Temples in South India dominates when it comes to magnificent architecture and outstanding work of art. These temples are the backbones of south Indian Culture and flourish the belief of people in their gods. The amazing view of these temples can make you turn towards gods and will surely lit a light of spirituality in the corner of your heart. Entire south India is dotted with magnificent temples from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh. Many of the south Indian temples are reputed as UNESCO world heritage sites. These outstanding Dravidian masterpieces take every tourist back to ancient times and depict the history of that time.
Veerabhadra Temple
Photo : premnath via flickr
This temple is located in Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh and is a famous Hindu temple. The main deity of the temple is Veerabhadra. This is the unique temple because it is built with so much space and is well known for its captivating beauty, fine arts and architecture. This temple has many shrines like Shiva, Vishnu and Durga apart from the main shrine of Veerabhadra. The main attraction of the temple is Nandi bull which is been carved out in a huge single granite. Further the temple has many life size images of musicians and dancers and the temple is a perfect example of vijaynagara style of architecture. It has beautiful wall ceiling too which are decorated with mural paintings.
Virupaksha Temple
This temple is also a part of group of monuments at Hampi and is reputed as UNESCO world heritage site. This temple is considered as sacred and the main center of pilgrimage at Hampi and is located in Bellary in Karnataka. The main deity of the temple is Lord Shiva who is also known as Virupaksha. The interiors of the temple are really beautiful and have many intricate carvings. There are many inscriptions as also engraved in the different part of the temple and this temple is most visited temple and many people pay visit during the main festival which is the annual chariot festival which is celebrated in the month of February.
Konark Sun Temple
It is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Orissa and is considered as UNESCO world heritage sites. This temple is dedicated to sun god and is shaped like a giant chariot of sun god. The temple is beautifully built with Orissan type architecture and every part of the chariot symbolizes something like seven horses depicts the seven days of week, twelve wheels represents the twelve months of the year and eight spokes in every wheel symbolize eight stages of a woman’s life. This temple is the most amazing religious architecture in the whole world although the main part of the temple is in its ruins currently.
Sri Venkateshwara Temple
This temple is located in Andhra Pradesh and is dedicated to an incarnation of Lord Vishu; Lord Venkateshwara. This temple is also known with the name “temple of seven Hills”; the temple is 106th Divya Desam and is the richest temple in the world in terms of wealth and donation received.
Thyagaraja Swamy Temple
Tiruvarur Thyagaraja Swamy Temple is dedicated to Somaskandar which is a form of Lord Shiva. Goddess Parvati is present here as Kamalambigai and the whole complex covers the area of 30 acres and is one of the largest temples in the India. The temple has 4 gateways known as gopurams and the temple has many shrines as well. The main attraction of the temple is Azhazi ther which is celebrated in the month of April.
