In a small household in Kolkata, a boy named Rajesh Kumar Tiwari grew up listening to his father, Shri Shivji Tiwari, deliver religious discourses. The family’s ancestral roots traced back to Siwan, Bihar — and with those roots came languages …
Among the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and the 51 Shakti Peethas of the Goddess across India, these are understood as two separate sacred networks — each Jyotirlinga its own pilgrimage, each Shakti Peetha its own. Baba Baidyanath Dham in …
Malathi Rajan had visited Tiruchendur, Swamimalai, Thiruparankundram, and Thiruthani — four of the six Arupadai Veedu, the sacred abodes of Lord Murugan. At Thiruthani, she had stood before Shantha Murugan, the peaceful Lord resting after his victory over the demon …
According to the Skanda Purana, four immortal Deva Rishis — Sanaka, Sanatkumara, Sanatsujata, and Sankara — eternally youthful sages who appeared as five-year-old children, once visited Kailasa to worship Lord Shiva. Detached from worldly concerns to the point of not …
In December 1971, during the India-Pakistan war, the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi was tasked with attacking the INS Vikrant — India’s aircraft carrier stationed at Visakhapatnam. The Ghazi sank off the Vizag coast under circumstances that have been debated by …
Located in the scenic village of Ainavilli in East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, the Sri Vigneswara Swamy Temple, also known as Ainavilli Temple, is one of the oldest and most sacred temples dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The …
Among the more than eighty intricately carved sculptures adorning the Chennakeshava Temple at Belur, one detail consistently stops visitors mid-sentence: a Madanika (celestial nymph) figure whose stone bangles, carved from the same single block of soapstone as her arm, can …
Maa Tara Tarini Temple, situated atop the Kumari Hills on the banks of the Rushikulya River in Ganjam district, Odisha, is one of the most revered Shakti Peethas in India. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Tara and …
Mantralayam, located in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, just 20 km from Mantralavam, is one of the most revered Vaishnava pilgrimages in South India. The temple is dedicated to Sri Raghavendra Swamy, a 16th-century saint, philosopher, and …
Priya Shah, a 41-year-old from Ahmedabad, had completed three of the four Char Dhams — Badrinath, Jagannath Puri, Rameshwaram. Dwarka was her last. She arrived early in the morning, climbed the 56 steps from Gomti Ghat to the temple entrance, …
