ప్రతి ఆలయానికీ ఒక కథ
Every temple has a story.
The legend of the place, who built it and when, what to look for when you stand in front of it, and how to visit — for 117 temples across India and just beyond its borders, with the source named on every line.
Sthala purana
Start with a story
Why does the moon wax and wane at Somnath? Why do pilgrims climb Tirumala on foot? Each temple page opens with its legend, told plainly, with the text it comes from.
Sri Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala
Venkateswara · Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh
TTD's account of how Vishnu came to stand on the hill. Varaha first settles on Venkatadri after raising the Earth. In the Kali Yuga the sage Bhrigu tests the three gods and kicks Vishnu, who stays calm; Lakshmi,…
Kedarnath
Shiva · Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
Nara and Narayana, two incarnations of Vishnu, perform penance in Bharata Khanda and worship Shiva every day in an earthen linga. Shiva, pleased after a long time, offers them a boon. They ask for nothing for…
- 11 · Dvadasa Jyotirlinga
- 3 · Chota Char Dham
- 1 · Panch Kedar
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai
Meenakshi · Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Meenakshi is born from fire and grows up to rule the Pandya kingdom from Madurai as a warrior queen. On a visit to Mount Kailasa she realises she is an incarnation of Shakti, and Shiva promises to come to Madurai and…
- Pancha Sabha
Kashi Vishwanath
Shiva · Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Shiva creates a city five kroshas across for Prakriti and Purusha to perform penance in. Vishnu's penance there fills the void with water, a jewel from his ear becomes Manikarnika, and Shiva holds the floating city…
- 9 · Dvadasa Jyotirlinga
Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati
Kamakhya · Guwahati, Assam
In the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Sati gives up her body after Daksha insults Shiva, Shiva carries it across the land, and Vishnu cuts it apart; each place where a part falls becomes a seat of the goddess. The tradition…
- 13 · Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha
Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple
Ayyappa · Sabarimala, Kerala
The demoness Mahishi can be killed only by a child of Vishnu and Shiva, so Vishnu as Mohini bears such a child, who is found in the forest by King Rajasekhara of Pandalam and named Manikandan. When a scheming…
Yatra
Walk a pilgrimage circuit
The twelve Jyotirlingas, the Char Dham, the Shakti Peethas — in the order tradition gives them, and with the disputes over which temple counts shown, not hidden.
- Dvadasa Jyotirlinga12 of 12 told so far
- Ashtadasa Shakti Peetha18 of 18 told so far
- Arupadai Veedu6 of 6 told so far
- Pancha Bhoota Sthalam5 of 5 told so far
- Pancha Sabha5 of 5 told so far
- Pancharama Kshetra5 of 5 told so far
- Nava Narasimha9 of 9 told so far
- Char Dham4 of 4 told so far
- Chota Char Dham4 of 4 told so far
- Panch Kedar5 of 5 told so far
- Panch Badri5 of 5 told so far
- Ashtavinayaka8 of 8 told so far
Plan a trip
Temples by state
Story first, sources always
Every line tells you where it comes from
- Legend says
What a Purana, epic or temple tradition tells — attributed, never presented as history.
- The inscription records
What is carved in stone or copper at the site, and what the survey of the building shows.
- Historians believe
What scholars conclude from the evidence — named, with their book or paper.
- Accounts differ
Where traditions or historians disagree. We print both, side by side, and never pick a winner.
Where we have not been able to check something — a timing, a PIN code, a date — the page says so in plain words instead of guessing. How we source a story