5 most beautiful temples in India

Golden Temple Night view

Golden Temple Day view

Golden Temple

The Harmandir Sahib, Darbar Sahib (meaning The Abode of God) or simply the Golden Temple in of Amritsar Punjab, India is the most popular and beautiful Gurudwara in the world. Harmandir Sahib was built by Arjan Singh, 5th Sikh Guru. Gurudwara has four large doors in all four sides, which symbolises its openness to all people and religions. The Harmandir Sahib was rebuilt in the year 1764 by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia along with other Sikh Misls. Golden cap or of Gurudwara was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the early nineteenth century.

The Temple of Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, in the Indian city of Tiruchirapalli (or Trichy), is the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world. It was constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, this temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is one of the most illustrious Vaishnava temples in South India rich in legend and history. The temple is vulnerable to natural disasters as its located on the Islands of river Cauvery. The main entrance, known as the Rajagopuram, rises from the base area of around 5720 sq ft and goes up to 237 feet, moving up in eleven progressively smaller tiers. The annual 21-day festival conducted during the Tamil month of Margazhi (December–January) attracts a lot of visitors here.

Lotus Temple, Delhi

Lotus temple Delhi, India, is a Bahai House of Worship. The temple was completed in 1986 by an architect named Fariborz Sahba who now lives in Canada. The design of lotus temple is a 27 free-
standing marble clad petals arranged in 'clusters of three' to form nine sides. The nine doors of
the Lotus Temple open onto a central hall slightly more than 40 meters tall that is capable of
holding up to 2,500 people. The surface of the House of Worship is made of white marble from Penteli
mountain in Greece. Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the Lotus Temple property
comprises 26 acres. The major part of the funds needed to buy this land was donated by Ardishír Rustampur of Hyderabad, who gave his entire life savings for this purpose in 1953.

Akshardham temple of New Delhi is a Hindu temple. The temple displays years of traditional Hindu
and Indian culture, spirituality, and architecture. The complex was inspired and developed by
Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The temple was officially opened on 6th, Nov 2005 for the public. It is located near the banks of the Yamuna adjacent to the 2010 Commonwealth Games village in South Eastern side of Delhi, just behind the Akshardham Metro station. In addition to the large central
temple crafted entirely of stone, the complex features exhibitions on incidents from the life of Swaminarayan and the history of India. The main monument, at the centre of the complex, is 141 foot high, 316 foot wide and 356 foot long. The whole monument is designed from top to bottom with carved details of dancers, musicians, and deities.
It is constructed entirely from Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble and has no support from steel or concrete. The monument also consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, nine domes, and 20,000 murtis and statues of Hinduism's sadhus, devotees, and acharyas. The monument also
features the Gajendra Pith at its base, a plinth paying tribute to the elephant for its importance in Hindu culture and India's history. It contains 148 scale sized elephants in total and weighs a total of 3000 tons.
Within the monument, under the central dome, lies a murti or statue of Swaminarayan which is 11-foot
high. The murti is surrounded by similar statues of the gurus of the sect. Each murti is made of panch dhaatu or five metals in accordance to Hindu tradition. Also within the central monument lie the murtis of other Hindu deities, including Sita Ram, Radha Krishna, Shiv Parvati, and Lakshmi Narayan.

Birla Mandir or  Laxminarayan Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the preserver and his consort, Goddess Lakshmi. The architecture of the Temple looks imbibed from the Orissan Style. The temple has tall spires and it looks magnificent raised in red sandstone. The tallest spire of the temple extends to the height of 165 feet whereas the additional spires lengthen to 116 feet. The beautiful structure of the temple comprises sculptures, tall spires and Jali work making it a beautiful temple. The temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi and was built by B. R. Birla and Jugal Kishore Birla between 1933 and 1939. The side temples are dedicated to Shiva, Krishna and Buddha. The temple spread over 7.5 acres, is adorned with many shrines, fountains, and a large garden, and also houses Geeta Bhawan for discourses.