Famous Temples in India GK Notes: Discover some of India’s most iconic Temples

The article “Famous temples in India GK” discusses the famous and ancient temples in India. Temples of India play an important role in the General Awareness section of various competitive exams, like SSC, RRB, Bank, UPSC, etc.

Discover some of India’s most iconic temples with our comprehensive GK notes From the Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar to the Golden Temple in Punjab, learn about the various kingdoms, deities, and historical significance of these famous landmarks. Expand your knowledge of Indian culture and religion with our guide to India’s famous temples.

Aspirants must go through the article on “Famous temples in India GK” in detail as general knowledge is a part of almost all of the examinations.

List of Famous temples in India GK

Famous Temples in India Map

Famous Temples in India: Brief Description

Venkateswara Temple
▪ The temple is located in the Hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
▪ The Temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu.

▪ The other name of the temple is Tirumala Temple, Tirupati Temple, and Tirupati Balaji Temple.
▪ Lord Venkateswara is known by many other names: Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa.
▪ The temple is based on Dravidian architecture.

Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple
▪ Ramappa Temple, also known as the Rudreshwara temple, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Telangana, India.

▪ The temple is dedicated to Lord Ramalingeswara.
▪ The construction of the Ramappa temple was started in the year 1213 CE.
▪ The temple was built by Recharla Rudra, a General of Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva.
▪ The temple is named after its designer and architect of the temple Ramappa.

▪ Marco Polo, during his visit to the Kakatiya empire, allegedly called the temple “the brightest star in the galaxy of temples”.

▪ The temple is in Kakatiya style, Bhumija/Vesara style.

Mahabodhi Temple
▪ The Mahabodhi Temple is located in Gaya district ( Bodh Gaya)  Patna, Bihar, India.

▪ This temple is dedicated to Lord Buddha. It is said that the Buddha attained enlightenment in this place of Bodh Gaya.

▪ The word Mahabodhi literally means “Great Awakening “.

▪ The Mahabodhi Buddhist temple is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

▪ The site contains a descendant of the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha gained enlightenment.

▪ The Mahabodhi Temple is made of brick and is one of the oldest surviving brick structures in eastern India. It is considered an excellent example of Indian brickwork.

Somnath Temple
▪ The Somnath Temple is located at Prabhas Patan, Veraval in Gujarat, India.
▪ This Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
▪ It is said that this is the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva.

▪ The Adi Somnath temple has been destroyed many times by various Muslim rulers, the most brutal of which is Sultan Mahmud.

▪ The present temples are rebuilt in the Maru-Gurjara style of Hindu temple architecture.

▪ Presently the PM of India Narendra Modi is the chairman of Shree Somnath Mandir trust.

Dwarkadhish Temple
▪ The Dwarkadhish temple is located in Dwarka city of Gujarat, India.

▪ It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Krishna, who is worshipped here as Dwarkadhish or ‘ King of Dwarka.

▪ The Dwarkadhish temple, also known as the Jagat Mandir.
▪ It is one of the destinations of Char Dham, a Hindu pilgrimage circuit.

▪ As it is a Pustimarga temple, it follows the guidelines and rituals made by Vallabhacharya and Bithaleshnath.

▪ The original temple was believed to have been built by Krishna’s grandson Vajranava.
▪ The original structure was destroyed in 1472 by Mahmud Begada also known as Mahmud Shah I.

Vaishno Devi Temple
▪ The Vaishno Devi Temple is located at Katra in the Trikuta Mountains in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

▪ It is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Vaishno Devi.
▪ Vaishno Devi also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta, Ambe, and Vaishnavi.

▪ It is believed that the Vaishnavi was formed from the combined energies of Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.

Amarnath Temple
▪ Amarnath Temple is a Hindu shrine located in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,756 ft), about 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar.

▪ The deity worshipped here is Lord Shiva.

▪ The Amarnath Cave Temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, temples throughout South Asia that commemorate the location of a fallen body part of the Hindu deity Sati.

▪ According to legend, Sage Bhrigu was the first to have discovered Amarnath.

Virupaksha Temple
▪ Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi in the Ballari district of Karnataka, India.
▪ The temple is dedicated to Lord Virupaksha, a form of Shiva.

▪ It is a part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

▪ The temple was built by Lakkan Dandesha, a nayaka (chieftain) under the ruler Deva Raya II, also known as Prauda Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Gomateshwara Temple
▪ The Gommateshwara Temple is located in the town of Shravanbelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka.

▪ The Gommateshwara statue is dedicated to the Jain figure Bahubali.
▪ This temple is built by carving a single block of granite.

▪ It is the tallest monolithic and largest freestanding statue in the World.
▪ It was built around 983 CE during the Western Ganga dynasty.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple
▪ The Padmanabhaswamy temple is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

▪ Lord Vishnu is worshipped in the Padmanabhaswamy temple.
▪ It is considered as the richest place of worship in the world.

▪ In Malayalam, the city of Thiruvananthapuram means “the city of Lord Ananta”, (the city of Lord Vishnu)
▪ The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the Chera style and the Dravidian style of architecture.

Kamakhya Temple
▪ Kamakhya Temple is Situated on Nilachal Hill in the western part of Guwahati city in Assam, India.

▪ The Kamakhya Temple is a Sakta temple dedicated to the mother goddess Kamakhya.
▪ It is one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Pithas.

▪ The main temple in a complex of individual temples dedicated to the ten Mahavidyas of Saktism, namely, Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamalatmika.

▪ This temple is built in the Nilachal architectural style.

Siddhivinayak Temple
▪ The temple is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
▪ It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shri Ganesh.
▪ It was originally built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on 19 November 1801.

Konark Sun Temple
▪ Konark Sun Temple is located in the Puri district in the Indian state of Odisha.
▪ The temple is dedicated to the Hindu Sun God Surya.
▪ The Sun temple was built in 1250 CE by king Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
▪ The Sun Temple is based on the Kalinga architectural style.

Golden Temple
▪ The Golden temple is a Gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India.

▪ The Golden temple is dedicated to the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikh.
▪ The Golden Temple is also known as the Harmandir Sahib or “abode of God”.

▪ It is the main spiritual site of Sikhism.
▪ The construction of the Gurdwara was completed by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das, in 1577.
▪ Guru Ram Das founded the city of Amritsar.

Meenakshi Temple
▪ The Meenakshi Temple is located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

▪ The temple is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi and Sundareshwar. Here ‘Meenakshi’ is a form of Parvati, similarly ‘Sundareshwar’ is a form of Shiva.

▪ According to Tamil Sangam literature, the temple is located in the center of the ancient temple town of Madurai.

▪ This temple is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalam.

▪ The Paadal Petra Sthalam are 275 temples of Lord Shiva that are revered in the verses of the Tamil Saiva Nayanars.

▪ The temple is based on Vijayanagara, Dravidian architecture.

Ranganathaswamy Temple
▪ The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is located in Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India.
▪ It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ranganatha, a form of Vishnu.
▪ The temple was constructed in the Dravidian architectural style.

▪ It is one of the most important of the 108 (Divya Desam )Vishnu Temples
▪ It is the first temple to be awarded by the UN Body for protecting and conserving cultural heritage.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple
▪ It is located in Vishwanath Gali of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in India.
▪ The temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
▪ The Temple is situated on the western bank of the holy river Ganga.
▪ It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, or Jyotirlingams, the holiest of Shiva Temples.

▪ The Temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganga and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, or Jyotirlingams, the holiest of Shiva Temples.

▪ Varanasi city was called Kashi in ancient times, and hence the temple is popularly called Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Badrinath Temple
▪ Badrinath or Badrinarayana Temple is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand, India.
▪ It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu.
▪ The temple is also one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu.

▪ People following the Jain religion worship the temple and idol belonging to Rishbhdev (Rishabhanatha) or Adinath, the first Tirthankar of Jainism.

▪ The temple is mentioned in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana.

Yamunotri Temple
▪ Yamunotri Temple is situated in the western region of the Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 3,291 meters (10,797 ft) in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand.
▪ The temple is dedicated to Goddess Yamuna.

Gangotri Temple
▪ The Gangotri temple is situated on the left bank of the Bhagirathi river in the Uttarkashi districts of the state of Uttarakhand.

▪ The Gangotri temple is dedicated to Goddess Ganga.
▪ The Gangotri temple was built by the Gorkha General Amar Singh Thapa.
▪ It lies close to the holy rock or the Bhagirath Shila where King Bhagirath worshipped Lord Shiva.

Kedarnath Temple
▪ The temple is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river, in the state of Uttarakhand, India.
▪ Dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva.

▪ According to Hindu legends, the temple was initially built by Pandavas and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva.
▪ The temple is based on North Indian Himalayan Architecture.

Dilwara Temple
▪ The Dilwara Temple is located in the Sirohi District of Rajasthan.

▪ The temple dedicated to Jain Tīrthaṅkara Rishabhanatha (first Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism), Neminath (also known as Nemi and Arishtanemi, is the twenty-second Tirthankara), Parshvanatha and
Mahavira.

▪ Rishabhanatha - First Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism
▪ Neminath- also known as Nemi and Arishtanemi, is the twenty-second tirthankara
▪ Parshvanatha - 23rd Tirthankaras of Jainism.
▪ Mahavira - Mahavira also known as Vardhamana, was the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.

▪ The Dilwara Temples are a group of svetambara Jain temples.
▪ The Dilwara Temple is based on ‘Maru-Gurjara’ architecture,
▪ The Dilwara Jain Tempe complex consists of five different temples.

▪ Vimal Vasahi, dedicated to the first Jain Tirthankara, Shri Adinatha
▪ Luna Vasahi, dedicated to the 22nd Jain Tirthankara, Shri Neminatha.
▪ Pittalhar, dedicated to the first Jain Tirthankar, Shri Adinatha.
▪ Parshvanath, dedicated to the 23rd Jain Tirthankara, Shri Parshvanatha.
▪ Mahavir Swami, dedicated to the last Jain Tirthankara, Shri Mahaviraswami.

▪ Among the five marble temples of Dilwara, the most famous are the Vimal Vasahi and the Luna Vasahi temples.

Dakshineswar Kali Temple
▪ Dakshineswar Kali Temple is located on the east bank of the Hooghly River in Dakshineswar, in the Indian state of West Bengal.

▪ The main deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, a form of Parashakti Adya Kali, otherwise known as Adishakti Kalika.

▪ The temple was built in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni, a social worker and devotee of Kali.
▪ The temple is well known for its association with Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada Devi, mystics of 19th Century Bengal.

One-liner Questions Based on the Previous Year’s questions

Q1. Where is Brihadeeswara Temple situated? (SSC CGL l Prelim 2002)
▪ Answer: Tanjore

Q2. Which rulers built the Ellora temples? (SSC CGL Prelim 2003)
▪ Answer: Rashtrakuta

Q3. The famous rock-cut temple of Kailasa is at __ (SSC CPO Sub-Inspector 2003)
▪ Answer: Ellora

Q4. Most of the Chola temples were dedicated to __ (SSC CPO Sub-Inspector 2006)
▪ Answer: Shiva

Q5. Where do you find the temple of Angkor Wat? (SSC Section Officer (Audit) 2006)
▪ Answer: Cambodia

Q6. The caves and rock-cut temples at Ellora are: (SSC CGL Prelim 2008)
▪ Answer: Hindu, Buddhist and Jain

Q7. The famous Kailasanath Temple at Kanchi was built by— (SSC CML (PRE) 1999)
▪ Answer: Narasimhavarman II

Q8. Where is the Lingaraja Temple located? (SSC CML (PRE) 2000)
▪ Answer: Bhubaneswar

Q9. Which Rashtrakuta ruler built the famous Kailasha temple of Siva at Ellora? (SSC CML (PRE) 2000)
▪ Answer: Krishan-I

Q10. The Virupaksha Temple was built by the: (SSC CML (PRE) 2000)
▪ Answer: Chalukyas

Q11. Who built Brihadeeswara Temple at Tanjore? (SSC CML (PRE) 2002 Eastern Zone, Guwahati)
▪ Answer: Raja Raja Chola

Q12. The famous Kailasa temple cut out of the solid rock at Ellora was built under the patronage of the_ (SSC C ML (PRE) 2002
▪ Answer: Rashtrakuta

Q13. Rath temples at Mahabalipuram were built in the reign of which Pallava ruler? (SSC CML (PRE) 2008)
▪ Answer: Narasimhavarman I

Q14. Most of the Chola temples were dedicated to _ (SSC Data Entry Operator 2008)
▪ Answer: Shiva

Q15. The seashore temple at Mahabalipuram was built by_____ (SSC 10+2 Level Data Entry Operator & LDC 2012)
▪ Answer: Narasimha Varman II

Q16. Who built the Kailasanatha Temple at Ellora? (SSC CGL Tier-I 2014)
▪ Answer: Krishna I

Q17. Who built the famous Vaikunta Perumal temple at Kanchipuram? (SSC CHSL 10+2) DEO & LDC 2014)
▪ Answer: Nandi Varman II

Q18. Chalukya temples (Jain temples) at Dilwara are situated in________(SSC CGL Tier-I (CBE) 2016)
▪ Answer: Rajasthan

Q19. Where is the Brihadeeswara temple, built during the Chola period, located? (SSC CGL Tier-I (CBE) 2016)
▪ Answer: Kanyakumari

Q20. The Dilwara temple at Mount Abu in Rajasthan was built by the Followers of _ (SSC Section Officer (Audit) 2001)
▪ Answer: Jainism

Q21. Who built the Khajuraho temples? (SSC CGL Prelim 2002)
▪ Answer: Chandela Rajputs

Q22. The temple built in 1 100 A. D. and dominating all other temples in Bhubaneshwar is: (SSC Combined Matric Level (PRE) 2001)
▪ Answer: Tribhuvaneswara Lingaraja

Q23. Which is the tallest of all Medieval Indian temples? (SSC Combined Matric Level (PRE) 2006)
▪ Answer: Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjore

Q24. Krishnadevaraya built the Krishnaswami temple in Hampi, which is situated in the present state of: (SSC 10+2 Data Entry Operator & LDC 2012)
▪ Answer: Karnataka

Q25. Who among the following attacked the Somnath temple? (SSC Delhi Police Sub-Inspector 2012)
▪ Answer: Mahmud of Ghazni

Q26. The ‘Sun Temple of Konark is in the State of __ (SI Exam 2012 )
▪ Answer: Odisha

Famous Shiva Temples in India: 12 Jyotirlinga

▪ Jyotirlingas are sacred symbols representing Lord Shiva in various forms and are located at various locations across India. In total, there are 12 Jyotirlingas in India which hold great significance for devotees of Lord Shiva.

▪ The Somnath temple is considered to be one of the most famous and revered temples dedicated to Shiva in the world. According to Hindu mythology, it is considered the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, which holds immense significance among devotees of Lord Shiva.

List of 12 Jyotirlinga Name and Place

▪ The table below provides detailed information about each of the 12 Jyotirlingas and their respective locations/States.

The meaning of Jyotirlinga is the radiance of the Linga or Radiance of Shiva. Mahadev or Shiva is of foremost importance in Hinduism. He is the main pillar of the Holy Trinity in Hinduism. The representation in the phallus form is known as linga. Jyotirlinga is something that pic.twitter.com/A1AtHVtpLs

— Vedic Gyaan (@vedicgyaanindia) February 10, 2021

 Jyotirlinga Images with Names and Places Map

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Famous Temples in North India

Famous Temples in South India