॥ देवालयम् ॥
The temples of India, and the stories they keep
Living shrines, ruins, temples destroyed and rebuilt, and sacred sites reclaimed. Each with its history, sthala purana, aitihyas and meaning today, in English, Hindi and the language of its land.
The twelve Jyotirlingas
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Kashi Vishwanath Temple
One of the twelve Jyotirlingas, in the heart of Varanasi (Kashi), the city of Shiva. Earlier temples were destroyed in the 12th, 15th and 17th centuries; the present temple was built by Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore in 1780 next to the Gyanvapi Mosque, which stands on the site of the temple demolished in 1669.
Brihadisvara Temple
Built by the Chola emperor Rajaraja I and consecrated in 1010 CE, this granite temple to Shiva has a vimana about 66 m high and is one of the largest temples of its age. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Great Living Chola Temples'.
Konark Sun Temple
A 13th-century Sun temple of the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I, built as a colossal stone chariot of Surya with 24 carved wheels drawn by seven horses. The main tower has collapsed; the surviving assembly hall (jagamohana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kedarnath Temple
A Jyotirlinga temple at about 3,583 m in the Garhwal Himalaya, open only from about April-May to November. It is part of the Chota Char Dham and Panch Kedar. The stone temple survived the 2013 Uttarakhand floods that devastated the town.
Shri Mangueshi Temple
The family deity of many Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, Mangesh (Shiva) was moved in the 1560s from Kushasthali (Cortalim) in Portuguese-ruled Salcete to Mangeshi in Ponda, beyond Portuguese control, when temples were being destroyed. The present temple, with its seven-storey lamp tower, dates from the 18th century.
Martand Sun Temple
Built by the Karkota king Lalitaditya Muktapida in the 8th century, this Sun temple on a plateau above the Kashmir valley was the grandest example of Kashmiri temple architecture. It was destroyed in the early 15th century under Sultan Sikandar Shah Miri, and its ruins are an ASI monument.