Most beautiful temple in India

[Perfection]

Lingaraj temple, Bhubaneshwar : Lingaraj temple is dedicated to Shiva and is a magnificent example of the temple architecture of Orissa. The crowning achievement of the architect is the design of the graceful contour of its towering Gandi. The temple is a combination of four structures, all in the same axial alignment - Deul, Jagamohana, Nata Madira and Bhoga mandapa, the last two being subsequent additions.

The complex is enclosed by a massive compound wall pierced by an imposing portal on the east and two secondary gates on the north and south. There are 150 subsidiary shrines within the Lingaraj complex. Just north of this temple is the sacred lake Bindu sagar with a tiny island in the centre, where there are many lesser shrines. Here, once in a year, Lingaraj himself is brought for ritual ablutions.

[Perfection]

Khajuraho temples, Madhya Pradesh : The architecture of Khajuraho temple is different from other temples and is located not in a customary enclosure but stand on a masonary platform. Each of the major compartments has its own roof, grouped in a way that the highest is in the centre and the lowest over the portico. The temples have three main compartments, the entrance (ardha mandapa), asembly hall (mandapa), and an inner sanctum (garbhagriha).

Kandariya Mahadeo is the main temple with an exqusitely carved entrance arch with a multitude of themes, celestial beings, lovers, serenading musicians - movements captured in stone and frozen in time. The other temples in the group are those dedicated to Kali, the Sun god and Brahma. Chaturbhuj temple has a massive, intricately carved image of Vishnu.

[Perfection]

Madurai Meenakshi temple, Tamil Nadu : Pandyas settled at Madurai and their empire last from 5 c BC to 11 c AD . The great Madurai temple, dedicated to Sundaresvara and his wife Meenakshi, 260 m long and 229 m broad, with nine gopurams, one of which is 47 m high. Arya Nayak (sent as the ruler of Madurai by Vijayanagar empire) built the thousand pillared hall in about 1550. The tank is surrounded by arcades and is very beautiful. Vishvanath built the vimana or central shrine in about 1560. Madurai is 500 km from Chennai and is well connected by rail.

[Perfection]

Mahabodhi temple, Bodh Gaya : This is one of the four main Buddhist pilgrim centres, others are at Lumbini (Nepal), Sarnath and Kushinagar. At Lumbini, Siddhartha was born, at Sarnath, near Varanasi, he preached the first sermon and at Kushinagar, near Gorakhpur he attained Mahaparinirvana.

This ancient temple has a 46 m high tower and a gilded image of Buddha, believed to have been raised by emperor Ashoka. The temple has a beautiful stone railing around it. Depicted on the walls of the temple are scenes from the life of Buddha. A museum in the vicinity has gold, bronze and stone images of the Buddha. The canopy structure of this temple is very attractive and different from temples usually found in north India. To manitain balance of the main tower, there are four smaller towers. The Mahabodhi temple has a huge idol of the Buddha in the 'bhumisparsa mudra'. The temple is surrounded by small pillars and delicate lattice work.

[Perfection]

Rajgir : It is a major Buddhist pilgrim centre in Bihar and was the venue of the first Buddhist council held immediately after the nirvana of the Buddha during the time of King Ajatshatru. The ruins excavated has shrines, stupas and monasteries. About 10 km from the Rajgir station is Gridhakuta (Vulture's peak), the hill from where Buddha delivered many sermons, after he attained enlightenment. To mark the holy spot at the Gridhakuta hills, there stands today the 38 m high Vishwa shanti stupa. The stupa can be reached by a chairlift, a 15 minute round trip offreing panoramic views.

[Perfection]

Puri Rath Yatra : During the Rath Yatra (Car festival), the three deities of Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra with Sudarshan are brought out of the main temple and taken to Gundicha temple for a week's visit in three beautifully decorated chariots. After the deities are installed on their respective chariots, the traditional king of Puri sweeps the chariots with a golden broom, which is known as Chhera Pahanra. The Chariots are pulled by thousands of devotees to Gundicha temple, 3 km away. Devotees stay in the temple for a week and on Ashadha Shukla Dashmi (June - July), the return journey of the deities starts from Gundicha temple to the main temple.

[Perfection]

Somnath temple : Situated 80 km from Junagadh in Gujrat is one of the 12 jyotirlingas in India. Legend has it that the shore temple was first built in gold by Somraj, the moon god, and then in silver by Ravana. Krishna built it in wood and finally it was king Bhimdev Solanki who built it in stone in the 10 th century. It was one of the richest tenples and tempted by its riches, Mahmud of Ghazni invaded it and carried away camel loads of jewels and gold in 1024 AD.

Somnath was destroyed six times and rebuilt on every occasion. Shivratri (March) and Kartik Pournima (Nov/Dec) are mainly celebrated here. Suraj mandir (Sun temple) and a museum are nearby.

[Perfection]

Srirangam temple, Tiruchirapalli : The largest temple complex (156 acre) in India with seven concentric walls (prakaras) and 21 gopurams (towers). The temple dedicated to Vishnu was constructed between 14 to 17 th century and has a grand hall of 1000 beautifully sculptured pillars. There are magnificent towers in all prakaras providing a unique sight to any visitor. The temple has a 73 m high stupendous 13 tiered Rajagopuram built at the southern rampart. Tiruchirapalli or Trichy in short is 56 km from Thanjavur and is on the banks of river Cauvery. Other places to visit are Rock fort temple and Cathedral church.

[Perfection]

Lepakshi temple, Andhra Pradesh : Lepakshi is a treasure trove for historians and Inidan art connoisseurs. The temple on the hillock of Kurmasaila is 15 km from Hindupur railway station (Bangalore line). The temple has three shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Virabhadra. A monolithic Nagalinga, the largest of its kind in India and Ganesha in the
second interior court attract visitors with their absolute magnitude and perfection.

The temple's interior has intricately carved sculptures on each of the granite pillars, which depict drummers, dancers and divine musicians. Artistically, this temple is known for its paintings. A wonderful granite bull of gigantic dimensions (largest in South India) placed at a short distance from the temple's enclosure is one of the tourist attractions.

[Perfection]

Shore temple, Mahabalipuram : The 17 th century shore temple is dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu. The two vimanas, Ksatriyasimheswara facing east and the smaller Rajasimheswara facing west are made in the Pallava era. Unlike the rock cut srtuctures in Mahabalipuram this is a structural temple, built out of hard blackish leptynite. The shrines have a
square lower storey and a pyramidal superstructure. There arer eight manadapams including that of Krishna. The temple is 60 km from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.