| BUDDHISM - This religion was found by a prince | | | | In Uttar Pradesh - Kashi and vishwanath temples in |
| Siddhartha Gautam who later got famous as Buddha. | | | | Varanasi are famous. |
| He was also known as 'Sakyamuni'. Buddha offered | | | | In Rajasthan - in pushkar there is said to be the only |
| teachings and taught Four Noble Truths which | | | | temple of Lord Brahma which is very pious and |
| ultimately leads to the way to achieve Enlightenment | | | | especially visited by the devotees. |
| or called 'Nirvana' by the Buddhists. | | | | The 'karni Mata' temple in Bikaner is the centre of |
| The Buddhists followers and believers built shrines | | | | attraction of tourists because of the rats being |
| renowned as 'STUPAS' at those places where | | | | worshipped. |
| Buddha lived, visited or preached. The famous one are | | | | In West Bengal - temples of goddess Durga are |
| at Sanchi and Sarnath. In Bihar, a place called Bodh | | | | prevalent who is worshipped here whole soul by the |
| Gaya has a Peepal tree also known as Bodhi tree. | | | | people. Annually a grand Durga 'puja' celebration is held |
| Near that a small shrine is built by the emperor | | | | here. |
| Ashoka. | | | | In Orissa - in Konark the spectacular 'sun temple' is in |
| The 'CHAITYAS'are the places or can be properly | | | | the shape of a chariot and is very renowned. It is very |
| termed as the temples where the people pray | | | | massive and richly carved with 24 intricately worked |
| together; | | | | wheels and 7 horses. The horses are believed to |
| In MAHARASHTRA---there are 'chaityas' with water | | | | symbolize the week days and the wheels represents |
| cisterns or 'podhis' to store rainwater. | | | | the hours. |
| Maharashtra also has renowned Ajanta and Ellora | | | | In Puri-there is a beautiful Jagannath temple. There are |
| caves in its Ajanta and Verul leni villages which have | | | | idols of Lord Krishna, Balbhadra and Subhadra which |
| paintings depicting the life of Buddha. | | | | are taken out for an annual 'Rath Yatra' in massive |
| In LADAKH - Buddhism is the merged belief of many | | | | chariots. Thousands of people from all over India |
| other rituals. Here, the Buddhist monasteries orGompas | | | | attend this grand procession. |
| are store houses of icons or murals; | | | | In Assam - the Hayagrina-Madhab in Hajo is also |
| In ASSAM - The Hayagrina-Madhab temple in Hajo is | | | | visited by Hindus like Buddhists; |
| visited by the Buddhists. | | | | A temple complex in the Bamuni hills of Tezpur was |
| Among the so many statues, shrines and temples of | | | | built in 9th century. |
| Lord Buddha most of them are in Asia especially in | | | | In Arunachal Pradesh - lord Vishnu is worshiped here |
| China, Korea and Japan. The LESHAN BUDDHA in | | | | and for so temples of lord Vishnu can be seen. |
| Sichuan, China is the world's tallest statue. | | | | In Manipur - lord Krishna and Radha are their idols. |
| In ARUNACHAL PRADESH--- ASIA'S second largest | | | | Their temples are not the only attraction here but also |
| Buddhist monasteries is present known as Twang | | | | the dance performance by the local people to reveal |
| Gompas. This monastery has homes for monks and | | | | their devotion for lord Krishna and Radha before the |
| other useful sanctums. | | | | 'Ras Lila'. The music on 'Mridanga'-a traditional drum is |
| This was just a brief account about natural deities and | | | | an integral part of this devotional performance. |
| Buddhism. Next at your door is the information about | | | | In Tripura - among the approximately 51 'Shakti' |
| Hinduism... | | | | temples of India, one of the most famous 'Tripura |
| HINDUISM - It is another ancient religion found thousand | | | | Sundari' temple is in Udaipur. |
| of years ago. It is widely practiced in India and Nepal. | | | | At the bank of river Gomti, among the hundreds of |
| With of pace of time Hinduism is expanded all over in | | | | sculptures, temples, rivers and carvings, there is a 3ft |
| different number of sectors and sub-groups and that | | | | high head of lord Shiva. It is an amazing piece of art |
| too with varying beliefs. Though most of the Hindus | | | | created with devotion. |
| believe that there are many gods like-Shiva, Ganesha, | | | | In Andhra Pradesh - there is a 'Ramappa' temple built |
| Brahma, Vishnu, Lakshmi so many more, there are | | | | in 1163. This temple has around 1000 intricately carved |
| few other with contradictory believes..... | | | | pillars and the main beauty is the 6ft tall 'Nandibull' |
| The revered and the devotion given by the devotees | | | | status carved out of a single rock. Nandibull is said to |
| to their idol is in different obeisance. For some, | | | | be one of the favorite devoted members of lord |
| meditation is the complete form of worship in which | | | | Shiva. |
| the person not only feels relaxed but there is a feeling | | | | In Karnataka -- in Halebidu and Bedur low, intricate |
| of a strong bond between the soul and the almighty. | | | | star-shaped temples are built dedicated to lord Vishnu; |
| Other form of worship includes: chanting, reading | | | | Hampi acts as a world heritage site with many |
| holy-books like Ramayana and Bhagwadgita and even | | | | beautiful temples. |
| performing sacrifices to the god. | | | | In 6th and 12th centuries temples were built with a style |
| In Jammu & Kashmir - the festival of 'Mahashivratri' is | | | | that was the merged of northern and southern style |
| celebrated lavishly and with a great zeal. It is festival of | | | | temples. During that pace of time in Pattadakal a |
| lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi. | | | | complex of around 10 temples was built. They were |
| In Himachal Pradesh - there are many temples of | | | | the perfect piece of art depicted as a world heritage |
| Hinduism with an old history. There is an ancient Hindu | | | | site. The 'Virupaksha 'temple there is very beautiful. |
| temple with a boiling hot spring well called 'Manikaran'. | | | | The ancient and everlasting statue of 18-armed 'Nat |
| The water is so hot that even rice, pulses and | | | | raja' devoted to lord Shiva can be seen among the |
| vegetables can be cooked. | | | | four carved cave temples in Badami. Another cave |
| In Haryana - birth of early Hinduism took place. The | | | | temple is devoted to lord Vishnu. |
| Vedic hymns and manuscripts were formulated here. | | | | In Tamil Nadu - there are remarkable groups of |
| In Uttranchal - where kumaon has a 900 years old | | | | rock-cut mountains and carved temples in |
| 'katarmal' sun temple, garhwal is a platform for lots of | | | | Mahabalipuram. They were created in 7th and 8th |
| Hindu mythologies. | | | | centuries and now in the list as world heritage site. In |
| The very renowned Badrinath & Kedarnath temples | | | | Madurai -there are number of magnificent temples with |
| of Hindu culture are the icons of Uttranchal. Badrinath is | | | | the whimsical beauty. The very 'Meenakshi' temple is |
| dedicated to lord Vishnu and situated between the Nar | | | | the beauty spot of this place. |
| and Narayan mountain ranges. This temple was built | | | | Whatever information I've tried to impart you is very |
| by Adi Shankracharya in the 8th century; Kedarnath is | | | | little. Otherwise, this religion is deeply elaborate and |
| devoted to lord Shiva situated at the sources of river | | | | distributed all over the country. |
| Mandakini. | | | | |