Veera's 2nd Birthday!

Hi everyone! Today's post is really exciting because it is about Veera's Second Birthday. Veera turned 2 on Saturday, July 16th. On September 18th we do a bigger celebration because that's the day we brought him home. To celebrate his special day we put up the same birthday banner we put last year, but I put extra decorations on it. Veera was really sleepy on his birthday so I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures of him. Here are the pictures I took of him...

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BONUS: This was a picture I got of him on his birthday! He was sleeping and his blanket got stuck to his tail.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Be waiting for another post!

-Maanvi

My Shirdi Trip

Hi everyone! Recently I went to Shirdi and I thought of writing about my experience. I visited many different temples and got to try new types of food. I visited different temples and learned about each temple's history. The temples I went to were Shanishingnapur, Khandoba, Shirdi Sai Baba, Trimbakeshwar, and Anjaneri.

Shanishingapur Temple

The Shanishingapur Temple is known for being the temple of Lord Shani. The village Shanishingapur is famous because it is believed that Lord Shani protects the village. Hence, every building located at 1 km distance from the temple does not have doors or locks. In 2011 the people of Shanishingapur opened a bank that had no lock. During the years 2010 and 2011 there were only 2 robberies reported in the village. While visiting it felt like Lord Shani's presence was there and it felt like Lord Shani touched my head.

History of Shanishingapur Temple

The temple was created when Lord Shani appeared in a shepherd's dream and told him to find a black stone near his house. The Lord told the shepherd that he was inside the stone in his swayambu(self-emerged) form. He told the shepherd to construct a temple for him. When the shepherd asked if there should be a roof for the temple, the Lord said, "The whole sky is my roof."The lord also asked the shepherd to do daily rituals on Saturdays.

Fun facts about Shanishingapur

- The temple is considered to be a live temple

- Lord Shani's favorite day is Saturday, so there are many people at the temple on Saturday

- The stone is 6ft tall but we can only see half of it

- The legend of the village is 300 years-old

For more information visit ~ https://www.shanidev.com/

Khandoba Temple

The Khandoba Temple is a small temple located on the main road of Shirdi. The temple is associated with Sai Baba. Khandoba is a deity of Sai Baba and is believed to be a manifestation of Lord Shiva. The temple is filled with art depicting Khandoba talking to Sai Baba. Khandoba was developed during the 9th and 10th centuries by a folk deity. For more information visit ~ https://shirdisaitemple.com/shirdi-article/id/90/khandoba-mandir-shirdi.

Shirdi Sai Baba Temple

The Shirdi Sai Baba Temple was built in 1922. Near the idol, there is the samadhi(tomb) of Shirdi Sai Baba. Sai Baba came to Shirdi at a young age and many who lived there were wondering why he came. When he came many people in the village were suffering from an illness. He then cooked everyone rice which cured their illness. Sai Baba was known for saving the people. For more information visit ~ https://www.sai.org.in/en

Trimbakeshwar Temple

The Trimbakeshwar Temple is known for having 1 of the 12 sacred jyotirlingas(column/pillar of light). Due to excess use of water, the linga has eroded. The temple is located near the Godavari River. The Godavari River is considered sacred as it is believed to merge with the river Ganga. The Godavari River is also included in many Hindu stories such as the Shiva Purana.

History of Trimbakeshwar Temple

The Trimbakeshwar Temple was created between the years 1755 and 1786 AD. The temple is located on three hills, Brahmagiri, Nilagiri, and Kalagiri. A sage named Gautama Rishi and his wife lived on the Brahmagiri hills. They lived in an ashrama(orphanage) and they had an abundance of food. But everywhere else people were struggling to find food. They has an abundance of food because of their daily worship of the gods, so they blessed the rishi and his wife with food. The other sages were jealous so they released cows on his farm. In an attempt to scare the cow he accidentally killed it. Then he prayed to Lord Shiva to release the river Ganga onto his land to purify the land. After being pleased with his prayers Lord Shiva released Ganga and told her to stay there. Then the sage asked Lord Shiva to reside on the land and he did in the form of a jyotirlinga.

Fun Facts about

- The jyotirlinga(column/pillar of light) has three faces representing Lord Bramha(the creator), Lord Vishnu(the preserver), and Lord Shiva(the destroyer)

- The word Trimbak comes from the three gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Bramha, that is why it is called Trimbakeshwar

Here are some photos I took while I was at the temple.

For more information visit ~ https://www.artofliving.org/mahashivratri/triambakeshwar-jyotirlinga

Siddh Hanuman (Anjaneri) Temple

Anjaneri is a city located in Nasik, Maharashtra. It is also known for being Lord Hanuman's birthplace. The city was named after his mom Anjana according to Hindu mythology. The temple has an idol of Lord Hanuman that is approximately over 11 feet. The temple is located around 20 km away from the Trimbakeshwar Temple. For more information visit

~ https://www.page3nashik.com/tourism/anjaneri-hanuman-birth-place/.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Be waiting for another post!

-Maanvi

My Trip to the Nanjundeshawara Temple

Hi everyone, It's Maanvi. Recently I visited the Nanjundeshawara Temple located in Nanjundgud, Mysore. For more information visit ~ https://mysore.nic.in/en/tourist-place/srikanteshwarananjundeswara-temple/. The temple is known for being the ancient temple of Nanjundeshwara (Lord Shiva). The temple also has a river located near it, there were tiny fish in the river. The river is named Kapila (also called Kabani), You can also go boating in the river. The temple was filled with beautiful carvings of many different gods. Most of the gods were different reincarnations of Lord Shiva. The temple's pillars were also filled with many different types of carvings. There was also horseback riding near the river. It was fun seeing all the carvings and visiting the temple. I would recommend visiting if you go to Nanjundgud. Here are the pictures I took of the temple...

I hope you enjoyed this post! Be waiting for another post!

-Maanvi