Top 5 largest temples in India
Top 5 largest temples in India
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest
religious monument in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares. Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century. The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries
rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka
interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and
arrangement of the bas-reliefs, researcher Eleanor Mannikka argues that
the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II:
"as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the
sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to
consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power
and to honour and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above."
Ranganathaswamy Temple
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, located in Tamil Nadu, occupies an area of 156 acres with a perimeter of 4,116m making it the largest temple in India 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. 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. The temple was awarded with UNESCO Asia Pacific Award for Cultural
Heritage Conservation Program in the year 2017 for the category 'Award
of Merit'. The temple celebrates numerous festivals around the year including processions. These are called utsavam (celebrations).
Akshardham
Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham complex is a Hindu temple, and a spiritual-cultural campus in Delhi, India. Designed in accordance with the standards of Maharishi Vastu Architecture, it features a blend of architectural styles across India. It is entirely constructed from Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble. Based on traditional Hindu architectural guidelines (Shilpa shastras) on maximum temple life span, it makes no use of ferrous metal. The mandir also consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, nine domes, and 20,000 murtis of sadhus, devotees, and acharyas. The mandir also features the Gajendra Pith at its base, a plinth paying tribute to the elephant
for its importance in Hindu culture and India's history. It contains
148 life sized elephants in total weighing a total of 3000 tons. Musical fountain, also known as the Yagnapurush Kund, is India's largest
step well. It features a very large series of steps down to a
traditional 'yagna kund'. During the day, these steps provide rest for
the visitors to the complex and at night, a musical fountain show named
Sahaj Anand - Multi-Media Water Show is shown. Sahaj Anand Water Show is
a breathtaking 24-minute presentation which unites a variety of
intriguing media to bring to life a story from the Kena Upanishad.
Multi-color lasers, video projections, underwater flames, water jets and
surround sound in symphony with lights and live actors produce a
captivating and inspiring presentation. International experts
contributed their expertise with BAPS volunteers and sadhus to produce
this one-of-a-kind presentation.
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