Famous Temples in India

Architecture

Raghunath Temple with seven shrines each with its own 'Shikhara', (shikhara, a Sanskrit word translating literally to 'mountain peak', refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture in north India) is one of the largest temple complexes of north India, is built on a raised platform of 5 feet height in an octagonal shape. The front fascia is 40 feet in width while the main shrine is set 50 feet away from the entrance. Within the enclosed space of the yard, there are residential buildings and open cattle yards on its eastern and northern directions. The front fascia of the temple has three entry doors. The main shrine which is 20 feet (6.1 m)x20 feet in size, is surrounded by a circumambulation passage of 10 feet width. The entrance door, set on one side of this octagonal chamber of the shrine, faces east. The interior of the inner chamber is gold plated. The main walls of the outer chamber have 15 panels, each of 9 feet height. A Glimpse of the Mughat architecture can be noticed on the carvings and arches of the temple. The temple comprises of seven shrines, each with a tower of its own. All the spiral-shaped towers have gold plated spires. The niches in the walls of the shrines are decorated with 300 well-crafted icons of gods and goddesses including those of Surya and Shiva, but most are particularly related to the life stories of Rama and Krishna. The paintings in the 15 panels of the main shrine are based on themes from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad Gita. The temple premises include a school and a library that preserves over 6,000 manuscripts in many Indian languages, with a notable collection of Sarada script Sanskrit manuscripts.

The gigantic Raghunath temple has seven lofty 'shikharas', where every shrine has its own shikhar. On the very entrance to the temple, a portrait of Maharana Ranbir Singh and an image of Lord Hanuman exaggerate the site. The centrals shrine is dedicated to Lord Ram / Raghunath, who is the commanding deity. Apart from the main shrine, the other shrines encompass various incarnations of Lord Vishnu. There is another remarkable shrine of Lord Surya (Sun God), which houses different forms of the Lord. Inside the temple there are other shrines that house colossal statues of the Hindu gods and goddesses. It is notable to mention here that gold sheets envelop the interior walls on three sides of the temple. It also has a gallery, where various 'lingams' (phallic form of Lord Shiva) and 'saligrams' are placed. Raghunath temple comprises almost all the images of the Hindu Pantheon, an unusual embodiment in temple architecture.