Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Varanasi is a city of tens of thousands of temples, but it is religiously defined more than anything by its fabled ghats. These giant, wide stone stairways which descend from the city to the banks of the Ganges River provide access for millions of pilgrims to pay homage to and bathe in the holy river every year. While ghats can be found in many cities … [Read more...]
DAKSHINESHWAR KALI TEMPLE
Kolkata, West Bengal The Dakshineshwar Kali Temple is the greatest temple to the goddess Kali in India. It is also one of the preeminent Hindu temples in the city of Kolkata, and one of that city’s most popular tourist sites. Constructed in the 19th century, it is among the youngest major temples in eastern India and one of the best examples of colonial-era temple architecture … [Read more...]
MEENAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE
Madurai, Tamil Nadu The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai is the largest and most magnificent temple in India dedicated to one of the female Hindu deities, in this case, Parvati, the wife of Shiva. It may also be one of the oldest temples in Tamil Nadu (or at least a descendent of one of the oldest). The temple also hosts one of the largest annual pilgrimages to a female deity … [Read more...]
BHIMA-KALI TEMPLE
Sarahan, Himachal Pradesh The Bhima-Kali Temple is arguably the finest wooden construction temple in India. Architecturally, it seems very out of place, with elements reminiscent of structures found in many places from Japan and China to Scandinavia. Dedicated to the mother goddess Bhimakali, it is one of the most prominent temples to a Hindu goddess in Northern India. It is … [Read more...]
YAMUNOTRI TEMPLE
Yamunotri, Uttarakhand The Yamunotri Temple is an old shrine, but thanks to better accent in recent years has become part of a new and popular pilgrimage route. This route, consisting of a series of four temples known as the Chota Char Dham (not to be confused with the Char Dham), includes the sources of two of India’s sacred rivers, the northernmost of the Char Dham temples … [Read more...]
GANGOTRI TEMPLE
Gangotri, Uttarakhand The Gangotri Temple is an old shrine, but thanks to better accent in recent years has become part of a new and popular pilgrimage route. This route, consisting of a series of four temples known as the Chota Char Dham (not to be confused with the Char Dham), includes the sources of two of India’s sacred rivers, the northernmost of the Char Dham temples and … [Read more...]
SUN TEMPLE
Konark, Odisha The Sun Temple in Konark is probably one of the most famous Hindu temples in India not dedicated to one of the major deities or deity incarnations. Instead it is dedicated to Surya, the god of the sun. It is an architectural masterpiece designed to resemble a chariot with elements designed for astrological observations. Despite the fact that much of the original … [Read more...]
KARNI MATA TEMPLE
Deshnoke, Rajasthan The Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan is one of India’s best known, if for a really spine tingling reason: this is the one with the rats. Well over ten thousand (maybe over twenty thousand) of the creepy mostly black rodents call this temple their home. They roam fearlessly through the temple halls, generally indifferent to human visitors, who often present … [Read more...]
BRAHMA TEMPLE
Pushkar, Rajasthan The Brahma Temple in Pushkar is one of the very few temples in India dedicated to Brahma, the god of creation. Of all of the major Hindu deities, Brahma is arguably the most underrepresented. Because of this scarcity of places of worship, virtually any temple to Brahma is considered an important one, and this is arguably the most important center for his … [Read more...]
CITY OF TEMPLES
Bhubaneswar, Odisha The city of Bhubaneswar has historically been one of the most geographically and politically important cities on India’s east coast. It has served as the capital of several kingdoms and provinces, and many of the city’s rulers have adorned it with temples. By some estimates, Bhubaneswar has more temples per capita than any other city in India. While this … [Read more...]
