The temple has the largest kitchen in the world and feeds thousands of devotees every day. The kitchen can prepare food for 100,000 people on a festival day and 25,000 for a normal day. The temple has as many as 6,000 priests. There is a wheel on top of the Jagannatha Temple made of an alloy of eight different metals known as "Asta - Dhatu". It is known as the "Nila Chakra“.In front of the main gate is an pillar, called "Aruna Stambha", which used to be in front of the Sun Temple in Konark. The figure on top of the pillar is Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun God. In the passage room of this gate is a Deity of Lord Jagannatha called "Patita Pavana" , visible from the road so non Hindus can take 'Darshana' of the Lord.

(PURI)

Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India. The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira, Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel Sudarshana are taken out from the temple precincts in an elaborate ritual procession to their respective chariots.

Ratha Yatra

The entire temple complex in Konark was designed in the form of a huge chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely carved wheels. The sanctum symbolises the majestic stride of the Sun God. There are two rows of 12 wheels on each side of the Konark sun temple. Some say the wheels represent the 24 hours in a day and others say the 12 months. The seven horses are said to symbolize the seven days of the week .

(KONARK)

These wheels symbolically supposed to carry the temple into the heavens, is an amazing piece of work when you examine it closely. According to historical records, it was often one man's carving job for his entire adult life.

All over the walls of this huge temple are beautiful carvings, sculptures and bas-reliefs (figures projecting from a plain background). Among them are thousands of images of gods, goddesses, men and women and scenes from life in the 13th century.

Though most of the structure has been destroyed over time, whatever remains shows a reminder of the genius of the craftsmen who gave their best to make this dream monument.

It is a convention in this temple, different from that followed in others, that the devotee offers worship first to Goddess Meenakshi. Therefore, while there are four other entrances into the temple, under huge Gopuras in the four cardinal directions, it is customary to enter not through any of them but through a Mandapa, with no tower above it. This entrance leads directly to the shrine of the Goddess.

The Mandapa is an impressive structure, with a hemispherical ceiling. It is 14m long and 5.5m wide. There are bas-reliefs all over the place. Over the entrance one of them depicts the marriage of Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Somasundara. The Mandapa derives its name, the "Ashta Sakthi", from the fact it contains sculptures of the eight Sakthis

Samagam Meenakshi Naicker Mandapa Mudali Pillai MandapaThe Unjal And Kilikatti Mandapas

Other MANDAPS are:-

Mahabalipuram art can be divided into 4 categories : open air bas - relief, structured temples, man-made caves and rathas. The famous Arjuna's Penance and the Krishna Mandapa, adorn massive rocks near the centre of the village, Mamallapuram. Sixteen man-made caves in different stages of completion are also seen, scattered through the area.

Perched on a rocky outcrop, it presides over the shoreline, serving, as Percy Brown puts its, 'a landmark by day and a beacon by night'. Designed to catch the first rays of the rising sun and to illuminate the waters after dark, the temple ends up with an unusual lay-out. As the main shrine faces the sea on the east, the gateway, the fore count and the assembly hall of the Shore Temple all lie behind sanctum.

Shore Temple(Mahaballipuram)

Nataraja Temple (Chidambaram)

It is unique because it is devoted soley to the Art of Bharat Natyam, where Lord Shiva is Depicted by an idol. The presiding Deity of the temple is represented by SPACE(vacuum)One of the five elements of the universe andIs known as AKASA LINGAM. The othersBeing water, wind, fire, earth.

Kanchi has magnificent temples of unique architectural beauty bearing eloquent testimony to its glorious Dravidian heritage. Adhishankaracharya established his Episcopal seat (Kamakoti Peetam).

Sri Varadharaja Swamy Temple

(Kanchipuram)

Sri Kailasanatha Temple

(Kanchipuram)

Presently under the protective care of The Archaeological Survey of India, Department under the Government of India, this temple is known to be more than 1700 years old .

Shaped like a half opened Lotus flower, this temple is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths and is an ideal place for meditation, obtaining peace & tranquility. The

lotus flower signifies “purity and peace”, a representation of the Manifestation of God, to the people of India.

It represents the Bahai faith, - an independent world religion; divine in origin, all embracing in scope, broad in its outlook, scientific in its method, humanitarian in its principles, and dynamic in the influence.

Khjuraho, a village in the central state of Madhya Pradesh is home to one of India’s Major attractions- the superb temple of Indo-Aryan architecture. These temple were built during the Chandella period, a dynasty which survived for five centuries before falling to the onslaught of Islam , Khajuraho temple, almost all, date form one Century-long bust of creative genius from 950-1050 AD.

Khajuraho Temples

Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval temples each studded with countless sculptures of extraordinary grace and delicacy. The temples of Khajuraho, are indeed, celebrations of the stylized and refined courtly accomplishments of beauty, love and creative arts.

An astronomical observatory designed by astronomer –King Sawaj jai Singh-IIof Jaipur in 1724. It was believed to have been built with masonary instrumentsfor the movements of the stars & the planets.

(NEW DELHI)

Build in 1799, the Hawa Mahal or the palace of Winds is one of the major landmarksof Rajput. This 5-story building which looks out over the main street of the old city is a stunning example of Rajput Artistry, with its pink semioctagonal & delicately honey-combed sandstone windows. It was originally built to enable the ladies of the Royal Household, to watch the everyday life & processions in the city. The Palace wasbuilt By Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh & is part of the city palace complex.

India's largest Mosque, Jama Masjid, is an eloquent reminder of the Moghul religious fervour. Originally called the Masjid-i-Jahanuma, or mosque commanding view of the world, this magnificent structure stands on the Bho Jhala, one of the two hills of the old Mughal capital city of Shahjahanabad, in the ancient town of Old Delhi. The monument which is the final architectural extravaganza of the Mughal Emperor, Shahjahan, was built between 1644 and 1658 by five thousand artisans.

(Delhi)

The emblem of Delhi, t he 72.55 meter high theQutab Minar was erected in the 13th century by Qutab-Ud-Din Aibak. The monument tapersfrom a 15-meter diameter base to just 2½ Metres at the top. Beautiful calligraphy adorns the adjacent edifices. The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony. The first three storeys are made of red sandstone, the fourth and fifth of marble and sandstone.

(DELHI)

The beautiful profile of this walled Indo-Saracenic palace, the seat of the Maharajas of Mysore, graces the city's skyline. It was built in 1907 at a cost of Rs 4.2 million. The palace is spectacularly illuminated on Sunday nights, and during the festive season of Dussehra.

(BANGALORE)

The caves of Ellora constitute one of the most beautiful expressions of theart of the Indian Middle Ages, and are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated outside the city of Aurangabad, 400km northeast from Mumbai, it was created between AD 350 and 1000 by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains who laboured to sculpt temples from the living rock. These breathtaking caves are remarkable for their sculptures and architecture.

(AURANGABAD)

There are thirty caves, including some unfinished ones. Of the Ajanta caves, five are chaityas or prayer halls and the rest are viharas or monasteries. These architectural phases coincide with the two schools of Buddhist thought, the older Hinayana school where the Buddha was represented only in symbols like the stupa, a set of footprints or a throne, and the later Mahayana sect which did not shy away from giving the Lord a human form.

(AURANGABAD)

Completed in 1648, the Red Fort is the largest of Old Delhi’s monuments. Its red sandstone walls dominate Old Delhi’s Muslim district, rising above a wide dry moat to a height of up to 33m (108ft), and are lined with turrets and bastions. Today, rather than repel enemy invaders, they keep out the noise of the surrounding city, and the serene gardens and pavilions within the fort hark back to the power and majesty of the Mughal emperors.

(OLD DELHI)