Important Temples of India || UPSC

Temples are one of the most important architectural features of ancient India. Some of the important temples are : 

Khajuraho Group of Monuments( 950-1050 AD) :

• Built by Chandela rulers. Had 85 temples around 12th century, but only about 25 have survived. Dedicated to both Hinduism and Jainism. Mentioned by Al-Beruni. Ibn-Batuta describes the destruction by Muslim rulers in 13th century. All temples are built of sandstone.
• The temples belong to Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Jainism, divided equally. 
• The Hindu temples are Chausath Yogini, Lalgun Mahadev, Lakshmana Temple, Varaha Temple, Mahisasurmardini, Kandariya Mahadev( largest temple). The Jain temples include Parshvanath Temple, Adinath Temple, Shantinatha Temple.

Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram ( 7-8th century AD), Tamil Nadu :

• Built during Pallava rule, it is located on Coromandel coast and has 400 ancient monuments and Hindu temples. The site has about 40 monuments categorised in 5 categories- ratha temples, cave temples, rock reliefs, structural temples and excavations.. The town was known as Seven Pagodas by European sailors.
• Ratha Temples -- These are carved in shape of chariots, The best known are 5 monolithic structures projecting above the beach, know as Five Rathas or the Pandav Rathas. Bhima Ratha is the most massive of 5 rathas. Other important ratha is the Ganesha Ratha. 
• Cave Temples -- Varaha Cave temple, Dharamraj Cave Temple, Ramanuja Cave Temple, Krishna Cave Temple, Mahisasurmardini Cave Temple, 
• Structural Temples --Shore Temple Complex. 
• Rock Reliefs -- The best known rock relief is the Descent of the Ganges/ Arjuna's Penance/ Bhagirathi Penance.

Dashavatara Temple( 6th century AD), Lalitpur,Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh :

• Vishnu temple located in the Betwa river valley representing ornate Gupta style architecture.
• Some of the important sculptural relief features of the temple are Gajendra Moksh, Nara Narayana, Mahabharat relief showing the Pandavas, Vishnu reclining on the Serpent Sheshnag.

Jagannath Temple( 10th Century), Odisha :

• Dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a form of Lord Vishnu. It was built by Ganga Dynasty King, Anantvarman Chodaganga.
• Known as the White Pagoda.

Sun Temple(1026-27), Modhera, Gujrat :

• Built during the reign of Bhima I of Chalukyan dynasty and is located on the banks of river Pushpavati.

Sun Temple, Konark(13th Century AD), Odisha :

Image by Rajiv Bajaj from Pixabay 

• Attributed to King Narsingh Deva I of Eastern Ganga dynasty. This temple was called Black Pagoda because its great tower appeared black. Much of the temple is now in ruin, especially the large shikhar tower over the sanctuary. Chandrabhaga Mela is conducted here every year.
• Was built from stone in the form of a giant ornamented chariot dedicated to Lord Surya. 
• The Temple complex has ruins of many other subsidiary shrines and monuments such as Mayadevi Temple and Vaishnava Temple. 
• Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl mentions the temple.

Note : Some of the important Sun Temples in India are Arasavalli Temple (Suryanarayan Temple) in Andhra Pradesh; Balaji Sun Temple, Unao, Datia, MP; Biranchinarayan Sun Temple, Ganjam,Odisha; Katarmal Surya Temple, Uttarakhand; Martand Sun Temple, Jammu & Kashmir; Navlakha Sun Temple, Gujrat; Suryanar Temple, Tamil Nadu.

Brihadisvara Temple(1010 AD), Tamil Nadu :

• Built by Rajaraja Chola I and dedicated to Lord Shiva, it is also called Dakshin Meru. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage site known as Great Living Chola Temples, along with Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple and Airavatesvara Temple.
• The Shaivism Temple celebrates all major Hindu traditions by including the primary deities of Vaishnavism and Shaktism. 
• Some of the important sculptures in the temple complex are - Lingodhhava( emergence of the Linga), Nataraja, Harihara, Virabhadra, Bhikshatana, Ardhnarishwara, Tripurantaka/ Tripurari.

Hoysaleswara/Halebidu (12th century), Karnataka :

• Dedicated to Lord Shiva, it was built on the banks of a large man made lake and sponsored by King Vishnuvardhan of Hoysala empire.
• It is a twin temple dedicated to Hoysaleshwara and Santeleswara Shiva Lingas ,representing masculine and feminine aspects.

Bairat Temple(3rd century BC), Rajasthan. :

• Freestanding Buddhist temple, Chaityagriha, on a hill locally called Bijak-ki-Pahari. It was built during the time of Ashoka.
• Only the foundation of the temple remains.

Palitana Temple(11th century - ) , Bhavnagar, Gujrat :

• Located on the Shatrunjay Hills by the city of Palitana. It is said that 23 out of 24 Thirthanakaras, except Neminatha, sanctified the place by their visits.
• There are approx 863 marble carved temples spread in the hills. The main temple is dedicated to Rishabnath.

Dilwara Temple(11-13th century AD), Rajasthan :

• Jain temples, built by Vimal Shah, famous for their use of marbles and intricate marble carvings.
• There are 5 temples in all, each with a unique identity, named after the small village in which it is located. These are :
• Vimal Vasahi - dedicated to 1st tirthankara, Rishabhdev.
• Luna Vasahi- dedicated to 22nd Tirthakara. Neminath.
• Pittalhar- dedicated to Rishabhdev.
• Parshvanath -- dedicated to Parshvanath.

Gommateshwara Statue(983 AD), Karnataka :

• 75 foot/17 metre high monolithic statue located on the Vindyagiri hill at Shravanbelagola.
• The construction was commissioned by Ganga dynasty minister, Chamundaraya. 
• The other hill, Chandragiri(Shravanbelagola has two hills), is dedicated to Jain figure Bharat, brother of Bahubali and son of first Tirthankara, Adinath/Rishabhdev.Mahavir Swami - dedicated to Mahavir.

Rajarani Temple, Odisha (11th century) :

• Hindu temple located in Bhubaneshwar.