TEMPLES

Hindu temples were not meant for large congregational worship. Pillared Mandapas with elaborate sculptures, sadas for dancing & wide circumbulating passages with other deities placed around the main deity constitute a temple complex. The prominent forms of temple designs are the North Indian Temples & Southern Indian Temples. There were changes in styles, but certain basic rules fundamental to Hinduism were followed regarding the position of the garba griha, directions of the other deities, etc.

Classification of Hindu Temples North Indian Style Western Indian & the Deccan Style South Indian Style

Temple listing regionwise Temples in Tamilnadu Temples in Karnataka

Siva Temples Jyotir Linga Sthalams Somanath - Somanathar, Gujarat Sri Sailam - Mallikarjuna, Andhra Pradesh Ujjain Mahaakaaleshwar, Madhya Pradesh Omkareshwar - Omkaareshwar, Madhya Pradesh Vaidyanatham - Vaidyanathar, Bihar Bhimashankaram - Bhimashankar, Maharashtra Rameswaram - Ramalingeswarar, Tamilnadu Nagesam - Nageshwar, Gujarat Viswanatham - Viswanathar, Uttar Pradesh Triyambagam - Triyambageshwar, Maharashtra Kedaram - Kedareswar, Uttar Pradesh Kusmesam - Kusmeswara, Maharashtra Pancha Bootha Sthalangal, Tamilnadu Aadi Kumbeshwara temple - Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu Mahaamaham festival in Kumbakonam Annamalaiyar temple - Thiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu Information on the temple, history, Girivalam, Deepam & the Ashram http://www.omarunachala.com/ Ardhanaareeswarar Koil - Thiruchengodu, Tamilnadu Brihadeeswarar Koil - Thanjavur, Tamilnadu Photographs of Brihadeeswarar Temple........1......2......3......4 Brihadeeswarar Koil - Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Tamilnadu Photographs of the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Brihadeeswarar Temple For details on the temple visit http://tamilartsacademy.com/books/gcpuram/chapter01.html http://www.tamilnation.org/culture/architecture/gkc.htm Siva temples(Muvar-koil and Muchu-kundesvara-koil)in Kodumbalur, Pudukkottai, Tamilnadu www.pudukkottai.org/places/kodumbalur/index.html Jambukeswar temple - Thiruvaanaikaaval, Tamilnadu Kampahareswarar temple - Tribhuvanam, Tamilnadu Kapaleeswarar Temple - Chennai, Tamilnadu Mahalingam temple - Thiruvidaimarudur, Tamilnadu Malleeswarar Koil - Chennai, Tamilnadu Photographs of Thirukalyana Utsavam, 8 March 2004 Nageswara temple - Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu Natarajar temple - Chidambaram, Tamilnadu Images carved on the temple chariot, Chidambaram .....1...2...3...4 Sattanathaswamy temple - Sirkali, Tamilnadu Swarnapureeswarar (Padikaasunaadar Koil) - Azhagaaputhur, Tamilnadu Thirukannaar Koil - near Mylaaduthurai, Tamilnadu Vaanchinaathar temple - Sri Vaanchiyam, Tamilnadu Vaideeswaran temple - Vaideeswaran Koil, Tamilnadu Vedagiriswarar temple - Thirukazhukundram, Tamilnadu Related Links - Web site on Temples http://www.shaivism.org/sp.html

Vishnu Temples 108 Vaishnava Divya Desangal Chakrapani temple - Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu Jaganmohini Kesavaswami temple - Ryali, Andhra Pradesh Naachiyaarkovil - Thirunaraiyur, 10 km from Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu (also listed under 108 Vaishnava Divya Desangal - Thiru Naraiyur in Chola Naadu) Parthasarathy Swamy Temple - Chennai, Tamilnadu (also listed under 108 Vaishnava Divya Desangal - Thiruvallikeni in Thondai Naadu) Ramaswamy temple - Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu Sarangapani temple - Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu Ulagalanda Perumal temple - Tirukkoilur, Tamilnadu (also listed under 108 Vaishnava Divya Desangal - Thirukkovalur in Nadu Naadu) Uppiliyappan Koil - Thiruvinnagaram, 6 kms from Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu (also listed under 108 Vaishnava Divya Desangal - Thiru Vinnagar)

Temples for Goddesses Aadi Parasakthi temple - Melmaruvathur, Tamilnadu Ashta Lakshmi temple - Chennai, Tamilnadu Bramaraambigai, Durga Parameswari temple - Kateel, Karnataka Meenakshi Amman Temple - Madurai, Tamilnadu Photographs of sculptures in 1000 pillared Hall, Meenakshi Temple The three Sakthi Temples - Chennai, Tamilnadu Ichchaa Sakthi - Thiruvudai Naayagi Gnana Sakthi - Vadivudai Naayagi Kriyaa Sakthi - Kodiyidai Naayagi Nemili Sri Bala Peetam, Vellore, Tamilnadu Shree Baleshwari Devi temple, New Delhi Related Links - Shri Naina Devi Ji Temple situated on hill top in Bilaspur Distt. of Himachal Pradesh http://www.nainadevi.com

Murugar Temples Aru Padai Veedu - Chennai, Tamilnadu Balasubramania Swami temple, Siruvapuri, Tamilnadu Murals in the Swamimalai temple near Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu Information about Palani temples, siddhas, siddhi, Hindu culture, famous temples in Tamilnadu, & Kerala, Kodaikanal and Online pooja in Palani temple. http://www.palanitemples.com

Temples for other deities Navagraham Temples - Tamilnadu Thirukollikaadu Agneeswarar temple(Pongu Sani sthalam) - Tamilnadu Viswaroopa Panchamukha Hanuman - Tiruvallur, near Chennai http://www.panchamukha.org The face towards the East is Sri Hanuman Mukha,Sri Karala Ugravira Narasimha Swami, facing the South,the face facing the west is that of Lord Sri Mahavira Garuda, Sri Lakshmi Varahamurthy facing the North, the Urdhva Mukha Facing upwards of Sri Hayagriva Swami. Saidham Sola - Ahmedabad http://www.saidhamsola.org (The temple is maintained in the same manner as in Shirdi) Basavangudi Nandi temple - Karnataka Char Dham is referred to the four Hindu religious sites in Uttarakhand state of India. These are Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, nestled in the lap of majestic Himalayas. Amongst the four Char Dhams, Yamunotri and Gangotri are dedicated to goddesses Yamuna and Ganga respectively. On the other hand, Kedarnath is dedicated to Lord Shiva while Badrinath is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Temple Murals

Temple drawings - pen & ink drawings by S.Kanthan Sketches of temple idols, sculptures by Sumathi

Rural Education and Conservation of Heritage Foundation The fundamental objective of R.E.A.C.H. is increasing the awareness about our villages and the rich heritage. R.E.A.C.H visualizes that the built heritage at present is fast threatened by the sheer negligence about heritage and symbolic value. R.E.A.C.H will canalize its resources in this area. http://conserveheritage.org http://templesrevival.blogspot.com http://reachhistory.blogspot.com

Temples in India http://www.bharatonline.com/temples.html