TOP 10 MOST POPULAR TEMPLES OF LORD VISHNU AND HIS AWTARS IN INDIA

Lord Vishnu incarnated several times on earth to eradicate the evil forces. In his avatar of Krishna he speaks about the Bhagvad Geeta and giving solution of each problem by his sholkas. There are several temples in India related to each avatar of Lord Vishnu. Here is the list of 10 most popular temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his avtars.

1 . JAGANNATH TEMPLE, PURI

The temple is holy for all the Hindus, especially for the Vaishnava traditions. The temple is an important pilgrimage destination and one of the four great ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimage sites, found at India’s four cardinal points. 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. The rath yatra is celebrated each year in the Jagannath temple which is popularly known among most of the people.

2 . RANGANATHASWAMY TEMPLE, SRIRANGAM

The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ranganatha, a reclining form of the Hindu deity Vishnu, located in Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the most illustrious Vaishnava temples in South India rich in legend and history. It is said that the Lord Rama the avatar of Lord Vishnu, when return from Lanka, used to worship deities in this temple. It is the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world. The architecture of this temple is astonishing.

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3 . VENKATESWARA TEMPLE, TIRUMALA, TIRUPATI

Venkateswara Temple is a landmark Vaishnavite temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The Lord Sri Venkateswara an incarnation of Vishnu is considered to be the most powerful . It is believed that Vishnu appeared here to save the mankind from troubles of the Kali Yuga. The Temple is constructed in Dravidian architecture and is believed to be constructed over a period of time starting from 300 AD.

4 . VITTHAL RUKMINI TEMPLE, PANDHARPUR

Situated at Pandharpur, Vitthalrukmini temple is the most visited temple in Maharashtra and is also one of the most important Vaishnav Temples in India. Vitthal temple is the main centre of worship for Vithoba, believed to be a form of Lord Krishna and his consort Rukmini. In this temple every devotee can touch the Lord’s feet and have a close darshan.

5 . DWARKADHISH TEMPLE, GUJARAT

Dwarkadhish is one of the char dham and was built by the grandson of Krishna Vajranabha at least 2000 year ago. The temple is located at Dwarka, Gujarat.The flag atop on the temple shows the presence of sun and moon which is believed to indicate that Krishna would be there till Sun and moon exist on earth. The Dwarkadhish Temple is a Pushtimarg temple, hence it follows the guidelines and rituals created by Vallabhacharya and Vitheleshnath.

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6 . SHRI BANKE BIHARI MANDIR, VRINDAVAN

Shri Bankey Bihari Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, in the holy city of Vrindavan in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. Janmashtami Jhulan yatra and Akshaya Tritiya are celebrated here every year. The word Bankey means bent/twisted in three places” and Bihari means “extreme enjoyer. The image of Lord Krishna here stands in the Tribhanga posture. Haridas Swami originally worshipped this devotional image under the name of Kunj-Bihari .

7 . VARAHA LAKSHMI NARASIMHA TEMPLE, SIMHACHALAM

Shri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple is a South Indian Hindu temple situated on the Simhachalam hill, which is 800 metres above the sea level at a distance of ten miles to the north of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is dedicated to one of the Hindu trinity deities Vishnu, who is worshipped there as Varaha Narasimha. It is one of the 32 Narasimha temples in Andhra Pradesh. The architecture is a mixure of Orissan, Chalukyas and the Cholas. The festivals celebrated in the temple are Kalyanotsava and Chandanotsava.

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8 . KANAK BHAVAN, AYODHYA

The Kanak Bhawan is the biggest, religiously one of the most important and architecturally an aesthetically built temple dedicated to Lord Ram and his divine consort Sita. It is located in the pilgrim holy town of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh of India. The ambience of Kanak Bhavan is liked by most of the people because you can listen the kirtan here sung throughout day. The temple draws a large number of Hindu devotees during Ram navami.

9 . SRI RADHA RAMAN MANDIR, VRINDAVAN

Sri Radha Raman Temple is an early modern period Hindu temple in Vrindavan, India dedicated to Lord Krishna as Radha Ramana. It was constructed at the request of Gopala Bhatta Goswami at around 1542 AD. The most important festival here Radha saptami, while Krishnastami is also important.The temple is exquisitely crafted and one of the most revered temples in Vrindavan, especially by the followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. It houses the original Shaligram deity of Krishna alongside Radharani.

10 . SHRINATHJI TEMPLE, UDAIPUR

Shrinathji is the only temple that is dedicated to the child form of lord Krishna . The principal shrine of Shrinathji is situated at the temple town iof Nathdwara, located 48 kilometers north-east of Udaipur city in Rajasthan. Shrinathji is the central presiding deity of the Vaishnava sect known as the Pushtimarg established by Vallabhacharya. This temple attracts thousands of devotees every year who are seeking to get a glimpse of this form of Lord Vishnu .

If you are interested to know about the different avatars of Lord Vishnu then it can be very useful for you. You may also visit these temples and you will be filled with devotion.

( Kanchan Rastogi )