So many times you would have wanted to visit a temple of spiritual importance but couldn’t, because you didn’t know how to get there. Helping such people with booking and trip advice and ensuring that their visit to temples is hassle-free is 27mantraa.com, a company that was founded about five years ago. “The company was founded with the intention to provide information about the temple to devotees who wish to visit it. We also undertake trip planning and bookings,” Ajay V., founder and Chief Executive Officer of 27mantraa.com, says.

Ajay also adds that he has collected information about 3,000 temples by visiting them in person. It took him about six years to compile this information. “Each temple has its own speciality and a story behind its existence. I have visited each of the 3,000 temples and I have interacted with the priests and heads of these shrines. Depending on the specific need of the devotee, I can also offer suggestions as to which temple can be visited and how it serves the purpose,” Ajay says.

The company, founded in January 2011, has served over 1,000 clients for temple visits in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Puducherry. Till date,27mantraa.com has not advertised its services and clients have come only by the word-of-mouth. Overwhelmed by the response, Ajay has decided to make his services available to all by launching the company’s official website in February. The website will offer five services.

The company’s e-prathana service will allow devotees to offer prayers at a temple of their choice through a volunteer. The prasad from the particular temple will be sent to the devotees’ mailing address. 27mantraa.com has nearly 300 volunteers who cover almost all the temples in the country. “This service will benefit those who cannot visit the temple in person and who wish to offer prayers. If a student is appearing for an exam the following day, all he has to do is send us a request to perform a special puja for him on his behalf. We offer suggestions as to which temple(s) the pujas can be performed. Communication takes place through email and phone. On the devotee approves, the puja is performed and the prasad is delivered to his address,” Ajay says.

Ajay suggests the best temples depending on the nature of the prayer. He has compiled a list of 3,000 temples that can be visited by people for a special purpose.

The homam service can be performed by the devotee himself or by a volunteer on his behalf. Ajay tells us that he has a list of 90 homams that can be performed to cure various illness and problems.

The Dharshan service offered by 27mantraa.com allows devotees to select the temples that they wish to visit, by two methods. Devotees can select temples by the region or they can opt for temples that are dedicated to a particular deity, and trip plans are made.

For those who wish to offer special archnaa (prayers) at the particular temple, they no longer will have to visit that temple, wait in the long queue, purchase the archna ticket and then perform it. Special archana tickets can be booked via27mantraa.com, for a particular date and time, thus saving the devotee his valuable time, and avoiding disappointments.