Famous Temples In India
Famous Temples In India: India being part of one of the world’s oldest civilizations is a land of rich history, countless beliefs, traditions, and legends surrounding the religions. India is a country that has a rich cultural and religious history as it is the birth land of the rules of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. India is where people of different religious beliefs live in harmony and brotherhood with having secular character.
Hinduism is considered to be the world’s oldest religion. Hinduism does not have one specific founder but is a fusion of religions. An act of worship is a common characteristic of Hinduism. Hindus usually worship in either home or temples(Commonly called ‘Mandir’) to attain purity in life and to integrate body, mind, and spirit. A temple is a place that is meant to encourage reflection, facilitate purification of one’s mind, and trigger the process of inner realization within the devotee. So in this article, we will discuss the Top 25 Famous temples in India.
Top 25 Famous Temples In India Names
Here is a list of the Top 25 Famous Temples in India. In the following table, you will find the list of Famous Temples in India in detail. These Famous Temples in India are located in various states across the country. They are built in different timelines by different empires and individuals.
Temple Name | State Name |
Lord Venkateswara Temple | Andhra Pradesh |
Mahabodhi Temple | Bihar |
Somnath Temple | Gujarat |
Dwarkadhish Temple | Gujarat |
Vaishno Devi Temple | Jammu & Kashmir |
Amarnath Temple | Jammu & Kashmir |
Virupaksha Temple | Karnataka |
Gomateshwara Temple | Karnataka |
Padmanabhaswamy Temple | Kerala |
Khajuraho Temple | Madhya Pradesh |
Siddhivinayak Temple | Maharashtra |
Konark Sun Temple | Odisha |
Golden Temple | Punjab |
Ramanathaswamy Temple | Tamil Nadu |
Meenakshi Temple | Tamil Nadu |
Ranganathaswamy Temple | Tamil Nadu |
Brihadeeswara Temple | Tamil Nadu |
Rajagopalaswamy Temple | Tamil Nadu |
Nataraja Temple | Tamil Nadu |
Kashi Vishwanath Temple | Uttar Pradesh |
Badrinath Temple | Uttarakhand |
Yamunotri Temple | Uttarakhand |
Gangotri Temple | Uttarakhand |
Shri Jaganatha Temple | Odisha |
Kamakhya Temple | Assam |
Top 25 Famous Temples In India
Lord Venkateswara Temple
The temple on Tirumala hills is also called Tirupathi Balaji temple. It is also referred to as the temple of the seven hills. The style of the temple is in Dravidian Architecture style.
Mahabodhi Temple
It is one of the Buddhist temples. The Central Tower Of Mahabodhi temple is 180 feet tall i.e. 54 meters. Also, It is one of the oldest brick structures. The brickwork in the structure depicts the life of Buddha. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Somnath Temple
It is also called Deo Patan. It is among one of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva. It was Constructed in Chalukya’s times. In 1947 – Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel ordered the reconstruction of the temple completed in 1951.
Dwarkadhish Temple
It is called as Jagat Mandir. It is one of the four Hindu pilgrimage sites (Char Dham). In 1472, Mahmud Brgada destroyed the original structure of this temple. Presently, it is in the Chalukya architecture style.
Vaishno Devi Temple
It is 5200 feet above sea level at the top of Trikuta Hills. It is one of the Cave temples.
Amarnath Temple
A cave temple situated at an altitude of 3888 meters. It is among the 51 Shakti Peeths. Bhrigu Muni (A great sage) was believed to be one of the first discoverers of Amarnath.
Virupaksha Temple
Built by Lakkana Dandesha, a chief under the ruler Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara Empire. It forms a part of the Group of Monuments located at Hampi which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Gomateshwara Temple
It is also called as Bahubali temple. The tallest monolithic statue (Of Gomateshwara) in the world was carved out of a single rock of granite. It is a Jain temple whose height is 57 feet high. The Bahubali statue is one of the largest free-standing statues in the world depicting the never-ending meditation of Bahubali.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
The architecture is the fusion of styles of Chera and Dravidian. Located in the capital city of the state, Thiruvananthapuram or earlier known as Trivandrum. The temple has a magnificent idol of lord Vishnu.
Khajuraho Temple
They are a group of temples built by the rulers of the Chandela Dynasty. Of 85 temples currently, 25 temples only exist which are scattered throughout. Famous for its nagara-style architecture and is known for extensive erotic sculptures.
Siddhivinayak Temple
This Temple was constructed by Laxman Vithu & Dubai Patil in 1801. It is considered to be one of the richest temples in India.
Konark Sun Temple
This temple was Built in the 13th century by King Narasimhadeva I (AD 1238-1264) during the Ganga Empire. It is conceived to be a gigantic chariot of the Sun God built in Kalinga architecture (Odisha style of architecture).
Golden Temple
This is a gurudwara that was built in the 15th century. It is also famously known as Harmindar Sahib. Temple was plated with Gold in 1980 from the wealth and material donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It is one of the most sacred places for Sikhs worship.
Ramanathaswamy Temple
One among the twelve Jyotirlinga temples built in the 12th Century. It has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. It is built upon the Dravidian style of architecture. Their Creators are Pandyas and Jaffna Kings. There are 64 Tīrthas i.e. holy water bodies in and around the island of Rameswaram. It is among the Char Dhams of India
Meenakshi Temple
It has Dravidian Architecture and over 40 inscriptions. There are 985 richly carved pillars that describe scenes from the wedding of Meenakshi (Parvati) and Sundareswarar (Shiva). This temple is famous for its 3 storied Gopuram at the main entrance.
Ranganathaswamy Temple
One of the most important of 108 (Divya Desam) Vishnu Temples. It is built in Dravidian style and constructed in the Vijayanagar Period. It is 1st the temple to be awarded by the UN Body for protecting and conserving cultural heritage. The Gopuram of this temple is the biggest Gopuram in Asia. Also, it is the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world.
Brihadeeswara Temple
Also called Raja Rajeswara Temple is located at Thanjavur. This Dravidian- temple was built during the Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I. This temple is One of the tallest temples in India and is completely made of Granite.
Rajagopalaswamy Temple
Also called Dakshina Dwaraka. It is constructed in Dravidian style type of architecture. The temple has one of the largest temple tanks in India called Haridra Nadhi.
Nataraja Temple
The wall carvings of the temple exhibit all the 108 karanas from the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni. These postures are the foundation of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance that is a traditional dance of Tamil Nadu. Built during the 10th century when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola dynasty. It is one of the oldest surviving active temple complexes in South India.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple
This temple is located in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Originally, this Vishwanath temple was destroyed by the army of Qutb-Uddin Aibak in 1194 CE when he defeated the Raja of Kannauj. Lord Shiva is the deity of this temple.
Badrinath Temple
It is located on Garhwal hill along the banks of the Alaknanda River. It is at an elevation of 3,133 meters i.e. 10,279 ft above the mean sea level temple is mentioned in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana.
Yamunotri Temple
It is Situated at an altitude of 3,291 meters i.e. 10,797 ft. It is located on the backdrop of Bandarpunch. It is dedicated to the goddess Yamuna.
Gangotri Temple
It is located on the banks of the river Bhagirathi at an altitude of 3,415 m (11,204 ft). This temple is dedicated to the goddess Ganga.
Jagannath Temple
It is also called Yamanika Tirtha. This temple is located in the Puri district of Odisha and is famous for its annual chariot festival, Ratha Yatra. The first Jagannath temple was commissioned by King Indradyumna. Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra are the three deities worshipped at the temple.
Kamakhya Temple
This temple is situated at Nilacal hills in Guwahati, Assam is one of the oldest and most revered centers of Tantric practices. Kamakhya Temple denotes the spot where Sati used to retire in secret to satisfy her amour with Shiva, and it was also the place where her yoni (genitals, womb) fell after Shiva tandava (dance of destruction) with the corpse of Sati.