• Bhima Devi Temple Complex (pictured) in Haryana, India, includes the restored ruins of a Hindu temple dated from the 8th to 11th century AD and Pinjore Gardens from the 17th century?

Facts on topics related to Bhima Devi Temple Complex

Haryana

• Bhima Devi Temple Complex (pictured) in Haryana, India, includes the restored ruins of a Hindu temple dated from the 8th to 11th century AD and Pinjore Gardens from the 17th century?
• the 10th century reservoir Surajkund (pictured) and the 8th century dam Anagpur are both located in Haryana, India?
• the Haryana Tourism Corporation names its tourist complexes after local birds in the Indian state of Haryana?

Guardians of the directions

• originally described as the Lord of thieves, Kubera (pictured) is now worshipped as the Hindu god of wealth and the regent of the North?

Hinduism

• Hindu sadhus live in the cremation grounds of Tarapith as they believe that goddess Tara – who is attracted to bones – dwells there?
• Hindu god Vishnu was cursed to take countless avatars because he committed the sin of woman-slaughter?
• Hinduism allows voluntary fasting to death, known as Prayopavesa, for a person who has no desire or ambition left and no responsibilities remaining in life?
• shrines dedicated to the Hindu sun god Surya usually face east, but the one at the Kasivisvesvara Temple in Lakkundi, Karnataka faces west?
• Tamil Hindu parents dedicate their one-month-old children to the goddess Periyachi (pictured), who is depicted ripping a woman's womb?
• Acintya is the Supreme God according to Balinese Hinduism?
• Ashta Lakshmi are a group of Hindu goddesses who preside over eight sources of wealth?
• Chamba is known for its own school of Pahari paintings (pictured), which deal with themes of Hindu deities and nature?
• Chamunda (pictured), a fearsome aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother, was worshipped by ritual human and animal sacrifices along with offerings of wine?
• Gour Govinda Ray, Brahmo Samaj missionary and scholar specialising in Hinduism, attempted to compare Krishna with Christ?

Mahabharata

• Kannada is the only language in which a Jain version of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata exists?
• according to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the apsara Tilottama (pictured) was so beautiful that the god-king Indra developed a thousand eyes on his body to see her?
• in the Vyadha Gita, a part of the epic Mahabharata, a vyadha (butcher) imparts teachings to a sannyasin (monk) on dharma and the importance of work?
• one of the earliest known references to Karnataka, the name of an Indian state, is found in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata?
• the Hindu mythical beast Sharabha (pictured, god Shiva as Sharabha), described as mightier than the lion and elephant, is included in the list of edible animals in the Mahabharata?

Indra

• according to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the apsara Tilottama (pictured) was so beautiful that the god-king Indra developed a thousand eyes on his body to see her?
• the leader of the Tran Cao rebellion, a peasant revolt against the Le Dynasty in Vietnam in 1516, claimed to be a reincarnation of the Hindu deity Indra?

India

• 10,000 people protested against construction of a dam across the Subarnarekha River in India?
• 16th century Indian musician-composer Miyan Tansen laid the foundations of Hindustani classical music by mixing Sufi and Bhakti musical traditions ?
• 18th-century professional portrait painter Tilly Kettle was the first British painter to work in India?
• 22-year-old Indian cricketer Vikram Singh, regarded by many as the fastest bowler in India, played only 5 matches for his state before being selected for the national squad against Sri Lanka?
• 70% of the population of Tamil Nadu is engaged in the Indian state's agricultural sector and related industries for their livelihood?
• Rani Abbakka, who fought the Portuguese in the 16th century, is regarded as the 'first woman freedom fighter of India'?
• Arya Samaj spearheaded the 19th-century cow protection movement, Hindu opposition to Muslim cow sacrifice, leading to violent riots spreading all across India?
• footballer Bud Houghton was born in Madras to an Anglo-Indian family who migrated to England in 1947 when India gained independence from British rule?
• Australian Test cricketers Mark Waugh and Shane Warne were fined after accepting money from an Indian bookmaker known only as "John" in return for pitch and weather reports?
• Bollywood actress Shenaz Treasurywala was discovered while stuck in India when Kuwait Airways lost her luggage, including travel documents she needed to return to school in New York?

Shiva

• Kalpeshwar is the only temple in the Panch Kedar circuit, a group of five sacred Shiva temples in the Garhwal Himalayas, accessible throughout the year?
• Pampa Sarovar, the place in Hindu mythology where Shiva's consort Parvati performed penance to show her devotion to him, is a lake in Karnataka?
• Parikrama, an integral part of Hindu ritual, involves walking around a sacred object or place, as Ganesha (statue pictured) walked around Shiva in legend?
• Yana in Karnataka, India, offers treks to two rock outcrops of black crystalline limestone (pictured) that house a cave temple where a "self-manifest" Shiva Linga is venerated?
• a raga in Indian musician Ram Narayan's album Rag Shankara, Rag Mala in Jogia was named for an incarnation of Shiva?
• according to Hindu legend, the yogi Visoba Khechara taught his disciple Namdev the omnipresence of God by magically filling a whole temple with lingas—the symbols of god Shiva (pictured)?
• according to Hindu mythology, god Shiva proposed to his consort Parvati at Guptakashi?
• according to Hindu mythology, the Tandava, a vigorous dance by Hindu god Shiva (pictured), is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution of the universe?
• according to Hindu mythology, the god Shiva assumed the form of a bull and his hump, arms, face, navel and hair are worshipped at the Panch Kedar temples (Kedarnath pictured) in Uttarakhand, India?
• according to LGBT interpretations, the Hindu fire god Agni's role in accepting sacrifices is paralleled by his accepting semen from other gods like Shiva and Soma?

Pandava

• according to Hindu mythology, the five Pandava brothers followed a route to heaven alongside the Panch Prayag (Devprayag pictured) – five confluences which finally result in the holy Ganges river?