Vedo Rakshati Rakshitaha

Hindu Temples

A temple (from the Latin word templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out on the ground by the augur. Templa also became associated with the dwelling places of a god or gods. Despite the specific set of meanings associated with the religion of ancient Rome, the word has now become quite widely used to describe a house of worship for any number of religions and is even used for time periods prior to the Romans.

These may also be called by other names, including mandir or mandira, ambalam, kavu, koil or kovil, d�ul, raul, devasthana and devalaya, depending on the region in the Indian subcontinent and its local language.

Yamunotri temple, a shrine dedicated to the goddess, Yamunotri is one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism, and part of the Chota Char Dham Yatra circuit, dates around 11,000 BC.

Hindu temples are large and magnificent with a rich history. Some date as far back as the Bronze Age and later the Indus Valley Civilization. In the present day magnificent Hindu temples have been built in various countries of the world including India, Nepal, Great Britain, the United States, Australia, South Africa and Canada.

temple (n.1)

"building for worship, edifice dedicated to the service of a deity or deities," Old English tempel, from Latin templum "piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, building for worship of a god," of uncertain signification. Commonly referred to PIE root *tem- "to cut" (see tome), on notion of "place reserved or cut out" [Watkins], or to root *temp- "to stretch" [Klein's sources], on notion of "cleared space in front of an altar" (see tenet). Compare Greek temenos "sacred area around a temple," literally "place cut off," from stem of temnein "to cut." Figurative sense of "any place regarded as occupied by divine presence" was in Old English. Applied to Jewish synagogues from 1590s.

temple (n.2)

"side of the forehead," mid-14c., from Old French temple "side of the forehead" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *tempula (plural taken as fem. singular), from Latin tempora, plural of tempus (genitive temporis) "side of the forehead," perhaps originally "the thin stretch of skin at the side of the forehead," from PIE *temp- "to stretch," an extension of the root *ten- "to stretch" (see tenet), from the notion of "stretched," thus "thin," which is the notion in cognate Old English �unwange, literally "thin cheek." Or possibly associated with tempus span "timely space" (for a mortal blow with a sword).