Bharat Mata Temple Varanasi

 The Bharat Mata Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India is a unique temple dedicated to the personification of India as a mother goddess. It was built in 1936 by a lawyer and freedom fighter named Shiv Prasad Gupta, and is considered to be the only temple in the world dedicated to Mother India.

The temple has a marble statue of Bharat Mata (Mother India) holding a map of India in her hand. The statue is around 8 feet tall and is placed on a pedestal in the middle of the temple. The temple is eight-storeyed, each floor representing a different historical period of India's history, starting from ancient India and ending with contemporary India.

The temple is open to people of all castes and religions and is also a popular tourist attraction. It is considered to be an important pilgrimage site for nationalists and patriots in India.

The temple is located in Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith Campus, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh , India.It's open all days of the week and there is no entry fee to visit the temple.

World Heritage Sites in India

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries which are signatories to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. There are 40 World Heritage Sites located in India. Out of these, 32 are cultural, 7 are natural, and one, the Khangchendzonga National Park, is of mixed type. India has the sixth largest number of sites in the world. The first sites to be listed were the Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Agra Fort, and Taj Mahal, all of which were inscribed in the 1983 session of the World Heritage Committee. The most recent site listed was Dholavira, in 2021. India has 49 sites on its tentative list.

 

1. Ajanta Caves

2. Ellora Caves

Til bhandeshwar Mahadev Temple Varanasi

The Tilbhandeshwar Mahadev Temple is one of the oldest temples in the holy city of Varanasi. Shri Tilbhandeshwar Mahadev Mandir is situated in Pandey Haveli, Bhelupur, adjacent to Bengali Tola Inter College, 500 meters East of river Ganga, 3.2 kilometers North of Banaras Hindu University and 1.5 kilometers South-West of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir.  It is believed that the Shivling in this temple emerged by itself 2,500 years ago and its size increases every year by the size of a 'til'. Watch this report to know more about Tilbhandeshwar Mahadev Mandir.

The temple opens in 'brahmamuhurt' (ब्राह्ममुहूर्त). It remains open for the devotees from 4:30 AM to 9 PM. The priests perform the ‘shringaar’ (श्रृंगार- decoration) of the deities and temple before the shrine is opened for the general public. The ‘Mangala Aarti’, the first aarti of the day, is done when the temple is opened for the public. Thus, the devotees also happen to be part of the aarti. Since last three hundred years, the temple and adjoining ‘ashrama’ is being looked after by the saints of Kerala. The arrival of saints and sages from Kerala to this place took place at the time of Adi Shankaracharya's arrival in Kashi. 

Azamgarh

 Azamgarh is an important town of historical significance in Uttar Pradesh.Named after its founder, Azam who was the son of Vikramajit, a descendant of the Gautam Rajputs. Many arresting, imposing structures from the Rajput era are spread out across the city, giving it a royal, vintage look. Moreover, Azamgarh acts as a gateway to other historically important cities like Ayodhya, Kanpur, and Bareilly.Azamgarh is an important town of historical significance in Uttar Pradesh. Azam’s father, Vikramjit had converted to Islam and married a Mohammedan woman. Hence, Azamgarh is largely a Muslim city with strong influences of its erstwhile rulers still visible today. Later on, Azamgarh became a hub for Islamic literary scholars, theologists and poets.

Sankat Mochan Temple

Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple or Sankat Mochan temple is located in the southern part of Varanasi, At a distance of 2 km from Assi Ghat and 8 km from Varanasi Junction. The temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman, the monkey God of Hinduism, it is one of the holy temples in Kashi and also one of the top places to visit in Varanasi. The term ‘sankatmochan’ refers to reliever of all problems.

Legend has it, that Tulsidas, the author of 'Ram Charita Manas', the Hindi version of the 'Ramayan', originally written by Valmiki in late 1500 AD, founded the temple after a vision of the Lord Hanuman at that spot. The holy text was discovered in 1623 and has been in the temple since 1701. It is written in the Awadhi dialect which is part of the eastern Hindi language family.

The devotees of the Lord Hanuman offer Prasad ( basan ke ladoo) and Sindoor on the statue to the Lord Hanuman which is sealed in the campus of the temple. They also decorate the idol of the Lord Hanuman with the flower garland. The temple of the Sankat Mochan has unique feature by having the idol of Lord Hanuman in front of his Lord Rama (whom he is always dedicated in unselfish manner).

According to Astrology, Hanuman saves human beings from the anger of the planet Shani (Saturn), and especially people who have an ill-placed Saturn in their horoscopes visit this temple for astrological remedies. This is supposed to be the most effective way for appeasing Shani. While it is suggested that Hanuman did not hesitate to engulfe in his mouth the sun, the lord of all planets, which humbled all the gods and angels, making them worship him for the Sun's release. Some astrologers believe that worshiping Hanuman can neutralize the ill-effect of Mangal (Mars) and practically any planet that has an ill effect on human life.

Apart from the everyday visitors, thousands of devotees gather here on occasions like Hanuman Jayanti. A special procession known as Shobha Yatra is also arranged which starts from Durgakund Temple. The temple also organizes 'Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh', a classical music and dance festival every year in the month of April, in which musicians and dancers from all over India take part.

How to reach?
By Air - The nearest airport is Varanasi Airport.
By Rail – Nearest railway junction is Varanasi. Well connected to all over India.
By Road - Buses ply to cities to all over India. Local travel can be done with Rickshaw or taxies.