Beautiful Hindu Temples
There are many similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism, yet there are significant and important differences which set the two apart. Although the two are very different from each other, Hinduism has always fascinated me and I have always thought that if I weren’t a Buddhist, Hinduism would be a religion which I could easily accept and practise.
One of the many things which I have always loved about Hinduism are the beautiful temples which can be found all around the world. The amount of effort, resources and sheer devotion these Hindu practitioners have is reflected in these places of worship. I thought that sharing this article about the ten most amazing Hindu temples would inspire us. Remember, many of these temples were built at a time when modern machinery were not available. This is like the great monasteries of Tibet like Gaden, Sera and Drepung where resources were scarce, yet the monks and nuns and devotees were able to construct and maintain institutions of learning and practice which last until the modern day. These places are a manifestation of the faith and devotion of the practitioners. Imagine the difficulties and obstacles they would have had to face in order to construct a temple which lasts and which continues to bring benefit to many for centuries!
Tsem Rinpoche
10 Most Amazing Hindu Temples in the World
A Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism. It can be a separate structure or a part of a building. A feature of most temples is the presence of murtis of the Hindu deity to whom the temple is dedicated. However, some temples are dedicated to several deities, and some have symbols instead of a murti.
The earliest Hindu temples are dated to right after the Vedic period, which is roughly from 1500 to 500 BCE. Hindu temple architecture has evolved greatly in the last 2000 years, starting with cave temples, to monolithic rock-cut temples and freestanding structural temples made of stone.
Below is a list of 10 most beautiful Hindu temples around the World, which stand gloriously, pouring blessings over the mankind:
Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, India
Believed to functioning uninterruptedly ever since its inception in the 7th century AD, Virupaksha temple is the oldest and the principal temple in Hampi. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, known here as Virupaksha, as the consort of the local goddess Pampa who is associated with the Tungabhadra River. Temple is noted for its architecture and has been listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This magnificent structure consists of a layered tower of elaborate, hand-carved friezes populated by a bevy of Hindu deities and symbols.
Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam, India
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is one of the most illustrious Vaishnav temples in the country, dedicated to Hindu God Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the Temple Complex is massive in scale and spread over 156 acres (63.131 hectares). According to some scholars, this makes Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple the largest Functioning Temple in the World and is often found ranked amongst the largest religious complexes of the world.
Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur, India
The Brihadisvara temple at Tanjavur marks the greatest achievement of the Chola architects. Known in the inscriptions as Dakshina Meru, the construction of this temple was inaugurated by the Chola King, Rajaraja I (985-1012 CE). The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Great Living Chola Temples”.
Sun Temple, Konark, India
On the shores of the Bay of Bengal, bathed in the rays of the rising sun, the temple at Konarak is a monumental representation of the sun god Surya’s chariot. The temple looks like a chariot which stands on 24 wheels, pulled by 7 horses. Often referred to as the Black Pagoda, the temple was built in 13th Century and is famous for Kalinga style of architecture. Due to its beauty & attraction it features in the Seven Wonders of India.
Kailasa Temple, Ellora, India
Kailasa Temple is the world’s largest monolithic structure carved out of one single rock. Considered as one of the most astonishing ‘buildings’ in the history of architecture, Kailasa Temple measures about 60 feet tall and 200 feet wide. The Temple dedicated to Hindu Lord Shiva and it was built in 8th century by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I. It is estimated that about 400,000 tons of rocks were scooped out over a period of 20 years to construct this monolithic structure.
Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, India
The Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the most important Indian Hindu temples, located in the holy city of Madurai. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar. There are an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple. It was on the list of top 30 nominees for the “New Seven Wonders of the World”. The temple has been mentioned for the last couple of millennia, though the present structure was built in the early 17th century.
Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India
The temples at Khajuraho were built during the Chandella dynasty, which reached its apogee between 950 and 1050. Today only about 20 temples remain; they fall into three distinct groups and belong to two different religions – Hinduism and Jainism. They strike a perfect balance between architecture and sculpture. The Khajuraho temples are known worldwide for erotic sculptures of Kamasutra on the temple walls and are considered to be one of the seven wonders of India. It was enlisted as a World Heritage Site in 1986.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor is located in modern day Cambodia and was once the capital of the Khmer Empire. Built between roughly A.D. 1113 and 1150, and encompassing an area of about 500 acres (200 hectares), Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. Its name means “temple city.” Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, and statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork.
Prambanan, Indonesia
Prambanan Temple Compounds is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples. The temple complex dates from the 9th century. The interior consists of more than 200 tower shrines that surround three inner temples dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma).
Akshardham Temple, Delhi, India
Counted among the world’s wondrous houses of worship, Akshardham Temple in New Delhi showcases the blend of technical modernity with traditional architectural styles. Akshardham Temple was opened in 2005 after 300 million volunteer hours went into its construction. Covering an area of over 8,000 square meters, the grandeur and wisdom behind the temple is best when experienced.
There are countless amazing temples, monasteries, and sacred places of Hinduism scattered throughout Asia. If your favorite temple is not included, it is not a slight – We welcome your suggestion in the comment section below.
[Source: http://www.mysteryofindia.com/2015/11/10-amazing-hindu-temples-world.html/]
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Buddhism and Hinduism are similar because of their architecture is vibrant and colourful. They both have dharma and believe in reincarnation. The symbolism and structure of a Hindu temples were dated century ago. I love to see their ancient architecture of temples wall and so forth. Its simply amazing looking at its structures , colour . To the Hindu, the colours have a very deep significance, transcending purely decorative values in their religion and culture. Great to know there are so many beautiful ancient Hindus Temples around the world. Would love to visit these places as stated in this post in the near future . Looking at the Virupaksha Temple, Ranganathaswamy Temple, Brihadeeswarar Temple to name a few tell all about the beauty of it.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Breath taking looking through those ancient beautiful Hindus temples. All are monolithic structures , with ancient architecture. Such as Kailasa Temple, Ellora, India built in 8th century and it took over a period of 20 years to construct. Some of these magnificent structure has been listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. All I can say is all these Hindus Temples not really beautiful but really impressive . I have not been to any of these temples but wish to see it. Anything ancient architecture or structures or holy place will always fascinated me and in my travel bucket. Can imagine how it was built those days without modern machinery. Interesting.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing .
Temples has been always an important place in Hindu cultural and spiritual life from early times and uptodate. Hindu cultures are rich in religion and expressing the faith through art and temple were usually built in places to mark by special holiness. Thank you for the wonderful sharing of the amazing Hindu temples around the world. I’m so much blessed to gather some information and hoping to visit some on them in my holiday plan
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article and the pictures of the Hindu temples. It is really fascinating and amazing to see those magnificent temples that were built up during ancient time. I can imagine, how many man power and energy it took to build up the magnifecent temples. During that time, they didn’t have the technology and machines, but they had great architecture to all work together to build the magnificet temples, this is truely amazing. If I had the chance to go India or Cmabodia or Indonesia, those are the temples that I must visit. But now, before I had the chance, looking at the pictures that Rinpoche shared, is really eye opening. Thank you Rinpoche. _/\_
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these beautiful Indian temples from around the world. The temples are very unique, stunning and colourful. It is good to visit these heritage sites if have the chance to learn more about its history.
With folded palms,
Vivian
These are amazing structures, some of such architectural feats still cannot be emulated by modern methods.Hindu temples are a synthesis of arts, faith, beliefs, values, the doctrine and the way of life cherished under Hinduism. What a very nice post. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these with us._/\_
These are amazing structures, some of such architectural feats still cannot be emulated by modern methods. Some modern day alien investigators have looked the worlds spectacular structures and some of cuts into the stone, are too fine, for modern day tools and some of the cuts are done in one swift motion. Like a knife cutting into butter.
Temples are the manifestation of devotion and faith of the religious believers. In the same way churches were built by Christians and Mosques by Muslims.
Hindu temples are very amazing as they are so well crafted and the details of the motifs of the Hindu deities are so very well formed.
Beautiful temples manifested for devotees to congregate and share their faith and learn their religion. Holy places of worship.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
Its amazing and very beautiful all the Hindu temples mentioned above.
I have not been to any of these temples but would like to some day.Love to look at the ancient architecture and art work of those days.The construction of the temples are really amazing.
Thank you, Rinpoche for the post. The beautiful temples are such a wonderful offering to the deities as well as an expression of their faith and devotion for their deities. So much care for them to have these beautiful structure to house their deities as well as to maintain them.
I can’t even begin to imagine how the sponsors, architects and masons were inspired to create such wonders.
Thank you rinpoche for beautiful post about Hindu temple. I really like the Hindu temple to visit with soo many color and arts can see all around thre the temple.. temple Buildings constructed which could house a sacred symbol of a particular god, which could be decorated many many things..
Hindu temples are a synthesis of arts, faith, beliefs, values, the doctrine and the way of life cherished under Hinduism. It links man, deities, and the belief system into a sacred architecture. Ancient Hindu temples were the center to many sacred functions that create and celebrate life. It is very fortunate for us to witness these buildings in our modern days.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these 10 beautiful Hindu Temples with us.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang
What a very nice post, thank you Rinpoche for sharing these with us. I have actually visited the Akshardham Temple in Delhi before and it was a very nice place.
The central image is so big, that you can actually see it from the highway that is to the front of the temple if the temple doors are open. They have built the temple very well, in one of the adjoining buildings they even have model tableau re-telling the major stories from that particular Hindu sect. The sets are very real and life like. Is is a very nice and peaceful place. It is a very beautiful expression of their faith.