Important Temples & Deities
Each region has one or two favorite incarnations of Lord Vishnu or other gods that they especially worship. From Uttar Pradesh to Bihar is Lord Rama, in Western India is Lord Krishna, in Maharashtra and northern Karnataka is Vitthala, in Tamil Nadu is Lord Vishnu, and in Andhra Pradesh is Narasirnha.
Each region has one or two important religious shrines. There are the Guruvayur and Padmanabha temples in Kerala; Sri Meenakshi (Madurai) and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu; Chamundeswari and Udupi in Karnataka; Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh; Pandharpur in Maharashtra, Dakor and Dwarka in Gujarat; and Nathdwar and Radha-Govinda (Jaipur) in Rajasthan
Throughout the provinces of India, the Supreme Lord is worshiped in various forms. At each different temple the Vishnu Deity is given a special name. Vishnu is know by various names. In Tamil Nadu He is worshiped as Varadaraja Perumal in Kanchipuram, Ranganatha Swami in Sri Rangam, and Kallalagar in Madurai. In Andhra Pradesh he appears as Tirupati Balaji, in Kerala as Guruvayurappan, in Karnataka as the beautiful Udupi Krishna, in Gujarat as Dwarkadhisa and Rancoraji, and in Pandharpur as Sri Vitthala. Often the names of the Deity are in reference to a pastime of Vishnu or Krishna.
Some places have become important pilgrimage spots because of the important temples located in those places such as Tirupati, Trivandrum, Kanchipuram, and Pananamur, which are all famous because of the Vishnu temples located there. Kedarnath, Bhubaneswara, Madurai and Rameswaram are famous for having important Siva temples.
Worshipers in a temple comes under three main groups: Vaishnavas, or worshipers of Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna, Shaivites, or worshipers ofLord Siva; and Shaktas, or worshipers of Durga, Kati, or Parvati. |
