For the Indian film, see Kshetram (film).
Kshetram (Kshetra) literally means a region. [1] In Hindu mythology, it is referred to as the physical holy location where a temple or a collection of temples, its tank and deities exist.
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Kshetram (Kshetra) literally means a region. [1] In Hindu mythology, it is referred to as the physical holy location where a temple or a collection of temples, its tank and deities exist.
There exist privileged regions and places where energy in the form of terrestrial magnetism rises heavenward. As per Hindu religious mythology, Prana (gravity) pulls life downwards, while apanan (levity) pulls life upwards. Such places are called Tirtha (ways), Kshetra (ways) or pitha (base). Sacred geography can identify sacred places and sometimes explain the importance of those which are already known. [2]
The dwelling of gods must be built on such privileged ground (kshetras), and, as a rule, sacred cities arise around them. [3] The temple should be close to a water course or near a lake located to the east or north. For the building of a temple, it should have a lake on the left (north) or in front (east), and not otherwise. If the temple is built on an island, the presence of water all around is of good omen. [4]
The Shri Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple is an ancient Hindu temple in the town of Trimbak, in the Trimbakeshwar tehsil in the Nashik District of Maharashtra, India, 28 km from the city of Nashik and 40 km from Nashik road. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is one of the twelve jyotirlingas where the Hindu genealogy registers at Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra are kept. The origin of the sacred Godavari river is near Trimbak.
Puri is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is home to the 12th-century Jagannath Temple and is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus.
Muktinath is a Vishnu temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists, located in the Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass in Mustang, Nepal. It is one of the world's highest temples. In Hinduism, it is one of the 108 Divya Desams and the only Divya Desam located outside India. But Muktinath was considered a temple of the purely Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara until the middle of the eighteenth century. After Jumli Raja occupied Mustang's Thini, he encroached on the same Buddhist shrine and worshiped his idol. After King Malebamba sat on the throne of Parbat, Jumla was taken with his help and it was again considered as the temple of Avalokiteshvara. Muktinath was finally Hinduized after Bahadur Shah even waved Mustang. It is also known as Mukti Kshetra, which literally means the 'liberation arena' (moksha) and is one of the Char Dham in Nepal.
A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, or Koil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to dieties through worship, sacrifice, and devotion. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicated. The design, structure and symbolism of Hindu temples are deeply rooted in Vedic traditions, which use circles and squares in their architecture. The temple's design also represents the concept of recursion and the equivalence of the macrocosm and the microcosm through astronomical numbers and specific alignments related to the location of the temple and the connection between the deity and the worshipper. A temple incorporates all elements of the Hindu cosmos — presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of the Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life — symbolically presenting dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and karma.
Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar is located in the town of Pushkar near Ajmer city in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Guru" [Thirtha Raj]– the perceptor of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god Brahma, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.
Tirtha is a Sanskrit word that means "crossing place, ford", and refers to any place, text or person that is holy. It particularly refers to pilgrimage sites and holy places in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Haridwar district also spelled as Hardwar is part of Uttarakhand, India. It is headquartered at Haridwar which is also its largest city. The district is ringed by the districts Dehradun in the north and east, Pauri Garhwal in the east and the Uttar Pradesh districts of Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor in the south and Saharanpur in the west.
Baidyanath Temple, also known as Baba Baidyanath Dham, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Deoghar, in the Santhal Parganas division of the Indian state of Jharkhand. The temple complex comprises the central shrine of Baba Baidyanath along with 21 additional temples. It is significant to the Hindu sects of Shaivism as this temple is referred to as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.
Adi Kumbeswarar Temple, Kumbakonam is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, located in the town of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Adi Kumbeswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Mangalambigai Amman. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical, greatest work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
In Hinduism, the yatra (pilgrimage) to the tirthas has special significance for earning the punya needed to attain the moksha (salvation) by performing the darśana, the parikrama (circumambulation), the yajna, the Dhyana, the puja (worship), the prarthana, the dakshina, the seva, the bhandara, etc. These sacred places are usually located on the banks of sacred waters, such as sacred rivers or their tributaries, the kundas, the ghats, or the stepwells, or the temple tanks.
Yatra, in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated with Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and other sacred pilgrimage sites. Visiting a sacred place is believed by the pilgrim to purify the self and bring one closer to the divine. The journey itself is as important as the destination, and the hardships of travel serve as an act of devotion in themselves.
The Char Dham, also rendered the Chatur Dhama is a set of four Hindu pilgrimage sites in India, consisting of Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. Badrinath, Dwarka, and Puri are shrines of Vishnu, whereas Rameswaram is a shrine of Shiva.
Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. These organic bodies of water have attained religious significance not from the modern alteration or blessing, but were sanctified through mythological or historical figures. Sacred waters have been exploited for cleansing, healing, initiations, and death rites.
Dharmasthala Temple is an 800-year-old Hindu religious institution in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India. The deities of the temple are Hindu god Shiva, who is referred to as Mañjunatha, Hindu goddess Ammanavaru, the Tirthankara Chandraprabha and the protective gods of Jainism, Kalarahu, Kalarkayi, Kumarasvami and Kanyakumari. The temple was reconsecrated in 16th century by Hindu Dvaita saint Vadiraja Tirtha by the request of the then administrator of the temple, Devaraja Heggade. The temple is considered unique, since the priests in the temple are Madhwa Brahmins, who are Vaishnava, and the administration is run by a Jain Bunt family called the Pergades.
Chari Kshetra is a group of four holy regions in the Indian state of Odisha. According to tradition, when Vishnu killed the demon Gayasura, to commemorate the glory of his victory, he placed his shankha (conch) in Puri, chakra (discus) in Bhubaneswar, gada (mace) in Jajpur and padma (lotus) in Konark and they were known as Sankha Kshetra, Chakra Kshetra, Gada Kshetra, and Padma Kshetra respectively.
Theertham literally refers to water. In Hindu sacred literature, it is referred to as the physical holy water body associated with a temple or deity. As per Hindu religious belief, water is the principal purification mechanism. While external purification is believed to be through a dip in sacred water bodies, internal purification is through truthfulness. Most Hindu temples are associated with bodies of water, which are called Theertham. In Vishnu temples, devotees are offered a few drops of sacred water called Theertham.
Sri Dakshinamukha Nandi Tirtha Kalyani Kshetra is a small temple located in front of the Gangamma temple and diagonally opposite to the Kadu Malleshwara temple on 2nd Temple Street, Malleswaram layout in the north-western area of Bangalore city, Karnataka, India.
The Thiruneermalai temple complex consists of two temples, the Ranganatha Temple and the Thiruneermalai Neervanna Perumal Temple. Both are Hindu temples in Thiruneermalai, a suburb of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
The Bhu Varaha Swamy temple is a Hindu temple, located at Srimushnam, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the South Indian style of architecture, the temple is dedicated to Varaha, the boar-avatar of the god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi as Ambujavalli Thayar. It is Classified one among the 108 Abhimana Kshethram of Vaishnavate tradition. One of the greatest Hindu scholars of Vaishnava Tattvavada (Dvaita) philosophy, Madhvacharya, have come and resided in this temple many times.
The 48 kos parikrama is a parikrama of various Mahabharata-related and other Vedic-era tirthas around the holy city of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana, India.