Temples of Visiting to Hindus
" The rich will make temples for Siva, what shall I, a poor man do My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head a cupola of gold. Listen, O lord of the meeting rivers, things standing shall fall, but the moving ever shall stay.". For Hindus, a temple is a devalaya, the home of their god. Here, within its inner sanctum, they place the icon which is the earthly symbol of the deity. And to this icon they carry their prayers in handfuls of flowers and lovingly perform the rituals of worship with incense and lamps. To their god they bring their hopes and fears, they visit him to share their happiness and sorrow, and they believe that if you come with pure intentions, god hears what is in your heart.
Hindus have a deeply personal equation with their god who is not only feared and propitiated but also cared for and loved. The deity is washed and fed, music is played and dance is performed for its entertainment and it is taken out on chariot rides. The gods have consorts, they have their favourite vehicles, trees, fruits and flowers. For Hindus the temple is much more than a place of ritual worship where you ring the bells and chant the mantras. It is also a place where great minds gather to share their wisdom and it is a joyous centre of festivals, music, dance and fairs.
Hinduism is a constantly evolving set of beliefs and more than a religion it is a way of living. Its ability to evolve and accept new thoughts, its spirit of tolerance, is what has helped it to survise the onslaught of more rigid faiths like Islam and Christianity. True Hinduism has place for all faiths and the builders and sculptors of our temples refkected this attitude as they worked on Hindu, Buddhist and Jain shrines with the same dedication and fervour. The cheerful bustle of life in the temples, full of chatter, song and the laughter of children captures this life enhancing character of Hinduism.
Since the time when a temple was a circle of stones under the open sky where sacrifices were made to the present when a temple is a magnificent creation of art, it has been the centre of civilization. It has always been essential to the identity of Hindus, giving a spiritual mooring to their existence. Also, it is an important element of urban life in India, a centre of scholarship, culture and commerce.
In ancient times kings built their palaces in perishable wood and brick but the temples were built in stone. And it is these temples that have survived as living records of great kings and famous dynasties. We know of kings like Narasimha Deva of Orissa and Krishana Deva Raya of Vijanagar because they built famous temples. Forgoteen dynasties like the Pallavas and the Cholas were discovered again because of their temples. These stone monuments to their greatness have stood the test of time, survived the elements, the avarice of invaders and the bigotry of later Kings. They give us our history and our heritage. They are a vibrant kaleidoscope of sculpture, painting, music and dance, an important aspect of our many faceted, vivid identity as Indians.
When temples were first built in the early years of the first millennium of the Chirstian era they quickly became the centers of urban civilization. A temple was always placed at the centre of a human settlement and the town would grow all around it. The main roads would lead off from the temple gateways and the largest markets would spring up alsong these roads. The temple would always be the tallest structure in the town, with its soaring spires reaching up to the sky and it would gather pilgrims and scholars, craftsmen and musicians within its walls. Even today, in temple towns like Madurai or Varanasi it is the spires of the temples that dominate the skyline of the city.
Visiting a tirthasthana and performing all the religious ceremonies gives the pilgrim the opportunity to travel across the river of life and reach our to the supreme freedom of moksha. We are all born with the burdens of karma, an endless cycle of births and deaths, where our present deeds lead to state of our next birth. The joys and sorrows of this life being the result of our past lives, a tirthayatra offers us the opportunity to atone for our sins in this life and break the cycle of life and death. Thus we hope for moksha, salvation and mirvana, the final liberation from our karma. Andat the centre of a tirthasthana stands the palace of the god who will guide us across the river of life- the devalaya, the mandir, the koyil, the temple.
Very often the combination of a sacred city, an important temple and a sacred river creates a tirthasthana. The greatest places of Hindu pilgrimage are the saptapuris, the seven holiest and most ancient cities and the cardinal points of the Indian subcontinent. The saptapuris are at Kashi (Varanasi), Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Hardwar), Kanchipuram, Dwaravati (Dwarka) and Avantika (Ujjain). The char dhams are Badrinath in the north, Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west and rameshwaram in the south. There are also seven sacred rivers, the Ganga, Jamuna, Godavari, Narmada, Saraswati, Kaveri and Krishna and many of these tirthasthanas stand along their banks.
There is an ancient myth that explains how a place becomes a tirthasthana. In the times of the gods there was a powerful king named Daksha who had a beautiful daughter named Sati. When it was time for Sati to choose a husband, among all the gods and great kings, she chose to marry Lord Siva. King Daksha was not pleased by his daughter’s choice of a husband. Shiva was a footloose mendicant living in the hills, wandering about with demons, wearing animal skins, his skin smeared with ash. Whoever wanter such a son-in-law But Sati was adamant and Daksha had to give in. He showed his disapproval, however, when he held an important sacrifice and refused to invite Shiva to the yagnja. A humiliated and distressed Sati jumped into the sacrificial fire and killed herself.
Enraged by her death, Shiva picked up her lifeless body and began to dance the tandava, the terrible dance of destruction that could end the world. The earth and the heavens shook with his rage, everything that came in his way was destroyed and the gods feared for their safety. They all begged Vishnu to save them and Vishnu realized that the only solution was to take Sati’s body away from Shiva. So he used his weapon, the discus sudarshana chakra to cut Sati’s body into fifty one pieces. Freed of his burden, shiva finally calmed down and the world was saved. The places where these fifty one pieces fell were consecrated as pitasthanas. All are great tirthasthanas and most of them have important temples to Devi, the Mother Goddess. Of all the tirthasthanas Kashi (Varanasi) is considered the greatest. A pilgrimage to this tirtha of tirthasthanas gives the same merit as visiting all the others. If you die in Kashi it is Lord Shiva himself who acts as the boatman and guides your soul across the river of life. Kanchipuram, which is nearly as holy, is called the Kashi of the south. Kashi is the oldest living city in the world and it is also the oldest place of pilgrimage. It is a city that has seen its greatest temples destroyed again and again by invaders and has always possessed the resilience to rise again. Today Varanasi has no truly ancient temples but the spiritual resonance of centuries of worship makes even the pebbles of Kashi holy. Even though the walls and spires of its temples may not be venerable, the pilgrims who gather within carry with them memories of the world’s oldest tradition of worship.
What is amazing at these temples is the unbroken religious tradition they have preserved for thousands of years. As the bells ring, the priest raises the many flamed arti lamp to illuminate the face of the idol and as voices rise to the chant of mantras, what you experience is a continuing tradition that goes back to Vedic sages singing a hymn to the sun god Surya. Our temples are the living proof of the immense and venerable age of India’s civilization and its remarkable power of survival. The temples of Luxor and Babylon stand empty and silent but in varanasi and Madurai the walls still echo to the same prayers.
The Hindu holds conversations with god like he would with a spiritual guide, a family member or friend. There is Baba Vishwanath, the benign father in Kashi and Ma Durga, the understanding mother in Bengal and generous Ganesh, the benevolent godfather. The deity will listen to his prayers, share his happiness and also accept his anger with a stoic patience. For a pious Hindu, going to the temple is not essential. He can pray at home at his personal shrine and worship by doing the puja without using the services of a priest. As Dr. S. Radhakrishnan writes, " Religion for the Hindu is experience or attitude of mind. It is not an idea but a power, not an intellectual proposition but a life conviction. Religion is consciousness of ultimate reality, not a theory about god."
A visit to a temple is a spiritual journey that needs preparation of the mind and the body. It is manasthirta, ‘pilgrimage of the mind’ whose’ deep clean water is truth’. You get up at dawn, bathe, wear fresh clothes and still fasting, you walk to the temple. Then buying the offerings of flowers, incense and sweets from the shops at the gateways you enter the precinct of the temple. Leaving your shoes outside you walk barefoot up the flight of stairs, through the corridors, the various pillared halls to the other end of the precinct where the small inner sanctum is situated. This long walk, usually done in silence, is the time when the mind is emptied of all stray thoughts and concentrated on prayer.
There are specific rituals that you follow at each temple. At a Shiva temple you offer prayers to the figure of the Nandi bull that stands at the main doorway. A temple to a goddess may have a holy tree, another a sacred pillar. There are smaller shrines to minor gods and goddess around the sanctum and you worship them all with a few flower petals, a dot of sandalwood paste or vermilion. Then you circle the sanctum clockwise, doing the pradakshina.
Finally you reach the doorway of the sanctum. Inside, the deity stands in a dark, plain room, lit by flickering oil lamps. The priest who stands at the door will carry your offerings inside as you reach up and ring the bells at the door of the sanctum to catch the attention of a busy god. The priest will touch the flowers to the deity’s feet, light the incense and wave it before the god and then the offerings are returned to you as prasada-consecrated by the acceptance of the god. During this puja the communion is directly between the worshipper and the worshipped and the self realization that follows is unique to each devotee. After this darshan, which is your personal encounter with the deity, your mind clarified by the prayers, you carry the prasada home.
The more forma rituals of puja are performed by the Brahmin priests of the temple and are like the consecration of a monarch. The deity is the king of all kings, the temple is his palace and the icon is often placed on a throne, the simhasan, the lion’s seat. It is bathed in perfumed water and then anointed with sandalwood paste, dressed in gorgeous garments and adorned with jewels. Vishnu may wear a crown of gold, Meenakshi will have diamonds glittering at her throat and ears but ascetic Shiva is usually quite happy with a simple garland of fresh, green bilva leaves.
The ceremony of the puja follows a specific order. Performed many times during the day, the most auspicious are the dawn, noon and dusk pujas. The deity is offered fragrant sandalwood paste, flowers and incense. Then as fans and flywhisks are waved, burning camphor purifies the air and then the many flamed arti lamp is raised to illuminate the face of the deity. Finally fruits and sweets, even cooked dished are offered. The deity accepts the essence of the offerings and then these are given to the waiting throng of devotees as prasada, consecrated offerings. The burning camphor and the arti are carried outside and devotees reach out to feel the heat with their right palm and touch their heads to gather the blessings. The holy water is sprinkled over their bent heads as the priest intones "om Shanti"- peace be to all.
There are fifteen forms of puja and each ritual has a name. First the idol is offered a seat, asana, and then formally welcomed with the chant of the swagata. The feet are washed, often with panchamrita, a mixture of the five elements of milk, yoghurt, ghee, sugar and honey and this is later offered to the devotees. Water is offered in the ritual of arghya and it is sipped in the achamana. The deity is bathed in the snana and dressed with vasana-bhushana and a mirror held before it. Then sandal wood paste, flowers, incense, camphor,the arti and finally the food, called the naivedya is offered. After the naivedya there is a second offering of water for the deity to wash its mouth and all the while there is the recital of Vedic hymns and mantras, the ringing of bells and conches. The priest ends the ceremony with a final obeisance by lying prostate on the floor in the namaskriya.
The earliest known Indian civilization was of the Indus valley of the third millennium B.C. It had a well planned urban culture. Within the city dwellings there may have been temples but none have been conclusively identified as such among the ruins at Mohenjodaro or Harappa. Excavations have revealed seals showing a deity surrounded by animals and terracotta figures of a mother goddess. Then around the second millennium B.C., as the Indus civilization faded, the nomadic Aryans arrived from Central Asia to settle in North India.
During Vedic times, the period soon after the Aryans arrival in India, gods were often manifestations of nature. The Vedic pantheon was led by Indra, the god of war and the sky, and among the others there was Varuna, the god of rain, thunder and lightning, Agni the fire god and Usha, the goddess of dawn. Worship was with the simple rituals of a nomadic people, with the singing of hymns of praise and animal sacrifices. These Vedic gods may have had shrines but no temples were built for them.
As the two cultures of the Indus Valley and the Aryans blended, religion was gradually transformed into ceremonial practices centred around temples. As cities grew, the pantheon of gods were given their own palaces. Over the centuries the Vedic gods like Indra and Varuna lost power and the Hindu trinity of Brahma, the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the destroyer and with them the many manifestations of the Mother Goddess became supreme. Today most of the temples are dedicated to the three deities of Vishnu and his incarnations, Shiva and the Mother Goddess. Oddly enough, inspite of his important place in the trinity Brahma has lost the worship of Hindus. He has few temples dedicated to him, and there are no living temples to Indra or Varuna.
Hindus have a deeply personal equation with their god who is not only feared and propitiated but also cared for and loved. The deity is washed and fed, music is played and dance is performed for its entertainment and it is taken out on chariot rides. The gods have consorts, they have their favourite vehicles, trees, fruits and flowers. For Hindus the temple is much more than a place of ritual worship where you ring the bells and chant the mantras. It is also a place where great minds gather to share their wisdom and it is a joyous centre of festivals, music, dance and fairs.
Hinduism is a constantly evolving set of beliefs and more than a religion it is a way of living. Its ability to evolve and accept new thoughts, its spirit of tolerance, is what has helped it to survise the onslaught of more rigid faiths like Islam and Christianity. True Hinduism has place for all faiths and the builders and sculptors of our temples refkected this attitude as they worked on Hindu, Buddhist and Jain shrines with the same dedication and fervour. The cheerful bustle of life in the temples, full of chatter, song and the laughter of children captures this life enhancing character of Hinduism.
Since the time when a temple was a circle of stones under the open sky where sacrifices were made to the present when a temple is a magnificent creation of art, it has been the centre of civilization. It has always been essential to the identity of Hindus, giving a spiritual mooring to their existence. Also, it is an important element of urban life in India, a centre of scholarship, culture and commerce.
In ancient times kings built their palaces in perishable wood and brick but the temples were built in stone. And it is these temples that have survived as living records of great kings and famous dynasties. We know of kings like Narasimha Deva of Orissa and Krishana Deva Raya of Vijanagar because they built famous temples. Forgoteen dynasties like the Pallavas and the Cholas were discovered again because of their temples. These stone monuments to their greatness have stood the test of time, survived the elements, the avarice of invaders and the bigotry of later Kings. They give us our history and our heritage. They are a vibrant kaleidoscope of sculpture, painting, music and dance, an important aspect of our many faceted, vivid identity as Indians.
When temples were first built in the early years of the first millennium of the Chirstian era they quickly became the centers of urban civilization. A temple was always placed at the centre of a human settlement and the town would grow all around it. The main roads would lead off from the temple gateways and the largest markets would spring up alsong these roads. The temple would always be the tallest structure in the town, with its soaring spires reaching up to the sky and it would gather pilgrims and scholars, craftsmen and musicians within its walls. Even today, in temple towns like Madurai or Varanasi it is the spires of the temples that dominate the skyline of the city.
Going on a pilgrimage
Pilgrims were the first tourists of this world, and in every religion, a pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime has always been a part of one’s spiritual quest. The Hindu pilgrimage is called tirthayatra and even the poorest villager ventures out with his meager bundle to visit the great tirthasthanas or places of pilgrimage. The word tirtha means ‘ford’ a place where you can cross a river and a Hindu pilgrimage is such a spiritual ford between this world and the next.Visiting a tirthasthana and performing all the religious ceremonies gives the pilgrim the opportunity to travel across the river of life and reach our to the supreme freedom of moksha. We are all born with the burdens of karma, an endless cycle of births and deaths, where our present deeds lead to state of our next birth. The joys and sorrows of this life being the result of our past lives, a tirthayatra offers us the opportunity to atone for our sins in this life and break the cycle of life and death. Thus we hope for moksha, salvation and mirvana, the final liberation from our karma. Andat the centre of a tirthasthana stands the palace of the god who will guide us across the river of life- the devalaya, the mandir, the koyil, the temple.
Very often the combination of a sacred city, an important temple and a sacred river creates a tirthasthana. The greatest places of Hindu pilgrimage are the saptapuris, the seven holiest and most ancient cities and the cardinal points of the Indian subcontinent. The saptapuris are at Kashi (Varanasi), Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Hardwar), Kanchipuram, Dwaravati (Dwarka) and Avantika (Ujjain). The char dhams are Badrinath in the north, Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west and rameshwaram in the south. There are also seven sacred rivers, the Ganga, Jamuna, Godavari, Narmada, Saraswati, Kaveri and Krishna and many of these tirthasthanas stand along their banks.
There is an ancient myth that explains how a place becomes a tirthasthana. In the times of the gods there was a powerful king named Daksha who had a beautiful daughter named Sati. When it was time for Sati to choose a husband, among all the gods and great kings, she chose to marry Lord Siva. King Daksha was not pleased by his daughter’s choice of a husband. Shiva was a footloose mendicant living in the hills, wandering about with demons, wearing animal skins, his skin smeared with ash. Whoever wanter such a son-in-law But Sati was adamant and Daksha had to give in. He showed his disapproval, however, when he held an important sacrifice and refused to invite Shiva to the yagnja. A humiliated and distressed Sati jumped into the sacrificial fire and killed herself.
Enraged by her death, Shiva picked up her lifeless body and began to dance the tandava, the terrible dance of destruction that could end the world. The earth and the heavens shook with his rage, everything that came in his way was destroyed and the gods feared for their safety. They all begged Vishnu to save them and Vishnu realized that the only solution was to take Sati’s body away from Shiva. So he used his weapon, the discus sudarshana chakra to cut Sati’s body into fifty one pieces. Freed of his burden, shiva finally calmed down and the world was saved. The places where these fifty one pieces fell were consecrated as pitasthanas. All are great tirthasthanas and most of them have important temples to Devi, the Mother Goddess. Of all the tirthasthanas Kashi (Varanasi) is considered the greatest. A pilgrimage to this tirtha of tirthasthanas gives the same merit as visiting all the others. If you die in Kashi it is Lord Shiva himself who acts as the boatman and guides your soul across the river of life. Kanchipuram, which is nearly as holy, is called the Kashi of the south. Kashi is the oldest living city in the world and it is also the oldest place of pilgrimage. It is a city that has seen its greatest temples destroyed again and again by invaders and has always possessed the resilience to rise again. Today Varanasi has no truly ancient temples but the spiritual resonance of centuries of worship makes even the pebbles of Kashi holy. Even though the walls and spires of its temples may not be venerable, the pilgrims who gather within carry with them memories of the world’s oldest tradition of worship.
What is amazing at these temples is the unbroken religious tradition they have preserved for thousands of years. As the bells ring, the priest raises the many flamed arti lamp to illuminate the face of the idol and as voices rise to the chant of mantras, what you experience is a continuing tradition that goes back to Vedic sages singing a hymn to the sun god Surya. Our temples are the living proof of the immense and venerable age of India’s civilization and its remarkable power of survival. The temples of Luxor and Babylon stand empty and silent but in varanasi and Madurai the walls still echo to the same prayers.
A conversation with God
The Hindu way of worship is a personal communion with god. Hindus do not have any tradition of congregational worship. Even when a crowd gathers around the inner sanctum to watch the priests perform the rituals of puja, each one prays on his own. This is a very personal faith where there is rarely any mass chanting of prayers or temple sermons. Each devotee prays individually to the deity.The Hindu holds conversations with god like he would with a spiritual guide, a family member or friend. There is Baba Vishwanath, the benign father in Kashi and Ma Durga, the understanding mother in Bengal and generous Ganesh, the benevolent godfather. The deity will listen to his prayers, share his happiness and also accept his anger with a stoic patience. For a pious Hindu, going to the temple is not essential. He can pray at home at his personal shrine and worship by doing the puja without using the services of a priest. As Dr. S. Radhakrishnan writes, " Religion for the Hindu is experience or attitude of mind. It is not an idea but a power, not an intellectual proposition but a life conviction. Religion is consciousness of ultimate reality, not a theory about god."
A visit to a temple is a spiritual journey that needs preparation of the mind and the body. It is manasthirta, ‘pilgrimage of the mind’ whose’ deep clean water is truth’. You get up at dawn, bathe, wear fresh clothes and still fasting, you walk to the temple. Then buying the offerings of flowers, incense and sweets from the shops at the gateways you enter the precinct of the temple. Leaving your shoes outside you walk barefoot up the flight of stairs, through the corridors, the various pillared halls to the other end of the precinct where the small inner sanctum is situated. This long walk, usually done in silence, is the time when the mind is emptied of all stray thoughts and concentrated on prayer.
There are specific rituals that you follow at each temple. At a Shiva temple you offer prayers to the figure of the Nandi bull that stands at the main doorway. A temple to a goddess may have a holy tree, another a sacred pillar. There are smaller shrines to minor gods and goddess around the sanctum and you worship them all with a few flower petals, a dot of sandalwood paste or vermilion. Then you circle the sanctum clockwise, doing the pradakshina.
Finally you reach the doorway of the sanctum. Inside, the deity stands in a dark, plain room, lit by flickering oil lamps. The priest who stands at the door will carry your offerings inside as you reach up and ring the bells at the door of the sanctum to catch the attention of a busy god. The priest will touch the flowers to the deity’s feet, light the incense and wave it before the god and then the offerings are returned to you as prasada-consecrated by the acceptance of the god. During this puja the communion is directly between the worshipper and the worshipped and the self realization that follows is unique to each devotee. After this darshan, which is your personal encounter with the deity, your mind clarified by the prayers, you carry the prasada home.
The more forma rituals of puja are performed by the Brahmin priests of the temple and are like the consecration of a monarch. The deity is the king of all kings, the temple is his palace and the icon is often placed on a throne, the simhasan, the lion’s seat. It is bathed in perfumed water and then anointed with sandalwood paste, dressed in gorgeous garments and adorned with jewels. Vishnu may wear a crown of gold, Meenakshi will have diamonds glittering at her throat and ears but ascetic Shiva is usually quite happy with a simple garland of fresh, green bilva leaves.
The ceremony of the puja follows a specific order. Performed many times during the day, the most auspicious are the dawn, noon and dusk pujas. The deity is offered fragrant sandalwood paste, flowers and incense. Then as fans and flywhisks are waved, burning camphor purifies the air and then the many flamed arti lamp is raised to illuminate the face of the deity. Finally fruits and sweets, even cooked dished are offered. The deity accepts the essence of the offerings and then these are given to the waiting throng of devotees as prasada, consecrated offerings. The burning camphor and the arti are carried outside and devotees reach out to feel the heat with their right palm and touch their heads to gather the blessings. The holy water is sprinkled over their bent heads as the priest intones "om Shanti"- peace be to all.
There are fifteen forms of puja and each ritual has a name. First the idol is offered a seat, asana, and then formally welcomed with the chant of the swagata. The feet are washed, often with panchamrita, a mixture of the five elements of milk, yoghurt, ghee, sugar and honey and this is later offered to the devotees. Water is offered in the ritual of arghya and it is sipped in the achamana. The deity is bathed in the snana and dressed with vasana-bhushana and a mirror held before it. Then sandal wood paste, flowers, incense, camphor,the arti and finally the food, called the naivedya is offered. After the naivedya there is a second offering of water for the deity to wash its mouth and all the while there is the recital of Vedic hymns and mantras, the ringing of bells and conches. The priest ends the ceremony with a final obeisance by lying prostate on the floor in the namaskriya.
The Hindu Pantheon
Hindu tradition claims that there are 330 million deities but it also holds that these gods and goddess are manifestations of the one supreme being- the formless Brahman. Hindus see this all pervasive force in everything and everybody- not just in people, in kings, heroes and ancestors but in every aspect of nature, in animals, rivers, mountains, the sky. So whatever you worship- Surya the sungod, a naga serpent goddess or the warrior king Krishna, your prayers are finally to the supreme Brahman. As the Bhagavad Gita says, "Howsoever men approach me, so do I welcome them, for the path men take from every side is mine."The earliest known Indian civilization was of the Indus valley of the third millennium B.C. It had a well planned urban culture. Within the city dwellings there may have been temples but none have been conclusively identified as such among the ruins at Mohenjodaro or Harappa. Excavations have revealed seals showing a deity surrounded by animals and terracotta figures of a mother goddess. Then around the second millennium B.C., as the Indus civilization faded, the nomadic Aryans arrived from Central Asia to settle in North India.
During Vedic times, the period soon after the Aryans arrival in India, gods were often manifestations of nature. The Vedic pantheon was led by Indra, the god of war and the sky, and among the others there was Varuna, the god of rain, thunder and lightning, Agni the fire god and Usha, the goddess of dawn. Worship was with the simple rituals of a nomadic people, with the singing of hymns of praise and animal sacrifices. These Vedic gods may have had shrines but no temples were built for them.
As the two cultures of the Indus Valley and the Aryans blended, religion was gradually transformed into ceremonial practices centred around temples. As cities grew, the pantheon of gods were given their own palaces. Over the centuries the Vedic gods like Indra and Varuna lost power and the Hindu trinity of Brahma, the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the destroyer and with them the many manifestations of the Mother Goddess became supreme. Today most of the temples are dedicated to the three deities of Vishnu and his incarnations, Shiva and the Mother Goddess. Oddly enough, inspite of his important place in the trinity Brahma has lost the worship of Hindus. He has few temples dedicated to him, and there are no living temples to Indra or Varuna.
