Somewhere between the darshan queue and the fugadi dancing, between ancient stone pillars and the riverfront, my nine-year-daughter found her own understanding of pilgrimage, says Hemantkumar Shivsharan.
Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, who was the chief priest during the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple at Digha on April 30, on Friday joined the voices demanding withdrawal of the 'Jagannath Dham' phrase attached to the new temple in West Bengal.
Nushrratt Bharuccha offered prayers at the Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain on Tuesday and sought Lord Shiva's blessings.
Currently, there is no Hindu temple in Narowal district, forcing the Hindu community to perform their religious rituals at home or travel to temples in Sialkot and Lahore.
A Shiv temple in Ludhawala, a predominantly Muslim locality in Muzaffarnagar, was reopened on Monday after being closed for over 30 years. The temple, built in 1971, was shut down during the communal tensions triggered by the Ayodhya incident in 1992. The reopening ceremony was conducted peacefully with a 'havan' and local Muslims showering flowers on a procession of Hindu activists. The event was marked by a display of harmony, highlighting the importance of religious tolerance and understanding.
In a heartfelt tribute to mark 50 years of Rajinikanth in cinema, a fan named Karthik adorned the Rajinikanth temple in Madurai, Arulmigu Sri Rajini Temple, with over 5,500 photographs of the superstar.
Kailashanand Giri Maharaj of Niranjani Akhara, along with Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Vinod Panicker, a known Poorakali-Marathukali artist for the last 37 years, alleged that the management of some local temples informed him that he could not perform the traditional artform as he lives in the same house where his non-Hindu daughter-in-law lives.
A wedding held at a 200-year-old temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore has kicked up a row, prompting the authorities to order a probe into the matter, officials said on Monday.
The wall collapsed on the Rs 300 ticket queue line near the shopping complex on the ghat road from Simhagiri Bus Stand at around 3 am. Heavy overnight rains and strong winds are suspected to have loosened the soil, causing the structure to fall, Anitha told reporters.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra has appealed to devotees from nearby areas to postpone their visit to Ayodhya for 15-20 days, citing the large number of devotees flocking to the town since January 26. The trust said this will allow devotees from distant places to have an easier darshan experience. The appeal comes as Ayodhya has witnessed a footfall of around 40 lakh devotees since Monday, choking the roads and bylanes leading to the Ram Temple with huge traffic snarls.
Priests at the famed Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan have rejected a demand to stop using attires made by Muslim artisans for its deity, emphasizing that religious discrimination has no place in temple traditions. The demand was raised by a right-wing group, who argued that the deity's attire should be made only by those who adhere to "religious purity." The temple priests countered by highlighting the historical contributions of Muslim artisans to temple traditions and the impracticality of replacing them.
The family of Anjel Chakma, who was killed in Dehradun, is seeking capital punishment or life imprisonment for those responsible. They also urge the government to prevent racial hate crimes against people from the Northeast.
The upper caste people, mostly Vokkaligas, allegedly took away the 'Utsava Murthy', the metallic festival idol of the deity for performing rituals outside the temple in Hanakere village.
Buildings were decorated with colourful lights and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country thronged temples and celebrated Diwali with pomp on Monday.
Thousands of devotees thronged Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple for Angaraki Ganesh Chaturthi.
Glimpses of Home Minister Amit Shah's busy busy Sunday, crisscrossing India.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging the Karnataka government's decision to invite International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Mysuru Dasara this year.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that forcibly seizing someone's faith and trampling over their beliefs is "unacceptable," especially "when we know the truth about Sambhal" which predates Islam, with the Vishnu temple there being destroyed in 1526. He said that Sambhal has been mentioned in scriptures that are 5,000 years old, which contain references to Lord Vishnu's future incarnation. He also mentioned that a temple of Lord Vishnu in Sambhal was demolished in 1526, and two years later, in 1528, the Ram temple in Ayodhya was destroyed, both acts carried out by the same person.
The Badrinath temple in the Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand opened for devotees on Sunday, May 12, 2024, after remaining closed during the winter.
All four gates of Jagannath temple in Puri were reopened for devotees on Thursday morning in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his council of ministers.
Sukumaran Nair said he had noted Natesan's remarks and that a decision would be taken after a meeting scheduled for January 21.
Hundreds of people were captivated by watching the auspicious Theyyam ritual at the Veerarkavu Temple in the Kasaragod district of Kerala when a thundering explosion and a ball of fire shattered the serene atmosphere around midnight.
Traditional Lathmar Holi festivities commenced in Nandagaon on Sunday, marking the beginning of the week-long Holi celebrations in Mathura.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the main "yajman" at the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, Laxmikant Dixit, the main priest for the ritual, said on Wednesday.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a purported video which surfaced on social media, the accused man, reportedly a Tamil Nadu native, could be seen sitting on a platform atop the Ponnambalamedu Hills, located about four km from the Sabarimala temple, and chanting mantras and doing some rituals.
Once a quiet riverside ritual, Dev Deepawali has evolved into UP's largest soft-power spectacle -- merging faith, art, enterprise into a global cultural brand that reflects state's growing confidence.
A controversy has erupted in Mysuru over the ownership of Chamundi Hill, home to the Chamundeshwari Temple, ahead of the Dasara festival. Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family criticized Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's statement that the hill is not the property of Hindus alone, leading to a heated exchange and raising questions about the nature of the upcoming Dasara celebrations.
Earlier, there was a debate if Modi is entitled to adopt the role which usually goes to a "householder".
Senior BJP leaders and an expelled MLA have questioned the Karnataka government's decision to have author Banu Mushtaq inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara festivities, citing concerns about her faith and its appropriateness for a religious ceremony.
Following India's victory over Afghanistan in the second T20I at the Holkar stadium in Indore on Sunday, January 14, 2024, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma and Ravi Bishnoi worshipped at the Shree Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain.
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
Adityanath spent hours reviewing the arrangements for the ceremony at the Ram Janmabhoomi, where the temple will be constructed following the go-ahead last year by the Supreme Court.
'When you attend an RSS function, the nation is your first priority.'
Reaching out to Dalits and backward classes, the administration of the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirupati has launched several initiatives for the community including training them in performing temple rituals.
Devotees thronged the streets with chants, bhajans, and devotional fervour, marking the occasion with spiritual enthusiasm and reconnecting with their cultural roots.
'They are from the north, east, west, south and northeast part of India. They will be the 'mukhya yajmaan' (main hosts)'
Rammu Guru, the head priest of the temple, said, "Sai Baba was being worshiped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to scriptures."
The reopening of the Ratna Bhandar became a major political issue during the recently held assembly elections in the state.
