No pun intended: Are these sites exclusive for religious purpose or open to non-white/muslim tourists as well?
There are functional temples and those that are semi-functional.
The most important of the functional temples are the "Dhaams" ( rhymes with the wor "palm") . There are four Dhaams in India ( Hindu guests please correct me if I am wrong ). These Dhaams attract the most number of worshippers and are the richest in terms of donations logging Rs.6 -10 billion a year in cash not including the gold and silver donations which are not valued in the audit.
The managements are through Muths ( مٹھ) or Trusts headed by a temple committee.
Temples vary widely in style and architecture and southern and northern temples have their own distinct style.
The northern temples are conservative with images or idols restricted to the deities , whereas the Southern and Western temples are better decorated with carvings of different entities as such as apsaras etc. A personal choice but I found the Southern and Western temples far more interesting ( particularly Ajanta and Ellora and the Khajuraho complexes).
The functional temples have 24 -7 hours if worship though Tuesdays and at a few places Sundays are special.
Each temple has its own ritual and norms for example the temple at Tirupati requires the shaving off all hair from the body and head of both males and females, ( there is another extended optional ritual reserved for male devotees that we shall not discuss...). Similarly the Kali Temple in Kolkata has the sacrifice of a goat ( beheaded with a cleaver) by the priest.The Kali temple also has an optional extended ritual. The Jagganath Temple in Puri, the Ayappa Temple in Kerala have their own rituals also. It is difficult for Muslims to understand this because our way of worship is almost universal ( with slight variations on the
mislaks
Most temples have a crowd of mendicants and beggars in the approaches ( though NOT within the temples). Some of the physical deformities of the beggars would challenge orthopedic specialists
So far as the worship is concerned my own preference is for the Northern Temples which are clean, well lit, and the
aarti Bhajans are in Hindi which is easier to understand.
Most Southern and Western temples are located around artificial bodies of water ( a tank or pond) according to the
Vastu principals , ( the Indian equivalent of
Feng Shui ) . Northern temples are more commonly found on the banks of rivers, lakes, and streams and on mountain tops.
There are variations in the idols of the deities. A Lord Shiva temple in the North is standard with an angular pyramid shaped tower often adorned with carvings of cobras. The matching Nataraj temple in Southern India would be very different with a trapezoidal tower adorned with a myriad carvings. In a similar way the temple to Lord Vishnu in the North is very different from his counterpart Balaji in the south.
Okay good to know. I will order this shirt before visiting, it should give me a free pass
View attachment 688874
Don't feel bad about this .
A number of temples are not open to Dalits either.
