List of large Hindu temples

This is a list of Hindu Temples in terms of area. Most of the largest Hindu Temples reside in Tamil Nadu.[1]

Sl. no. Name of the temple Photo Area (m²) Location Architecture/Timeline
1 Angkor Wat
820,000 Angkor, Cambodia Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation — first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building.[2]
2 Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam
631,000 Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India Srirangam temple is often listed as the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world (the still larger Angkor Wat being the largest existing temple). The temple occupies an area of 156 acres (631,000 m²) with a perimeter of 4,116m (10,710 feet) making it the largest temple in India[3] and one of the largest religious complexes in the world. The temple is enclosed by seven concentric walls (termed prakarams (outer courtyard) or mathil suvar) with a total length of 32,592 feet or over six miles. These walls are enclosed by 21 Gopurams. The Ranganathanswamy Temple complex with 49 shrines, all dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is so huge that it is like a city within itself. However, the entire temple is not used for the religious purpose, the first three out of seven concentric walls are used by private commercial establishments such as restaurants, hotels, flower market, and residential homes.[4] Taking this detail into account, still the temple ranks third to in the list of large Hindu temples after Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram and Tiruvannamalai Annamalaiyar Temple.
3 Akshardham
240,000 Delhi, India Akshardham is a Hindu temple complex in Delhi, India.[5] Also referred to as Delhi Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham, the complex displays millennia of traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture. The building was inspired and moderated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose 3,000 volunteers helped 7,000 artisans construct Akshardham.[5][6]
4 Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram
160,000 Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India Thillai Natarajah Temple, Chidambaram - Chidambaram Thillai Natarajar-Koothan Kovil or Chidambaram temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the centre of the temple town of Chidambaram, east-central Tamil Nadu, South India. Chidambaram is a temple complex spread over 40 acres (160,000 m2) in the heart of the city. It is truly a large temple which is completely used for religious purpose. The main complex to Lord Shiva Nataraja also contains shrines to deities such as Sivakami Amman, Ganesh, Murugan and Vishnu in the form Govindaraja Perumal.
5 Brihadeeswarar Temple
102,400 Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India Brihadeeswarar_Temple also called The Big Temple was built by Raja Raja Chola I in 1010 CE and is dedicated to Shiva. The Big Temple is not only a magnificent edifice with its majestic vimana, sculptures, architecture and frescoes, but also has a wealth and richness of Tamil inscriptions engraved on stone in superb calligraphy. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. One wonders of how such a big temple could be built in flat 6 years taking into account the amount stone and soil to be moved and the lack of powered machinery available in those days. The massive sized main Vimanam (Tower) is 200 feet high, possibly the highest in the world when it was built. The Vimanam has 16 elaborately articulated stories, and dominates the main quadrangle.It has a monolithic Nandhi weighing about 25 tonnes, and is about 12 feet high and 20 feet long.The presiding deity of lingam is 12 feet tall.[7]
6 Annamalaiyar Temple
101,171 Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India Annamalaiyar Temple is a noted Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, and it is the second largest temple (by the area used completely for religious purpose). It has got four stately towers on all the four sides and four high stone walls just like the rampart walls of a fort. The 11-tiered highest (217 feet (66 m)) Eastern Tower is called the Rajagopuram. The fortified walls pierced with four gopura entrances offer a formidable look to this vast complex.[8]
7 Ekambareswarar Temple
92,860 Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India Ekambareswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Kanchipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the five major Shiva temples or Pancha Bootha Sthalams (each representing a natural element) representing the element Earth.
8 Varadharaja Perumal Temple
81,000 Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India Varadharaja Perumal Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in the holy city of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu believed to have been visited by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars.[9] It is located in a suburb of Kanchipuram known as the Vishnu Kanchi that is a home for many famous Vishnu temples. One of the greatest Hindu scholars of Vaishnava VisishtAdvaita philosophy, Ramanuja is believed to have resided in this temple.
9 Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval
72,843 Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India Thiruvanaikaval (also Thiruvanaikal) is a Shiva temple in Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple was built by Kocengannan (Kochenga Chola), one of the Early Cholas, around 1,800 years ago.[10]
10 Nellaiappar Temple
71,000 Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India The temple of Arulmigu Swami Nellaiappar and Kanthimathi Ambal was built before 2500-3000 years ago. The river Tamirabharani referred to by poets as "Porunai" flows round the city. In the distant past the city was a bamboo forest; hence it was known in those days as venuvanam. One of the famous temples in India steeped in tradition and history and also known for its musical pillars and other brilliant sculptural splendor. The temples were built by Muluthukanda Rama Pandiyan. The musical pillars in the Mani Mandapam which produce sound in various pitches when struck (7th century AD by Nindrasir Nedumaran or Koon Pandyan), the Somavara Mandapam, the 1000 pillared hall, and the Tamra sabha with intricate wood work, and the Vasantha Mandapam are some of the noteworthy points in this temple. The temple car belongs to this temple is the third largest temple car in India and it is more than 510 years ago and it is the oldest car festival in the world.
11 Meenakshi Amman Temple
70,050 Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva — who is known here as Sundareswarar or Beautiful Lord — and his consort, Parvati who is known as Meenakshi. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500-year-old city of Madurai. The complex houses 14 magnificent Gopurams or towers including two golden Gopurams for the main deities, that are elaborately sculptured and painted showing the architectural and sculpting skills of the ancient Indian sthapathis.
12 Vaitheeswaran Koil
60,780 Vaitheeswaran Koil, Tamil Nadu, India Vaitheeswaran Temple is located in Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the god Shiva. In this temple, Lord Shiva is worshiped as "Vaitheeswaran" or the "God of medicine"; worshipers believe that prayers to Lord Vaitheeswaran can cure diseases.
13 Tiruvarur Thyagarajaswamy Temple
55,080 Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India The ancient Sri Thyagaraja temple at Tiruvarur is dedicated to the Somaskanda aspect of Shiva. The temple complex has shrines dedicated to Vanmikanathar, Tyagarajar and the Kamalaamba, and covers an area of over 20 acres (81,000 m2). The Kamalalayam temple tank covers around 25 acres (100,000 m2),[11] one of the largest in the country. The temple chariot is the largest of its kind in Tamil Nadu.[12]
14 Jagannath Temple, Puri
37,000 Puri, Odisha, India The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath (Vishnu) in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Odisha, India. The name Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat (Universe) and Nath (Lord of).[13]
15 Birla Mandir
30,000 Delhi, India The Laxminarayan Temple (also known as the Birla Mandir) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Laxminarayan in Delhi, India. The temple is built in honour of Lakshmi (Hindu goddess of wealth) and her consort Narayana (Vishnu, Preserver in the Trimurti). The temple was built in 1622 by Vir Singh Deo and renovated by Prithvi Singh in 1793. During 1933-39, Laxmi Narayan Temple was built by Baldeo Das Birla of Birla family. Thus, the temple is also known as Birla Mandir. The famous temple is accredited to have been inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939. At that time, Gandhi kept a condition that the temple would not be restricted to the Hindus and people from every caste would be allowed inside. Since then, funds for further renovations and support have come from the Birla family.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh build temple ties to boost tourism". The Times of India. 2010-08-10. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  2. ↑ "Angkor Temple Guide". Angkor Temple Guide. 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "Tiruvarangam Divya Desam".
  4. ↑ Malcolm, p. 69
  5. 1 2 "What is Akshardham". BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  6. ↑ "Mandir". BAPS. 2005. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  7. ↑ "Brihadeeswarar Temple". 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Complete Info about Tiruvannamalai Temple". 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  9. ↑ Hindu Pilgrimage: A Journey Through the Holy Places of Hindus All Over India. Sunita Pant Bansal. page 82
  10. ↑ "Tiruvanaikoil Temple". 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Tiruvarur Temple Layout". Retrieved 2006-11-11.
  12. ↑ "Thiruvarur at Tamil Nadu tourism website". Retrieved 2006-11-11.
  13. ↑ "Vedic Concepts". Retrieved 2006-09-12. An example in Sanskrit is seen with the word Jagat which means universe.
  14. ↑ Birla Temple Delhi

References

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