Darshan for parents who cannot travel

When age, health, money or distance keeps your parents from the temple, they can still do darshan at home. The free Divya Darshan 360 app has recorded aarti and darshan videos from 56 temples. With our VR box, the 360° videos show the temple all around them.

Cannot make the journey?A Diwali gift for your parents

Do the darshan from home, as if you are standing thereGive your parents darshan at home this Diwali

Put your phone in the Divya Darshan 360 VR box, open the app and look all around the temple. ₹699 paid online, ₹749 cash on delivery. Free delivery in India.

See the VR boxGet the free app

When the temple feels out of reach

For many older devotees, the hardest part of darshan is getting there. A long bus ride, a hill climb or hours in a queue may not be possible any more. For some, the cost of the trip is the problem. For others, the children are in another city or abroad, and no one is free to take them.

The wish to see the deity does not fade with age. Darshan at home will not replace a temple visit. It can give your parents a quiet daily moment with the temples they love, without leaving the house.

How darshan at home works

The app is free on Google Play for Android phones. It has 155 darshan videos from 56 temples, in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. Your parents can use it in two ways.

• On the phone screen. Many of the videos are regular videos. They play on the phone like any other video. Nothing else is needed.
• With the VR box. 80 videos are in 360°. Open the app, choose a VR video and put the phone in the box. Hold it to the eyes and turn the head slowly. The temple is in front, behind and on every side.

The app also has daily aarti videos and darshan reminders. A reminder at the same time each day helps darshan become part of the routine, like lighting the morning diya.

All videos are recorded at the temple. Your parents can watch the morning aarti at whatever hour suits them.

Temples they can visit from home

• Shirdi Sai Baba Temple. Kakad Aarti at Shirdi Sai Baba for the morning and Shirdi Sai Baba Dhoop Aarti for the evening. In the Shirdi trust's daily programme, Kakad Aarti is held early in the morning and Dhoop Aarti at sunset. Read our Shirdi guide.
• Mahalakshmi Temple Kolhapur. 7 VR videos, including Mahalakshmi Temple Aarti and Mahalakshmi Temple: Abhishek Ceremony. This temple of Devi Mahalakshmi dates back to the 7th century, in the Chalukya period.
• Tulja Bhavani Temple Tuljapur. Tulja Bhavani Temple (360) shows the whole temple, and Tulja Bhavani Aarti (360) the aarti. The temple stands on Yamunachala hill in Dharashiv district and is counted among the Shakti Peethas.
• Somnath Temple. Aarti at Somnath Temple. Somnath, on the Gujarat coast, is counted first among the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva. Read our Jyotirlinga guide.
• Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Temple. Bhimashankar Aarti in 360. This Jyotirlinga is on a mountain about 110 km from Pune, a long trip for older devotees.
• Parli Vaijnath Jyotirlinga Temple. 9 VR videos, including Parli Vaijnath Aarti (360) and Divine Abhishek at Parli. This Shiva temple is in Beed district, Maharashtra. Read our Parli Vaijnath guide.
• Shani Shingnapur Temple. Shani Shingnapur Aarti (360) and Shani Shingnapur Abhishek. Here Shani is worshipped as a black stone on an open-air platform. Read our Shani Shingnapur guide.
• Shri Mayureshwar Temple Morgaon. Mayureshwar Temple, Morgaon. Morgaon is traditionally the first stop on the Ashtavinayak yatra of Shri Ganesha. Read our Ashtavinayak guide.

For more temples, see our temple guides.

Tips for elderly users

• Always sit down. Use the VR box in a chair with a backrest, or sitting up with good support in bed. Do not stand or walk while using it.
• Keep sessions short. Start with one aarti of a few minutes. Some people feel dizzy in VR at first. If that happens, take the box off and rest.
• Let a family member set it up first. Install the app, choose the language and play the first video together. After that, it is open, choose and watch.
• Make the text bigger. Increase the font size in the phone's display settings, so video names are easy to read.
• Turn the volume up. The sound of the aarti matters as much as the sight. Earphones help if the room is noisy.
• Keep the phone charged and connected. The videos need 4G or Wi-Fi to play.
• Stay nearby the first few times. Having someone close helps them feel at ease while they get used to it.

If a parent is mostly in bed

For a parent who is bedridden, the phone screen alone may be the easiest way. Put the phone on a stand at eye level and play the morning aarti. If they can sit up with support, they can try the VR box for a few minutes with someone beside them.

This is a way to bring darshan home. It is not a treatment and it is not medical advice. If you are unsure whether VR suits your parent, ask their doctor first.

What you need

• An Android phone. The app is free on Google Play. There is no iPhone app.
• Internet, 4G or Wi-Fi.
• For 360° darshan, our VR box. It holds most phones with a 4.7 to 6.5 inch screen.

The VR box costs ₹699 paid online or ₹749 cash on delivery, with free delivery in India. It ships in 2 to 3 business days, and delivery takes 3 to 5 business days. These times are estimates. There is a 7-day replacement for manufacturing defects. See the VR box page.

Buying it for a festival? Read our Diwali gift guide for parents. For how VR darshan works, see VR darshan at home.

Darshan videos in the app

360°Shirdi Sai Baba Dhoop Aarti360°Kakad Aarti at Shirdi Sai Baba360°Temple Surroundings of Sai Baba Shirdi360°Mahalakshmi Temple Aarti360°Mahalakshmi Temple Aarti (Evening)360°Mahalakshmi Temple: Nagar Pradakshina360°Tulja Bhavani Temple (360)360°Tulja Bhavani Aarti (360)Tulja Bhavani Aarti360°Aarti at Somnath Temple360°Somnath Temple 360 TourSurroundings of Somnath

Free on the app

Darshan of 56 temples, free on your phone

155 darshan videos, 80 of them in 360°, in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and English.

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