BIRLA TEMPLE

The temple is built in the Nagara style of architecture interspersed with modern influences. The entire temple is adorned with relief carvings depicting the scenes from mythology. 101 skilled pundits from Benares, headed by Acharya Vishvanath Shastri, carved the idols of the temple. One can find a number of friezes and artistic sculptures add to the aesthetic beauty of this temple. The highest Shikara of the temple above the sanctum sanctorum soars 160 feet high. The temple faces the east and is situated on a high plinth. It leades to a platform from where a few more steps lead to sanctum sanctorum. This chamber is dedicated to Lord Narayan and Goddess Lakshmi. There are other small shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Hanuman. The holy Vedas are also enshrined in this temple. There is also a shrine dedicated to Lord Buddha. The shrine is adorned with fresco paintings depicting his life and work. The icons of the temple are in marble brought from Jaipur. Kota stone from Makarana, Agra, Kota and Jaisalmer were used in the construction of the temple premises.The Geeta Bhawan to the north of the temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The temples premises are dotted with miniature rock temples, which are a craze amongst the children. An artificial landscape complete with mountains and cascading waterfalls add to the beauty of the temple.


Lakshmi Narayan Mandir is situated to the west of Connaught Place in Delhi. Constructed by Raja Baldev Das in the year 1938, it is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. Also known by the name of Birla Mandir of New Delhi, this temple has quite an interesting history attached to it. Built over a period of 6 years, the temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. But, he kept a condition that he will inaugurate the Delhi Laxmi Narain Temple only if the people from all castes, especially untouchables, would be able to gain entry inside it. The temple constitutes of one of the major draws of the city and is visited by numerous devotees and international tourists every year.

Lakshmi Narayan Mandir is built magnificently, although with a modern touch. Adorning the interiors of the temples are beautiful carvings depicting the scenes from mythology. Numerous Hindu symbols and quotes from the Gita and the Upanishads ornament the temple walls. The highest Shikara (tower) in the temple soars to an altitude of 165 ft, while the ancillary one is about 116 ft. Facing east and standing on an elevated platform, Birla Mandir of Delhi also enshrines the holy Vedas. The main shrine is dedicated to Lord Narayan and Goddess Lakshmi, while the smaller ones are of Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman and Goddess Durga.

To the north of the New Delhi Laxmi Narain Temple is the Geeta Bhawan, devoted to Lord Krishna. There is also a Buddha temple in this temple complex, adorned with murals describing his life and work. All the statues in the temple are made up of marble and were brought from Jaipur. Miniature rock temples, which dot the temple, hold a special attraction for the children. The splendor of the temple is enhanced by an artificial landscape in the back, with mountains and cascading waterfalls. The festival of Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, lends an enhanced significance to the temple.

MANAS NATIONAL PARK

Introduction
There is no one way to describe Manas National Park.
Lying on the foothills of the Himalaya, Manas is the most stunning pristine wildlife habitat in India, comparable to the best in the world in the beauty of its spectacular landscape. It is also a UNESCO Natural World Heritage (in danger) site, a Project Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere Reserve - a unique distinction. This Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forest Terrestrial Eco-region is also the richest in species of all Indian wildlife areas and the only known home for the rare and endangered Assam Roofed Turtle, Hispid Hare, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog.
And the shame is that we watched and participated in the butchering of Manas for 17 years !!
Manas is the closest I have come to seeing paradise on earth in my life - but that was 25 years ago. Today, Manas looks like an aged diva wearing rags, though I think I still caught the familiar sparkle in the eye.
The focus point of Manas National Park is the enchanting Manas River, named after the serpent goddess Manasa. It is the largest Himalayan tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra. Coming down the Bhutan Hills from the north, the crystal clear waters of the Manas river runs through the heart of the 500 sq. km core area of Manas Park. The main tourist spot of Mothanguri, on the northern border of Manas with Bhutan, is situated on the banks of this river.
Situated in the north bank of the Brahmaputra river, in Assam, Manas lies on the international border with Bhutan. It is bounded on the north by the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan, on the south by populous North Kamrup district and on both east and west by buffer forest reserves which are part of 2,840 sq. Km Manas Tiger Reserve.
The Manas River flows through the west of the park, where it splits into two separate rivers, the Beki and Bholkaduba. These and five small rivers drain the Reserve which lies on a wide low-lying alluvial terrace below the foothills of the outer Himalaya.
Limestone and sandstone form the bedrock of the savanna area in the north while the grasslands in the south consist of deep deposits of fine alluvium.

Vegetation:
The Burma Monsoon Forests of Manas lie on the borders between the Indo-Gangetic and Indo-Malayan bio-geographical realms and is part of the Brahmaputra Valley Biogeographic Province. The combination of Sub-Himalayan Bhabar Terai formation with riverine succession leading up to Sub-Himalayan mountain forest makes it one of the richest biodiversity areas in the world.
Two major biomes are represented in Manas ~ the grassland biome and the forest biome.
The main vegetation types are: i) Sub-Himalayan Light Alluvial Semi-Evergreen forests in the northern parts, ii) East Himalayan mixed Moist and Dry Deciduous forests (the most common type), iii) Low Alluvial Savanna Woodland, and iv) Assam Valley Semi-Evergreen Alluvial Grasslands which cover almost 50% of the Park. Much of the riverine dry deciduous forest is at an early successional stage. It is replaced by moist deciduous forest away from water courses, which is succeeded by semi-evergreen climax forest in the northern part of the park. A total of 543 plants species have been recorded from the core zone. Of these, 374 species are dicotyledons (including 89 trees), 139 species monocotyledons and 30 are Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms.

Grassland Swamp
The Park's common trees include Aphanamixis polystachya, Anthocephalus chinensis, Syzygium cumini, S. formosum, S. oblatum, Bauhinia purpurea, Mallotus philippensis, Cinnamomum tamala, Actinodaphne obvata, Bombax ceiba, Sterculia villosa, Dillenia indica, D. pentagyna, Careya arborea, Lagerstroemia parviflora, L.speciosa, Terminalia bellirica, T. chebula, Trewia polycarpa, Gmelina arborea, Oroxylum indicum and Bridelia spp. The Grasslands are dominated by Imperata cylindrica, Saccharum naranga, Phragmites karka, Arundo donax, Dillenia pentagyna, Phyllanthus emblica, Bombax ceiba, and species of Clerodendrum, Leea, Grewia, Premna and Mussaenda

Fauna:
Manas is the melting point of the west and the east, with many species at the westernmost and easternmost point of their range representing a gateway for species exchanges between the typically Indian and Malayan' faunas.
A total of 55 mammals, 50 reptiles and three amphibians have been recorded, several species being endemic. Manas contains 21 of India's Schedule I mammals and at least 33 of its animals listed as threatened, by far the greatest number of any protected area in the country. Some, like the Assam Roofed turtle Kachuga sylhetensis, Golden Langur Presbytis geei, Hispid Hare Caprolagus hispidus, Pygmy Hog Sus salvanius and the only pure strain of Asiatic Wild Buffalo Bubalus arnee, are only found/best seen here.

Pygmy Hog
Bird life:
The diverse habitat of Manas is ideal home for a variety of specialized birds. Manas boasts the largest population of the endangered Bengal Florican in the world and is also a great place to see the Great Hornbill. The National Park lists around 380 species and the adjoining hilly terrain in Bhutan can easily add a hundred birds to that total. Good birds to look for are Greater Adjutant, Black-tailed Crake, Red-headed Trogon, Swamp Francolin, Wreathed and Rufous-necked Hornbill, Marsh and Jerdon's Babblers, Pied Harrier, Rufous-rumped and Bristled Grassbirds, Hodgson's Bushchat, Rufous-vented Laughingthrush, Finn's Weaver, Ibisbill and a variety of foothills species.

SANCHI STUPA

Emperor Asoka (273-236 B.C.) built stupas in Buddha's honour at many places in India. Stupas at Sanchi are the most magnificent structures of ancient India. UNESCO has included them as one of the heritage sites of the world. Stupas are large hemispherical domes, containing a central chamber, in which the relics of the Buddha were placed. Sanchi stupas trace the development of the Buddhist architecture and sculpture at the same location beginning from the 3rd century B.C. to the 12th century A.D.

Asoka when he was a governor married Devi, the daughter of a respected citizen of Vidisha, a town 10 km from the Sanchi hill. Prince Mahendra visited Sanchi with his mother before leaving for the island of Lanka for taking Buddhism there. Emperor Asoka had put up at Sanchi a pillar edict and a stupa containing relics of the Buddha. Addition of new stupas and expressions in stone of legends around the life of the Buddha and the monastic activities at the Sanchi hill continued under several dynasties for over fifteen hundred years. Also, the Brahmi script could be deciphered from the similarities in inscriptions carved at different places in the main stupa.

Sanchi stupas are noteworthy for their gateways as they contain ornamented depiction of incidents from the life of the Buddha and his previous incarnations as Bodhisattvas described in Jataka tales. Sculptors belonging to different times tried to depict the same story by repeating figures. The Buddha has been shown symbolically in the form of tree or through other inanimate figures. One of the sects of Buddhism opposed depiction of the Buddha by a human figure.

The top of the Asoka pillar, which comprises of four lions, has been kept in the museum maintained by the Department of Archaeology. The size and the weight of the pillar point to advanced construction technology that was existent at the time of Asoka. It must have been an incredible feat of engineering to bring the stone for carving the pillar from the mine to Sanchi and installing it up the hill.

THE "ARCHITECT"

Ashoka Maurya (273 - 236 BCE) was the most famous of the Buddhist rulers of India. A dozen years or so after he began his reign, about 258 BCE, he became a convert to Buddhism. He was a great administrator and a great builder. His empire encompassed the whole of India and Afghanistan. Ashoka's reign of paternal despotism has been compared to that of Constantine or Cromwell. With tireless energy he personally supervised all the affairs of government for 40 years.

His doctrine was less concerned with the analytic aspects of Buddhism and dwelled exclusively on ethics. He dispatched missionaries to other parts of India as well as Ceylon, Syria, Egypt, Cyrene, Macedonia, and Epirus. It is due to Ashoka that Buddhism became, and long remained, the predominant religion of India.

The foundation of this important center at Sanchi was laid by the Emperor Ashoka when he built a stupa and erected a monolithic pillar here. Ashoka built a total of eight stupas on the hilltop of Sanchi including the Great Stupa. A great number of stupas and other religious structures were added over the succeeding centuries.

With the decline of Buddhism, the site decayed and was eventually completely forgotten. But, between 1912 and 1919, the structures were carefully repaired to their present condition and restored


During the Shunga period the Sanchi Stupa was enlarged and faced with stones and decorated with railings, staircase and a harmika on the top. Around the main Stupa, there is a path for circumambulation. This path is enclosed by a railing with gates at each of the four directions. The railings and gates of the Sanchi Stupa are richly sculptured with different motifs and designs. Another interesting characteristic about the Sanchi Stupa is that Lord Buddha has been symbolically represented by footprints, wheels, thrones etc rather than by his own image. The gateways of Sanchi stupas contain ornamented depiction of incidents from the life of the Buddha and his previous incarnations as Bodhisattvas described in the Jataka tales. The Buddha has been shown symbolically in the form of tree or through other inanimate figures.

SARNATH

This is one of the most famous Buddhist centers of India and is located 6 km north of Hindu pilgrimage center Benares - in Uttar Pradesh, near the highway to Ghazipur.

The earliest remains here at Sarnath are from the Mauryan period ascribed to Emperor Ashoka the great. The Lion Capital is the national emblem of India. The Dharmarajika Stupa was built by Ashoka, and it was expanded and enlarged several times upto the 12th century CE. The structures here were destroyed by repeated invasions - and by gradual neglect - and what are seen today are the results of repeated reconstruction efforts.
The Chinese traveller Hsuen Tsang who visited India in the 7th century CE, speaks of the glory of Sarnath and of the structures that existed then.
A modern temple to Buddha has been built here in the 20th century, housing several of the Buddhist relics excavated here. On Buddha Purnima, the birthday of Buddha, relics of the Buddha are taken out in procession. The archeological museum at Sarnath houses several Buddhist sculptures and relics. The Mahabodhi library here houses a rich collection of Buddhist manuscripts and writings.
King Asoka visited Sarnath in 249 BC and erected several monuments to mark his pilgrimage, notably; the Dhamek stupa, Dharmarajika stupa and the Asokan pillar surmounted by the famous Lion Capital, which is now the crest of India. During the reign of King Kaniska (78 AD), Sarnath was a centre of religious activity and the famous collosal Bodhisatta image with a large parasol, was installed by the bhikkhu Bala of Mathura. During the Gupta period (4th-6th century AD), the Dhamek Stupa was encased with carved stones, the Mulagandhakuti main shrine was enlarged and the famous Preaching Buddha image, a gift of King Kumaragupta, was added. In 520 AD, Sarnath had its share of destruction during the invasion of the Huns under the barbarian Mihirakula. But after the Huns were defeated, Sarnath again flourished under the Buddhist king, Harsa Vardharna (606-647 AD) and continued to be a living shrine under the Pala kings (8th-12th century AD). The last known patron of Sarnath was Queen Kumaradevi, the pious Buddhist wife of King Govindachandra of Benares (1114-1154 AD). She built a large monastery at Sarnath named Dhammacakka Jina Vihara, the ruins of which were exposed during excavations in the early 20th century. Things took a turn for the worse when Muslim hordes overran India and started their trail of destruction. After the diaspora of the Sangha in India, Sarnath became deserted and was forgotten for about 600 years. In 1794, Sarnath came to the notice of the world under tragic circumstances. Jagat Singh, a minister in Benares, dismantled the famous Dharmarajika stupa as a convenient way of collecting bricks and stones for building a housing colony. When the stupa was pulled down, workmen found at a depth of 8.3m, a stone box containing a green marble casket. Inside it were human relics, presumably those of the Buddha, since they were enshrined there by King Asoka. Following Hindu custom, Jagat Singh consigned them into the Ganges River, where they were lost forever. This act of vandalism would have gone unnoticed but for a report about the discovery by Jonathan Duncan, Commissioner of Benares, which appeared in the ‘Asiatic Researches.’ Soon public attention was attracted to the ruins of Sarnath and in 1815, Col. C. Mackenzie began explorations and discovered some sculptures, which are now kept at the Calcutta Museum. In 1835-36, Cunningham carried out excavations and recovered over forty sculptures and carved stones. Another tragedy struck when they were carted away in his absence together with sixty cartloads of stones from the shrines as construction material for two bridges and some buildings in Benares. Further excavations were continued on and off from 1851 to 1922, which exposed the Dhamek stupa, the Dharmarajika stupa, Mulagandhakuti shrine, Asokan pillar and the ruins of several monasteries.

SOMNATH

The Someshwar Mahadev temple stands tall among the temples of India. The construction of the present temple in Junagadh district began in 1947. It is the seventh temple built to commemorate the glory of Lord Somnath who is said to have known as Bhairaveshwar in the Satya Yug, Shravanikeshwar in Treta Yug and Shrigaleshwar in Dwapar Yug.
Somnath: celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnath. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honor among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or an infidel. The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand. They believed that the souls of men used to meet there after separation from the body, and that the idol used to incorporate them at its pleasure in other bodies, in accordance with their doctrine of transmigration. “The ebb and flow of the tide was considered to be the worship paid to the idol by the sea. Everything of the most precious was brought there as offerings, and the temple was endowed with more than 10,000 villages. There is a river (the Ganges) which is held sacred, between which and Somnat the distance is 200 parasangs.
When a portion (watch) of the night closed, this chain used to be shaken like bells to rouse a fresh lot of Brahmins to perform worship. “When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud Bin Subuktigin went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnat, in the hope that the Hindus would then become Muhammadans. He arrived there in the middle of Zi-l k’ada, 416 A.H. (December, 1025 A.D.). “The king looked upon the idol with wonder, and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil, and the appropriation of the treasures. There were many idols of gold and silver and vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols exceeded twenty thousand dinars.
According to the legends, Soma, the moon God built the temple in gold, Ravan in silver, Krishna in wood and king Bhimdev of Anhilwad in stone. Soma constructed the temple as a gesture after Lord Shiva cured him of his illness. This illness was caused by his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati's curse. Daksha cursed him to wane as he was infatuated with Rohini and was neglecting the other 26 wives, all 26 of whom were the daughters of Prajapati. It is said that Brahma advised him to build the temple in honour of Shiva.
The present temple is the seventh temple reconstructed on the original site. The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the common era. The second temple, built by the Yadava kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat, replaced the first one on the same site around 649.
In 725 Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple. The Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone.
According to the legends, Soma, the moon God built the temple in gold, Ravan in silver, Krishna in wood and king Bhimdev of Anhilwad in stone. Soma constructed the temple as a gesture after Lord Shiva cured him of his illness. This illness was caused by his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati's curse. Daksha cursed him to wane as he was infatuated with Rohini and was neglecting the other 26 wives, all 26 of whom were the daughters of Prajapati. It is said that Brahma advised him to build the temple in honour of Shiva.
The present temple is the seventh temple reconstructed on the original site. The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the common era. The second temple, built by the Yadava kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat, replaced the first one on the same site around 649.
In 725 Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple. The Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone.

In 1024, Mahmud Ghazni raided the temple from across the Thar Desert. Ghazni was challenged by the king, Ghogha Rana, who at the ripe age of 90, sacrificed his own clan fighting against Ghazni.
The fourth temple was built by the Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhima of Gujarat (Anhilwara) or Patan between 1026 and 1042. The wooden structure was replaced by Kumarpal (r.1143-72), who built the temple of stone.
The temple was razed in 1297 when the Sultanate of Delhi conquered Gujarat, and again in 1394. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple again in 1706.