Srirangam
An outer Sri Rangam Temple gate, called Rajagopuram, South India. The main temple structure, or Gopuram (not pictured), is the tallest temple tower in South Asia.
Inside Sri Rangam temple, murals depicting Mahavishnu and Nrsimhadev, incarnations of Krishna.
Pilgrims wander in the Sri Rangam courtyard.
Ramesvaram
The Ramanathaswamy Temple in Ramesvaram.
Holy bathing spot adjacent to the Shiva temple in Ramesvaram.
View of Indian Ocean from Ramesvaram.
A sunrise in Ramesvaram.
Sri Kothanda Ramar temple, Ramesvaram. After defeating the evil King Ravana, Lord Rama held a coronation for Vibhusana at this spot.
Pilgrims visit the Sri Kothanada Ramar temple. The temple priest is translating the Ramanyan (Lord Rama's life story) into the Tamil language.
Inside Sri Kothanada Ramar temple a mural depicts Lakshman anointing Vibhasana.
The ocean at Ramesvaram, South India.
A doorstep in Ramesvaram.
Cape Comorin
The Kanya Kumari temple at Cape Comorin. Nori in foreground; photo by David M. Schiller, Jr.
Vivekananda Rock off Cape Comorin. The spot where Vivekananda prayed before coming to America in 1893.
Padmanabha Palace
The entrance to Padmanabha Palace.
Inside the royal palace, this was the dining room.
These clay pots were food containers. Padmanabha Palace was a district of South India that remained independent during the British Raj.
Vrindavana Dham
Moving north to Vrindavana, the land of Krishna's childhood. Monkeys play at Kesi Ghat, a temple on the bank of the Yamuna River. This is where Krishna killed Kesi, a demon who took the form of a horse to try to kill Krishna. For killing this demon, Krishna got the name Kesava.
A view of Ninduban, one of the holy gardens of Vrindavana. This is where Radha and Krishna sleep after the rasa dance.
Another view of Ninduban.
Seva Kunj, a sacred garden in the center of Vrindavana. This is the nighttime meeting place of Radha and Krishna, closed to the public after dusk.
Another view of Seva Kunj.
Raval - this is where Radharani was born, standing in a lotus flower in the Yamuna River.
Entrance of the Radha Raman temple, Vrindavana. This is the temple Gopala Bhatta Goswami built around 1542. It still houses Gopala Bhatta's Shaligrama shila deity of Radha-Raman, the lover of Radha.
Imil Tala, an ancient tamarind tree where both Krishna, and later Lord Chaitanya, used to sit to meditate.
A garden near Janmastan, Mathura, the place where Krishna was born.
Siva Vat, a pond dedicated to Lord Shiva in Mathura.
It is said that the eternal followers of Krishna like Uddhava long to take birth as flowers in the holy land to remember the Krishna's pastimes there.
Mayapur
This sign depicts the nine islands of Navadvipa, where Lord Chaitanya grew up.
The people of Mayapur perform harinam to remember Lord Chaitanya.
Jagannatha Puri
The Jagannatha temple in Puri.
The Tota Gopinatha temple courtyard. The Krishna deity once belonged to the saint Sri Gadadhara.
California
Just to prove you're never too far from India, the tour ends back in Los Angeles. The Malibu Canyon temple is a perfect scale replica of the Venkateshvara temple in Tirupati, South India. When we visited Sri Rangam, we met relatives of the priest who built the Malibu temple.
|
