Hindu temple

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A Hindu temple (Sanskrit: mandira), is a house of worship for followers of Hinduism. They are usually specifically reserved for religious and spiritual activities.

A Hindu temple can be a separate structure or a part of a building. A feature of most temples is the presence of murtis of the Hindu deity to whom the temple is dedicated. They are usually dedicated to one primary deity, called the presiding deity, and other subordinate deities associated with the main deity. However, some temples are dedicated to several deities, and some have symbols instead of a murti.

Nomenclature

Hindu temples are known by different names in different parts of the world, depending upon the language. The word mandir or mandira is used in many languages, including Hindi, and is derived from a Sanskrit word, mandira, for 'house' (of God by implication). Temples are known as kO-yil - கோயில் (and occasionally, especially in modern formal speech, aalayam - ஆலயம்) in Tamil. The etymology is from kO - கோ, or lord, and il - இல் - home (note that besides meaning God's home, this term could also mean a King's home, since the term kO - கோ is used interchangeably for royalty and divinity). Temples are known as Devasthana or Gudi in Kannada, as Gudi, Devalayam or Kovela in Telugu and Mondir in Bengali, as Kshetram or Ambalam in Malayalam.

Management

The Archeological Survey of India has control of most ancient temples of archaeological importance in India. In India and many countries, a temple is managed by a temple board committee that administers its finances, management and events. In some villages the more prominent and respected families are entrusted with leadership and management of the village temple.

See also

• Hindu temple architecture
• List of Hindu temples
• List of Hindu deities
• Wat

External links

• Greatest Temples in India, Andhra Pradesh Indian Hindu Temples
• On Hinduism & Temples of India

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 03:55:32 PDT (GMT -0700)
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