Hindu temples outside India

This is a Hindu Temple, the site of a popular annual pilgrimage in Mauritius.

Photo: Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Hindu Temple, Neasden, London

The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is the focal point of the temple complex, designed according to the Stapatya-Shastra, a Vedic text that develops Hindu architecture to metaphorically represent the different attributes of God. It is constructed mostly from Indian marble, Italian marble and Bulgarian limestone. The marbles and stones were shipped to India where they were sculpted by over 1,500 skilled craftsmen of temple architecture. They were then shipped back to London where the temple was assembled. The Mandir facility contains no iron or steel, a unique feature for a modern building construction in the U.K. Temple is specially noted for its profusely carved cantilevered dome, believed to be the only one in Britain that does not use steel or lead. The Mandir was inaugurated on 20 August 1995 by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS, the organization behind the temple.

The Mandir serves as a centre of worship. Directly beneath each of the seven pinnacles seen from the outside is a shrine. Each of these seven shrines houses murtis (idols) within golden altars. Each idol is treated like the incarnation of Godhead and therefore each deity is bathed, clothed, fed, and attended to each day by the sadhus (monks) who live in the temple complex.

Beneath the Mandir, there is the permanent exhibition named 'Understanding Hinduism'. Spread over 3000 square feet, the exhibition deals with the origin, beliefs, glory and contribution of Hindu seers and scholars in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, education and religion. The messages and information are presented through visual effects, paintings, tableaux, traditional art and craft, and 3-D dioramas.

Text extracted from The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir sources.

Photo above: Hindu Temple at Penang, Malaysia

Hindu Temple, Benalmadena, Spain

Hindu Temple, Benalmádena, Costa del Sol, Málaga, Andalusia, South of Spain, Address: Avda. de Gandhi, s/n 29639 Benalmádena (Málaga), Spain.

The temple, located at the Parque de la Paloma (Park of the Dove), has a total area of 1,993 square meters and is single story with five domes. It is a new Hindu temple built probably just before 2006. The deities in the temple are: Laxmi Narayan in the center, Radha and Krishna, Sita, Rama, Laksman and Hanuman, Durga and some others. It is a temple built by ISKCON.

Suchindram Temple, Kanyakumari

Suchindram, an important pilgrim centre and the site of the famous Thanumalayan Temple, is situated in Kanniyakumari District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is 11 km from Kanyakumari City, 7 km from Nagarcoil town, 70 km from Tirunelveli and about 85 km from Trivandrum City (Thiruvananthapuram) in Kerala.

An annual 10-day chariot festival is celebrated in Suchindram Temple to commemorate the three deities Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, whose images in their own chariots are taken in procession. The temple is believed to have been constructed between the 17th and 18th centuries, no authentic records show the precise date/period of construction.

94-year-old woman ascends Batu Caves temple steps

Hindu Ascent, originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs.

The note added by the author says 'A 94-year-old woman ascends the final stairs in the 272-step ascent in the Batu Caves, a pilgrimage site in Malaysia... Her hair is 3 meters long (about 9 feet). She has never cut it her entire life. It is so long, she has to fold it back and forth a few times and wrap it to keep it from dragging behind.'

Batu Caves Lord Murugan Temple - video

Omkareshwar Shiva Jyotirlinga Shrine

The Hindu temple Omkareshwar, located in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh State in India, is on a river island called Mandhata or Shivapuri in the Narmada River. The shape of the island resembles the Om symbol. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva. There are two temples here, one of Omkareshwar and the other of Amareshwar. A lot of pilgrims and tourists from India and other countries visit Omkareshwar throughout the year.

Omkareshwar is about 77 km (48 miles) from Indore on the Indore-Khandwa highway. It is about 12 km (7 miles) from the Omkareshwar Road railway station. There are steamboats across the Narmada River and also two connecting bridges.

Omkareshwar is about 72 km from Khandwa and about 77 km (48 miles) from Indore. You can travel by road or train. Khandwa is connected to all the major cities of India by railways and it is on the New Delhi-Mumbai railway route. You can also reach Omkareshwar from Ujjain via Indore. Buses and trains are available from Ujjain to Indore.

Omkareshwar

Omkareshwar, originally uploaded by Soumitra Agnihotri.

Omkareshwar, an island in the course of the River Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, is home to the Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga shrine and the Amareshwar temple.

Temple of Omkareshwar at night

Temple d'Omkareshwar, India, originally uploaded by mafate69.

A view of the Thousand Pillar Hall

The Thousand Pillar Hall (Aayiram Kaal Mandapam) of Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple actually has 985 carved pillars, not exactly 1000 pillars as the name suggests. Each pillar is carved out of stone in the style of Dravidian sculpture. This hall was built modeled on the 1000 pillared hall of Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunleveli, the first largest Shiva Temple in Tamil Nadu.
The Thousand Pillared Hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar (in 1569), the Prime Minister and General of Viswanatha Nayak of the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559-1600). At the entrance of the hall (Mandapam) there is a statue of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on horse-back.
The hall is famous for its Temple Art Museum where exhibits of as old as 1200 years are displayed. Just outside this hall there are the Musical Pillars, each of which producing different musical notes when struck.
Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati (in the form of Meenakshi), in the holy city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Corridors inside Rameshwaram Temple, Tamil Nadu

Rameswaram Temple Inside by Mathanagopal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

This is the largest temple corridor in India, the grandest part of the Ramanathaswamy Temple. The 1219 m pillared corridor consisting of 3.6 m high granite pillars, richly carved and well proportioned, built by various rulers over a period of time starting from the twelfth century. The perspective presented by these pillars run uninterruptedly to a length of nearly 230 m.

London: Swaminarayan Temple

London - Swaminarayan Temple, originally uploaded by Sharf Tonse.

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden, London

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - Hindu Temple - Neasden - London, originally uploaded by nick.garrod.

Lord Shiva: Nageshwar Temple

Nageshwar Mandir is a Lord Shiva temple, and Nageshwar Jyotirlinga is believed to protect devotees from all poisons. There are many legends about Nageshwar. One of them is related to Daruka who lived with her community of demons in the forests near Dwaraka. The demons used to harass sages and they approached an enlightened sage Orvamuni. He cursed the demons for their destruction, and a war between the gods on demons followed.

To save the demons, Daruka used her special powers (boon) she had got from goddess Parvati and shifted the entire forest to the sea. From there they continued troubling the sages and once they captured the Shiva devotee Supriya, who made all other captives recite the powerful Om Namah Shivaya mantra of Lord Shiva. But when the demons decided to kill Supriya, it disturbed the Shiva-Parvati devotee Daruka. She prayed to Lord Shiva who appeared here and freed all from the demons. But Parvati granted a boon to Daruka that she would rule the region. Lord Shiva agreed to this and with Parvati stayed there, Shiva assuming the form of Jyotirlinga with the name Nageshwar and Parvati becoming Nageshwari.

According to Hindu scriptures, King Yadu of Yadu dynasty was married to a Nag girl. Skanda Purana mentions that the King Raivat of Kushsthali was an incarnation of Takshak Nag. Often Dwaraka is also named as Kushsthali in Hindu scriptures. Some historians think that the Aryans made the Nags a religious community and established Nageshwar Jyotirlinga.

The present temple was renovated by Late Gulshan Kumar, starting the work in 1996, before his assassination. The entire project cost of Rs 1.25 crores was born by Gulshan Kumar Charitable Trust.

Nageshwar Temple is visible from a distance of 2 km. A huge 125 feet high and 25 feet broad attractive statue of Lord Shiva in meditation pose greets devotees from outside the main temple. At the main entrance is a hall or Sabha Mandap. The main Jyotirlinga is situated under the Sabha Mandap floor, with a silver replica of Nag (snake) placed there. Behind the Jyotirlinga there is an idol of Goddess Parvati. Only male devotees wearing dhoti can enter and perform pooja/prayers at the Garbhagriha.

The morning Arti begins at 5 AM and the temple opens for devotees from 6 AM. Devotees can have a Sringar Darshan at 4 PM, after which entry to Garbhagriha for devotees is closed, though the rest of the temple closes only at 9 PM. During Holy Shravan, Navaratri, Diwali, Kartik Purnima and Mahashivaratri the temple remains open for longer hours.

The best time to visit is from August to September. The nearest (146 km) airport is Jamnagar. Nageshwar is situated between Okha (14 km) and Dwaraka (16 km). Visitors have to stay either at Dwaraka or Okha from where buses and taxis are easily available. Nageshwar is also on the circuit of Dwaraka Darshan tours of local tourist bus services. For nominal rates, Dwaraka Darshan offers a sight-seeing trip of five to six hours covering Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, Gopi Talav, Bet Dwaraka, Rukmini Temple.

The distance between Dwaraka and Nageshwar is only 16 km. Dwaraka, the ancient capital of Lord Krishna, is well connected with the other parts of India by railways, with more than seven long distance trains and many shorter distance trains. There are regular Government Transport buses and private buses between Ahmedabad and Dwaraka, taking nine to ten hours to reach Dwaraka. Night buses and sleeper coaches are also available.

Okha is the last stop for Dwaraka on railways and road routes. The distance between Dwaraka and Okha is 30 km. Distance from Dwaraka: by train to Ahmedabad = 471 km, Vadodara = 571 km, Surat = 700 km, Vapi = 798 km, Mumbai (Bandra) = 962 km, Puri = 2752 km, Jammu Tavi = 2154 km. Distance from Dwaraka by road to Ahmedabad = 457 km, Somnath = 230 km, Rajkot = 232 km, and Jamnagar = 144 km.

Many visitors prefer the Dwaraka-Porbandar-Somnath route, on the coastal road famous for its scenic beauty. Porbandar, the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, is 75 km from Dwaraka. Devotees first visit Harsiddhi Mataji Temple (Harshad Mataji Temple) on seashore before Porbandar. Somnath is about 150 km from Porbandar. Private buses start from Dwaraka at 8 AM in the morning and reach Somnath at 2 PM covering Mool Dwaraka and Harsiddhi Mataji temple.

Dwaraka city has all the basic amenities for tourists and devotees. Power cut is rare. There are good hotels, guest houses and even community living accommodation (dharmashalas) at cheap/affordable rates. Food in North Indian, South Indian, Gujarati, Rajasthani and even Chinese styles are available in most eateries, including hotels and restaurants.

Lord Siva at Nageshwar in Gujarat, India

Nageshvara Jyotirlinga is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in the Shiva Purana. There are many shrines in India which are believed to be identical to this Jyotirlinga. The major three such shrines are the Nageshwara temple near Dwaraka (Gujarat) the Nagnath temple in Aundha in Maharashtra, and the Jageshwara temple near Almora in Uttarakhand. It is believed to be the first Jyotirlinga on earth.

Shiva Purana says Nageshvara is in the Darukavana, which is an ancient epic name of a forest in India. Darukavana finds mention in Indian epics like Kamyakavana, Dvaitavana, Dandakavana, etc.

According to legends, the Balakhilyas, a group of dwarf sages, worshipped Shiva in Darukavana for a long time. To test their devotion and intentions, Shiva came to Darukavana as a digambara (nude) ascetic, wearing only Nagas (serpents). The wives of the sages were attracted towards him and ran after the ascetic, leaving their husbands. The sages got very disturbed, frustrated, lost their patience and cursed the ascetic to lose his Linga. The severed Shivalinga fell on the earth and whole world trembled. Brahma and Vishnu came to Shiva and requested him to save the earth from destruction and take back his Linga. Shiva consoled them and took back his Linga (Vamana Purana Ch.6 and 45).

Then Shiva promised his divine presence in Darukavana as Jyotirlinga for ever. Later, Darukavana became the favorite place of Nagas, and Vasuki worshipped Shiva here for long, and thereafter the Jyotirlinga came to be known as Nagnath or Nageshvara.

Also, there is a narrative in the Shiva Purana on the Nageshvara Jyotirlinga. It says a demon named Daruka attacked a Shiva devotee, named Supriya, and imprisoned her along with several others in his city of Darukavana. This place was a city of snakes and Daruka was the king of the snakes. On the insistence of Supriya, all the prisoners started to chant the holy mantra of Shiva and instantly Lord Shiva appeared and vanquished the demon and later started to reside here in the form of a Jyotirlinga.

Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangapattana

Ranganathaswamy Temple | Srirangapattana, originally uploaded by @k@sh.

Srirangapattana, also spelled Srirangapatna, anglicized to Seringapatam during the British Raj, is a town in the Mandya district of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located near the city of Mysore and is of great religious, cultural and historic importance.

The name is related to the famous Ranganathaswamy temple which dominates the town Srirangapattana. It is one of the most important Vaishnavite (Hindu) centers of pilgrimage in South India. The temple was built by the Ganga dynasty rulers in the 9th century. The structure was strengthened and improved upon architecturally about three centuries later. The temple is a medley of the Hoysala and Vijayanagar styles of temple architecture.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in Singapore

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is a Hindu temple located in the middle of Little India in the southern part of Singapore.

The Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali, the fierce embodiment of Shakti and Lord Shiva's wife, Parvati. Kali has always been a very popular Goddess in the Indian State of Bengal, the birthplace of the laborers in Singapore who built this temple in 1881. Images of Kali within the temple show her wearing a garland of skulls and ripping out the insides of her victims (demons), and Kali sharing more peaceful family moments with her sons Ganesha and Murugan.

The Temple building is constructed in the style of South Indian Tamil temples (South Indian Dravidian style of architecture) common in Tamil Nadu, as opposed to the style of Northeastern Indian Kali temples in Bengal, where worship of Goddess Kali is widespread.

Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest temple in Singapore

Sri Mariamman Temple on 2 Dec 2005

Old Gopuram of Sri Mariamman Temple on a postcard of 1901

Sri Mariamman Temple is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, as old as Singapore itself. The temple is a National Monument and a major tourist attraction. Sri Mariamman Temple is managed by the Hindu Endowments Board, a statutory body under Singapore Government.

Sri Mariamman Temple was founded in 1827 by Naraina Pillai (also spelled as Naraina Pillay) eight years after the British East India Company established a trading settlement in Singapore. Pillai, a government clerk from Penang, arrived in Singapore with Stamford Raffles in May 1819. Pillai soon established himself in business and became a leader of the Indian community in Singapore.

By 1827, Pillai built a simple temple made of wood and attap palm (Nypa fruticans) and installed a small idol of the goddess Mariamman, the South Indian mother goddess especially worshipped for protection against diseases - the early Singapore was mostly jungle and diseases were rampant. Later in 1843 the present temple was constructed, similar to Sri Meenakshi temple in Madurai, India. According to the Hindu Endowments Board, the existing deity in the principal shrine of the temple is the original installed by Pillai in 1827. The temple was also known as Sithi Vinayagar temple, Gothanda Ramaswamy Mariamman Temple and Mariamman Kovil.

The elaborate plaster sculptures and ornamentation of the temple were created by skilled craftsmen brought from Nagapattinam and Cuddalore in South India. The original three-tiered, slimmer gopuram was constructed in 1903. The present six-tiered gopuram was built in 1925.

Recent additions include a new elevated gallery for spectators during the annual fire walking festival (Thimithi). Another major addition is a three storey annex building with a fully equipped auditorium and facilities for weddings, multimedia presentations, corporate meetings, seminars and cultural events.

The temple was the Registry of Marriages for Hindus, the priest of the Sri Mariamman Temple being authorized to solemnize Hindu marriages in Singapore. Today, in addition to its religious services and functions, the temple promotes various social, cultural and educational activities.

Built in the South Indian Dravidian style of architecture, the most outstanding feature of Mariamman Kovil is its impressive gopuram (entrance tower). It has six tiers covered with figurative sculptures of Hindu gods and goddesses and other Hindu mythological figures. The gopuram tower tapers upwards to a moulded ornamental ridge.

The sculptures are all of plaster, which allows for fine detailing. They are painted in a variety of bright colors, which adds to the visually spectacular quality of the gopuram.

The shrine of Draupadi, the second in importance in the temple, is central to the annual fire walking ceremony held about a week before Deepavali (the Festival of Lights). To the left of Draupadi are the five Pandavas from the Mahabharata epic - Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Sahadeva and Nakula. They are presided over by Lord Krishna. The temple compound also contains a Lingam sculpture and Yoni sculpture.

According to visitsingapore.com visitors to Sri Mariamman Temple ‘are advised to dress conservatively as this is a place of worship’.

Location: 244 South Bridge Road, Chinatown, Singapore 058793

Tel: (65) 6223 4064

Getting there: Take the MRT to City Hall Station (EW13/NS25) and from there take SBS Transit bus 103, 166 or 197 or SMRT Bus 61 from North Bridge Road.

Tallest Shiva idol in the world at Murudeshwar Temple

Tallest Shiva idol in the world : Murudeshwar Temple, originally uploaded by abhiomkar.

Murudeshwar Lord Shiva idol is the tallest Shiva idol in the world. It is a recent attraction of Murudeshwar and is erected beside the temple. The idol rises 123 (37 m) feet into the sky and it is visible from a very long distance from the Arabian Sea.

It took about 2 years to build. The statue was sculpted by Shivamogga's Kashinath and several other sculptors, financed by businessman and philanthropist Mr. R.N. Shetty, at a cost of approximately Rs. 50 million. The idol is designed in such a way that it gets sun light directly and hence appears sparkling.

"Murudeshwara" is another name of Lord Shiva. Murudeshwar temple is in Bhatkal Taluk in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India. It is at a distance of 165 km from Mangalore. A lot of devotees of Lord Shiva and tourists visit this place. It is bounded by the Arabian Sea and rolling hills of Western Ghats. Murudeshwar is the finest beach with the temple, restaurants, guest houses, resorts and beautiful gardens in the coastal Karnataka.

The Arabian Sea is an intrinsic part of the landscape of Murudeshwar. The sea surrounds the temple on three sides. Two life-size elephants sculpted in concrete stand guard at the steps leading to the temple. There is a huge fort behind the temple, said to have been renovated by Tippu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore.

Murudeshwar’s history dates back to many thousands of years (Threthayuga), according to legends and mythology. The temple which embodies a Shiva Linga is believed to have erupted when Ravana, the demon King of Lanka, flung the cloth covering the Atmalinga at Gokarna while lifting it. Lord Shiva, following a complicated sequence of events, declared that Murudeshwar should be one of his five holy places.

You can visit Murudeshwar throughout the year, as the climate and other conditions remain more or less the same any day of the year. Places near Murudeshwar are Bhatkal (16 km), Idagunji (20 km), Gokarna (65 km), Karwar (120 km), Kollur (63 km), Jog Falls (90 km), Manjuguni (90 km), and Udupi (100 km). It is easily accessible by road from any of these places, or Mangalore. The Konkan Railways and other express trains plying on the Mangalore - Goa - Mumbai route make a stop at Murudeshwar. The nearest airports are at Mangalore and Goa.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Little India, Singapore

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple @ Little India, Singapore :: HDR, originally uploaded by Artie | Photography :: Not Lazy | Super Busy.

From the photographer: "I don't have any more Sunday church shots to post. However, Sunday is not just for churches. I know it is also a special day for our Indian friends out there especially in Singapore. It is a big day out for many of them. So hopefully this works OK here, as I am not sure if I should post this. Anyway here goes one of the most beautiful Indian temples in Singapore".

Indian Temple in China Town

Indian Temple in China Town, originally uploaded by MeloVillareal.

This a photo of the gopuram of Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in China Town, Singapore. Originally constructed by Indian businessman Naraina Pillai, the temple is as old as Singapore itself. It is a National Monument of Singapore and a major tourist attraction.

Cave Temple of Lord Amarnath (Lord Shiva)

This is a photo of Lord Amarnath taken by Mr. Gangadhar Tambe, during his pilgrimage to Lord Amarnath (Deutsch: Foto der Eissäule von Amarnath - Autor: Gangadhar Tambe, auf einer Pilgerreise nach Amarnath aufgenommen).

This is the opening of the Cave Temple of Lord Amarnath (Deutsch: Die heilige Höhle von Amarnath im Norden Indiens).

The Amarnath cave shrine, dedicated to the Lord Shiva is over 5,000 years old according to ancient scriptures and other historical documents, and it is described in ancient Hindu mythology. The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,760 feet), at a distance of about 141 km (88 miles) from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Inside the main Amarnath cave there is an ice stalagmite resembling Shiva Linga, which melts during May to August and gradually wanes thereafter. This Lingam is said to grow and shrink with the phases of the moon, reaching its full height during the summer festival. There are two more ice formations representing Parvati and Shiva's son, Ganesha.

Devotees generally take the 42 km (26 miles) pilgrimage on foot from the town of Pahalgam, about 96 km (60 miles) from Srinagar, and complete the journey in four to five days. There are two routes to the temple - the longer and traditional path from Srinagar, and the shorter route from the town of Baltal. Some devotees ride on horseback also to complete the journey.

This year, as reported by agencies, the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine continued smoothly on Friday as Governor N.N. Vohra and about 6,000 pilgrims offered prayers there. Governor Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), also interacted with the pilgrims there and later at the Baltal base camp.

The pilgrims expressed satisfaction at the arrangements made by the SASB and the state administration for their safe pilgrimage. The governor also visited Panchtarni on the Pahalgam route in south Kashmir to the cave shrine and took stock of snow clearance there.

The traditional south Kashmir route is yet to open as heavy snow still blocks the 34 km track from the Pahalgam base camp to the cave.