Indian Temples : Temples of South India

If you have a plan to visit India, make sure that your planning program includes a visit to the temples situated in the Southern part of India. Let me introduce some of the famous and must-visit temples in South India.

Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati

Siddharth Verma 101, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

The temple, which is also known as the Temple of Tirupati Balaji, is one of the most visited temples in India. It is the temple dedicated to the Lord Venkateswara. Situated in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, the temple is on a hillside. 

The temple complex is so vast that you can have a real idea of it only when you visit the same. The entire city on the hill is administered by the temple authority. 

The temple authority provides accommodation to all those who visit the temple.

The nearest railway station is Renugunta, which is on the railway route from New Delhi to Trivandrum. From Renigunta, you can have the services of state transport buses and local tour operators. The transport charges are quite affordable for all tourists. 

When you are in Tirupati, on the hillside of the temple site, do not forget to enjoy the South Indian dishes. The Doda, Idli, Mendu Vada: all the dishes are made from rice and vegetables. 

Rameswaram: Temple of Lord Shiva

Lengthy corridor of Sri
Ramanathaswamy temple, Rameswaram
Vensatry, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The temple of Lord Shiva, the Hindu God, is situated on a wonderful small island. It is believed to have been constructed in the twelfth century. However, it is believed that the inauguration of the original Lingam was done by Lord Ram when he crossed the sea to go to Sri Lanka. According to the Hindu scriptures, Lord Rama is the seventh incarnation of the God Lord Vishnu.

Lord Krishna is also believed to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In the temple of Ramanathswamy, looking at the ceiling paintings, the sculpture, the walls, the painted pillars, and the corridors will be a lifelong memorable event.                            

Located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Rameswaram is well connected with all the other regions of India by rail and by road. Madurai is an airport at a distance of less than 150 km. Once you are in Madurai, get a car rented from there and enjoy the wonderful trip on the bridge that is built in the sea. It links the island of Rameswar to the mainland. 

It would be a wonderful sightseeing experience, as the coast of Sri Lanka would be visible from the island of Rameswaram if the weather permits a clear view of the sky. There are two bridges built in the sea, one for the railways and another for the motorway. The motorway bridge is one of the longest bridges built in India. It would be a memorable lifetime event to pass through these bridges where we can see the Indian Ocean roaring on both sides.

Meenakshi Temple

Mamichaelraj, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons
Meenakshi Temple-North Tower

This temple is also in the state of Tamil Nadu, and it is located in the city of Madurai. It is the temple of Goddess Parvati, who was the wife of Lord Shiva. The date of original construction is unknown, but there are references to the existence of this temple in the literature written in the sixth century. However, it is renovated and rebuilt several times by several devotee kings. In fact, the temple is a complex of many temples.                                    

The tall towers are built on all four sides. It will be a wonderful experience to feel the deities all around us while we are in the Meenakshi Temple complex. The city of Madurai is a well-known place, and it is accessible by air, road, and railway. The network of Indian Railways is one of the biggest in the world. Get a ticket booked from Chennai to Madurai, and enjoy the train journey passing through the paddy green fields of Southern India.

When you are in Madurai, do visit a restaurant where you can have South Indian dishes. Have a taste of South Indian sambhar and several dishes made from rice. You know, in India, there are 80 types of dishes that are made from potatoes.

Padmanabhswamy Temple 

Shishirdasika, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons 
Padmanabhaswamy
Temple Gopuram,
Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala, India

Situated in the well-known city of Thiruvantpuram (formerly Trivandrum), the temple of Shree Padmanabhswamy is one of the most famous temples in India. The temple is an architectural wonder. The high walls and the ancient Gopuram style of building the temple will be a lifelong memorable event. The idol of Shree Padmanabhswamy Temple (Lord Vishnu) is shown as a sleeping deity. The serpent Shesha is also shown with the idol.

The city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala state, has an international airport. The city is well connected with other parts of India by rail and by road connectivity. When you are in Kerala, do visit the wonderful seasights and beaches situated in the region. Kerala is known as the garden of India. It is also called 'The land of God.' 

Gomateswar (Bahubali): Shravanabelagola, The Largest Statue in World

Rvsssuman, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons
 built-in 981 A.D 590ft
 

Shravanabelagola is in the Hassan District of the state of Karnataka in India. It is 157 km away from Bangalore, the city of Information and Technology. This statue and temple are important places for Jainism, or the Jain religion.

The statue of Bahubali, or Gomateswar, is 438 feet high. It is the highest statue in the world in its kind of statues. The city is a pilgrimage center for the Digambar sect of the Jain religion. There are several other sculptures carved out of big stones. 

The followers of the Jain religion believe in the teachings of the great saints whom they call Tirthankaras. There were twenty-four Tirthankaras. Saint Adinath is believed to be the first in that line.

The main statue is on a hill. Bahubali, whose statue is here, was the younger son of Saint Adinath. If you visit the town below the hill there is a Jain monastery. A monastery is a place where the devotees reside. 

These are temples also near the monastery. Here the tourists can see very old paintings on the walls of the buildings of the temple and the monastery. The floral designs on these buildings are very artistic. The temples on the hill Chandragiri were built by Emperor Ashoka. He built this temple in the third century B.C. He dedicated this temple to Emperor Chandra Gupta Maurya. In his last years, Emperor Ashoka was living like a monk, and he had renounced practicing violence.

HOW TO REACH SHRAVANBELAGOLA

In most parts of Southern India, the motorway and railway are available. Bangalore is an international airport. Visiting the town where the statue of Shravanabelagola stands is very easy. Tourists can go there either from Bangalore or from Mysore city. It would be a good idea to go by road. If you hire a car for rent, you would enjoy the greenery of Indian land on the way.

Accommodation

The tourists visiting Shravanabelagola would find no difficulty in finding comfortable and cheap accommodation. One would find the rates of hotels and dining suitable to his or her pocket. You would find restaurants serving all types of Indian dishes. Local transport is also cheap and easily accessible. You can hire vehicles like a car or auto for rent. Car rentals are decided by the government. The state transport buses also provide frequent services facilitating the pilgrims and tourists visiting the sacred place. 

Apart from these temples, the southern part of India has several other temples where visitors and devotees go to see the wonders of the architecture of the temples. 

I am sure you have enjoyed the details about the Temples of South India.

Now let us go to the northern part of India and enjoy seeing the temples there.

               Visit Here: TEMPLES OF NORTH INDIA