List of Famous Temples in India PDF Useful For Competitive Exam

Dear Aspirants,

Which is the richest Hindu temple in the world? Tirupati Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh is the richest Hindu temple in the world. 

The article talks about the famous temples in India. Temples in India form an important part of the General awareness section of various competitive exams, like SSC, Railway, Bank, etc.

List Of Famous Temples In India

Temples called ‘Mandira’ in Sanskrit reflect the history of a place and cultural glory. Below given is the list of famous temples, the states and the prominent feature or fact associated with it. 

Temples in India	State	Features/facts
Lord Venkateswara Temple	Andhra Pradesh	The temple on Tirumala hills is also known as Tirupathi Balaji. It is the richest Hindu temple in the world.The temple is in Dravidian Architecture style.
Mahabodhi Temple	Bihar	It is a Buddhist Stupa, discovered in 260 BC situated in Bodhgaya.The Central Tower Of Mahabodhi is 180 feet tall i.e. 54 metres.The brickwork depicts the life of Buddha.
Somnath Temple	Gujarat	Also known as Prabhas Patan and Deo Patan.It is one of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva.There is no land in between seashores from Somnath temple to Antarctica.1947 – Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel renovated the temple.Constructed in Chalukya style
Dwarkadhish Temple	Gujarat	Also known as Jagat Mandir. It is one of the four Hindu pilgrimages (Char Dham). The original structure was destroyed by Mahmud Brgada in 1472. Presently, in the Chalukya architecture style.
Vaishno Devi Temple	Jammu & Kashmir	5200 feet above sea level atop Trikuta Hills.It is a Cave temple.
Amarnath Temple	Jammu & Kashmir	A cave temple situated at an altitude of 3888 metres.One of the 51 Shakti Peeth and Bhrigu Muni was the first to have discovered Amarnath.
Virupaksha Temple	Karnataka	It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Hampi, Bellari district.Built by Lakkana Dandesha, a chieftain under the ruler Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Gomateshwara Temple	Karnataka	The tallest monolithic statue in the world carved out of a single block of granite.It is a Jain temple that is 57 feet high.One of the largest free-standing statues in the world depicting the prolonged meditation of Bahubali.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple	Kerala	Build in the fusion of Chera and Dravidian style of architecture.
Khajuraho Temple	Madhya Pradesh	They are a group of temples built by the rulers of Chandela Dynasty.There were 85 temples scattered over an area of 9 square miles, of which only 25 temples are remaining.Famous for nagara style architecture and known for extensive erotic sculptures.
Sanchi Stupa	Madhya Pradesh	Commissioned by emperor Ashoka, it is the finest example of Mauryan sculpture.It is the oldest stone structure in India.The famous Ashoka Pillar i.e. four lions like that of Sarnath is found in Sanchi as well and are constructed in a Greco-Buddhist style.Symbolises Buddha, i.e. a symbol of his final release from the cycle of birth and rebirth called the Parinirvana or ‘Final Dying.
Siddhivinayak Temple	Maharashtra	The richest Temple in India was constructed by Laxman Vithu & Dubai Patil in 1801.
Konark Sun Temple	Odisha	Build in the 13th century by King Narasimhadeva I (AD 1238-1264) during the Ganga Empire. It is conceived as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God built in Kalinga architecture.
Jagannath Temple	Odisha	Called Yamanika Tirtha.This temple in Puri is famous for its annual chariot festival, Ratha Yatra. The first Jagannath temple was commissioned by King Indradyumna.Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are a trio of deities worshipped at the temple.
Golden Temple	Punjab	Build in the 15th century the temple is also known as Harmindar Sahib.Temple was plated in Gold in 1980 from the wealth and material donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Ramanathaswamy Temple	Tamil Nadu	One of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples build in the 12th Century.It has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India.Built in Dravidian ArchitectureCreators – Pandyas and Jaffna KingsThere are 64 Tīrthas i.e. holy water bodies in and around the island of Rameswaram.One of the Char Dhams.
Meenakshi Temple	Tamil Nadu	Built by King Kulasekara Pandya -12-13 Century.Dravidian Architecture and have over 40 inscriptions.There are 985 richly carved pillars that depict scenes from the wedding of Meenakshi (Parvati) and Sundareswarar (Shiva).It is famous for its 3 storied Gopuram at the main entrance.
Ranganathaswamy Temple	Tamil Nadu	One of the most important of 108 (Divya Desam )Vishnu Temple.Build in Dravidian Style, constructed in Vijayanagar Period. Located on the island formed by twin river- Cauvery & Coleroon1st temple to be awarded by the UN Body for protecting and conserving cultural heritage.Its Gopuram is the biggest Gopuram in Asia.
Brihadeeswara Temple	Tamil Nadu	Also known as Raja Rajeswara Temple located at Thanjavur.This Dravidian style temple was built by the Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I.One of the tallest temples in India that is completely made of Granite.It is one of the Great Living Chola Temples, along with Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple.It is also called Dakshin Meru and is situated on the bank of Cauvery river.
Rajagopalaswamy Temple	Tamil Nadu	Created in Dravidian style, it is also called Dakshina Dwaraka.It has one of the largest Temple tanks in India called Haridra Nadhi.
Nataraja Temple	Tamil Nadu	The temple wall carvings display all the 108 karanas from the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni; these postures form the foundation of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance.Build in the 10th century when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola dynasty.It is one of the oldest surviving active temple complexes in South India
Vishwanath Temple	Uttar Pradesh	The original Vishwanath temple was destroyed by the army of Qutb-Uddin Aibak in 1194 CE when he defeated the Raja of Kannauj.There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi also spelt as Gyaan VapiIn 1669 CE, Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place.In 1780, Malhar Rao’s daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar constructed the present temple adjacent to the mosqueOne of the 12 Jyotirlingas.
Badrinath Temple	Uttarakhand	Located in Garhwal hill along the banks of Alaknanda River, it is at an elevation of 3,133 metres i.e. 10,279 ft above the mean sea level.The temple is mentioned in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana.
Yamunotri Temple	Uttarakhand	Situated at an altitude of 3,291 metres i.e. 10,797 ftIt is located on the backdrop of BandarpunchDedicated to goddess Yamuna
Gangotri Temple	Uttarakhand	on the banks of the river Bhagirathi at an altitude of 3,415 m (11,204 ft)

Sample Questions- Famous Temples in India for General Awareness

For a better understanding of the Famous Temples of India topic for competitive exams, it is important to know the scope of questions that are asked in the examination based on it.

Hence, given below are a few sample questions asked in the general awareness section of various government examinations.

Q.1. Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and _____ are collectively called the Char Dhams. Which is the fourth pilgrimage destination?

1. Jagannath
2. Badrinath
3. Amarnath
4. Jagnath

Answer (2) Badrinath

Q.2.  Where is Padmanabhaswamy Temple located?

1. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
2. Mumbai, Maharashtra
3. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
4. Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

Answer (3) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Q.3. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is dedicated to which deity?

1. Lord Vishnu
2. Lord Shiva
3. Goddess Lakshmi
4. Goddess Durga

Answer (1) Lord Vishnu

Q.4. Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is also known as

1. Chamundi Temple
2. Tirupati Balaji Temple
3. Bhimashankar Temple
4. Sringeri Math

Answer (2) Tirupati Balaji Temple

Q.5. Where is Golden Temple located?

1. Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh
2. Jaipur, Rajasthan
3. Ahmedabad, Gujarat
4. Amritsar, Punjab

Answer (4) Amritsar Punjab

List of Famous Temples in India PDF Useful For Competitive Exam

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