Lingaraja Temple & Tirupati Balaji Temple

 Lingaraja Temple

Lingaraja temple is one of the oldest and largest temples of the ‘Temple City of India’ – Orissa. Drenched in the architectural style typical of Kalinga, the temple doesn’t only attract religious devotees but also the historians.

The idol of Lingaraj usually represents Lord Shiva, but over here it symbolizes Shiva and Vishnu. The combined form of both the Gods is referred to as Harihara. A large lake called Bindu Sagar touches the temple from one side and is said to have healing powers. Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the premises, thus they can see the magnificent structure from a platform outside the temple. Shivratri is the main festival of the temple.

Major Attractions :-  The main attractions of worship are the architecture of the temple itself. The Lingaraj shrine is known to be an overwhelming sight as it is the largest temple, in terms of height and distance, in the city. It is surrounded by old and intricate sculptures, magnificently structured courtyards that are accompanied by 150 smaller temples and its lofty towe.

The shrine is typically divided into four main sections. The first is the main sanctum and the remaining are the Yajna Shala, Bhoga Mandap and the Natya Shala. The temple compound also has several individual establishments that are dedicated to Goddess Bhuvaneshvari, Lord Narasimha, Ganesha, Kartikeya and Vishnu. But the area for Goddess Parvathi is said to be the most popular attraction.

The best time to visit the Lingaraj Temple is between January and March, to witness the divine festivity of Shivratri

How to Get There

To visit the Lingaraj temple, you have to make a stopover at Bhubaneswar. The city is one of the popular tourist spots for both holiday makers and pilgrims around the country.

By Air:

The Bjiu Patnaik Airport is located in the heart of the city centre and mainly operates domestic airlines. There are several flights that commute back and forth to metros in the country, on a daily basis. Some of the cities connecting to Bhubaneswar by air are New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore.

By Train:

Bhubaneswar is the headquarters of the East coast of the Railway Division. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that this city is well connected to other major railway junctions located in the metros. There are passenger trains which travel on a regular basis

By Road:

The city has good private and public bus service that runs on the state and national highway. The OSRTC (Odisha State Road Transport Corporation) is situated just 8km away from city center. 

The Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar is a fine exhibition of divinity and unique structural skills that the city continues to boast of. Every year, the shrine is flocked by ardent devotees of Lord Shiva and enthusiastic tourists.

 Tirupati Balaji

Located in the hilly town of Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh), the temple is also known as Tirumala Venkateshwara temple. The temple is devoted to Lord Venkateshwara, who is popularly called ‘Balaji’ and is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Venkateshwara Tirupati Balaji is the second richest religious site with people offering money and gold to their Lord running into millions, each day

.The ancient temple has been visited by the rulers of many grand dynasties of Southern India. The temple celebrates many festivals, most famous among them is Brahmotsavam (also known as ‘Salakatla brahmotsavam’), which goes on for 9 days and witnesses a great mass of the devotees.

The laddoos (a kind of sweet), which are given in the form of prasadam in the shrine are famous around the world for their unique delectable taste. As a religious ritual, people get their heads tonsured in large numbers over here, so much so that every year about 6 million US dollars are earned through the auction of hairs.

There are many more legends about the Venkatachala Hill and Lord Ven kateswara in the Varaha and Bhavishyottara Puranas. The meritorious benefits acquired by a pilgrimage to Venkatachala are mention in the Puranas and Sri Venkateswara is described as the great giver of boons.

All the great dynasties of the southern peninsula had paid their tribute to this ancient shrine. The Pailavas of Kancheepuram (9th century A.D,), Cholas, Pandyas and the kings, chiefs of \/iiayanagar (14th - 15th Century) were ardent ‘devotees of Lord \/enkateswara and they vied with each other in endowing the temple with rich offerings and benefactions, lt was during the Viayanagar  period the glory of  Tirumala reached its pinnacle. The statues of Sri Krishna Devaraya, the illustrious king ofthe Vijayanagara empire and his consorts were installed in the temple at the portals, in his own life-time and they can be seen even today. There are also statues of Achyuta Raya and Venltatapati Raya, Sri Krishna Deva Raya visited the sacred shrine seven times with his consorts during his reign.

Even after the decline of the Vijayanagar dynasty, inspite of the  cholas and anarchy that prevailed in the region, the nobles and chieftains from all parts of the country continued paying their homage and gifts to the temple. The Maratta general, Raghoji Bhonsle, visited the temple and set up a permanent endowment for the conduct of worship in the temple, He also presented valuable jewels to the Deity, including the great emerald which is still preserved in a box named after him. Among the later rulers who have endowed large benefactions are the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal.

After the fall of the Hindu kingdoms, the Muslim rulers of Karnataka and the Britishers stepped into their shoes and many of the temples including the temples of Tirumala and Tirupati came under their supervisory and protective control.

ln 1843 when the East India Company divested itself of the direct management of non-Christian places of worship and of native religious institutions, the administration of the shrine of Sri Venkateswara with a number of estates was entrusted to Sri Seva Dossji of the Hathiramji  Mutt at Tirumala as  Vicharanakarta and for nearly a century, till 1933 the temple was under the administrative charge of the mahants.

ln 1933 by a special Act passed by the Madras Legislature, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams  Committee was invested with the powers of administration and control through a Commissioner appointed by the Government of Madras. This committee was assisted by a Religious Advisory Council in regard to religious matters and a Ryots Advisory Council in regard to the management of the estates of the TTD.