The ProperPandit blog · Category
Plain-English explanations of the Sanskrit and Hindi terms, symbols and customs that come up in Hindu practice, with their usual meanings.
21 articles
NewestTerms & traditions
Karnataka Tourism asks visitors to Talakaveri to dress modestly, especially at the Brahma Kundike, and says the temple is usually open 6 am to 6 pm. Here is what the official sources say, and what they don't.
Terms & traditions
The Sydney Murugan Temple at 217 Great Western Highway, Mays Hill, opens 7 am to 8.30 pm (9.30 pm on Fridays). Its conditions of entry ask for no photos, no phones, shoes and hats off, and recommend cultural dress.
Terms & traditions
Snow buries both shrines for about six months, so worship moves downhill: Kedarnath's to Ukhimath, Badrinath's to Pandukeshwar and Jyotirmath. How the closing and opening dates are chosen, and where to check them.
Terms & traditions
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at 61 Claireville Drive, Toronto, is free to enter. BAPS's official timings page, checked on 21 Oct 2026, lists the campus as open 9 am to 6:30 pm, with Rajbhog Arti at 11:15 am and Sandhya Arti at 6:30 pm. The complex has a stone mandir, a carved wooden haveli and a heritage museum.
Terms & traditions
The temple trust says it charges no fee for darshan or aarti passes. Its published free darshan slots, the three aarti times, where to reserve a pass, and how to avoid anyone selling 'VIP' entry.
Terms & traditions
Every visitor to the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi must pre-register individually on mandir.ae, and only after arriving in the UAE. Bring a physical Emirates ID or passport. The mandir is closed on Mondays and open 9 am to 8 pm Tuesday to Sunday, with an evening Ganga Aarti.
Terms & traditions
Registration for the Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra is compulsory and free. It is done on the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board's portal, its app, an official WhatsApp service or a registration centre. Here is how it works, and how to spot a fake.
Terms & traditions
Fake websites copying TTD, Puri, Kashi Vishwanath and Somnath have taken money from pilgrims. How to check a booking site before you pay, a list of official portals, and what to do if you have already paid.
Terms & traditions
The Ganesh Temple at 45-57 Bowne Street, Flushing, is open 8:00 am to 8:30 pm on weekdays and 7:30 am to 8:30 pm at weekends, with a canteen open daily from 8:30 am. Here is what the temple's own pages say about dress, phones, parking, the daily pooja schedule and booking a service.
Terms & traditions
Highgate Hill Murugan Temple on Archway Road is open every day, 8 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm, with poojas in the morning and from 5 pm to 8 pm. Abisekams are booked through the temple office. Here is what its official site says, what it leaves out, and how East Ham's Murugan temple differs.
Terms & traditions
Nagara temples have a curving tower over the sanctum, Dravida temples a stepped pyramid inside walls entered through gopurams, and Vesara is a contested name for the mixed Deccan style. A guide to the parts you will see and how to recognise each style.
Terms & traditions
Ellora's Kailasa (Cave 16) was carved for the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the eighth century, according to a copper-plate grant of 812–13 CE. Masons isolated a block of basalt with deep trenches and carved it from the top down. Here is what the record shows, what scholars estimate, and how the '200 years' and 'alien' claims compare.
Articles are for general information, researched from public sources, and may contain errors. Please follow your family pandit's guidance.