Guruvayur Temple

Guruvayur Temple is located in Kerala. The main deity of this temple is Lord Vishnu is in the form of Lord Krishna here in this temple and it is one of the famous five Krishna temples. Guruvayur is also known as “Bhuloka Vaikunta”. The Guruvayur is also said be called as Guruvayur Appan. The statue of the Lord is made up of stone in black antimony which is considered as magnetic stone and also treated for making special medicine. The abhishekam on every morning is done with sesame oil and with special herbs to Lord Guruvayur and devotees used to visit this temple early in the morning and drunk the abhishekam water which has some special effect as it is received touching the magnetic stone of the body of Lord Guruvayur. The temple has a pond where Lord Shiva and his family worshipped Lord Vishnu there the pond came to be known as “Rudratheertham”. The important religious festivals celebrated in this temple are Mandala pooja, Thiruvonam, Saraswathy pooja, Samkramam and Ashtami/Rohini. The other auspicious festivals are Ekadasi, navaratri, Sivaratri, and Thiruvathira. The temple has strict dress code for the devotees who visit this temple the men should wear Mundu around their waist without covering their chest and women should wear only sari or salwar kameez no other dress code is entertained in this temple. The temple prasadam Sandal powder is very popular as you can see all the priest and malayalee having this on their forehead. The devotees of Lord Guruvayur are blessed with all success and prosperity in life.

Kasi Vishwanath Temple

Kasi Vishwanath Temple is located in Varanasi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The main deity of this temple is Lord Shiva Known as Vishwanath who is the ruler of the universe. The temple is one of the oldest temples and considered to be a sacred place to visit at least once in life time. The temple is also one of the Shakti Peetas. Kasi temple is situated near the river Ganga which is said to be the holy river. It is believed that person once visited this temple and have bath in the holy river of Ganga will attain the state of Moksha the person after death will be taken directly to heaven and their sins will be washed away from the gracefulness of Lord Shiva. Another tradition said in this temple is the person visiting this temple one has to leave one of their desires after worship of Lord Kasi Vishwanath. The devotees of this temple carry a sample of sand and holy water from Ganges to Rameshwaram to spread the holiness and popularity. The auspicious festivals celebrated in this temple are Mahasivaratri, Ekadeshi, Makar Shakranti, Shrawaan maah, Annakoot and also Akshaya tritiya. The priest of the temple will conduct poojas and special darshan are there for the devotees, they have 5 aarti to the Lord Shiva performed in this temple. There are also many number of Visitors in India as well as abroad and many donators who contribute for welfare and development of the temple. The person who has problems in marriage, child birth , getting job, etc can visit the temple to get relieved from his problem and the theertham which is considered as holy prasadam to be kept at home one can reduce his sins and by worshiping Lord Shiva in order to get all goodness throughout the life.

Sabarimala Ayyapan Temple

Sabarimala is the place famous for Lord Ayyapan. Many devotees from all over the world come here every year to have a holy darshan. In order to have a holy darshan one need perform fasting by not eating non-veg, no smoking or drinking, no tobacco and should not engage in sexual activities for one mandalam (period of 41 days). During this period devotes should wear sacred mala like Tulasi mala and should visit local temples daily. It is advised not to wear slippers/shoes. Devotees should take head bath twice a day and should sleep in floor only and not on beds. When devotees start their holy journey they form groups and have their irumudi tied in any temple. Some devotees go to several temples and then go to sabarimalai. Devotees should have a holy bath in Pamba River and then start to walk to the top of the hill and when they finally reach at the top devotees with irumudi are only allowed to walk in holy 18 steps as they signify various specialties then you can have the holy darshan. After having the holy darshan the guru samy in the devotees group will open the irumudi bag and separate various items in the bag and then the devotees will hand over them to devasthanam stalls. Early in the morning the collected ghee from irumudi is sent for abhishekam. They will get the holy abhishekam ghee after performing the holy activity and the devotees distribute them equally and take them as holy prasadam. After returning from temple devotees should go to temple and remove the holy tulasi mala.  

Padmavathi Thaiyar Temple

Alamelu Mangapuram temple is located 5 kms from tirupati. Sri Padmavathi Thaiyar is the main goddess in this temple. She is called Thaiyar means mother. Devotees come all over the world to this temple to have a holy darshan. It is said that devotees reach this temple first and ask their wishes to her first then move to lord venkateshwara’s temple for making their wishes come true, this is done because when we need something from our parents we first approach to our mom and then she would convince our dad. Likewise when we wish to padmavathi thaiyar she will convey to Lord Venkateshwara and make things come true. In this temple they give annadhanam for the devotees daily. To have holy darshan one can see her free or devotees can purchase tickets which will make easier to have holy darshan more quickly. After having the holy darshan davastanam will give kungumam and give prasadam like sambar rice, etc… in this temple you can get laddu which is bit different from Lord Venkateshwarar.      

Periyapalayam Temple

Periyapalayam is located in Chennai and this temple is popularly known as “Bhavani Amman Temple”. The main deity of this temple is Goddess Bhisavani Amman. The temple is very famous in the month of Aadi and Avani as these two Tamil months are dedicated to this Bhavani Amman. More than thousand of devotees used to visit this temple in these auspicious months and it is also mostly attracted by more number of families on a daily basis in weekends. The Sunday and Friday are the two powerful days in this temple as special poojas are performed by the priest in the temple to periyapalayam Amman. The specialty of this temple if the person affected with chickenpox is said to be cured if they apply neem leaves to their body which is considered to be holy for the Goddess Periyapalyam Amman. The person after getting cured from the diseases used to visit this temple for thanks giving to god. The devotees of the temple have some special prayers and offering like wearing Neem leaves as dress and go round the temple premises, donating the hair and putting mottai, keeping sweet pongal and Annapradakshinam. The temple provide their devotees a separate place to stay at night, cook their pongal for offering and also some other facilities to perform their rituals. The auspicious festivals celebrated in this temple are in the Tamil calendar month of Aadi, Thai, Avani and Pornami Utchavam. The temple has more number of devotees visiting their temple on day of Pornami and Ammavasai as these are most favorable days for Periyapalayam Amman. The temple has special darshan for their devotees cost Rs.1000 as three members of the family are allowed to see the special pooja. The abisheka water is very special as it taken by devotees it is believed to cure all illness who suffer from several diseases. The Goddess Bhavani Amman blesses her devotees by wiping all the sins and problems faced in one’s life who visit her temple.