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 · Page 2 of 2
Terms & traditions
Entry is free and there is no dress code, but phones, gadgets and even pens are not allowed inside. What Sugam Darshan is, how the four aartis are booked, and how to avoid fake booking sites.
Terms & traditions
The Malibu Hindu Temple sits at 1600 Las Virgenes Canyon Road in Calabasas, California. It is open 9 am to 12:30 pm and 5 to 8 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 8 pm at weekends, and its canteen serves saatvik South Indian food made without onion or garlic.
Terms & traditions
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden is free to visit, open 9 am to 6 pm every day, and needs no booking for individuals and families. Visitors are welcome at the 11:45 am Rajbhog Arti. Shoulders and upper arms must be covered, and no photos are allowed inside.
Terms & traditions
Darshan at Shirdi is free in the general queue. Paid darshan and aarti passes are sold only on the trust's own portal, its app and its counters, and the trust says it authorises no agents. Here is how passes, ID checks, aarti booking and the age rules work.
Terms & traditions
The Shiva-Vishnu Temple in Livermore, California, run by the Hindu Community and Cultural Center (HCCC), houses Shiva and Vishnu shrines under one roof. Its schedule showed 9 am to 8 pm on Fridays and weekends, and 9 am to noon plus 6 to 8 pm on other weekdays. Photography inside is prohibited.
Terms & traditions
The Sri Venkateswara (SV) Temple in Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, consecrated in November 1976, is one of the earliest traditional Hindu temples in the United States. Darshan needs no appointment, there is a dress code for visitors aged 12 and up, and pujas can be booked online even if you cannot attend.
Terms & traditions
There is no single Hindu temple dress code. Each temple sets its own rules, and some have none at all. A temple-by-temple table, with each rule traced to the temple's own page or a government source.
Terms & traditions
TTD runs several darshan queues at Tirumala: free Sarva Darshan, time-slotted SSD tokens, the Special Entry (Seeghra) Darshan booked online, Divya Darshan for those who walk up, and a separate queue for senior citizens, the differently abled and certain medical cases. What each is, who it suits, and where to book safely.
Terms & traditions
Every pilgrim needs a free RFID Yatra Access Card from the Shrine Board before starting the trek from Katra. How registration works, what the 12–13 km climb involves, why pilgrims go on to Bhairon, and the options for elders.
Articles are for general information, researched from public sources, and may contain errors. Please follow your family pandit's guidance.