Where India worships: Reader pics

We invited readers to send in their favourite travel pic -- that one photograph that perfectly captures the beauty of a place they visited. And we have been inundated with stunning pics of every corner of this beautiful country.

Here we share some of the pics we received of India's many places of worship:

First up is this photograph taken at the Karni Mata Temple, near Bikaner in Rajasthan, sent in by Dr Prakash Lalpotu. It is beleived that around 20,000 rats inhabit the temple and are seen feeding from large plates of milk, sweets and grain.

Also known as the Rat temple, it was built in reverence of Karni Mata, a mystic who is worshipped as an incarnation of the goddess Durga. The story goes that when the Mata's youngest son drowned, she asked Yama (the god of death) to bring him back to life. When he replied that he could not, she restored her son's life but in the form of the rat. From then on, it is said, she announced that her family would no longer die but instead be re-born as rats.

 Do you have a photograph that perfectly captures the beauty of a place -- of a breathtaking peak or a picture-perfect seashore? Share it with the world. Simply send in your photograph (original photos only) to travelpicsga@rediffmail.com with the subject 'My travel pic', along with your name, the name of the place and a short description of the photograph, when you visited and what you liked most about the place and we'll feature the best pics right here of rediff.com!

This is a worm's-eye view of the spire (vimana) of the 10th century Mukteswara temple in Bhubaneswar, Orissa," shares Anil Suri of this pic.

"According to the Skanda Purana, Bhubaneswar is the holiest place in India, and has more than 7,000 remarkably beautiful ancient temples. The Mukteswara is a relatively small temple, yet one of the most exquisitely sculpted. This photograph was taken in 2008."

Vidya Ramanathan sends in this pic of the Shanta Durga temple in Ponda, South Goa.

"This is a shot of devotees outside the gorgeous Shanta Durga temple. There are as many magnificent temples in Goa as there are churches."

Vidya also sends this photo of the well-known Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church in Panaji.

"Right at the heart of the city, this church is hard to miss as most hotels and restaurants are centered around it. I got
this shot as prayers were being conducted within the church one warm evening."

Chandan Singh sends this pic of the Shravanabelagola temple in the southern part of Karnataka.

"This is a photograph that we took when we visited the southern part of Karnataka with my French colleagues. This place is known as one of the holiest Jain pilgrimage centres."

This is interior of the main temple at Namdroling Monastery near Mysore," says Nirav Shah of this pic.

"The area has the biggest Tibetan settlement in the world outside Tibet, which is why it is also called Little Tibet."

I drove from Raipur to Rewa with my family this past Diwali and ay we stopped at Amarkantak along the way," shares Arunendra Mishra. 

"This place is sacred to the Hindus as it is the source of the rivers Narmada and Sone. While the Narmada flows westwards from Amarkantak, the Sone flows towards the east."

Venkatesh Bhadraiah Krishnaiah shares this photo of the Koti Linga temple, near Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka. 

"As the name suggests, a crore linga (Shiv Ling) are planned to be constructed here. As of now they have installed 88 lakh linga. Their intention is to save the world from all kinds of disasters," he shares.

The pic is of the Girija Temple near the Jim Corbett national park in Ramnagar (Uttarakhand)," says Amit Rustagi.

"The view is breathtaking. This temple is surrounded by the flowing waters of the Kosi river."