The Khodiyar Mandir in Rajpara sits on the Bhavnagar Rajkot highway, beside the calm waters of Tataliya Lake. The temple is not old in the sense of the ancient stone temples of Tamil Nadu. But the devotion here is old. The goddess is Maa Khodiyar, a form of Adi Shakti. She is the Kuldevi of … Read more
The Kundrathur Murugan Temple sits on a small hill, about twenty five kilometers from Chennai. The city spreads below, flat and gray. But the hill is green. The climb is short, eighty four steps. The stone is worn smooth by the feet of devotees. The temple is ancient, dating back to the 12th century, to … Read more
The Shree Shyam Baba Mandir in Surat is not an ancient temple. It was inaugurated in 2017, on Basant Panchami. But the devotion here is old. The deity is Shyam Baba, the Kali Yuga form of Barbarik, the grandson of Bhima. The original temple is in Khatu, Rajasthan. For devotees in Gujarat, the distance to … Read more
The Ambaji Temple sits in the Aravalli hills, on the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The air is dry. The hills are rocky. The temple is not grand in the way of the South Indian gopurams. It is modest. But the power here is not in the stone. It is in the absence of stone. … Read more
The Shri Nageshwar Jyotirlinga sits near Dwarka, in the dry landscape of Gujarat. The temple is not large. The crowds are. The lingam here is special. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The legend says that a demon named Daruka captured the sage Supriya and his disciples in a forest called Darukavanam. The sage … Read more
The Babulnath Temple sits on a hill near Girgaum Chowpatty, in the heart of South Mumbai. The city is loud and crowded, but the temple is not. The climb is steep, 110 stairs, unless you take the lift, which costs one rupee. The air changes as you go up. The traffic fades. The sea appears … Read more
The Rameshwaram Temple sits on Pamban Island, at the southern tip of India, where the Bay of Bengal meets the Indian Ocean. The sea is everywhere. You smell it before you see the temple. The sound of waves mixes with the sound of bells. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, but the story here … Read more
The Omkareshwar Temple sits on Mandhata Island in the Narmada River, in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. The island is shaped like the Om symbol. From the air, you see it. From the ground, you feel it. The river flows around the island, wide and brown, carrying the prayers of thousands. The temple is … Read more
The Trimbakeshwar Temple sits at the foot of the Brahmagiri Hills, in the small town of Trimbak in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. This is not just another Shiva temple. This is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. But Trimbakeshwar is different from the others. The lingam here is not a single stone. It is a … Read more
The Sabarimala Temple sits deep in the Western Ghats, surrounded by dense forests and steep hills. It is not a temple you drive up to. You walk. The last four kilometers from Pamba are on foot, climbing stone steps, breathing hard, sweating in the cold air. The pilgrimage is not easy. The rules are strict. … Read more