Popular Places Of Worship In Rajasthan

Rajasthan is a state of myriad temples and mosques, shrines and legends. The people of Rajasthan believe deeply in religion, and prayers and offerings are a regular affair. Here is a list of some of the more popular places of religious worship in Rajasthan, from Ajmer Sharif Dargah to Dilwara Temple, Brahma Mandir of Pushkar to Shrinathji Temple of Nathdwara. A pilgrimage around this state will be full of blessings.

Ranakpur is the most famous of all Jain temples in Rajasthan. It is widely known for its marble structure and is said to be the most spectacular of the Jain temples. Light colored marble has been used in constructing this temple. Over 1444 intricately carved marble pillars support the temple. The pillars are all differently carved and no two pillars are the same. There is also one beautiful carving made out of a single slab of marble, in which there are 108 heads of snakes and numerous tails. We challenge you to find the end of the tails!

Dargah Shariff also known as Ajmer Sharif is a huge crowd puller for the city of Ajmer. People of all faiths visit the Dargah, which is the resting place of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti who left for heavenly abode in 1256 AD after a six day prayer in solitude. These six days are celebrated every year as the annual Urs fair. The shrine was erected by the famous Mughal ruler Humayun. The tomb is built of marble and is close to the magnificent mosque built by Shah Jahan. The dome of the tomb is plated with gold!

The Dilwara Temples are located two and a half kilometers from Rajasthan's only hill station - Mount Abu. The 5 marble temples that constitute Dilwara were built between the 11th and 13th centuries A.D. and are a sacred place of the Jains. Although the Jains built many beautiful temples at other places in Rajasthan, it is widely held that none of the others match the Dilwara five in terms of perfection and beauty of architecture. The intricately carved imagery over the ceilings, doorways, pillars and panels is breathtaking!

The Brahma temple in Pushkar is one of Rajasthan's most popular tourist attractions. Situated right in the centre of the bustling temple town of Pushkar, known for its hippie tourists and dreadlocked sadhus, the Brahma temple receives a lot of attention. The temple becomes especially important during the months of October- November. This is the time when Pushkar comes alive with the joyous Pushkar festival. Thousands of pilgrims take a holy dip in the water of Pushkar Lake and bow their head before the temple of the Creator of the Universe - Lord Brahma.

The Govind Dev Ji Temple is a major tourist attraction in the city of Jaipur. The Temple is dedicated to Govind Dev Ji (Lord Krishna). There is an idol of Radha and Krishna here which is must sought after for darshan (homage). Different 'Aartis' (hymns) and 'Bhog' (edible offerings) are offered to the deity seven times a day. Tourists and devotees flock here in droves on occasions of special importance such as Janmashtmi, the birthday of Lord Krishna.

Dedicated to the goddess Dadhimati, this temple is one of the oldest surviving temples in northern India. Dadhimati is Avtar of Goddess Lamxi. It was built in the 4th century A.D. and has depictions of Valimiki's Ramyana all over the interiors.

Shrinathji is the manifestation of the 7 year old Lord Krishna who lifted the Goverdhan Hill. This idol was brought out of Goverdhan Hill (Vraj) 600 years ago and was brought to this town in Rajasthan around 300 years ago. Ever since, the temple and the palace built for Shrinathji has been the hub of devotees as well as travellers and tourists coming from all around the world. It is said that this lord gives 'darshan' to the devotees 8 times everyday; with Mangala (early morning), Shringar (getting ready), Rajbhog (lunch and noon), Utthaapan (siesta wake-up call) etc. 'Diwali in Nathdwara' and 'Holi in Nathdwara' are paticularaly famous, celebrated with great pomp. The town of Nathdwara is only 45 km away from Udaipur and makes for a great shopping, sight-seeing and eating paradise too.