Temples

The temple is the focus for all aspects of everyday life in the Hindu community - religious, cultural, educational and social. The temple is also the place where one can transcend the world of man. Hindus believe that their lives are merely stages in the progression to ultimate enlightenment. The temple is a place where God may be approached and where divine knowledge can be discovered. All aspects of the Hindu temple focus on the goal of enlightenment and liberation - the principles of design and construction, the forms of its architecture and decoration, and the rituals performed. And all of these are determined by ancient texts called shastras compiled by the priests, the brahmins. The vastushastras were theoretical and idealised descriptions of the architectural traditions and conventions to be followed. The temple is designed to dissolve the boundaries between man and the divine. Not merely his abode, the temple 'is' God. God and therefore by implication the whole universe is identified with the temple's design and actual fabric. The ground plan is perhaps the best example. The vastushastras describe it as a symbolic, miniature representation of the cosmos. It is based on a strict grid made up of squares and equilateral triangles which are imbued with deep religious significance. To the Indian priest-architect the square was an absolute and mystical form. The grid, usually of 64 or 81 squares, is in fact a mandala, a model of the cosmos, with each square belonging to a deity. The position of the squares is in accordance with the importance attached to each of the deities, with the square in the center representating the temple deity; the outer squares cover the gods of lower rank.

Assam Temples Hayagriva Madhava Temple Kamakhya Temple Navagraha Temple Ugratara Temple Umananda Temple Da Parbatia Temple Mahabhairab Temple		Andhra Pradesh Temples Tirupati Venkateshwara Temple Sri KalaHasti Temple Sri Shaila Temple Ahobala Narasimha Temple Maha Nandi Temple Bhadrachalam Sri Ram Temple
Bihar Temples Mahabodhi Temple		Delhi Temples Akshardham Temple Birla Mandir Chattarpur Mandir Gauri Shankar Temple Hanuman Mandir Iskcon Temple Kali Bari Mandiri Kalkaji Temple Lotus Temple Sheetla Devi Temple Sri Digambar Jain Mandir
Goa Temples Mallikarjun Temple Mahalaxmi Temple MahalsaTemple Mangueshi Temple Naguesh Temple Ramnath Temple Saptakoteshwar Temple Sri Devaki Krishna Temple		Gujarat Temples Akshardham Temple Ambaji Temple Girnar Temples Ranchhodraiji Temple Palitana Jain Temples Sun Temple Somnath Temple Dwarkadhish Temple
Himachal Pradesh Baba Nahar Singh Temple Badol Devi Temple Mandir Jalapa Mai Markandeya Ji Sheetla Mandir Naras Devi Temple Naina Devi Temple		Karnataka Temples Chennakeshava Temple Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple Hoysaleshwara Temple Madhukeshwara Temple Mahabaleshwar Temple Mookambika Temple Pattabhirama Temple Someshwara Temple Pattabhirama Temple
Kerala Temples Aranmula Temple Guruvayoor Temple Sabarimala Temple Padmanabhaswamy Temple Parassinikadavu Sri Muthappan Temple		Maharastra Temples Ambadevi Temple Ghrishneshwar Temple ISKCON Temple Mahalaxmi Temple Mumbai Mumba Devi Temple Siddhivinayak Temple Walkeshwar Temple Trimbakeshwar Temple Shirdi Sai Baba Temple
Orissa Temples Lingaraj Temple Mukteshwar Temple Rajarani Temple Gundicha Temple Jagannath Temple Ramachandi Temple Sun Temple Huma Temple		Panjab & Hariyana Mansa Devi Temple Chandi Mandir
Rajastan Temples Brahma Temple Pushkar Dilwara Jain Temples Eklingji Temple Ranakpur Jain Temples Karni Mata Temple Shrinathji Temple		Tamil Nadu Temples Airavatheeswara Temple Brihadeswara Temple Chidambaram Temple Kailasanath Temple Kanyakumari Temple Mahabalipuram Rathas Meenakshi Temple Murugan Temple Rameshwaram Temple Ranganathaswamy Temple Rock Fort Temple Swamimalai Temple
Uttarakhand Temples Badrinath Kedarnath Gangotri Yamunotri Naina Devi Temple Binsar Mahadev Chandi Devi Temple Mansa Devi Temple		Uttar Pradesh Temples Hanuman Garhi Nageshwarnath Temple Buddhist Temples Kushinagar Mathakaut Temple Dwarkadhish Temple Krishna Janambhoomi Budhist Temple Sarnath Nirvana Temple Bharat Mata Mandir Kashi Vishwanath Temple Durga Temple Sankat Mochan Temple Tulsi Manas Temple
Other State Temples Arunachal Pradesh Chattisgarh Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Jarkhand		Other State Temples Madhya Pradesh Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Sikkim Tripura West Bengal