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8 Most interesting and unknown facts about Golden Temple, Amritsar

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1) The name Sri Harmandir Sahib literally means the “Temple of God” and reflects the true meaning and purpose of this majestic shrine, which stands for treating God as one and making no distinction among his worshipers on the basis of cast, color, creed and religion.

 

2) In 1581 Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the son of Guru Raam Das became the fifth Guru and helped in completing the construction of lake and the stairways on every side to be paved with bricks.

 

3) The foundation of the gurudwara was amazingly laid down by a Muslim sage called Mian Mir, though its construction was started by Guru Ram Das in 1588 and completed by another Sikh Guru, Guru Arjun Dev.

 

4).The Golden Temple stands in all its glory in the middle of a holy tank called the Amrit Sarovar, which is a man made tank. Pilgrims who visit the shrine usually take a dip in the sarovar, which is believed to bear special healing powers.

 

5) The temple was devastated again and again, first by the Mughals and the Afghans and later during a clash between the Indian Army and terrorists in the Operation Blue Star of the eighties. But it has now been renovated and stands as a mark of glory of the Sikh religion.

 

6) The main hall of the Golden Temple houses the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikh religion. It is placed on a raised platform under a canopy studded with precious jewels.

 

7) The Golden Temple has been a monument of worldwide fame on account of organizing the largest langar sewa in the world, where more than 35000 people are fed on a daily basis.

 

8) Structurally, the temple is located on a level below the ground level as it signifies that one must be humble and go down to reach the temple of God. This design is quite opposite to that of the Hindu temples, most of which are built at an elevated level.

posted May 15, 2017 by anonymous

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Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple is a landmark Vaishnavite temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Venkateswara, an incarnation of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from trials and troubles of Kali Yuga. Hence the place has also got the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntham and Lord here is referred to as Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam. The temple is also known by other names like Tirumala Temple, Tirupati Temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple. Lord Venkateswara is known by many other names: Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa.

 

1) This temple holds immense significance for people belonging to Hinduism. According to Hinduism, there is a total of 8 Vishnu Swayambhu Kshetras and the Tirupati Balaji temple is one of them.

 

2) It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received and wealth. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world.

 

3) The view of Tirumala hills from down in Tirupati.

 

4) The world-famous "Tirupati Laddu" is given at Tirumala Temple as prasadam. Tirupati Laddu had got Geographical indication tag which entitles only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to make or sell it.

 

5) Oil lamps are used in worshipping Lord Balaji. These oil lamps are placed in front of the idol of the lord. The amazing thing is that these lamps never get put off. No one knows the time when these lamps were lit up for the first time.

 

6) All Gods are worshipped by flowers and at the Tirupati Balaji Temple, these flowers come from a secret village which is never seen and discovered by any outsider and even they are not allowed to get into that secret village. The villagers are the only people who are allowed to that village which is 22 km away from the temple. Not only flowers, other items like ghee, butter, milk, bilva leaves, banana leaves are also provided by that secret village.

 

7) Lord Balaji statue has real hair, it is said and believed that Lord Balaji idol has real hair which never tangles and are super silky smooth always.

 

8) Lord Balaji’s idol has a specific temperature always maintaining 110 degrees F. But the temple is situated at a height of about 3000 feet which means the climate is normally cold up there and every morning at 4:30 am after the Abhishekam Lord Venkateswara Swamy is done with water, milk as well as other holy and divine dravayam, sweat appears in the form of fine water drops and particles on the idol or Lord Balaji’s body which is also wiped off with a silk fabric cloth. 

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6. Rani Padmini was one of the prominent queens of those times. She was the wife of king Rawal Ratan Singh, the Rajput ruler of Chittor.

7. To commemorate the victory of Sultan of Malwa; Mahmud Shah I Khlaji in 1440 AD, the tower of victory named Vijay Stambha or Jaya Stambha was raised by Rana Khumbha. This is an expression of victory triumph- also called the symbol of Chittor.

8. When viewed from the higher view, the fort is shaped like a fish.  It has a boundary of 13 km with a determined length of 5 km and it covers an area of 700 acres.

9. The fort of Chittorgarh contains a total of 65 notable buildings, including 4 memorials, 4 palaces, and 19 temples.

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