The Gopuram of temples, in south India, are adorned with icons depicting a particular story surrounding the temple's deity.

A Hindu temple (Sanskrit: mandira), is a house of worship for followers of Hinduism. They are usually specifically reserved for religious and spiritual activities. Image File history File links Bulltemple. ... Image File history File links Bulltemple. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... A place of worship is a building or other locations where religious persons may worship their deity, regularly or not. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ...

A Hindu temple can be a separate structure or a part of a building. A feature of most temples is the presence of murtis of the Hindu deity to whom the temple is dedicated. They are usually dedicated to one primary deity, called the presiding deity, and other subordinate deities associated with the main deity. However, some temples are dedicated to several deities, and some have symbols instead of a murti. A large clay Ganesha murti at Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, 2004 In Hinduism, a murti (Devanagari: मूर्ति) typically refers to an image in which the Divine Spirit is murta, or expressed. ...

Etymology

Hindu temples are known by different names in different parts of the world, depending upon the language. The word mandir or mandira is used in many languages, including Hindi, and is derived from a Sanskrit word, mandira, for 'house' (of God by implication). Temples are known as Alayam or Kovil in Tamil, as Devasthana or Gudi in Kannada, as Gudi, Devalayam or Kovela in Telugu and Mondir in Bengali, as Kshetram or Ambalam in Malayalam. Hindi ( , Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... “Telugu” redirects here. ... Bengali or Bangla (IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit languages. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ...

Management

The Archeological Survey of India has taken control of most ancient temples of archaeological importance in India.

In India and many countries, each temple is managed by a temple board committee which administers its finances, management and events. Each committee is headed by a president and can have a number of committee members.

In some villages the more prominent and respected families are entrusted with leadership and management of the temple. Their families become patrons of the temple.

See also

Frontal-right view of the Brihadeshwara temple of Dravidian style

*List of Hindu temples Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x1544, 790 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Brihadeeswarar Temple Prasat Kravan Chau Say Tevoda Baksei Chamkrong Phimeanakas Phnom Bakheng Phnom Krom Phanom Rung historical park... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x1544, 790 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Brihadeeswarar Temple Prasat Kravan Chau Say Tevoda Baksei Chamkrong Phimeanakas Phnom Bakheng Phnom Krom Phanom Rung historical park... The Brihadeeswarar temple (Tamil: பிருஹதீஸ்வரர் கோவில்) (also spelled Brihadeshvara Temple) is an ancient Hindu temple located at Thanjavur in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. ... A Hindu temple is called Mandir or Kovil or Devasthanam or Dega (Nepal Bhasa). ...

• Hinduism
• Hindu deities
• List of Hindu deities
• Kshetram - The Hindu temple of Kerala
• List of Hinduism-related articles
• History of India
• Destruction of temples
• Wat
• Iraivan temple

Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Within Hinduism a large number of personalities, or forms, are worshipped as deities or murtis. ... This is a List of Hindu deities. ... Kshetram - The Hindu temple of Kerala Kerala is a land of temples. ... The following is a list of articles on Hindu subjects. ... The History of India begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent from 3300 to 1700 BCE. This Bronze Age civilization was followed by the Iron Age Vedic period, which witnessed the rise of major kingdoms known as the Mahajanapadas. ... This article is about the Southeast Asian temple. ... The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a white granite stone Hindu Åšaivite temple being built in Kauai, Hawaii. ...

External links

• Hindu Temples in danger
• Sri Bhuvanesvari Temple in Toronto, Canada, Supreme Goddess Temple in North America*
• Sri Vishnu Temples in India, Indian Hindu Temples
• The construction of a Hindu Temple