Sapta Puri – The seven holy cities for Hindus in India

Sapta Puri are the seven sacred cities for the Hindus in India which one must visit to attain Moksha(Salvation). These places are associated with the Hindu Gods or Spiritual leaders and they are Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kashi or Varanasi, Kanchi, Ujjain(also called Avantika) and Dwaraka. Below are the details of the same:

1. Ayodhya is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is the birth place of Lord Ram. Hence it is also called Ram Janmabhoomi. This is located on the bank of Sarayu river. There was a temple built recently here.

2. Mathura is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is the birth place of Lord Krishna. It is situated on the bank of Yamuna river and is called the heart of Indian culture. Sri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated in a grand way here. It is here that Lord Krishna kills Kamsa. It is also called Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi.

3. Haridwar is located in the state of Uttarakhand on the bank of river Ganga and this is the place where Ganga enters the plains after passing through the Shivalik hills. Haridwar literally translates to Hari ka Dwar meaning gateway of Hari(Lord Vishnu). Kumbha Mela is held every 12 years here. This is considered to be very holy and lots of pilgrims come here to take a holy dip in the river Ganga at Har ki Paudi. There are some famous temples here like to Mansa Devi temple, Chandi devi temple, Bharat Matha temple, etc.

4. Kashi or Varanasi is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is considered to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is also called Shiv ki Nagari and it is said that Lord Shiva himself created this city. It is also called the Spiritual capital of India and it is believed that if you die in this city, you will attain Moksha. There are several ghats like the Manikarnika ghat, Dashwamedha ghat, etc on the banks of river Ganga. The Kashi Vishwanath temple here is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and also has one of the 18 Sakthi Peethas(Kashi Visalakshi). There is a Ganga Aarthi performed every evening.

5. Kanchi or Kancheepuram is located in the state of Tamil Nadu around 75 kms from Chennai and is the only Sapta Puri place from South India. It is also called the city of temples and there are more than 100 temples here, famous ones being Kamakshi temple(one of the Sakthi Peethas), Ekambaranathar Temple(one of the 5 Panchabhoota lingas), Kailasanathar temple, Varadharaja Perumal temple. These temples are quite huge. It is located on the banks of river Vegavathi. This was mainly built during the Pallavas rule in the 6th and 8th centuries CE. The great Hindu philosopher Adi Sankara Charya propagated the Advaita philosophy here. It is also famous for silk sarees.

6. Ujjain is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh and is famous for the Mahakaleshwar temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. It also has Mahankali Har Siddhi Mandir, one of the 18 Sakthi Peethas. Ujjain is also called Avantika and is situated on the banks of Shipra river. It is one of the 4 places where Kumbha Mela is held every 12 years. It is one of the 4 places where the drop of Amrut fell during the Samudra Manthan.

7. Dwaraka is located in the state of Gujarat and is the place where Lord Krishna moved from Mathura after assassination of King Kamsa and made it his capital. It is situated on the banks of river Gomti and is famous for the Dwarakadhish temple. The famous poetess Mirabhai was also from this place and devotee of Lord Krishna. These are the Sapta Puri places.

You can find information about more temples here