Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half of the lunar month of Phalguna. The festival commemorates the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion that Shiva performs his divine dance, called the Tandava.
The Srikalahasti Temple is located in the town of Srikalahasti, in Tirupati district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. According to regional tradition, it is said to be the site where Kannappa was ready to offer both his eyes to cover blood flowing from the linga before Shiva stopped him and granted him moksha. The inner temple was constructed around the 5th century and the outer temple was constructed in the 11th century by the Rajendra Chola I and other Chola emperors such as Rajaditya Chola, Rajaraja Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola I, Kulottunga Chola I, Kulottunga Chola III and the Vijayanagara kings especially Krishnadevaraya. Shiva in his aspect as Vayu is worshipped as Kalahasteeswara. The temple is also regarded as Rahu-Ketu kshetra and Dakshina Kailasam.
Gupteswar Cave is a cave shrine dedicated to Shiva. It is a pilgrim site situated about 55 km (34 mi) away Jeypore, Koraput District in the state of Odisha, India. It is a limestone cave, and its main attraction is the gigantic Shiva Linga which is said to be increasing in size. It is believed that the cave was discovered by Rama and re-discovered in the reign of Maharajah Veer Vikram Dev. In the holy month of Shravan, the cave is visited by devotees who walk to the shrine bare-footed with decorated bamboo palanquins called "Kanwadiya" and bathe in the maha kund before worshipping Lord Gupteshwar. There are 200 steps to reach to the Shiva linga temple. Its entrance is about 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide and 2 metres (6.6 ft) high.
Hooghly district is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.
The Rajarajeshwara temple is a Shiva temple located in Taliparamba in Kannur district of Kerala State of India. The temple is regarded as one of the existing 108 ancient Shiva Temples of ancient Kerala. It also has a prominent place amongst the numerous Shiva temples in South India. It had the tallest shikhara amongst the temples of its time. The Rajarajeshwara temple has a top of about 90 tonnes. If any problem is encountered in the other temples of South India, devotees seek a solution in this temple through a prashnam, a traditional method of astrological decision-making. The prashnam is conducted on a peedha outside the temple.
Kotilingeshwara Temple a Hindu temple in the village of Kammasandra in Kolar district, Karnataka, India. The presiding deity of the temple is Shiva. The temple has one of the largest Shivalingams in the world.
Male Mahadeshwara Betta is a pilgrim town located in the Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka. It is situated at about 150 km from Mysuru and about 210 km from Bengaluru. The ancient and sacred temple of Sri Male Mahadeshwara is a pilgrim centre where Mahadeshwara lived, practiced medicine as Sidda, taught ahimsa to people in and around the seven hills. It draws lakhs of pilgrims from the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The area of the present temple surroundings is 155.57 acres (0.6296 km2). In addition, the temple has lands at Talabetta, Haleyuru and Indiganatha villages. Amidst dense forest, the temple attracts not only the pilgrims but also nature lovers. The height of the hill is about 3000 feet above sea level.
Khatoo or Khatu is a Town of religious importance 43 km from Sikar City & 17 km from Reengus town in Sikar district in the Indian State of Rajasthan. The Sikar district falls under the Dhundhar region of Rajasthan. Khatoo village is home to a famous Khatu Shyam Temple, one of the most sacred temples in India. In Rajasthan, Hindu deity Barbarika is worshipped as Khatu Shyam.
Tarakeswar is a famous sacred city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Tarakeswar is called "Baba Dham" or "The city of Shiva". It is one of the major tourist and holy place of West Bengal as well as India. Tarakeswar is a place of pilgrimage of Lord Shiva sect in West Bengal 58 kilometres (36 mi) away from State Capital Kolkata and about 1,520 kilometres away from National Capital New Delhi. Tarakeswar can be reached conveniently by train and bus from various places of West Bengal. Tarakeswar Station is well connected by Howrah Station. This city is also famous for agriculture, Tarakeswar's potato is also famous in all over India.
Tarapith is a town and Hindu pilgrimage site located in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is particularly known for its Tantric temple and its adjoining Hindu crematory ground. The Tantric Hindu temple is dedicated to the goddess Tara.
Baidyanath Temple, also called 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.
Murdeshwar is a town in Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India, It is famous for the world's second tallest Shiva statue, the town lies on the coast of the Laccadive Sea and is also famous for the Murudeshwara Temple. The town has a railway station on the Mangalore–Mumbai Konkan railway route.
Ganga Talao is a crater lake situated in a secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of Mauritius. It is about 550 m (1,800 ft) above sea level. It is considered the most sacred Hindu place in Mauritius. The first group of pilgrims to Ganga Talao were from the village of Triolet and led by Giri Gossayne from Terre Rouge in 1898.
Yaganti Temple or Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple is a temple of Shiva in Nandyal district in the India state of Andhra Pradesh. It was built according to Vaishnavaite traditions.
Akhandalamani Temple at Aradi village, Odisha, India, is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Aradi is about 37 kilometres (23 mi) away from Bhadrak. The present fifty-foot cement and concrete temple structure replaced a wooden temple some time between 1830 and 1840 AD.
Mandi Shivaratri Fair is an annual renowned international fair that is held for 7 days starting with the Hindu festival of Shivaratri, in the Mandi town of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The Mahabaleshwar Temple, Gokarna is a 4th-century CE Hindu temple located in Gokarna, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka state, India which is built in the classical Dravidian architectural style. It is a site of religious pilgrimage. The temple faces the Gokarna beach on the Arabian Sea. The temple deifies the Pranalinga also called Atmalinga or Shiva Linga In legend, it is said that the deity of the temple will bestow immense blessings to devotees, even to those who only glimpse it. Currently the administrative charge of the temple is with an Overseeing Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice BN Srikrishna, a Retired Justice of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. It is one of the 275 paadal petra sthalams expounded in the Tevaram, a sacred Tamil Shaivite text written during the 6th and 7th centuries by 63 saints called Nayanars.
The Kānvar Yātrā is an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva, known as Kānvarias (कावड़िया) or "Bhole" (भोले), to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Ajgaibinath, Sultanganj in Bhagalpur, Bihar to fetch holy waters of Ganges River. Millions of pilgrims fetch sacred water from river Ganga and carry on their shoulders for hundreds of miles to offer it in their local Śiva shrines, or specific temples such as Pura Mahadeva temple in Baghpat district and Augharnath temple in Meerut, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, Baidyanath temple in Deoghar etc. In 2023, the Kanwar Yatra was held from 04-15 July.
Chitreshwer or Chitreshwar is a village in Jharkhand, India.It has a population of nearly 1500.
The Shivoham Shiva Temple is a temple situated on Old Airport Road, Bangalore, India, dedicated to the Hindu deity Lord Shiva. Built in 1995, it features a 65 feet (20 m) statue of Shiva. The temple attracts an estimated 500,000 worshippers and visitors each year, including between 100,000 and 150,000 on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.
