Hindu pilgrimage sites

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a very long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred area or shrine of importance to innate faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

Unlike some other religions, Hindus are not required to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime.^[1] However, most Hindus go on such journeys to numerous iconic sites including those below:

India[]

Varanasi known as Kashi is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites

Kodlamane Shree Vishnumurthy Temple

Tirupati temple

Char Dham (Famous Four Pilgrimage sites): The four holy sites Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Badrinath (or alternatively the Himalayan towns of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) compose the Chota Char Dham (four small abodes) pilgrimage circuit.

Kumbh Mela: The Kumbh Mela (the "pitcher festival") is one of the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages that is held every three years; the location is rotated among Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain.

Old Holy cities as per Puranic Texts: Varanasi formerly known as Kashi, Prayagraj also known as Prayag, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, Kurukshetra, the Land of Bhagavad Gita in Haryana and Ayodhya.

Old Temple cities: Puri, which hosts a major Vaishnava Jagannath temple and Rath Yatra celebration; Katra, home to the Vaishno Devi temple; Tirumala - Tirupati, home to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple; Madurai Meenakshi and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Sri Rangam; Dwarkadhish Temple - Dwarka, home to Dwarkadhish form of Sri Krishna; Radharani Temple - Barsana, dedicated to Sri Radha, Sabarimala, where Swami Ayyappan is worshipped; Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala;Guruvayur temple at Guruvayur. The oldest of these temple pilgrimage is the Pandharpur Wari which is said to be in tradition from the past 800 years.

New Pilgrimage Centres: Three comparatively recent temples of fame and huge pilgrimage are Belur Math, the hub of the worldwide Ramakrishna Movement in West Bengal, Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata; Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari; Sri Ramana Ashram at Tiruvannamalai; and ISKCON temples in Ujjain, Bangalore, Patna, Tirumala, Vishakapatnam, Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai. Ramakrishna Mission Swami Vivekananda's Ancestral House and Cultural Centre, the birthplace of Swami Vivekananda is also another popular destination.

Shakti Peethas: An important set of pilgrimages are the Shakti Peethas, where the Mother Goddess is worshipped, the two principal ones being Kalighat and Kamakhya. The original Shakti Peethas are

Mahamaya, Amarnath, Jammu and Kashmir
Phullara, in Attahasa, West Bengal
Bahula, Bardhaman, West Bengal
Mahishmardini, Bakreshwar, Siuri town
Avanti, Bairavparvat Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Aparna, Bhavanipur, Bangladesh
Gandaki Chandi, Chandi River
Bhamari, Janasthaan
Kottari, Hinglaj, Karachi
Jayanti, Bourbhag Village, Bangladesh
Yogeshwari, Khulna district
Jwala or Shakti Siddhida, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Kalika, Kalighat, West Bengal
Kali in Kalmadhav, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh
Khamakya, Guwahati, Assam
Devgarbha/Kankleshwari, Birbhum, West Bengal
Sravani, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
Chamudeshwari/Jaya Durga, Chamundi Hills, Mysore
Vimla, Murshidabad, West Bengal
Kumara Shakti at Anandamayee Temple of West Bengal
Shakti Bhraamari, Ratnavali, West Bengal
Shakti Dakshayani, Manasarovar
Gayatri Manibandh, Pushkar, Rajasthan
Uma at Mithila, border of Nepal and India
Indraksh, Nainativu, Manipallavam
Mahashira, Guhyeshwari near Pashupatinath Temple
Bhawani at Chandranath Hills, Bangladesh
Varahi, Panch Sagar, Uttar Pradesh
Chandrabhaga, Junagarh, Gujarat
Lalita of Prayag
Savitri/Bhadra Kali, Kurukshetra, Haryana
Maihar/Shivani, Satna, Madhya Pradesh
Nandini or Nandikeshwari, Birbhum, West Bengal
Sarvashail/Rakini on Godavari river banks at Kotilingeswar Temple
Mahish Mardini at Shivaharkaray near Karachi of Pakistan
The Narmada Shondesh, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh
Sundari at Sri Sailam (currently in Bangladesh)
Maha Lakshmi at Sri Shail (currently in Bangladesh)
Devi Narayani, Suchindram, Tamil Nadu
Suganda of Shikarpur (currently in Bangladesh)
Tripura Sundari, Udaipur in Tripura
Mangal Chandika at Ujjain
Vishalakshi, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Kapalini of Vibash, Medinipur, West Bengal
Ambika, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Uma at Vrindavan/Bhooteswar Temple of Uttar Pradesh
Tripurmalini, Jalandhar, Punjab
Amba at Ambaji, Gujarat
Jai Durga, Deogarh, Jharkhand
Danteshwari, Chattisgarh
Nabi Gaya, Biraj, Jaipur. According to later texts there are altogether 51 or 108 shakti peethas, though many in the lists cannot be confirmed to exist and may have been added in order to list a religiously significant number.

Jyotirlingas: Other set of important pilgrimages are the Jyotirlingas, where lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Shiva Lingas. There are twelve Jyotirlingas in India. The twelve Jyotirlingas are:

Bhimashankar Temple, near Pune
Somnath in Gujarat
Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh
Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh
Kedarnath in Uttarakhand
Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh
Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple at Nashik in Maharashtra
Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga
Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli, Maharashtra or Nageshvara Jyotirlinga at Dwarka
Rameshwar at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu
Grishneshwar at Verul near Ellora Aurangabad

Sri Lanka[]

Pancha Ishwarams - the 5 ancient Shiva temples of the island from classical antiquity.
The Arunagirinathar-traversed ancient Murugan pilgrimage route of Sri Lanka including
- Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple, Maviddapuram, Kankesanthurai
- Nallur Kandaswamy temple, Jaffna,
- Koneswaram temple, Trincomalee,
- Verugal Murugan Kovil, Verugal Aru, Verugal, Trincomalee District
- Thirukkovil Sithira Velayutha Swami Kovil, in Thirukkovil, Batticaloa,
- Arugam Bay, Amparai
- Panamai, Amparai
- Ukanthamalai Murugan Kovil, in Okanda, Kumana National Park
- Kataragama temple, Katirkamam in the South.

Mauritius[]

Ganga Talao
Sagar Shiv Mandir

Trinidad and Tobago[]

Temple in the Sea, Waterloo Road, Waterloo, Carapichaima, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago
Dattatreya Mandir and 85-foot Karyasiddhi Hanuman Murti, Datta Drive, Orangefield, Carapichaima, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago
Shiva Lingam Mandir, Patiram Trace, Penal, Penal-Debe, Trinidad and Tobago
Ganga Dhara festival at the Trinnaadeeshwar Mahadeo Ghat, Kailash Ghat, Hanuman Ghat, Tulsidas Ghat, Ardha Naareshvar Ghat, and Mundan Sanskaar Ghat at Marianne River Blanchisseuse, Tunapuna-Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago^[2]
Siapria Mai (La Divina Pastora) Church, La Pastora Street, Siparia, Siparia region, Trinidad and Tobago
Exchange Village Shiv Mandir, Brickfield Road Exchange Village, Couva, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago^[3]
Moose Bhagat Mandir, Naparima Mayaro Road Mairad Village, Tableland, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago^[4]^[5]
Shiva Mandir, 1 Railway Road Reform Village, Gasparillo, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago^[6]
Balka Devi Mandir (Mud Volcano Temple) St. Marie Road, Cedros, Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago^[7]
Shree Pavan Putra Hanuman Shiv Shakti Mandir Cunjal Road, Cunjal, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago^[8]
Triveni Mandir, Sisters Road Hardbargain Village, Williamsville, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago^[9]

Suriname[]

Arya Dewaker Mandir

Pakistan[]

Katas Raj Temples are said to date from the times of the Mahabharata.

Hinglaj Mata - A Shakthi Peeth in Pakistan's Balochistan province
Katasraj temple - Site of a famous temple which has a lake that is said to have been created from the tear drops of Shiva. Also known for being home of the Pandava brothers during part of their exile.
Sharada Peeth -An abandoned Shakti Peeth
Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar - Sufi shrine that is important to Sindhi Hindus
Tilla Jogian - ancient shrine reportedly over 2,000 years old.
Shakti Peetha
Chandragup
Amb Temples
Umarkot Shiv Mandir
Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple
Kalat Kali Temple
Goraknath Temple
Kalibari Mandir, Peshawar

Nepal[]

A view of Pashupatinath Temple

Barahachhetra
Janakpurdham
Muktinath
Pashupatinath Temple
Changu Narayan Temple
Buddhanilkantha
Krishna Temple of Patan Durbar Square
Rishikesh Complex of Ruru Kshetra
Vyas cave
Doleshwor Mahadev (considered the head part of Kedarnath temple of India)
Dolakha Bhimsen temple
Pathibhara Devi temple
Halesi Mahadev Temple and Halesi-Maratika Caves

China[]

Lake Manasarovar

Mount Kailash
Lake Manasarovar

Indonesia[]

Mother Temple of Besakih
Prambanan
Mount Bromo

Cambodia[]

Angkor Wat

Preah Vihear Temple
Angkor Wat

Malaysia[]

Batu Caves

Batu Caves
Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang

United States[]

Vivekananda Cottage, Thousand Island Park, Jefferson County, New York
Annisquam Village Church, Gloucester, Massachusetts

References[]

^ Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs - Hinduism See drop-down essay on "Hindu Practices"
^ "Ganga Dhaaraa Teerath: Water is Life : TriniView.com". www.triniview.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^ "Exchange Village Mud Mandir". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^ "Moose Bhagat Hindu Temple". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^ Bissessarsingh, Angelo (November 6, 2016). "The Moose Bhagat Mandir". guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^ "Shiva Mandir". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^ "Balka devi Temple". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^ "Hanuman Temple". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
^ "Triveni Mandir". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

https://www.iskconbangalore.org/

[1] Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs - Hinduism See drop-down essay on "Hindu Practices"

[2] "Ganga Dhaaraa Teerath: Water is Life : TriniView.com". www.triniview.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

[3] "Exchange Village Mud Mandir". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

[4] "Moose Bhagat Hindu Temple". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

[5] Bissessarsingh, Angelo (November 6, 2016). "The Moose Bhagat Mandir". guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

[6] "Shiva Mandir". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

[7] "Balka devi Temple". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

[8] "Hanuman Temple". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

[9] "Triveni Mandir". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 2019-09-19.

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