Puri is considered one of the holiest places in India by many Hindus. But it is particularly revered by Vaishnavas as the home of Krishna in His form of Jagannatha, Lord of the Universe. The Jagannatha temple itself is nine hundred years old, and the deities are served by six thousand priests. It is strictly forbidden for non-Hindus to enter.
Puri may be most famous for its annual Ratha-yatra (chariot festival), in which the deities of Jagannath, his brother Baladeva and sister Subhadra are paraded through the city by thousands of pilgrims. Replica Ratha-yatras are celebrated throughout the world.
Tirupati (South- India)
Tirupati is the home of Lord Venkateshwara, otherwise known as Balaji. The main temple lies in the seven hills of Tirumala and attracts twenty-five thousand pilgrims daily. Inside resides the majestic “Swayambhu,” or naturally formed image of Lord Venkateswara. He is seen standing on a lotus with his conch and discus in his hands, and images of the goddesses Lakshmi & Padmavati upon his chest.
Dvaraka (West - India)
When Lord Krishna killed the evil king Kamsa and reinstated his grandfather Ugrasena as the king of Mathura, Kamsa’s father-in-law Jarasandha was enraged and attacked Mathura seventeen times. To protect his people, Krishna decided to move the capital from Mathura to Dvaraka, then an island in the sea.
Now a coastal town of thirty-thousand inhabitants named after the original city, Dvaraka is considered one of the holiest places in India. Its major attraction is the Dvarakadish temple, built in the sixteenth century, although the original temple is said to have been built by Krishna’s own grandson Vajranabha.
Bet Dvaraka, an island in the Arabic sea 30 km north of the current town, is said to be the last remaining piece of land from the original city, which sank into the sea after Krishna’s departure. And recent underwater studies conducted off the coast of Dvaraka by the ASI (Archeological Survey of India), revealed evidence of an ancient city dated at 2 million B.C.
Badrinatha (North - India)
Badarinatha, or Badarikasrama, is situated in the Himalayas, 10,248 feet above sea level. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is the abode of the great rishis Nara-Narayana, and the place where Narada Muni attained liberation.
The present temple is about four hundred years old and houses the Deity of Lord Badarinatha. This Deity was installed by Sankaracarya, who recovered Him from the nearby Narada-kunda.
The temple is open six months of the year, from May to October. It is closed during the winter months due to harsh weather.
Vrindavana/Mathura
Mathura lies ninety-five miles south of Delhi. It is most famous as the place of Krishna’s birth, which tradition dates to some five thousand years ago. Its main temple is the Keshava Deo Mandir, where Radha and Krishna are worshiped. The entire area, encompassing many holy sites and twelve sacred forests, is called Vraj. Most important is Vrindavan, the village where Krishna lived. It is now a bustling town with some five thousand temples, mostly dedicated to Krishna. Many elderly Vaishnavas retire to this sacred town in the hope of returning at death to the spiritual Vrindavan, where they can engage in eternal lila (pastimes) with their Lord.
Mayapur
Mayapur is located on the banks of the Ganges River near Navadvip, West Bengal, 130 km north of Kolkata (Calcutta). It is considered a holy place by a number of other traditions within Hinduism, but is of special significance to followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism as the place where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, regarded as a special incarnation of Krishna and Radha, was born in 1486. It is visited by over a million pilgrims annually.
Since the 1970s, Mayapur has also been the site of the world headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as well as a number of other Vaishnava organizations, such as the Gaudiya Math.
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