5 famous foreign temples

May 10, 2016 16:04

Having more number of Hindus in India, there are several temples in every state here. But the situation is different in the foreign countries, where there are limited number of the devotional places. But though the number is limited, most of those temples are popular. Here are five such popular temples outside India.

1) Angkor Wat (Angkor, Cambodia)

‘Angkor Wat' (or, ‘Angkor Vat'), in Cambodia, is the world’s largest religious monument. Lying in the South-East Asia, Cambodia has ‘Angkor Wat' as its prime tourist attraction. The significance of this temple is so much, that its image can even be spotted on the country's flag.

Dedicating to Lord Vishnu, in the early 12th century, Khmer King Suryavarmanam II built the Angkor Wat temple. Considering it as World Heritage Site, the temple is even listed in the UNESCO’s website. This temple is admired for its grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its bas-relief structures and the number of ‘devtas' sculpted on its walls.

Angkor wat foreign temple
2. Murugan Temple, Sydney, Australia

Situated on the Mays Hills of New South Wales of Sydney, Australia, Murugan Temple is another famous temple of Hindus, outside India. Lord Murugan is the Lord of Tamils and is also known as the Lord of the hill region. His abode is usually located on hills. In Sydney, he is also known as the ‘Sydney Murugan'.

The Tamils built the Sydney Murugan’s temple in Australia. A Hindu society called ‘Saiva Manram', is taking care of by a Hindu society called ‘Saiva Manram'.

Sydney murugan foregin temple
3. Prambanan (Java, Indonesia)

‘Prambanan' or ‘Candi Prambanan' or ‘Candi Rara Jonggrang' temple in Central Java, Indonesia, contains the idols of Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu.

This temple is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia and is one of the biggest one in Southeast Asia. UNESCO preserves this temple compound as a World Heritage site.

The major attraction of the temple is its 3 main shrines dedicated to the 3 ‘devtas' representing God i.e. the Creator (Lord Brahma), the Preserver (Lord Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Lord Shiva). Lord Shiva’s idol has been placed in the centremost. The compound contains 240 temples in total.

Prambanan Indonesia foreign temple
Also read: Elephanta caves- Fun and devotion at 1 place

4. Radha Madhav Dham (Texas, USA)

The oldest Hindu temple in Texas and the largest in North America, Radha Madhav Dham'or ‘Barsana Dham' is Lord Krishna’s temple, which is even one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in the Western Hemisphere.

Representing the holy land Braj in India, where lord Krishna and Radha are believed to have lived 5000 years ago, this temple was built, several years ago.

Many places around the temple were built for the meditation. All the major Hindu festivals will be celebrated here, especially, Radha Dham Janmashtami celebrations would be held in a grand way.

JKP Radha Madhav Dham Texas foreign temple
5. Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Glass Temple (Tebrau, Malaysia)

The first and only glass temple in Malaysia, Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman temple is one of the oldest ones in Bahru. The temple was started in 1922 as a simple shelter on land presented by the Sultan of Johor.

Got popularized for its glass works, the temple is one of the main tourist attractions of the country. 90% of the temple is embellished by a mosaic of 300,000 pieces of different colored glasses.

The temple contains the Athma Lingam sanctuary of Lord Shiva as a lotus, which allows the devotees to pour rose water on it and offer their prayers. It is designed with ‘Mukni' rudraksha beads, which appear to have an unusual embossed texture. Each such bead is embedded in the walls with a chanted prayer. The temple also has 10 gold-finished sculptures.