Pilgrim

Gaya derives its name from the mythological demon Gayasur (which literally means Gaya the demon), demon (asur, a Sanskrit word) and Gaya. Lord Vishnu killed Gayasur, the holy demon by using the pressure of his foot over him. This incident transformed Gayasur into the series of rocky hills that make up the landscape of the Gaya city. Gaya was so holy that he had the power to absolve the sins of those who touched him or looked at him; after his death many people have flocked to Gaya to perform Shraddha sacrifices on his body to absolve the sins of their ancestors. Gods and goddesses had promised to live on Gayasur's body after he died, and the hilltop protuberances of Gaya are surmounted by temples to various gods and goddesses. These hilltop temples at Rama Shila, Mangla Gauri, Shringa Sthan and Brahmayoni are part of the pilgrimage circuit, and grand staircases have been built up to most of them.

Documented history of Gaya dates back to the enlightenment of Gautam Buddha. About 11 km from Gaya town is Bodh Gaya, the place where Gautam Buddha got enlightenment. Since then the places around Gaya (Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali, Patliputra) had been the citadel of knowledge for the ancient world. These centers of knowledge further flourished under the rule of dynasties like the Mauryans who ruled from Patliputra (modern Patna) and covered the area beyond the boundaries of the Indian subcontinent. During this period, Gaya was a part of the Magadh region.

Situated by the banks of River Phalgu, Bodhgaya is the holiest of all Buddhist pilgrim destination in entire world. It was here an entire new religion was born out of one man who went on to be known as Lord Buddha and the religion was called Buddhism. Prince Siddhartha who renounced all worldly connections and set out in search of truth, attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree here. The entire life of Bodhgaya revolves around this most revered tree in the world. A huge complex containing many international monasteries and temples have come up around the tree. Bodhgaya acquired importance during the period of Lord Buddha itself, but the temples started coming up only in the 7th century. During the 16th century, Buddhism here started declining. But once the excavations were started by British archaeologists and its true significance was established, Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world started visiting Bodhgaya. Thus making it the most important pilgrim site of international Buddhism.

The best time to visit Bodhgaya is between November and February when thousands of exiled Tibetans come here to attend the ceremonies and lectures under the Bodhi Tree. Buddhist monks from other Buddhist countries too come here during this period. And if one is looking for some solitary and peaceful holidays, then there is no place better than Bodhgaya for the purpose.

Guwahati is one of the ancient cities in Asia. Based on engraved inscriptions, capitals of many ancient kingdoms can be placed in Guwahati. According to the Mahabharata, it was the capital of the mythical kings Naraka and Bhagadatta.

The Ambari excavations trace habitation in the city to the 6th century AD. The city referred as Pragjyotishpura and Durjoya at different times, was the capital under the Varman and the Pala dynasties. The traveller Hiuen Tsang in his account of the city said that under king Bhaskaravarma in the 7th century AD, the city was probably the most important base for his powerful naval force. It remained the capital of the Pala dynasty till 1th century AD. Excavations in Ambari have unearthed the fact that it was an economic and strategic powerhouse till the 11th century AD.

The destruction of the Kamata kingdom between the 12th -15th century AD, led to the city losing its glory and becoming only a strategic enclave of the Koch Hajo and Ahom kingdoms of western and eastern Assam, respectively. When the Western part fell to the Mughals, the Eastern half became an Ahom autonomous state.

The city then became the seat of the Borphukan, the Ahom viceroy for the Western part of the Ahom kingdom. Guwahati was seized many times by the Mughals. The famous battle of Saraighat fought near Guwahati in 1671 in which the Mughals were overwhelmed speaks volumes of (encapsulates) the leadership of Lachit Borphukan and toughness of the Assamese army.

The legend says that Lord Shankar was angry on seeing Sati's dead body. Thereafter, he started the dance of destruction. Lord Vishnu saw that the world could have been destroyed because of this dance. So he cut the body of Sati using his Sudarshan Chakra. The place where the head of Sati fell came to be known as Akashiganga.

A sacred place that attracts lakhs of devotees from all over the world, it is the abode of Lord Rama (The seventh incarnation of SriMahavishnu). This hill place which is encircled by holy river Godavari flowing towards southern direction is the famous shrine Bhadrachalam-The name derived from Bhadragiri (Mountain of Bhadra-a boon child of Meru and Menaka). According to an Ithihasas, the significance of this shrine dates back to the Ramayana Era. This coherent hill place existed in "Dandakaranya" Of Ramayana period where Rama with his consort Sita and brother Laxmana had spent their vanavasa- and Parnashaala(the place connected to the famous Golden Deer and the place from where Sita was abducted by Ravana.) is also in the vicinity of this temple site. It is at this Mandir site that, long after Ramavatara, Bhagawan Mahavishnu manifested Himself as Rama again to fulfil a promise He made to His Bhakta Bhadra, who continued his Tapas through Yugas, praying for the grace of the Bhagawan Sri Ramachandra murthy.

Mantralayam is famous for the ‘Samadhi' of the well-known Vaishnaviite saint, Sri Raghavendra Teertha.

Followers of the saint consider him to be an incarnation of Bhakta Prahallada, who was saved by Vishnu in the avatar of Narasimha. Shri Raghavendra Swamy is said to have performed many miracles during his lifetime and has a large following even today.

The history of Puttaparthi, as far as the world is concerned, began on November 23, 1926. Until then it was an obscure speck in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh State. Set in a narrow farming valley, the village was apparently called Gollapalli, the home of cowherds, before it became Puttaparthi.

Satyanarayana Raju was born in Puttaparthi on 23 November 1926. Since his childhood, he is said to have shown prodigious talents, unusual purity and compassion. Having been pronounced to be possessed by the divine, at the age of fourteen he calmly announced that he was the new incarnation of Sai Baba, who died eight years before Sathya was born.

With the passing of time, the fame of Sathya Sai Baba spread all over the world. Eventually a large group of followers grew. In 1950, the ashram was inaugurated. Now, through his miraculous powers, including the ability to materialize vibhuti or the sacred ash, with curative properties, Sai Baba has millions of devotees worldwide.

It has Sri Varahalakshmi Narasimha Swamy as the presiding deity. Simhachalam temple is known as the second richest temple (after Tirupati) earning a revenue of Rs. 520 million. The statue of the deity gives "nijaroopa darshan" (holy appearance in true form) for only 12 hours in a year i.e on Akshaya Tritiya day, the rest of the time the statue is covered with sandalwood paste. The darshan described as chandana yatra or chandanotsavam falls every year in Vaisakha masa (May).
The deity at Simhachalam, the lion-man incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu is usually covered with sandalwood paste. The original shape of the deity in the tribhanga posture has two hands with the head of a lion on a human torso.An inscription dated as far back as 1098 AD of the Chola king Kuloththunga provides some clue as to its antiquity. Another inscription shows a queen of the Velavadu chief Ganga (1137-56 AD) covering the image with gold while a third inscription says the eastern Ganga King Narasimha built the central shrine in 1267 A.D. With more than 252 inscriptions describing the antecedents of the temple, it is a historically important monument.
Sri Krishna Deva Raya after defeating Prataparudra Gajapathi visited the shrine twice in 1516 AD and 1519 AD and offered numerous villages for maintenance of bhogam (worship) along with valuable jewellery of which an emerald necklace is still in the temple. For the last two centuries the family of the Raja of Vizianagaram have been the temple's trustees.