Kamakhya temple Guwahati

The Kamakhya Temple  is a Hindu temple dedicated to the mother goddess Kamakhya. It is one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Pithas. Situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati city in Assam,India, it is the main temple in a complex of individual temples dedicated to the ten Mahavidyas: Kali, Tara, Sodashi, Bhuvaneshwari,Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala. Among these, Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple whereas the other seven reside in individual temples. It is an important pilgrimage destination for general Hindu and especially for Tantric worshipers.
The templehas been built and renovated many times in the period 8th-17th century, gave rise to a hybrid indigenous style that is sometimes called the Nilachal type: . The inner sanctum, the garbhagriha, is below ground level and consists of no image but a rock fissure in the shape of a yoni:The garbhagriha is small, dark and reached by narrow steep stone steps. Inside the cave there is a sheet of stone that slopes downwards from both sides meeting in a yoni-like depression some 10 inches deep. This hollow is constantly filled with water from an underground perennial spring. It is the vulva-shaped depression that is worshiped as the goddess Kamakhya herself and considered as most important pitha (abode) of the Devi.

Dakshineshwar Kali Temple Kolkatta

Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu temple located in Dakshineswar near Kolkata. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, an aspect of Kali, meaning, 'She who liberates Her devotees from the ocean of existence i.e. Saṃsāra' The temple was built by Rani Rashmoni, a philanthropist and a devotee of Kali in 1855. The temple is famous for its association with Ramakrishna, a mystic of 19th Century Bengal

The temple compound, apart from the nine-spired main temple, contains a large courtyard surrounding the temple, with rooms along the boundary walls. There are twelve shrines dedicated to Shiva—Kali's companion—along the riverfront, a temple to Radha-Krishna, a bathing ghat on the river, a shrine dedicated to Rani Rashmoni. 'Nahavat-Khana', the chamber in the northwestern corner just beyond the last of the Shiva temples, is where Ramakrishna spent a considerable part of his life

Kaalighat Temple Kolkatta

Kalighat Kali Temple  is a Hindu temple in West Bengal, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas.

Kalighat was a Ghat sacred to Kali on the old course of the Hooghly river (Bhāgirathi) in the city of Calcutta. The name Calcutta is said to have been derived from the word Kalighat. The river over a period of time has moved away from the temple. The temple is now on the banks of a small canal called Adi Ganga which connects to the Hoogly. 

Legend

Kalighat is regarded as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of India, where the various parts of Sati's body are said to have fallen, in the course of Shiva's Rudra Tandava. Kalighat represents the site where the toes of the right foot of Dakshayani or Sati fell. Legend has it that a devotee discovered a luminant ray of light coming from the Bhāgirathi river bed, and upon investigating its source came upon a piece of stone carved in the form of a human toe. He also found a Svayambhu Lingam of Nakuleshwar Bhairav nearby, and started worshiping Kaali in the midst of a thick jungle.

The Kalighat temple in its present form is only about 200 years old, although it has been referred to in Mansar Bhasan composed in the 15th century,

The original temple was a small hut. A small temple was constructed by King Manasingha in the early 16th century. The present temple was erected under the patronage of the Kaliprasad Dutta 

The image of Kali in this temple is unique.The present idol of touchstone was created by two saints - Brahmananda Giri and Atmaram Giri. Three huge eyes, long protruding tongue made of gold and four hands, which all are made of gold too. Two of these hands holding a scimitar and a severed head of the asura king 'Shumbha'. The scimitar signifies Divine Knowledge and the asura (or, human) head signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order to attain Moksha. The other two hands are in the abhaya and varada mudras or blessings, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshiping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and hereafter.

Source of info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalighat_Kali_Temple

Mata Mansa Devi Mandir Panchkula Haryana

Mata Mansa Devi Mandir Panchkula Haryana

is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti. The temple complex is spread of 100 acres of the Shivalik foothills in village Bilaspur, near Mani Majra, and Panchkula, 10 km from Chandi Mandir, another noted Devi shrine in the region, both just outside Chandigarh
It is one of the prominent Shakti temples of North India.Maharaja Gopal Singh of Mani Majra constructed the present main temple of Shri Mansa Devi, which is situated on the Shivalik foothills in village Bilaspur District Panchkula, during the period 1811-1815.

Chamunda Devi Temple Palampur (HP)

The Chamunda Devi Temple in Himachal Pradesh 
is located 10 km west of Palampur in the Kangra area of the state. It stands on the banks of the famous Ban Ganga River, the temple is housed with extremely sacred idol of Chamunda Devi, and as such the idol is wrapped by a red cloth. The location of this sacred temple is also significant since it is believed to be the same spot where the Mata or the Maa Kali assassinated the demon kings Shumbh and Nisumbh. The two generals were namely Chanda and Munda. It is their name that gave Goddess Kali, a new name called Chamunda.According to a legend, the Goddess Chamunda was enshrined as chief Goddess with the title of Rudra in the battle between demon Jalandhra and Lord Shiva which made this place famous as “Rudra Chamunda”. Another legend has it that “Savarni Manamantra” battle between the gods and demons, Chamunda emerged as Chandika from an eyebrow of Goddess “Kaushiki” and was assigned the task of eliminating the demons “Chand” and “Mund”. Chandika fought a fierce battle with these two demons and at last killed them. Goddess Chandika took the slain heads of the two demons “Chand” and “Mund” to the Goddess “Kaushiki” who being immensely pleased, blessed Chandika and bestowed upon her the title of “Chamunda,” the name which is famous all around the world.

Jwala Ji ( Jwala Devi and Jwalamukhi Ji.)  is a Hindu Goddess.The physical manifestation of Jwala Ji is always a set of flames burning off natural gas,and the term Jwala means flame in Sanskrit.

Historically, shrines dedicated to Jwala Ji were based on fissures from which natural gas seeped by itself. The number of flames is usually either seven (for the seven divine sisters) or nine (for the nine Durgas) Several schools of Buddhism also share the symbolism of a seven-forked sacred flame. Jwala Ji shrine is located  in Jawalamukhi town of the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh state, about 55 kilometers from the town of Dharamsala.

According to the legend, when Sati's body was divided into 51 parts, Sati Mata's tongue fell here. The flames/ Jyotis are the representation of the same. Some say that Sati's clothes fell here. When they fell they were on fire. The fire hasn't blew off. Jwalaji (flame) or Jwala Mukhi (flame mouth) is probably the most ancient temple besides Vaishno Devi. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata and other scriptures. There is a natural cave where eternal flames continue to burn.

The Legend

A cowherd found that one of his cows was always without milk. He followed the cow to find out the cause. He saw a girl come out of the forest, drink the cows milk, and then disappear in a flash of light. The cowherd went to the king and told him the story. The king was aware of the legend that Sati's tongue had fallen in this area. The king tried, without success, to find that sacred spot. Again, some years later, the cowherd went to the king to report that he had seen a flame burning in the mountains. The king found the spot and had darshan (vision) of the holy flame. He built a temple there and arranged for priests to engage in regular worship. It is believed that the Pandavas came later and renovated the temple
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jwala_Ji

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Naina Devi Temple Bilaspur(HP)

The Temple of Shri Naina Devi Ji is situated on a hilltop in the Bilaspur Distt. of Himachal Pradesh.According to a legend, Goddess Sati burnt herself alive in Yagna, which distressed Lord Shiva. He picked the corpse of Sati on his shoulder and started his Tandava dance. This horrified all deities in the heaven as this could lead to holocaust. This urged Lord Vishnu to unleash his Chakra that cut the Sati’s body into 51 pieces. Shri Naina Devi Temple is the place where eyes of Sati fell down.

Chintpurni mata Mandir Himachal Pradesh

Chintpurni Mata Mandir is a major pilgrimage center and one of the Shakti Peethas in India. The Chintpurni shakti peeth (Chhinnamastika shakti peeth) is located in Una district Himachal Pradesh state,  in the smaller Shivalik range bordering the state of Punjab. The Chintpurni Shakti Peeth is dedicated to the temple of Chinnamastika Devi. Chhinnamasta or Chinnamastika temple is one of the 7 major and 51 total Shakti Peethas. Here, Chhinnamasta is interpreted as the severed-headed one as well as the foreheaded-one

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Shakti Peetha

The Shakti Peetha ( seat of Shakti) is a place of worship consecrated to the goddess Shakti or Sati, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect. They are sprinkled throughout the Indian subcontinent.

Legend

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Lord Brahma performed a yajna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) to please Shakti and Shiva. Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva. Therefore his son Daksha performed several yagnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva.

However, due to Lord Shiva's curse to Brahma that his fifth head was cut off due to his lie in front of Shiva, Daksha started hating Lord Shiva and decided not to let Lord Shiva and Sati get married. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day Shiva and Sati got married. This marriage only increased Daksha's hatred towards Lord Shiva.

Daksha performed a yagna with a desire to take revenge on Lord Shiva near munimandala present Muramalla andhra pradesh. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna except Lord Shiva and Sati. The fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati from attending theyagna. She expressed her desire to attend the yagna to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going. Shiva eventually relented and Sati went to the yagna. Sati, being an uninvited guest, was not given any respect at the yagna. Furthermore, Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati was unable to bear her father's insults toward her husband, so she immolated herself.

Enraged at the insult and the injury, Shiva in Virabhadra avatar destroyed Daksha's yagna, cut off Daksha's head, and later replaced it with that of a male goat as he restored him to life.Virabhadra didn't stop fighting he kept raging with anger .gods prayed lord vishnu.he came there and started fighting him. Still immersed in grief, Shiva picked up the remains of Sati's body, and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. The other Gods requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction, towards which Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra, which cut through the Sati's corpse. The various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed sites which are known as Shakti Peethas today.^[3]

At all the Shakti Peethas, the Goddess Shakti is accompanied by her consort, Lord Bhairava (a manifestation of Lord Shiva). Shakti is an aspect of the Supreme Being Adi parashakti, the mother of the trimurti, the holy trinity in Hindu religion & scriptures.

source of info:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakti_Peetha

Siddhivinayak temple Mumbai

The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shri Ganesh. It is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai,Maharashtra. It was originally built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on November 19, 1801.It is one of the richest temples in Mumbai.

The temple has a small mandap (hall) with the shrine for Siddhi Vinayak ("Ganesha who grants your wish"). The wooden doors to the sanctum are carved with images of the Ashtavinayak (the eight manifestations of Ganesha in Maharashtra). The inner roof of the sanctum is plated with gold, and the central statue is of Ganesha. In the periphery, there is a Hanuman temple as well.

History

IT was Constructed on 19 November 1801, the original structure of the Siddhivinayak Temple was a small 3.6 m x 3.6 m square brick structure with a dome-shaped brick shikhara. The temple was built by the contractor Laxman Vithu Patil. The building was funded by a rich Agri woman named Deubai Patil. Childless, Deaubai built the temple so that the Lord should grant children to other barren women.

Reference  :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhivinayak_Temple,_Mumbai

Maha lakshmi temple Saras Baug Pune

Mahalaxmi Temple Sarasbaug Pune is located just opposite to the legendary Sarasbaug Mandir and at a walking distance from the Parvati Hill, this temple is centrally located and close to Swargate. The mandir is dedicated to Goddess Mahalaxmi, Maha Kali & Maha Saraswati and was founded in the year 1972 by Late Shri Bansilal Ramnath Agarwal.

The magnificently crafted temple ensures that it captivates attention of everyone who passes by. The temple possesses 3 magnificent peaks which are masterfully carved with minute carvings and sculptures of several Hindu gods and are perfectly enthroned on the three deities present in the temple. Moreover, the entire temple has been developed using white marble that further adds an additional grandeur to this majestic architectural specimen.

The Deities

Divided into two parts, the sabha mandapa and the inner sanctum, the temple follows the age old Hindu architectural form. The inner sanctum is further divided into three parts and holds the following three Goddesses:

Goddess Saraswati: Often symbolized as the deity of knowledge, Goddess Saraswati is believed to be the only vedic deity which is still in worship in the country. Cladded in her traditional white attire, a veena and mounted on her beloved peacock, the left sanctum is dedicated to this goddess.

Goddess Mahalaxmi: The central sanctum holds the presiding deity Goddess Mahalaxmi who is often symbolized as wealth and power. The idol is simply captivating and takes the devotee to the spiritual world of bliss and solace.

Goddess Kali: Often symbolized as the slayer of demons, Goddess Kali is in here traditional appearance as coal-black and holding numerous weapons in her hand.

source of info:http://www.puneinandout.com/mahalaxmi-temple-sarasbaug/

Chaturshringi Temple Pune

The Chaturshringi Temple is a Hindu temple in the city of Pune. The temple is located on the slope of a hill on Senapati Bapat Road. It is said to have been built during the reign of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The temple is looked after by Chaturshringi Devasthan (Temple) trustees.

Chaturshringi (Chatur means four) is a mountain with four peaks. The Chaturshringi temple is 90 feet high and 125 feet wide and is a symbol of power and faith. One has to climb more than 100 steps to reach the shrine of Goddess Chaturshringi. In the temple premises there are also temples of Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesh. This includes eight miniature idols of Ashtavinayaka. These small temples are located on the four separate hillocks.Also includes the temple of vetal maharaj at the baner pashan end.

Legend

The legend associated with the temple is that, once there was a rich and prosperous merchant named Durlabhseth Pitambardas Mahajan who was an ardent believer of Goddess Chaturshringi and visited all Her temples everywhere. But as he grew older, he could no longer travel and this hindered him from visiting the temples. Then one night the Goddess Chaturshringi appeared in his dream and told him, "if you can not come to me, I will come to you & stay near you." She told him to come to a mountain situated in the North-West of Pune & dig there. The place as described by the goddess was traced out and miracle happened as he found a natural statue of goddess (swayambhu devi). He constructed the temple at that place and this is the same temple which was renovated time to time,which is the present temple.

source of info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturshringi_Temple

Sarasbaug Ganapati Mandir

The Sarasbaug temple houses the idol of Shree Siddhivinayak ("God who makes wishes true"). A sacred ground of faith for millions of devotees in Pune and around the world, on an average the Sarasbaug temple receives ten thousand visitors a day and this figure goes up to eighty thousand devotees per day on Ganesha Chaturthi and other special occasions.

Brief history

In the 18th century, soon after completion of Shree Devdeveshwar Temple on Parvati hill, Shrimant Balaji Baji Rao turned his attention towards the development and beautification of environs of Parvati hills.He decided to construct a lake at the foothills of Parvati. An island of about 25,000 sq.ft. (2,370 m²) area was retained in the middle of this lake. Later on, a beautiful garden was created on this island. Shrimant Nanasaheb Peshwa gave it a poetic name, “Sarasbaug”.

In 1784, Shrimant Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa built a small temple in Sarasbaug and installed the idol of Shree Siddhivinayak Gajanan, the God he worshiped. Sarasbaug has now become a place of worship for people from all over the world and also a popular hang-out for Punekars.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarasbaug_Ganpati

Parvati Mandir Pune

Parvati Temple located at a height of 2100 feet above the sea level is located on a hill towards the southern part of the city of Pune. There are 103 long, broad and curving steps to the hill top. Shiva is the main deity of the temple.The temple is the oldest heritage structure in Pune and was built during the rule of the Peshwa dynasty.
History
The main temple, was built by the third Peshwa, Shrimant Nana Saheb in the year 1749 A.D. The history of the temple is linked with a miracle. It is believed that Kashibai, the mother of the third Peshwa was suffering from a severe ailment in her right foot. One of her advisors informed her about a temple of Goddess to the South of Pune which was famous for its miraculous healing power. Kashibai went to the temple which was located on top of this hill and prayed for her recovery. She vowed that if she was cured of her ailment, she would build a temple there. She soon recovered and her son built a temple on the hill. This was the famous Parvati temple.

Shreemant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Pune

Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple  in Pune is dedicated to the Lord Ganesh. The temple is popular in Maharashtra and is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year. The main Ganesh idol is insured for sum of ₹10 million
History

Dagadusheth Halwai  was a trader from Kanpur and settled in Pune . His original surname was "Shrivastav" but later more renowned as Halwai as his surname due to his profession .His full name was shrimant dagdusheth kisansheth halwai. His wife was laxmibai and laxmi road is famous by her name. 

He was very famous and rich sweet trader. He was a very virtuous and righteous man. Dagdu sheth was a friend of lokmanya Tilak, who told him to get a Ganpati Temple built and asked him to worship and to take care of that temple. .And as per his Guruji´s advice he made two idols of Shri.. Datta Maharaj and Shri. Ganpati, and this very idol is the first idol, now this idol is placed in Aakara Maruti Temple, Shukrawar Peth, this idol is worshiped everyday with detailed rituals and rites.Today the four grand son"s one daughter of dagduseth and their family are still there in pune and they are running the business sweet by there name .

He later established the Halwai Ganapati Trust.Bal Gangadhar Tilak, during the British Raj, gave a public form to the Ganesh festival celebrations as a way of getting around an order that barred public meetings

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagadusheth_Halwai_Ganapati_Temple