Shrinathji Temple

Shrinathji temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to shrinathji in Nathdwara. It is a very important pilgrimage of vaishnavs. It is located 48 kilometres north-east of Udaipur city in Rajasthan. Shrinathji is the central presiding deity of Vaishnava known as pushti marg (the way of grace). It was established by shri vallabhacharya. Shrinathji is worshiped mainly by the Vaishnava’s of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Vitthal nathji, son of shri vallabhacharya institutionalised the worship of shrinathji in nathdwara. On account of the popularity of nathdwara is itself famous from the name of ‘shrinathji’.

Structure and design of the temple:

The temple has been designed in the lines of temple of nanda maharaja (Krishna’s father) in vrindavan. It is also known as nanda bhavan or nandalaya.

Structurally, a kalasha on the sikhara marks the top of the temple, on which seven flags are flown along with the sudharshana chakra. The seven flags represent the clothes of the seven sakhis of Krishna. The temple is also popular by the name of shrinathji ki haveli. The nathdwara temple has some subsidiary temples dedicated to deity madan mohan and naveet priya.

Image of shrinathji:

Shrinathji symbolizes a form of Krishna, when he lifted the govardhan hill with one arm raised. The image is in the form of a single black marble, when the lord is revealed with his left hand raised and his right hand at the waist with a large diamond placed beneath the lips. The idol is made up of marble stone with images of two cows, one lion, one snake, two peacocks and one parrot engraved on it.

Festivals and rituals at the temple:

Janmashtami is the most famous festivals celebrated in shrinathji temple. The deity is treated like a living image and is attended with daily normal functions like bathing, dressing, meals and resting. Since the deity is believed to be infant Krishna, according to that special care is taken. The main attractions are aartis and shringar i.e. the dressing and beautifying of the idol of shrinathji which changed several times a day. The formal prayers are done with diya, incense sticks, flowers, fruit and other offerings with local instruments and devotional songs of shrinathji.

Lotus temple

                                                        

Lotus temple is situated in New Delhi, India. It is also called as house of worship. It is a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as a mother temple of the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.

                                                               Worship

The lotus temple is open to all regardless religion. It emphasises the house of worship where is a gathering place of the people of all the religions, any of the religion can worship in the lotus temple. In the lotus temple prayers and the music are set by the choirs, no musical instrument can be played inside.

                                                             Structure

Lotus temple shares certain architecture elements, some of which are specified by the abdul baha, the son of the founder of the religion. Lotus temple is a nine-sided circular shape. Inspired by the lotus flower, the design is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad “petals” arranged in clusters of three to nine sides. There are the 9 doors which opens a central hall more than over 40 meters tall, it is capable of up to 2500 people. The surface of lotus temple is made of white marble. Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the lotus temple property comprises 26 acres. The major part of the funds needed to buy this land was donated by the ardishir rustampur of Hyderabad, who gave his entire life savings for this purpose in 1953.

                                                           Tourism

After its inauguration of the lotus temple, it attracted more than 50 million visitors all over the world. It has become the most visited buildings in the world. It welcomes 4 million visitors each year.

                                                            Awards

The temple has received wide range of attention professional architectural, fine art, religious, governmental.

·         1989- The temple received an award from the Maharashtra-India chapter of the American concrete institute for “excellence in a concrete structure”.

·         1994-The temple has given the outstanding achievement in its architecture.

·         2000-Globart academy in Austria, has presented its “global academy 2000” award to architect of the lotus temple.

Dwarkadhish Temple

                                                                 Dwarkadhish Mandir

The dwarkadhish temple is a Hindu temple which is dedicated to lord Krishna. He is worshipped here by the name of dwarkadish or king of dwarka.  It is situated in dwarka, Gujarat.  There is a main shrine which is of 5-storied building, supported by 72 pillars. It is also known as Jagat Mandir or Nija Mandir. It is believed to be 2500 years old. Shri vallabacharya and shri vitheleshnathji has created the guidelines and rituals of this temple. Presently the temple was built in 16^th century CE. The original temple was believed to have been built by the lord Krishna’s grandson, Vajranabha.

                                                                         

                                                                          History

The history of dwarkadhish in Gujarat is mentioned in the Mahabharat as the dwarka kingdom. It is situated on the banks of river Gomti. That city was submerged by the sea raging water 8 times, but the remains still exist.

                                                                

                                                                       Architecture

A temple was built by varababhji at the site around 400 BC. He is the great grandson of lord Krishna. Present structure was built during 16^th century in a typical chalukyan style of architecture. Its height is 51.8 mts. It is also known by Jagat Mandir. The nij shikhar which is the longest shikhar is where the deity of lord dwarkadish is placed.  The temple includes 60 carved pillars and various sculptures that depicts the guptas, pallavas and chavdas that ruled dwarka over the years. The entrance to the temple is from north, it is also known as moksha dwaar and towards the south is the swarg dwaar. The diety of lord dwarkadish is made of shiny black stone of 2.25 ft height.  The four hands of the lord carries a conch, wheel , a mace and a lotus, it is popularly known as ‘ shankh chakra gada padma chaturbhuj’.

                                                                 Temple specialities

·         The flag at the top of the temple shows the sun and moon.

·         The flag is changed from 5 times a day, but the symbol remains the same.

·         There are two styles of building a temple-

: Dwarkadish temple is built in shaiv style.

: bet-dwarka temple is built in vaishnav style.

                                                                       Features

·         The temple is a five-storey structure built on seventy-two pillars.

·         The temple is constructed of limestone which is still in pristine condition.

·         The jagat mandir has a tall tower and a hall of audience.