Table of Contents

1. 2. 3. ASHTAKSHARA KSHETRAS ..................................................................................................................... 2 Thirukkanapuram All the 8 ashtaksharas at one place ...................................................................... 3 Ashtadasha Shakti Peethas ................................................................................................................... 4 Controversies in Shakti Peethas................................................................................................................ 7 4. Datta Kshetras ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Pancharamas ......................................................................................................................................... 8 5. 6. Pancharamas ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Jyotirlingas(Dwadasa Jyotirlingas) ...................................................................................................... 10 Controversies about Jyotirlingas ............................................................................................................. 10 7. 8. PanchaBhoothas ................................................................................................................................. 12 Navagraha Temples............................................................................................................................. 13

9 . Mukti Kshetras ....................................................................................................................................... 13 9. 10. Karnataka ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Tamilnadu ....................................................................................................................................... 15

11. Orissa..................................................................................................................................................... 17 12.West Bengal ........................................................................................................................................... 18 13.Assam ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 14.Uttar Pradesh ......................................................................................................................................... 18 15.Bihar ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 16.Jharkhand ............................................................................................................................................... 19 17.Uttaranchal ............................................................................................................................................ 19 18.Himachal Pradesh .................................................................................................................................. 20 19.Rajasthan ............................................................................................................................................... 20 20. Jammu and Kashmir .............................................................................................................................. 20 21. Madhya Pradesh ................................................................................................................................... 20 22.Kerala ..................................................................................................................................................... 20 23.Gujarat ................................................................................................................................................... 21 24. Maharashtra.......................................................................................................................................... 21 25.Andhra Pradesh...................................................................................................................................... 21

ASHTAKSHARA KSHETRAS
1. ASHTAKSHARA KSHETRAS
Swayam Vyakta Kshetras of Lord Vishnu
"Om Namo Narayanaya" -Ashtakshara mantram.Just like Jyotirlings which are swayumbu kshetras there are 8 ashtakshara swayam vyakta kshetras of lord vishnu as said by Swami Ramanujam.The sloka is as follows:

Srirangam Venkatadrischa SrimushNam Totaparvatam Salagramam Pushkaramcha NaranarayaNAshramam Naimisham Cheti ME SthananyasoU Mukthi PradhAnivai YetusvashtAksharaIkAka: VarNamUrthir VasAmyaham TishtAmi KrishNa KshEtrE puNya SapthakOgatha: AshtAksharasya Mantrasya SarvAkshara Maya SadA In this verse Lord Narayana points out that the eight Swayam Vyakta Kshetrams of Srirangam, Tirupathi, SrimushNam, Vanamamalai, Salagramam, Badri,and NaimisharaNyam,Pushkar grant liberation to those who visit the place. The Lord as the Archa Murthy at each of these Kshetrams signifies one Aksharam of his Ashtakshara Mantram.

Places, Deity and location

No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Place Srirangam Tirupati Srimushnam Nanguneri Muktinath/Salagramam Pushkaram Badrinath Naimisharanyam Deity Ranganatha swamy Venkateswara swamy Bhu varaha swamy Vanamamali perumal Chakrapani Vishnu Badari Narayana swamy Chakranarayana Location Srirangam<Trichi district<Tamilnadu Tirupati<Chittore district<Andhra Pradesh Srimushnam<Cuddalore district<Tamilnadu Nanguneri<Tirunelveli District<Tamilnadu Muktinath<Dhaval giri<Nepal Pushkar<Near Ajmeer<Rajasthan Badrinath<Near Nainital<Uttarakhand Nimsar<Near Lucknow<Uttar Pradesh

2. Thirukkanapuram All the 8 ashtaksharas at one place

At Tirukannapuram, Lord Vishnu is resident as the Ashtakshara Mantram in its entirety. The reason being is Tirumangai Mannan received MantrOpadesham i.e, ashtakshara mantram from the Lord Himself at this Kshetram. The Azhwar's Anubhavam in this Kshetram upon receiving Upadesham is beautifully reflected in 104 delectable verses. THIRUKKANNAPURAM > NEAR NANNILAM >THANJAVUR DISTRICT > TAMILNADU

Thirukkannapuram is home to a very special deity form of the Lord, considered to be Narayana-Trimurti. On a particular festival day, the Deity is taken out on procession as one or another of His Trimurti forms first giving darshan as Narayana, then as Brahma, then as Shiva. On each processional round, the deity accepts worship as the embodiment of the three divinities.

ASHTADASA SHAKTI PEETHAS

3. Ashtadasha Shakti Peethas Shloka of Adi Shankaracharya.
Lankayam Shankari devi, Kamakshi Kanchika pure / Pradyumne Shrinkhala devi, Chamunda Krouncha pattane //

Alampure Jogulamba, Sri shaile Bhramarambika / Kolha pure Maha lakshmi, Mahurye Ekaveerika //

Ujjainyam Maha kali, Peethikayam Puruhutika / Odhyane Girija devi, Manikya Daksha vatike //

Hari kshetre Kama rupi, Prayage Madhaveshwari / Jwalayam Vishnavi devi, Gaya Mangalya gourika //

Varanasyam Vishalakshi, Kashmire tu Saraswati / Ashtadasha Shakti peethani, Yoginamapi durlabham //

Sayamkale pathennityam, Sarva shatri vinashanam / Sarva roga haram divyam, Sarva sampatkaram shubham //

Name of the deity

Place

State

Bhramaramba

Srisailam

Andhra Pradesh

Jogulamba

Alampur

Andhra Pradesh

Manikyamba

Bhimavaram

Andhra Pradesh

Puruhutika

Pithapuram

Andhra Pradesh

Kamakhya

Gauhati

Assam

Mangala gauri

Gaya

Bihar

Vaishnavi

Jwalamukhi

Himachal Pradesh

Saraswati /Sarika

Srinagar

Kashmir

Chamundeswari

Mysore

Karnataka

Mahakali

Ujjain

Madhya Pradesh

Ekaveera

Mahur

Maharashtra

Maha lakshmi

Kolhapur

Maharashtra

Girija

Jajpur

Orissa

Sankari

Trinconmolee

Srilanka

Kamakshi

Kanchipuram

Tamilnadu

Shrinkhala

Pandua

West Bemgal

Madhaveswari /Lalitha

Allahabad

Uttar Pradesh

Visalakshi

Kasi

Uttar Pradesh

Controversies in Shakti Peethas

a) Sankari Devi Temple in Srilanka As per one theory the goddess is presently located at as Kheer Bhavani in tulla mulla at Srinagar. b) Shrinkala devi temple Originally the temple was supposed to be located at Pandua, hoogly district ,westbengal state but at present there is no temple at Pandua, As per one theory the shakti is carried by rishya shringa maharshi and is spread across shringeri mountains in karnataka. c) Kashmir saraswati As per one theory Adi Shankarachary has brought her to Sringeri and established her as Saraswati devi. d) Ekaveera devi ,mahur This temple is located at a village called heure 15 kms from mahur

Datta Kshetras 06-03-1949

Mahur: Kinvat taluka, Nanded district, Maharashtra.Considered to be the birth place of Lord Dattreya.One can reach Mahur either from Adilabad or from Nanded in Maharashtra. Place to see

a)enu Oudumbar: In the four months of chaturmas of the Hindu lunar calendar Shri Nrusinha Sarasvati lived here. This place is situated at a distance of 10 kilometres from Bhilvadi railway station in Maharashtra, on the banks of the river Krishna.One can reach this place from Sangli in Maharashtra.

Narsobavadi: This is located in Maharashtra. Shri Nrusinha Sarasvati lived here for twelve years. The confluence of the two rivers Krushna and Panchaganga occurs here. This is the place which inspired Tembeswami.One can reach this place from Sangli in Maharashtra

Gangapur: This is situated in Karnataka on the Pune - Raichur highway. The confluence of the rivers Bhima and Amaraja occurs here. It is here that Shri Nrusinha Sarasvati spent twenty-three years and carried out His entire mission. Later He proceeded to Srisailam from here.This place can be reached from Gulbarga in Karnataka

Kuravpur: This is an island in the waters of the Krushna river in Karnataka. One can reach this destination by road from Raychur till Palladini (Kurguddi). This is where Shripad Shrivallabh undertook His mission.This place can be easily reached from Makthal in Mahaboobnagar district

Pithapur: The birthplace of Shripad Shrivallabh, in Andhra Pradesh. It was Tembeswami who brought this place into the limelight. Varanasi : Here, the Dattatreya hermitage (math) is situated on the Narad ghat. The family members of Shri Nrusinha Sarasvati who still live here have the surname, Kale. Later, the name Kale was changed to Kaliya. Even today a garden and a lane named Kaliya exist here. Srisailam: Located close to Hyderabad, Shri Nrusinha Sarasvati travelled to this place. Bhattagaon (Bhadgaon): This is at a distance of 35 kilometres from Kathmandu. Panchaleshvar: District Bid, Maharashtra.The belief is the Lord Dattatreya will have his lunch every day.This place can be reached from Parli or from Aurangabad.

Suchindram Located near Tamilnadu, this place is considered to be the birth place of lord dattatreya

Pancharamas

4. Pancharamas
Pancharamas means five Aramas, ie. Five temples. Out of five four are present near Godavari river, and one present near Krishna river.

Amararamam Ksheeraramam Somaramam Draksharamam Bhimaramam

Amara Lingeswara swami Ksheera Rama lingeswara swami Someswara swami Bhimeswara swami Kumara Bhimeswara swami

Amaravathi, Guntur district Palakollu, West Godavari district Bhimavaram, West Godavari district Draksharamam, East Godavari district Samarlakota, East Godavari disrict

5. Jyotirlingas(Dwadasa Jyotirlingas)

Name Mallikarjuna

District Srisailam

State Andhra Pradesh

Vaidyanath

Vaidyanath dham,Bokaro

Jharkhand

Nageshwar

Dwarka

Gujarat

Mahakaleswar

Ujjain

Madhya Pradesh

Omkareswar

Indore

MadhyaPradesh

Bhimashankar

Pune

Maharashtra

Triambakeshwar

Nasik

Maharashtra

Kedarnath

Uttaranchal

Rameswaram

Tamilnadu

Somnath

Gujarat

Grushmeshwar

Ellora

Maharashtra

Viswanath

Kasi

UttarPradesh

Controversies about Jyotirlingas

1. Somnath : The present Jyotirling of Somnath is located at Saurath,Madhubani district Bihar 2.Naganath : Some people believe that Naganath at Aunda in Maharashtra is Jyotirling 3.Vaidyanath: Some consider Parli Vaidyanath in Maharashtra as Jyotirling

6. PanchaBhoothas
Indian belief associates the origin of life with the five basic elements (Pancha five, Bhootam Element) of Wind, Water, Fire, Earth and Space (ether). In Sanskrit, these elements are referred to as Vayu, Jalam (Apah), Agni, Prithvi and Aakasam. The Indian system of belief in Divinity also worships the divine as a manifestation of these basic elements. Accordingly, Shiva is worshipped as a manifestation of these elements in five ancient temples in India Name of the deity Place Type State

Kalahasteeswarar

Srikalahasti

Vayu

Andhra Pradesh

Arunachaleswarar

Thiruvunamalai

Agni

Tamilnadu

Ekamreswarar

Kanchipuram

Prithvi

Tamilnadu

Jambukeswarar

Tiruvaanaikkaa near Srirangam

Jala

Tamilnadu

Nataraja

Chidambaram

Akasa

Tamilnadu

7. Navagraha Temples
The base camp can be Kumbakonam in Tamilnadu to see the Navagraha temples
Surya (The Sun) - Suriyanar Koil Chandra ( The Moon) Thingaloor Angaraka ( Sewai ) The MarsVaitheeswarankoil Budan ( The mercury) Trivenkadu Guru ( The Vyazhan) (Jupiter) Alangudi Sukran (Velli) (The Venus) - Kanjanoor Sani ( The Saturn) Thirunallar Raghu Thirunageswaram Kethu Keezhaperumpallam 3 Kms. from Aduthurai which is on the Kumbakonam- Mayiladuthurai Road 1.5 Kms. from Thirupayhanam which is on the Kumbakonam-Thiruvayyaru Road 4 Kms. from Mayiladuthurai on the Chidambaram Road 10 Kms. SouthEast of Sirkali About 15 Kms. from Kumbakonam on the way to NeedaMangalam An interior village on the Mayiladuthurai - Kathiramangalam Road On the way to Peralam- Karaikkal. 5 Kms from karaikkal About 7 Kms from Kumbakonam-Karaikkal Road Near PoomPuhar Mayiladuthurai- Poompuhar road

9 . Mukti Kshetras
S.no. 1 Place Ujjain State Madhya Pradesh

Mathura

Uttar Pradesh

Haridwar

Uttaranchal

Varnasi

Uttar Pradesh

Kanchipuram

Tamilnadu

Dwaraka

Gujarat

Ayodhya

Uttapradesh

The belief is that a person who leaves his body in any of the above places is assured of Mukti

8. Karnataka
a) Gokarna Place of Atamlinga,3hrs from Hubli b) Kollur Mukambika c) Shringeri Sharada

d) Hornadu Annapurna Devi e) Dharmasthali Sri Manjunath f) Kokki Subhramanyam g) Murudeshwar near Gokarna h) Udupi Sri Krishna temple i) Manik Prabhu at Manik Nagar near Humnabad j) Gangapur Sri Nrisimha Saraswati Temple k) Mysore Chamundeswari devi

9. Tamilnadu
a) Sri Rangam Ranganatha Swami temple b) Kanyakumari Kanyakaparameswari temple

c) Vakhrakali Temple near dindivanam d) Om Shanti Om e) Bruhadeshvara swami temple in Thanjavur f) Mariamma temple near srirangam and thanjavur g) Kumbakonam h) Tiruttani Subhramanyam Swami temple i) Subramanya swami temple in Thirukandrapuram near Madurai j) Golden temple in vellore k) Pakshi teertham l) Mahabalipuram m) Srimushnam,Varaha avataram,Cuddalore district n) Nangunari,Vaanamalai,Tirunelveli District o) Rameswaram p) Dhanushkoti near rameswaram q) Madurai Meenakshi r) Kanchipuram -Kamakshi s) Chidambaram-

t) Thiruvunamalai,Arunchaleswar,3 hrs from Chennai u) Thiruchinapalli ,Jambukeswar

v) Navagraha temples I. Suriyanar Koil II. Thingaloor III. The MarsVaitheeswarankoil IV. Trivenkadu V. Alangudi VI. Kanjanoor VII. Thirunallur VIII. Thirunageswaram IX. Keezhaperumpallam w) Thirukkannapuram

11. Orissa
1.Puri Jagannath 2.Tharuni Mata,100 kms from Bhubaneshwar

3.Konark 4.Lingaraj temple is Bhubaneshwar 5.Jajpur-Girija devi

12.West Bengal
1.Ganga Sagar 2.Kalimata temple in Kolkatta 3.Dakshineshwar temple in kolkatta 4.Pandua

13.Assam
1.Kamakya Gauhati 2.Navagraha Temples near Gauhati

14.Uttar Pradesh
1.Naimasharnayam 2.Beetul 3.Gorakhpur

4.Ayodhya 5.KAshi 6.Sarnath 7.Prayag 8.Vindhyachal vasini 9.Kurukshetra 10.Mathura 11.Gokulam 12.Brindavanam

15.Bihar
1.Gaya 2.Saurath

16.Jharkhand
1.Vaidhyanath Dham

17.Uttaranchal
1.Haridwar 2.Rishikesh 3.Pancha Prayag 4.Kedarnath

4.Badrinath 5.Gupt kasi

18.Himachal Pradesh
1.Jwalamukhi

19.Rajasthan
Mt.Abu Pushkar

20. Jammu and Kashmir

1. Vaishnavi devi near Jammu 2. Sarika devi at Srinagar 3. Kheer bhavani ,Tullamulla,Srinagar

21. Madhya Pradesh

1. Ujjain 2. Omkareswar 3. Amarkantak

22.Kerala
1.Trivandrum Ananta Padmanabha swami temple 2.Guruvayur 3.Suchindram

23.Gujarat
a) b) c) d) e) f) Somnath Dwaraka Ambaji Mata near Mr.Abu Pavagadh near baroda Shyamlaji enroute to Mt.Abu Bet Dwaraka

24. Maharashtra
a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k) l) m) n) Vinayaka temple in sangli Audumbar Narsobawadi Nasik Shirdi Grishneswar near ellora Bhimashankar near Pune Parli Vaiyanath Aunda Naganath Rakhas mandir ,Beed district Panchaleswar Shegaon Gajanan Maharaj Akkalkot Mahur near nanded

25.Andhra Pradesh
Place Arasavalli Srikurmam Annavaram Simhachalam Ainavalli Dwaraka tirumala Dwarapudi Deity Suryanarayana Temple Kurmavataram Satyanarayana swamy Narasimha swamy Varasiddi vinayaka swamy Venkateswara swami Ayyappaswami temple Near Srikakulam Near Srikakulam Near Visakhapatnam Near Visakhapatnam Near Amalapuram Dwarka tirumala Dwarapudi

Kakinada Bikkavolu Ponnur Pithapuram Hamsala Devi Vadapalli Vikarabad Vedadri Antarvedi Kuruvi Ahobhilam Mahanandi Vemulavada Kondagattu Komaravalli Vargal Mopidevi Bhadrachalam Vijayawada Mangalagiri Pedakakani Basara Navanatha puram Jharasangam Nimbachalam Narasimha Vijayawada

Bhawanarayana Vinayakaswami Anjaneyaswami Kukuteswara swami Bhawanarayana Narasimha Swami temple Anantha padmanabhaswami Narasimha Swami temple Laxmi narsimha swami temple Veerabhadra swami temple Narasimha Swami temple Eswara Raja rajeswara temple Anjaneyaswami temple Eswara Saraswati devi temple

Kakinada Bikkavolu Guntur District East Godavari Near Avanigadda,krisna dt Near Miryalguda,Nlgd dist Vikarabad ,RR dist Near Jagayyapet,Krisna dist Antarvedi Near mahboobabad,Warangal Near Allagadda Mahanandi Karimnagar district Karimnagar district Near Siddpet,medak district

Krishna district Sri Rama temple Khammam district Kanaka durga temple Krishna district Laxmi narasimha swami temple Guntur district Eswara temple Pedakakani Saraswati devi temple Adilabad district Eswara temple Nizamabad Kethaki sangameshwara swami Zaheerabad temple Limbadri gutta/Nimbachala Kanakadurga Nizamabad Vijayawada