Famous Shiva Temples in India
India is a country known for multi-religions and diversity in the world. In Hinduism Lord Shiva is considered the ultimate power source of the universe. He is also symbolized as the god of destruction. There are billions of devotees across the world who religiously worship Shiva.
“Om Namah Shivaaye” is the dedicated chanting mantra to worship Shiva. Lord Shiva is known with more than 1000 names among which Shiva, Bholenath, Shivshankar, Mahadev, Gangadhar, Trinetradhari, Mahakaal, and Kaalbherva are the most famous and commonly known names among people.
There are several temples of Lord Shiva located in different states in the country. But there are some most popular and famous Mahadev Temples available in India based on their historical significance. In this article, we will share the details about 12 famous Shiva Temples in India and their prominence in Hindu Dharma.
12 Most Famous Shiva Temples in India
These are the 12 most famous Shiva Temples in India located in different states having historical significance as per the Shivapuran, Vishanupuran, Garudpuran, Ramayana, and Geeta. These places are visited by devotees throughout the year.
Amarnath Temple
Amarnath temple is a shrine of the Hindu religion. It is located at the top of the mountains with a height of 3888m. It is located in the caves of Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir state. It is always visited by the mass devotees from the world.
The best time to visit this temple is in the summers because in winters this place is majorly covered by snowfall. And it is very cold during winters to be visited by the people. This place has historical significance. It is a must-visit religious place in India.
Kedarnath Temple
Kedarnath temple is a very famous Shiva temple in India. It is located in the district of Rudraprayag, on the ranges of the Himalayas from Garhwal in Uttarakhand. The place is situated at the height of 3583m with extreme weather on the banks of the Mandakini river.
And due to this, the devotees are allowed to visit the temple only from April to November and in other months this place remains closed. This place has great value in the history of Hinduism.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Kashi Vishwanath is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga in India located on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It is a religious place dedicated to Lord Shiva. This is considered one of the Char Dhammas in India. It can be visited any day of the year.
Somnath Temple
Somnath temple is one of the most famous pilgrimages of Hindus. This lord Shiva’s temple has great importance in Indian history. It is located on the western side of Gujrat. You can experience the environment of hills, plains, and coastal areas altogether.
Chidambaram Temple
Chidambaram temple is famous for Lord Shiva’s Nataraja posture symbolizing Shiva as the lord of the dance. It is also known as the Thillai Nataraja temple located in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It was built by the Cholas during their era of the kingdom. There are several stone statues available in the temple showing different dancing postures of Lord Shiva.
Tarakeshwar Temple
Tarakeshwar temple is a famous Shiva temple where Lord Shiva is known as Taraknath. This temple is located in Tarakeshwar town in West Bengal. The temple is surrounded by the two great and very famous temples of goddess Kali, and lord Lakshmi-Narayan. So, if you are visiting the Tarakeshwar temple you can make a religious trip.
Kailashnath Temple
Kailashnath temple is also known as Kailasha, a famous Lord Shiva temple located in Ellora Caves, Maharashtra state of India. It is considerably built in the 8th century during the period of Lord Krishna in Rashtrakuta.
Vadakkunathan Temple
Vadakkunathan temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the city Thrissur at Kerala. It is a beautiful temple having paintings and sculptures showing scenes from Mahabharata. All these paintings are awarded as national monuments by India. This is one of the 12 most famous Lord Shiva temples in India.
Brihadeswara Temple
The temple Brihadeswara is located on the banks of the Kaveri river dedicated to Lord Shiva is a Hindu temple situated in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu district in India. The temple’s height is 217 feet and it shows the culture of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the largest temples in South India.
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Sri Kalahasthi Temple
Sri Kalahasthi temple is also famous with the names Dakshina Kailasam, and Rahu & Ketu Kshetra. The lord Shiva temple is known for an ancient incident where Kannapa offered his both eyes to stop the blood flow from the Shiva linga. But Shiva blessed him with the Moksha and stopped him from the sacrifice. It is one of the most famous temples in South India located in the region of Kalahasthi in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Murudeshwar Temple
Murudeshwar temple is situated in the Karnataka state near the coastal area of the Arabian Sea in India. It is one of the 12 most famous temples of lord shiva in India and it is also recognized for having the 2nd tallest Shiva statue on the premises of the temple.
Kotilingeshwara Temple
This is another most famous Shiva temple in the state of Karnataka located in the Kammasandra village in the Kolar district. The temple is famous for having one of the largest Shiva lingams in India. You can experience a glimpse of the southern lifestyle.
Apart from all the above-mentioned 12 most famous lord shiva temples, there are other famous shiva temples in India, where you can find different versions of lord Shiva and their historical importance. So, if you want to know more about these temples you can visit the places in person and have a perfect religious trip across India.
There are countless devotees of Lord Shiva in the world who worship God in different ways. A number of people make plans for “Chaar Dhammas Yatra” to claim for Moksha. There are thousands of different temples of Shiva in small areas of the country.