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Lolark Shasthi is a festival celebrated near the Tulsi Ghat in Varanasi, India. It falls during the monsoon season, on the sixth day of the bright half of the month of Bhadrapada (usually in September). [1]
Dedicated to Surya, the Sun God, Varanasi will witness the holy dip taken by thousands of female devotees in the ancient stepwell pond of Lolark Kund (a sacred water body) and mark the festival of Lolarak. Couples from Varanasi and its neighbouring villages will perform religious rituals and pray to Lord Lolark Aditya that they be blessed with a child. Devotees will leave their clothes and a fruit or a vegetable (from which they pledge to abstain thereafter) in the kund after taking a holy dip in the Lolark kund. Many do so with hopes for a male child/heir or offspring. As thousands come to bathe in the holy waters of the Lolark kund at sun rise, a makeshift colourful bazaar mushrooms around the kund. Families cook puris on open camp fires all around the ancient kund. Steps lead down to the Kund from three sides. On the fourth side, the kund takes the shape of an enlonged, arched well, pointing into the direction of the rising sun (Ganges). Some devotees also throw considerable amounts of gold jewellery into the pond, which may later be harvested and distributed amongst the Mahant and Brahmins in order to finance the event and its clean-up afterwards.
Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival, native to the Indian subcontinent and of heritage to the Indo-Nepalese. It is celebrated across all Northern Indian regions. In particular, to the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh; and the Nepalese Autonomous provinces of Koshi, Lumbini, and Madhesh. In the major northern urban centres in India, hundreds of thousands of people celebrate it in cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Kathmandu Valley. During Chhath Puja, prayers are dedicated to the solar deity, Surya: to show gratitude for bestowing the bounties of life on Earth and to request that certain wishes be granted.
Prabhas Patan, historically named Dev Patan, is a locality in Veraval, Gujarat. As the site of the Somnath temple and its associated Jyotirlinga, it is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage.
Kalpathi (Kalpathy) Ratholsavam is an annual Hindu Temple festival in the Kalpathy of Palakkad in Kerala state, south India. The festival is at the Sri Visalakshi Sametha Sri Viswanatha Swamy temple where the deities are Lord Siva and his consort Visalakshi, another name for Parvati.
The Aghori are a monastic order of ascetic Shaivite sadhus based in Uttar Pradesh, India. They are the only surviving sect derived from the Kāpālika tradition, a Tantric, non-Puranic form of Shaivism which originated in Medieval India between the 4th and 8th century CE.
Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple is a Hindu temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India and is dedicated to the Hindu God Hanuman. The temple was established by famous Hindu preacher and poet saint Sri Goswami Tulsidas in the early 16th century and is situated on the banks of the Assi river. The deity was named "Sankat Mochan" meaning the "reliever from troubles".
Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path along which this is performed. Typically, in Indic-religions the parikrama is done after completion of traditional worship and after paying homage to the deity. Parikrama must be done with dhyāna.
Kaman or Kamaban is an town located in the Deeg district of Rajasthan. It is historically known to be part of the Braj area, where Krishna is believed to have spent his early life. It is also a part of the historical region of Mewat, comprising the modern-day Bharatpur and Alwar division of Rajasthan.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, also known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Velankanni, is a Christian shrine located at the town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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 Govardhana Shila is a rock from the Govardhana Hill in Braj, Uttar Pradesh, India. Govardhan Hill holds a unique position in Hindu scriptures related to Krishna, the land called Braj where He was born. Known as Govardhan or Giriraj and being the sacred centre of Braj, it is identified as a natural form of Krishna. Indian art overwhelmingly prefers the iconic image, but some aniconism does occur in folk worship, early Buddhism, Shiva's Banalinga, and Vishnu's Shaligrama). They have solar significance, and their use in worship predates the Hindu period in India. The stone is usually brown in colour.
The Sapta Puri are a group of seven Hindu tirtha, or holy pilgrimage sites, located in India. Pilgrimage to these sites is said to bless the pilgrim with moksha.
Shri Alkheswar Mahadev Mandir is a sacred temple of Alkheshwar mahadev otherwise known among locals as Alakh Baba.
Bhavnath is a locality in Junagadh city of Gujarat, India. It sits near the Girnar mountain range, close to Girnar Taleti, the place from where pilgrims have to ascend on foot to get to temples on Girnar hills.
Damodar Kund(Gujarati: દામોદર કુંડ), located at the foothills of Girnar hills, near Junagadh in the Indian state of Gujarat, is considered a sacred lake as per Hindu beliefs.
Parshuram Kund was established as a Hindu pilgrimage site in 1970 by hindu missionaries from assam. It is situated on the Brahmaputra plateau in the lower reaches of the Lohit River and 21 km north of Tezu in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Dedicated to the deity Parashurama, the popular site attracts pilgrims from Nepal, from across India,including the nearby states of Manipur and Assam. Over 70,000 devotees and sadhus take a holy dip in its water each year on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, in the month of January.
Durga Mandir, also known as Durga Kund Mandir and Durga Temple, is one of the most famous temples in the holy city of Varanasi. This temple has great religious importance in Hinduism and is dedicated to Durga. Durga Mandir was constructed in 18th century by Rani Bhabani of Natore.
Varanasi, also known as Kashi, is considered as the religious capital of Hinduism. In the Hindu faith, it is the holiest of all of its cities; the four dhams in the four cardinal directions of the country – Badrinath in the north, Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west and Rameshwaram in the south – are all represented in the city in "archetypal forms" as the presiding deities at Badrinath Ghat, Assi's Jagannath Temple area, Shankudhara Pokhra, and Mir Ghat respectively. Other Hindu holy places, such as the Kedarnath at Kedar Ghat, Mathura at Bakaruia Kund or Nakhi Ghat, Prayagraj (Allahadbad) at Dashahvamedha Ghat, Kamakhya (Assam) at Kamachha, Kurukshetra at Kurkukshetra Kund near Asi, and Lake Manasarovar at Mansarovar near Shyameshvara are a part of the city's religious and cultural heritage.
Kusum Sarovar is a sacred water reservoir with a historic sand monument in its backdrop. It is situated on the holy Govardhan Hill between Manasi Ganga and Radha Kund in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Kusum Sarovar is considered one of the sacred spots that witnessed the pastimes of Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. It is also the place of Jat ruler Maharaja Suraj Mal's memorial chhatri. Kusum Sarovar has Narada Kund, where Bhakti Sutra verses were written by Narada and the Shri Radha Vana Bihari Temple in the vicinity.
Ganga Dussehra, also known as Gangavataran, is a Hindu festival celebrating the avatarana (descent) of the Ganges. It is believed by Hindus that the holy river Ganges descended from heaven to earth on this day. Ganga Dussehra takes place on Dashami of the waxing moon of the Hindu calendar month Jyeshtha. The festival celebration lasts ten days, including the nine days preceding this holy day.
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