The document provides details about several famous temples, mosques, forts and other historical sites across India. It describes the key features and historical significance of the Konark Sun Temple in Orissa, known for its huge stone wheels and representation of the chariot of the sun god. It also mentions the Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram, the Khajuraho Temples known for their stone carvings, and Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi, among other prominent religious and architectural landmarks across the country.

2. 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)

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 Mandapa
The Unjal And Kilikatti Mandapas
Other MANDAPS are:-

9. 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.

10. 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)

11. 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 and
Is known as AKASA LINGAM. The others
Being water, wind, fire, earth.

12. 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)

13. 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 .

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. An astronomical observatory designed by astronomer –King Sawaj jai Singh-II
of Jaipur in 1724. It was believed to have been built with masonary instruments
for the movements of the stars & the planets.
(NEW DELHI)

17. Build in 1799, the Hawa Mahal or the palace of Winds is one of the major landmarks
of 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 was
built By Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh & is part of the city palace complex.

18. 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)

19. The emblem of Delhi, t he 72.55 meter high the
Qutab Minar was erected in the 13th
century
by Qutab-Ud-Din Aibak. The monument tapers
from 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)

20. 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)

21. 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)

22. 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)

23. 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)