess. But when leaving, the Emperor looked back with immense pride at the valuable gift that he had made to the Goddess, and was mortified to find that the gold had turned into copper! Later Akbar’s son Jahangir invaded the Kangra valley and after seeing Jwalamukhi, wrote in his Tuzk (memories) near the temple and on the slope of the hill there is a sulphur mine and its heat causes flames to continually burst forth. They call it Jwalamukhi(flaming face or fiery mouth), and regard it as one of the idol’s miracles. Jahangir goes on to relate the legend of Shiva and Parvati and other stories connected with Jwalamukhi.
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