The article talks about the famous temples in India. Temples in India form an important part of the General awareness section of various competitive exams, like SSC, RRB, Bank, UPSC, etc.
Aspirants of various Government Exams must go through the article on Famous temples in India in detail as general awareness is a part of most of the examinations.
UPSC Aspirants might also encounter 1 or 2 questions related to temples in India or world in the preliminary section with more relevance to Temple Architecture and Structure.
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List of Famous Temples in India
Temples called ‘Mandira’ in Sanskrit reflect the history of a place and cultural glory. Below given is the list of famous temples, the states and the prominent feature or fact associated with it.
| Famous Temples in India |
| Temples in India |
State |
Features/facts |
| Lord Venkateswara Temple |
Andhra Pradesh |
- The temple on Tirumala hills is also known as Tirupathi Balaji temple. It is also called a temple of seven hills.
- The temple is in Dravidian Architecture style.
|
| Mahabodhi Temple |
Bihar |
- It is a Buddhist temple.
- The Central Tower Of Mahabodhi is 180 feet tall i.e. 54 metres.
- It is one of the oldest brick structures. The brickwork depicts the life of Buddha.
- It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
|
| Somnath Temple |
Gujarat |
- It is lso known as Deo Patan.
- It is one of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva.
- There is no land in between seashores from Somnath temple to Antarctica.
- Constructed in Chalukyan style.
- 1947 – Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel ordered the reconstruction of the temple that completed in 1951.
|
| Dwarkadhish Temple |
Gujarat |
- It is also known as Jagat Mandir.
- It is one of the four Hindu pilgrimages (Char Dham).
- The original structure was destroyed by Mahmud Brgada in 1472.
- Presently, in the Chalukya architecture style.
|
| Vaishno Devi Temple |
Jammu & Kashmir |
- It is 5200 feet above sea level atop Trikuta Hills.
- It is a Cave temple.
|
| Amarnath Temple |
Jammu & Kashmir |
- A cave temple situated at an altitude of 3888 metres.
- It is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths.
- It is believed that Bhrigu Muni (A great sage) was the first to have discovered Amarnath.
|
| Virupaksha Temple |
Karnataka |
- Built by Lakkana Dandesha, a chieftain under the ruler Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara Empire.
- It forms a part of Group of Monuments at Hampi that is designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
|
| Gomateshwara Temple |
Karnataka |
- It is also known as Bahubali temple.
- The tallest monolithic statue (Of Gomateshwara) in the world carved out of a single block of granite.
- It is a Jain temple that is 57 feet high.
- Bahubali statue is one of the largest free-standing statues in the world depicting the prolonged meditation of Bahubali.
|
| Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
Kerala |
- The architecture is the fusion of Chera and Dravidian styles.
|
| Khajuraho Temple |
Madhya Pradesh |
- They are a group of temples built by the rulers of Chandela Dynasty.
- There were 85 temples scattered over an area of 9 square miles, of which only 25 temples are remaining.
- Famous for nagara style architecture and known for extensive erotic sculptures.
|
| Siddhivinayak Temple |
Maharashtra |
- It is one of the richest temples in India.
- It was constructed by Laxman Vithu & Dubai Patil in 1801.
|
| Konark Sun Temple |
Odisha |
- Build in the 13th century by King Narasimhadeva I (AD 1238-1264) during the Ganga Empire.
- It is conceived as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God built in Kalinga architecture (Odisha style of architecture).
|
| Jagannath Temple |
Odisha |
- It is also called Yamanika Tirtha.
- This temple in Puri is famous for its annual chariot festival, Ratha Yatra.
- The first Jagannath temple was commissioned by King Indradyumna.
- Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are a trio of deities worshipped at the temple.
|
| Golden Temple |
Punjab |
- It is a gurudwara, built in the 15th century. It is also known as Harmindar Sahib.
- Temple was plated in Gold in 1980 from the wealth and material donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
|
| Ramanathaswamy Temple |
Tamil Nadu |
- One of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples built in the 12th Century.
- It has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India.
- It is built in the Dravidian style of architecture.
- Creators – Pandyas and Jaffna Kings
- There are 64 Tīrthas i.e. holy water bodies in and around the island of Rameswaram.
- It is also one of the Char Dhams.
|
| Meenakshi Temple |
Tamil Nadu |
- It has Dravidian Architecture and over 40 inscriptions.
- There are 985 richly carved pillars that depict scenes from the wedding of Meenakshi (Parvati) and Sundareswarar (Shiva).
- It is famous for its 3 storied Gopuram at the main entrance.
|
| Ranganathaswamy Temple |
Tamil Nadu |
- One of the most important of 108 (Divya Desam )Vishnu Temples.
- It is built in Dravidian style, constructed in Vijayanagar Period.
- It is located on the island formed by twin river- Cauvery & Coleroon.
- 1st temple to be awarded by the UN Body for protecting and conserving cultural heritage.
- Its Gopuram is the biggest Gopuram in Asia. Also, it is the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world.
|
| Brihadeeswara Temple |
Tamil Nadu |
- Also known as Raja Rajeswara Temple located at Thanjavur.
- This Dravidian style temple was built by the Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I.
- One of the tallest temples in India that is completely made of Granite.
- It is one of the Great Living Chola Temples, along with Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple.
- It is also called Dakshin Meru and is situated on the bank of Cauvery river.
- It is a part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
|
| Rajagopalaswamy Temple |
Tamil Nadu |
- It is created in Dravidian style, it is also called Dakshina Dwaraka.
- It has one of the largest temple tanks in India called Haridra Nadhi.
|
| Nataraja Temple |
Tamil Nadu |
- The temple wall carvings display all the 108 karanas from the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni; these postures form the foundation of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance.
- It was built in 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 |
Uttar Pradesh |
- The original Vishwanath temple was destroyed by the army of Qutb-Uddin Aibak in 1194 CE when he defeated the Raja of Kannauj.
- There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi also spelt as Gyaan Vapi
- In 1669 CE, Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place.
- In 1780, Malhar Rao’s daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar constructed the present temple adjacent to the mosque
- It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas.
|
| Badrinath Temple |
Uttarakhand |
- It is located in Garhwal hill along the banks of Alaknanda River.
- It is at an elevation of 3,133 metres i.e. 10,279 ft above the mean sea level.
- The temple is mentioned in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana.
|
| Yamunotri Temple |
Uttarakhand |
- Situated at an altitude of 3,291 metres i.e. 10,797 ft.
- It is located on the backdrop of Bandarpunch
- It is dedicated to goddess Yamuna.
|
| Gangotri Temple |
Uttarakhand |
- It is located on the banks of the river Bhagirathi at an altitude of 3,415 m (11,204 ft).
|
Candidates can download the Famous Temples in India PDF for convenience in preparation.
Important Temples In India PDF:-Download PDF Here
Candidates can also check other important general awareness topics for various competitive exams.
Sample Questions- Famous Temples in India for General Awareness
For a better understanding of the Famous Temples of India topic for competitive exams, it is important to know the scope of questions that are asked in the examination based on it.
Hence, given below are a few sample questions asked in the general awareness section of various government examinations.
Q.1. Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and _____ are collectively called the Char Dhams. Which is the fourth pilgrimage destination?
- Jagannath
- Badrinath
- Amarnath
- Jagnath
Answer (2) Badrinath
Q.2. Where is Padmanabhaswamy Temple located?
- Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
- Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
- Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
Answer (3) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Q.3. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is dedicated to which deity?
- Lord Vishnu
- Lord Shiva
- Goddess Lakshmi
- Goddess Durga
Answer (1) Lord Vishnu
Q.4. Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is also known as
- Chamundi Temple
- Tirupati Balaji Temple
- Bhimashankar Temple
- Sringeri Math
Answer (2) Tirupati Balaji Temple
Q.5. Where is Golden Temple located?
- Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh
- Jaipur, Rajasthan
- Ahmedabad, Gujarat
- Amritsar, Punjab
Answer (4) Amritsar Punjab
Apart from the sample questions given above, candidates can check Previous Year Question Papers with solution PDF to understand the type of questions asked in the general awareness section of these examinations.
Also, check Free Online Mock tests for various government examinations for practice and analysis.
Aspirants of various government exams such as SSC, RRB, Bank, Insurance etc. are sure to encounter 1-2 questions related to Temples in India under the general awareness sections of these exams.
Candidates for more such interesting and important general awareness topics can check the links given below:
- SSC General Awareness
- Bank General Awareness
Candidates preparing for various competitive or government exams can check the detailed syllabus of these exams.
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