Ten Most Beautiful Temples in India

 

India has an area of around 1.3 million sq miles, a population of over 1.3 billion, and a history of approximately 30000 years. Hinduism is the predominant religion in the country. There are over 2 million temples, while some famous and accented in gold, others are much more modest. Some are intricately carved, while some are covered with erotic carvings; yet the Taj Mahal, Agra, hogs all the limelight. I agree that though it is a crowning achievement of Mughal architecture, it is not easy to lose sight of how much India has to offer beyond the big markable landmark. I present before you some very beautiful temples and structures which you may not have probably heard of (barring one or two) that deserve a rightful spot in the most beautiful temples in India :

1.  Lotus Temple, Delhi :

Lotus Temple

              

The Lotus Temple, located in New Delhi, is also known as the Bahai House of Worship or Bahai Mashriqul-Adhkar Temple. This architectural treat, interesting looking, and beautiful temple in the shape of a lotus flower is designed by Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba. The building is composed of 27 free-standing marble-clad “petals” arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides. The Lotus Temple has won many architectural awards too. A 2001 CNN report referred to it as the most visited building in the world for its beauty.

2.  Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Tamil  Nadu:

 

Ranganathaswamy Temple

 

Dedicated to Lord Ranganatha (a reclining form of Lord Vishnu), the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam is an important and a beautiful shrine that receives millions of visitors and pilgrims every year. It one of the largest Hindu functioning temple complexes in the world. At a height of 236 feet, the main gopura of the temple known as Rajagopuram. It is the second tallest temple tower in the Asian continent. There is also a hall with thousand pillars decorated with sculptures. Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the main sanctum of the temple.

3.  Ramanathaswamy Temple or the Rameshwaram Temple,Tamil Nadu :

Rameshwaram Temple

Ramanathaswamy Temple also known as Rameshwaram temple located on an island situated in Tamil Nadu is quite famous and believed to be sacred by the people of Hindu religion all around the world because it is believed to be that after defeating Ravana, this was the first site where Lord Rama came with his wife Devi Sita. The temple is considered to be tremendously holy since it is one of the four sacred places in India or Char Dham. Not only is the temple architecturally masterful, but it is located in a beautiful location as well.

 

4.  Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu :

Meenakshi Temple

Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple popularly known as Meenakshi Sundareshwara Temple, dedicated to Goddess Parvati, is one of the oldest and most beautiful Hindu temples located in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Nine hundred eighty-five pillars decorate the entire temple, and every one of them has been carved quite differently. Renowned for its astonishing architecture and beautiful carvings, Meenakshi Temple was nominated as one of the ‘wonders of the world’ but unfortunately could not make it to the ‘Seven wonders of the World’, however it is definitely one of the ‘wonders of cultural India’.

 

5.  Badrinath Temple, Uttrakhand :

Badrinath Temple

The Badrinath temple situated at 10,279 feet and located in Garhwal hill tracts along the banks of the Alaknanda River  in Chamoli district  in Uttrakhand is  dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The brightly painted façade and the backdrop of mighty Neelkanth Mountain adds to its stunning beauty.

It is not only one of the four Dhams of the Char Dham pilgrimage in India, but it is quite beautiful as well and is one of the most visited pilgrimages in India.

The temple remains closed for six months from November to April each year due to immense snow.

 

6.  Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, Delhi

Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple

Located on the banks of Yamuna River in Delhi and reflecting the beauty of the Indian culture and splendid architecture, Akshardham Temple built in 2005, is a beautiful Hindu temple and also a spiritual complex. Also called the Swaminarayan temple, this temple holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s largest comprehensive Hindu temple. There are around 20,000 deities.

The central part of this religious complex houses murtis (idols) of Sita Ram, Shiv Parvati, Radha Krishan, and Lakshmi Narayan.

7.  Dilwara Temples, Rajasthan:

Dilwara Temples with the beautiful carvings

The Dilwara Temple is a beautiful architecture and pilgrimage site for the Jains. Surrounded by the lush green Aravalli hills of Mount Abu, the temple was built between the 11th and 13th century. This temple is designed by the Vastupal Tejpal and built by Vimal Shah. It is in pure white marble that adds greatly to its effect and has large amounts of intricate carvings. The ornamental detail spreading over the minutely carved ceilings, doorways, pillars, and panels is considered to be remarkable. The ceilings feature engraved designs of lotus buds, petals, flowers, and scenes from Jain mythology.

 

8.  Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab

Golden Temple

                             

The Golden Temple also known as Shri Harminder Sahib meaning ‘Abode of God’ or ‘Darbar Sahib’ is a gurudwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, is one of the most famous and beautiful temples around the world.

The majority of the temple is built of gold adding to its beauty. There is a large dining hall named Guru Ramdas Langar, that serves meals to thousands of pilgrims and visitors every day, free of cost.

The temple’s significance lies in the universal generosity it offers to the ordinary people. It is primarily a Sikh temple but is loved and cherished by the people of every religion in the world.

 

9.    Somnath Temple, Gujarat:

Somnath Temple

Somnath, literally translated as ‘Lord of Moon ( Soma)’ temple dedicated to Moon God  is one of the most ancient architectural masterpieces in India, that is located in the Saurashtra of Gujarat. It is believed to be the first among the twelve Jyotirling shrines of Lord Shiva. There were invaluable gemstones fixed in different places that kept the place lustrous all the time hence the temple was destroyed, looted, and rebuilt several times in the past thousand years.

 Dubbed as the ‘Eternal Shrine’, it is believed to be the place where Lord Krishna ended his Lila and thereafter left for heavenly abode.

The Iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was instrumental in the construction of the present temple.

10. Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha:

 

Sri Jagannath Temple with Rath Yatra

                                                                    

 The Shri Jagannath Temple, situated in the state of Odisha on the eastern coast of India, is an important Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath , a form of Lord Vishnu. Famous for its ‘Annual Rath Yatra’ or ‘chariot festival’ in which three principal deities are pulled on huge elaborately decorated raths(chariots). The festival is so famous that even people from all around the world gather around Puri to witness it.

It holds an important place of importance for devotees and is one among the ‘ Char Dhams’ pilgrimage sites in India, but Non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple.

Friends, you can see India is a land of many beautiful temples and structures of different religions, most of which are in oblivion and have to be brought to light and to the radar of most visitors.

However, if you decide to visit a temple, please remember, no matter the size or condition, always make sure to remove your shoes before entering and always remember to remove your shoes and cover your head before entering the Golden Temple.

Inputs and pics courtesy Google, Wikipedia, Indiatv, Unsplash & other royalty free sites

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