41 Most Famous Temples in India with Its Location | Arts and Culture

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In this article, we will see about 41 most Famous Temples in India along with its Location. India has more than 2 million smaller and larger temples built in course of time by many different peoples. This count keep on increasing year by year. In these huge number, there are few important temples which played a significant role in country's art and culture. We will see few more details about those temples in below section.

Famous Temples in India with Its Location

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1. Meenakshi Temple

It is situated in Madurai City of Tamil Nadu.
It was originally built in 6th century by King Kulasekara Pandya.
It is dedicated to Thirukamakottam udaya aaludaiya nachiyar, a form of Parvati, and her consort, Sundareshwar, a form of Shiva.

2. Ramanathaswamy Temple

It is situated in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.
The creator of this temple was Pandya and Jaffna Kings.
This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

3. Brihadeshwara Temple

It is situated in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.
It was built in 11th century by Chola Ruler first Raja Raj Chola between 1003 and 1010 A.D.
It is called as Dhakshina Meru (Meru of south).
It is one of the largest South Indian temples and an exemplary example of a fully realized Tamil architecture.

4. Thillai Nataraja Temple

It is situated in Chidambaram of Tamil Nadu.
This temple was constructed during the 10th Century by Chola dynasty.
It is dedicated to Nataraja - Shiva as the Lord of dance.

5. Sri Puram Golden Temple

It is situated in Vellore city of Tamil Nadu.
The salient feature of 'Thirupuram' is the Lakshmi Narayani temple whose Vimanam and Ardha Mandapam is covered with pure gold, housing the deity Sri Lakshmi Narayani (female consort/wife of Vishnu Narayana).
This temple is covered with 1500 kg of pure gold foil in fifteen layers.

6. Ekambareswarar Temple

It is situated in Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu.
The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century.
Shiva is worshiped as Ekambareswarar or Ekambaranathar, and is represented by the lingam, with his idol referred to as Prithvi lingam.

7. Mamallapuram Temple

It is situated in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu.
It is also known as Shore Temple because it overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal.

8. Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple

It is situated in Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu.
This temple was built from 685-705 A.D. by Rajasimha ruler of the Pallava Dynasty.
It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is known for its historical importance.

9. Vaikunta Perumal Temple

It is situated in Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu.
It was built in 8th century by King Nandivurman II.
The temple is known for the inscriptions indicating the democratic practices of electing representatives for the village bodies during the regime of Parantaka Chola (907-55 CE).

10. Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple

It is situated in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu.
It was built by Rajendra Chola I.
Main deity of this temple is Lord Shiva.

11. Jambukeshwarar Temple

It is situated in Tiruchirapalli district in the state of Tamil Nadu.
As per the beliefs, Kochengat Cholan one of the Early Cholas have built this temple.
This temple represents the element of water, or neer in Tamil.

12. Nellaiappar Temple

It is situated in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
This temple was completed in 700 CE by Early Pandyas.
Shiva is worshipped as Nellaiappar represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Kanthimathi Amman.

13. Kalabhairaveshwara Temple

It is situated in Adichunchanagiri hills of Karnataka.
Lord Gangadhareshwara is the presiding deity.
The Pancha Lingas, the Jwala Peetha, Sthambamba are all held in great reverence by the devotees.

14. Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temple

It is situated in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
This temple was completed in 1200 CE and the creator was Birmanna Pergade.
It is considered to be unique as it belongs to Shaiva sect of Hinduism.

15. Murudeshwar Temple

It is situated on the coast of the Arabian Sea, North Kannada district of Karnataka.
This temple is famous for the world's second tallest Shiva Statue.

16. Padmanabhaswami Temple

It is situated in Thiruvananthpuram.
The principal deity Padmanabhaswami (Vishnu) temple is enshrined in the "Anantha Shayana" posture, the eternal yogic sleep on the infinite serpent Adi Shesha.
The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the Chera style and the Dravidian style of architecture, featuring high walls, and a 16th-century gopura.

17. Sabrimala Temple

This place is located at Sabarimala hill, Pathanamthitta district of Kerala.
As per the beliefs the creator of this temple was Vishwakarma, Pandalam King Rajasekhara.
It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the World with an estimate of over 40 to 50 million devotees visiting every year.

18. Vadakkunnathan Temple

It is situated in Thrissur city of Kerala.
It is a 1300 years old temple and the creator of this temple was Parashurama.
This temple is a classical example of the architectural style of Kerala and has one monumental tower on each of the four sides in addition to a Kuttambalam.

19. Siddhivinayak Temple

It is situated in Prabhadevi of Mumbai.
This temple was completed in 19 November 1801.
It was originally built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on 19 November 1801.
It is one of the richest temples in India.

20. Kailash Temple

It is situated in Ellora district of Aurangabad (Mumbai).
It was built by King Naresh Krishna I of Rashtrakuta dynasty.
It is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at the Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India.

21. Elephanta Caves

It is situated in Elephanta Island of Mumbai.
The Elephanta Caves were constructed about the mid 5th to 6th centuries AD.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is a collection of cave temple predominantly dedicated to Lord Shiva.

22. Dashavatara Temple

It is situated in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
It was built in Gupta dynasty.
The Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh shows the ornate Gupta style architecture.

23. Vrindavan Chandrodaya Temple

It is also known as Iskon Temple.
It is situated in Vrindavan in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
It is likely to be one of the most expensive temples in the world.

24. Pagal Baba Temple

It is situated in Vrindavana.
The temple was built by Saint named Pagal baba (Shri Shri Sheela Nand Ji Maharaj) by his followers.

25. Vaishno Devi Temple

It is situated in Jammu Kashmir.
It was founded in the real sense by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1846 when he donated Rs 5 lakh towards the development of the shrine.

26. Amarnath Temple

It is situated in Anantnag district of Jammu Kashmir.
Bhrigu Muni, a famous sage in Hinduism, was the first person to have discovered this holy site.
The Amarnath Cave Temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, temples throughout South Asia that commemorate the location of fallen body parts of the Hindu deity Sati.

27. Khajuraho Temple

It is situated in Chatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
This temple was built during the Chandella dynasty.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

28. Kedarnath Temple

It is situated in Rudraprayag district of Uttrakhand.
It was built by Janmajaya of Pandavas dynasty.
It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva.

29. Badrinath Temple

It is situated in Uttarakhand.
It was built in 7th century by Adi Shankaracharya.
Lord Vishnu is the presiding deity of this temple.

30. Dilwara Jain Temple

It is situated in the city Mount Abu of Sirohi district of Rajasthan.
It was built in 1230 by two Porwad brothers Vastupal and Tezpal.
The five Dilwara Temples are among the most famous Jain temples.

31. Brahma Temple

It is situated at Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan.
This temple was completed in 14th century (present structure).
The temple is one of very few existing temples dedicated to the Hindu creator-god Brahma in India and remains the most prominent among them.

32. Jagannath Temple

It is situated in Puri city of Orissa.
It was built in 12th century by the Ganga dynasty King Anantavarman Chodaganga.
The temple is sacred to all Hindus and especially in those of the Vaishnava traditions.

33. Konark Sun Temple

It is situated in Puri city of Orissa.
It is believed that this temple was built in 13th century by King Narsimhadeva I.
It is dedicated to Hindu Sun God Surya.
This temple was called the "Black Pagoda".

34. Belur Math

It is situated in West Bengal.
It was built in 1997 by Ramkrishna Mission.

35. Dakshineshwar Kali Temple

It is situated in Kolkata.
The temple was built in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni, a philanthropist and a devotee of Kali.
The Presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, a form of Kali, otherwise known as Adishakti Kalika.

36. Balaji Temple

It is situated in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
Lord Venkateswara is the presiding deity of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple.

37. Kashi Vishwanath Temple

It is situated in Varanasi.
It was built by Ahilya Bai Holker in 1780.
The main deity is known by the names Shri Vishwanath and Vishweshwara which means Lord of the Universe.

38. Somnath Temple

It is situated in Veraval of Gujarat.
It is believed to be the first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva.
The present mandir was reconstructed in the Chalukya style of Hindu temple architecture and completed in May 1951.

39. Kamakhya Temple

It is situated in Guwahati, Assam.
The creator of this temple was Mlechchha dynasty.
Rebuilt by Koch King Nara Narayan and Ahom Kings.

40. Golden Temple

It is situated in Amritsar city of Punjab.
It was built by Guru Ram Das in 1585.
It is the preeminent spiritual site of Sikhism.
The gurdwara is built around a man-made pool (sarovar) that was completed by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das in 1577.

41. Virupaksha Temple

It is situated in Hampi of Karnataka.
It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The temple is dedicated to Lord Virupaksha, a form of Shiva.

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