Temples of India
A considered directory of Jyotirlingas, Shakti Peethas, Char Dham shrines and temples of note - timings, offerings, travel and the details a visit asks for, gathered in one place.
Temples
FamousJnanakshi Rajarajeshwari Temple
The Jnanakshi Rajarajeshwari Temple in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru, is a Dravidian-style Devi temple completed in 1978, centered on a six-foot granite idol of the goddess Rajarajeshwari.
FamousVaishno Devi Temple
Vaishno Devi Temple is a Hindu cave shrine dedicated to the goddess Vaishno Devi, set roughly 5,200 feet up in the Trikuta Hills above Katra, Jammu and Kashmir. Pilgrims reach the cave on a trek of about 13 kilometres from Katra, making it one of India's most visited pilgrimage sites.
FamousTuljabhavani Temple
Tuljabhavani Temple in Tuljapur is a Shakti Peetha dedicated to the goddess Bhavani, revered across Maharashtra as the kuldevi of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
FamousChattal Bhavani Temple
Chattal Bhavani Temple, also known as the Chandranath Temple, is a hilltop Shakti Peeth shrine to the goddess Bhavani and Shiva above Sitakunda in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
FamousAranya Devi Temple
Aranya Devi Temple in Arrah, Bihar, is a Devi shrine after which the city itself is popularly named, revered as a Siddha Peeth in temple tradition rooted in the Devi Bhagavata Purana.
FamousKali Mandir
Kalika Mata Temple, known locally as Kali Mandir, is a hilltop Devi shrine atop Pavagadh Hill in Gujarat, reached by ropeway or a forested stairway inside the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park.
FamousChhinnamastika Temple
Chhinnamastika Temple at Chintpurni in Himachal Pradesh's Una district is a revered Shakti Peetha dedicated to the goddess Chhinnamastika, worshipped as a pindi in the sanctum.
FamousTarapith Temple
Tarapith Temple in Rampurhat, West Bengal, is a Shakti Peetha and Siddha Peetha dedicated to the goddess Tara, rebuilt in its present form in 1818 by Jagannath Ray of Mallarpur.
FamousDhakeshwari Temple
Dhakeshwari Temple in Old Dhaka is Bangladesh's state-recognized National Hindu Temple, dedicated to the goddess Dhakeshwari, a form of Durga.
FamousMahalakshmi Temple
Mahalakshmi Temple is a roofless Shakti Peeth shrine in Joinpur village near Sylhet, Bangladesh, where Hindu tradition holds that the neck of the goddess Sati fell to earth.
FamousShankari Temple
Shankari Temple is a Shakti Peetha shrine to the goddess Shankari Devi on Swami Rock in Trincomalee, part of the Koneswaram Temple complex on Sri Lanka's northeastern coast. Destroyed by the Portuguese in 1622, it was rebuilt by the local Tamil Hindu community in 1952.
FamousAvanti Temple
Avanti Devi Temple, also called Gadhkalika Mandir, is a Shakti Peeth dedicated to Goddess Kalika on Bhairav Parvat in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. It stands near the Shipra river and is traditionally linked to the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa.
FamousNalhateswari Temple
Nalateswari Temple in Nalhati, West Bengal is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, worshipped as the spot where the throat of the goddess Sati is believed to have fallen. The presiding deity, also called Kalika, is housed in a shrine rebuilt in 1890 by Maharaja Ranajit Singha of Nashipur.
FamousTara Tarini Temple
Tara Tarini Temple is a hilltop Shakti Peetha above the Rushikulya river near Berhampur, Odisha, dedicated to the twin goddesses Tara and Tarini and reached by nearly a thousand steps or a ropeway.
FamousDanteshwari Temple
Danteshwari Temple in Dantewada is a 14th-century Shakti Peetha dedicated to Goddess Danteshwari, worshipped as the Kuldevi of the former ruling dynasty of Bastar. Set at the confluence of the Shankini and Dankini rivers, it is the ceremonial starting point of the region's 75-day Bastar Dussehra.
FamousArasuri Ambaji Shakti Peetha
Arasuri Ambaji Shakti Peetha in Banaskantha, Gujarat, is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas dedicated to the goddess Amba, worshipped through the Shree Visa Yantra rather than an idol, with Gabbar Hill as her traditional original seat nearby.
Temples of India
- Covers major temples across India with darshan timings, dress code, and travel details verified against each temple trust's official site.
- Spans all three Hindu temple architecture styles - Nagara (north), Dravida (south), Vesara (hybrid) - plus the Char Dham and Jyotirlinga circuits.
- Check the FAQ for eclipse-day closures and live-streaming options if you can't travel.
India has an estimated 2+ million Hindu temples, ranging from single-room village shrines to the granite towers of Char Dham - each built around one purpose: giving the deity a home the devotee can approach. This directory covers layout, architecture, customs, and the best time to go for 12 of the country's most-visited temples, drawn from ASI heritage listings and each temple trust's own published darshan timings.
How a Hindu Temple Is Laid Out
The Agama and Vastu Shastra texts describe a temple as the Purusha, the cosmic body. Every structural part maps onto a part of that body, and the sequence is not decorative - walking inward is walking from the feet to the head.
You enter at the gopuram, the gateway tower, which stands at the feet. Past it comes the maha mandapa, the large pillared hall where bhajan, discourse and crowds gather - the stomach of the body, and the last place noise is expected. The ardha mandapa, a smaller half hall, follows at the chest, then the antarala, a narrow vestibule at the neck, where the ceiling drops and the crowd thins to a queue. Beyond it lies the garbhagriha, literally the womb house, holding the deity at the head - the seat of consciousness. The shikhara or vimana rises directly above it as the crown, and it is deliberately placed over the sanctum rather than over the larger hall.
That progression is why the walk feels the way it does. Ceiling heights fall, doorways narrow, light drops off and sound dies away as you move in. The garbhagriha itself is small, dim and unventilated - a cave rather than a room - so attention has nowhere to wander by the time you reach it. At the centre of the plot sits the Brahmasthanam, the energy point of the Vastu Purusha Mandala, on which the whole layout is set out before a single stone is laid.
Three Styles of Temple Architecture
Almost every temple in India belongs to one of three building traditions, and the quickest way to place a shrine is to look up at the tower and then out at the boundary.
Nagara is the northern style. Its tower, the shikhara, curves inward as it rises into a rounded beehive profile, often with smaller replicas of itself clustered around the base. The temple stands on a raised plinth reached by steps, and there is usually no boundary wall and no gateway tower - the building is meant to be read from outside, all at once. Khajuraho, Kashi Vishwanath and Jagannath Puri are Nagara.
Dravida is the southern style, and it inverts that logic. The shrine sits inside a walled compound, so the tallest thing you see from the street is not the sanctum tower but the gopuram over the gate. Over centuries kings added outer wall after outer wall, each with a taller gateway, which is why the gopurams of Madurai or Srirangam dwarf the vimana - the stepped, pyramidal tower over the deity. A temple tank inside the walls is part of the plan. Meenakshi Amman, Brihadeeswara and Rameshwaram are Dravida.
Vesara is the Deccan hybrid, worked out in Karnataka: a southern plan carrying a northern profile. The Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebidu are the clearest examples - star-shaped plinths, a lower and broader tower, and carving worked in soft soapstone so fine it reads like metalwork rather than masonry.
Types of Hindu Temples
Temples are grouped by the tradition that defines them, and each group answers a different pilgrimage question.
| Category | Count | Presiding deity | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jyotirlinga | 12 | Shiva | Self-manifested lingams - Somnath, Mahakaleshwar, Kashi Vishwanath, Omkareshwar, Kedarnath and others |
| Char Dham | 4 | Vishnu, Shiva, Ganga, Yamuna | Himalayan circuit - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri; open seasonally |
| Shakti Peeth | Multiple | Devi | Sites tied to the Daksha Yagna legend - Vaishno Devi, Kamakhya, Ambaji and more |
| Vaishnav Dham | Multiple | Krishna, Vishnu, Ram | Dwarkadhish, Jagannath Puri, Vrindavan, Tirupati Balaji, Ayodhya Ram Mandir |
| Sapta Puri | 7 | Varies | Seven holy cities - Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kashi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain, Dwarka |
| Regional shrines | Multiple | Varies | City temples and local pilgrimage sites with their own festival calendars |
Top 20 Famous Temples in India
- Kashi Vishwanath Temple - Varanasi, UP - one of 12 Jyotirlingas, on the Ganga ghats.
- Tirumala Venkateswara Temple - Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh - world's most-visited Hindu temple by daily footfall.
- Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) - Amritsar, Punjab - Sikhism's holiest shrine, open to all faiths.
- Meenakshi Amman Temple - Madurai, Tamil Nadu - Dravida-style gopurams, 14 towers.
- Jagannath Temple - Puri, Odisha - Char Dham site, home of the annual Rath Yatra.
- Somnath Temple - Gujarat - first among the 12 Jyotirlingas.
- Kedarnath Temple - Uttarakhand - Char Dham + Jyotirlinga, Himalayan shrine.
- Badrinath Temple - Uttarakhand - Char Dham, dedicated to Vishnu.
- Dwarkadhish Temple - Dwarka, Gujarat - Char Dham, Krishna's kingdom.
- Ramanathaswamy Temple - Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu - Char Dham + Jyotirlinga.
- Vaishno Devi Shrine - Katra, Jammu & Kashmir - one of India's most-visited Shakti pilgrimages.
- Akshardham Temple - Delhi - modern complex, record-holding architecture.
- Siddhivinayak Temple - Mumbai, Maharashtra - major Ganesha shrine.
- Mahakaleshwar Temple - Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh - Jyotirlinga, famous for Bhasma Aarti.
- Brihadeeswarar Temple - Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu - UNESCO World Heritage Chola-era temple.
- Kamakhya Temple - Guwahati, Assam - major Shakti Peeth.
- Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple - Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - Vishnu in Anantha Shayana posture, one of the 108 Divya Desams.
- Amarnath Cave Temple - Jammu & Kashmir - seasonal ice-lingam pilgrimage.
- Shirdi Sai Baba Temple - Shirdi, Maharashtra - one of India's highest-donation shrines.
- Ranganathaswamy Temple - Srirangam, Tamil Nadu - largest functioning Hindu temple complex by area.
Temple Customs
Two customs beyond the obvious ones (footwear off, circle clockwise - see FAQ below) are easy to miss. Ringing the bell on entry announces your arrival, like knocking at a door, and pulls a scattered mind back to the room you're entering. Prasad is received in the right hand, and only after the offering is made - not before darshan.
Timing a Pilgrimage
Shravan fills every Jyotirlinga, Mondays heaviest. Navratri does the same for Shakti Peethas, Kartik Purnima for riverside temples. For vrat days, check Ekadashi dates for Vishnu temples and Purnima dates for Devi and Hanuman shrines. Full festival dates are on Hindu festivals; the month-by-month view is on the Hindu calendar. (Char Dham seasonal open/close dates and eclipse-day closures - see FAQ below.)
Best Time for Darshan
Early morning - specifically Brahma Muhurat, the ~96 minutes before sunrise - is the quietest window; midday and evening aartis draw the biggest crowds. Full timing details in the FAQ below.
Using This Directory
Every temple page below carries timings, rituals, offerings and how to get there. Timings shift with season, so confirm locally before booking travel - and if the journey isn't possible this year, most of these shrines stream live darshan daily.