1. ANGKOR WAT (CAMBODIA)
Angkor Wat is situated in cambodia is the largest temple in the world with a land area of 162.6 Hectares. It was made to build by King Suryavarman II. This beautiful temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists in Cambodia and around the world. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's main tourist attraction.Angkor Wat played a major role in converting Cambodia into a Buddhist nation. According to a myth, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to serve as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea. According to the 13th-century Chinese traveller Zhou Daguan, some believed that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat symbolize the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level.
2. JAGANNATH TEMPLE (PURI, ODISHA)
The Jagannath Temple is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (a form of Shri Krishna). This temple is popular for its annual Rath-Yatra (chariot festival). Unlike the stone and metal idols found in most Hindu temples, the idol of Lord Jagannath (which gave its name to the English term 'juggernaut') is made of wood and is ceremoniously replaced every 12 or 19 years by an exact replica. It is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites. According to legend, the construction of the first Jagannath temple was commissioned by King Indradyumna, son of Bharata and Sunanda, and a Malava king, mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The legendary account as found in the Skanda-Purana, Brahma Purana and other Puranas and later Odia works state that Lord Jagannath was originally worshipped as Lord Neela Madhaba by a Savar king (tribal chief) named Viswavasu. Having heard about the deity, King Indradyumna sent a Brahmin priest, Vidyapati to locate the deity, who was worshipped secretly in a dense forest by Viswavasu. Vidyapati tried his best but could not locate the place. But at last he managed to marry Viswavasu's daughter Lalita. At repeated request of Vidyapti, Viswavasu took his son-in-law blind folded to a cave where Lord Neela Madhaba was worshipped. Vidyapati was very intelligent. He dropped mustard seeds on the ground on the way. The seeds germinated after a few days, which enabled him to find out the cave later on. On hearing from him, King Indradyumna proceeded immediately to Odra desha (Odisha) on a pilgrimage to see and worship the Deity. But the deity had disappeared. The king was disappointed. The Deity was hidden in sand. The king was determined not to return without having a darshan of the deity and observed fast unto death at Mount Neela, Then a celestial voice cried 'Thou shalt see him.' Afterward, the king performed a horse sacrifice and built a magnificent temple for Vishnu. Narasimha Murti brought by Narada was installed in the temple. During sleep, the king had a vision of Lord Jagannath. Also an astral voice directed him to receive the fragrant tree on the seashore and make idols out of it. Accordingly, the king got the image of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Chakra Sudarshan made out of the wood of the divine tree and installed them in the temple.
Riveting Facts about the Temple:-
1. The flag flows in the opposite direction to the wind's course without any scientific background to back it up.
2. The temple is known to have no shadow at all, at any time of the day from any directions possible.
3. From every direction you look, the Chakra looks back with the same appearance. It's like it was designed to look just the same from every direction.
4. Not even a single bird is encountered above the temple dome, even an airplane could not be seen hovering above the temple.
5. After you put the first step inside the temple from Singha Dwara entrance, the audibility to the ocean waves is entirely lost. This phenomenon is more prominent in the evening time.
6. Every day a priest scrambles the walls of the temple with a height equivalent to that of a 45 storey building, to change the flag atop the temple dome. This ritual dates far back to the day the temple was built.
7. It's believed if the ritual is skipped one day, the temple will be shut down for18 years.
8. Miraculously, the Parsadam prepared every day is never wasted, not even a bite.
9. It is believed that the Heart of Shri Krishna is in the idol of Lord Jagannath and is put in the new idol by a blindfolded Priest every time the idols are changed.
3. JAGATPITA BRAHMA TEMPLE (PUSHKAR, RAJASTHAN)
Jagatpita Brahma Mandir is a Hindu temple situated at Pushkar in the Indian state of Rajasthan, close to the sacred Pushkar Lake to which its legend has an indelible link. The temple is one of very few existing temples dedicated to the Hindu creator-god Brahma in India and remains the most prominent among them. Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many are old ones that were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were rebuilt subsequently; of these the most important is the Brahma temple. The structure dates to the 14th century. The temple is described to have been built by sage Vishwamitra after Brahma's yagna (ritual). It is also believed that Brahma himself chose the location for his temple. The 8th century Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara renovated this temple, while the current medieval structure dates to Maharaja Jawat Raj of Ratlam, who made additions and repairs, though the original temple design is retained. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri(Saraswati), and as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India and the most prominent one dedicated to Brahma. International Business Times has identified Pushkar Lake and the Brahma temple as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India.
4. RAMANATHASWAMY TEMPLE (RAMESWARAM, TAMIL NADU)
According to the Ramayana, Rama, who is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, prayed to the god Shiva to absolve him of the sin of killing a Brahmin committed during the war against the Rakshasa king Ravana (who was a brahmin, son of a vedic rishi) in Sri Lanka. Rama wanted to have a large lingam to worship Shiva. He directed Hanuman, the lieutenant in his army, to bring a lingam from the Himalayas. When Hanuman was delayed in bringing the lingam, devi Sita built a small lingam out of the sand available in the seashore, which is believed to be the lingam in the sanctum. The primary deity of the temple is Ramanathaswamy (Shiva) in the form of lingam. There are two lingams inside the sanctum - one built by Rama, from sand, residing as the main deity, Ramalingam and the one brought by Hanuman from Kailash called Vishwalingam.
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