Temple Gyan
Test your knowledge of India's most sacred temples, from the twelve Jyotirlingas and Char Dham to the Shakti Peethas and timeless wonders of stone.
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1. Which Jyotirlinga is traditionally counted as the first among the twelve and stands on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat?
- ✓ Somnath
- • Kedarnath
- • Mahakaleshwar
- • Rameshwaram
Answer: Somnath, on the Saurashtra coast where the Arabian Sea meets the Triveni Sangam, is counted as the first among the twelve Jyotirlingas.
Read the full story →2. Somnath's present temple, consecrated in 1951, was inaugurated by which leader?
- • Jawaharlal Nehru
- • Mahatma Gandhi
- ✓ Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India's first President
- • Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Answer: The current Somnath temple was consecrated by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India's first President, on 11 May 1951.
Read the full story →3. At Kedarnath, which Pandava recognized Shiva disguised as a bull and seized him by the hump?
- • Yudhishthira
- • Arjuna
- ✓ Bhima
- • Nakula
Answer: Bhima, the strongest of the brothers, recognised the disguised lord by his unusual gait and seized him by the hump, which remained as the Kedarnath Jyotirlinga.
Read the full story →4. Kedarnath is the only Jyotirlinga located high in the Himalayas. In which state does it stand?
- • Himachal Pradesh
- ✓ Uttarakhand
- • Jammu and Kashmir
- • Sikkim
Answer: Kedarnath stands at 3,583 metres on the Mandakini in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, accessible only during the summer months.
Read the full story →5. Kashi Vishwanath, the seventh Jyotirlinga, is located in which holy city on the Ganga?
- • Prayagraj
- • Haridwar
- ✓ Varanasi
- • Ayodhya
Answer: Kashi Vishwanath sits on the western bank of the Ganga in Varanasi (Kashi), called the 'Avimukta' kshetra that Shiva never abandons.
Read the full story →6. Who built the present Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1780?
- ✓ Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore
- • Maharaja Ranjit Singh
- • Raja Todar Mal
- • Rani Lakshmibai
Answer: The current structure was raised in 1780 by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore; Maharaja Ranjit Singh later plated its shikharas with gold in 1835.
Read the full story →7. Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain is unique among Jyotirlingas because its lingam faces which direction?
- • East
- • North
- ✓ South
- • West
Answer: Mahakaleshwar is the only Jyotirlinga whose lingam faces south, the direction of death, fitting for Shiva as Mahakala, Lord of Time.
Read the full story →8. The pre-dawn Bhasma Aarti, performed with sacred ash, is a ritual unique to which Jyotirlinga?
- • Somnath
- ✓ Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain
- • Kashi Vishwanath
- • Bhimashankar
Answer: Mahakaleshwar is the only Jyotirlinga where the deity is daubed daily with sacred ash in the 4 AM Bhasma Aarti.
Read the full story →9. In the Rameshwaram legend, who shaped the swayambhu sand-lingam with her own hands when Hanuman was delayed?
- • Anjana
- ✓ Sita
- • Kaushalya
- • Mandodari
Answer: When Hanuman delayed past the muhurta, Sita gathered sand from the shore and shaped the small Shivling, which became the Ramanatha Jyotirlinga.
Read the full story →10. Rameshwaram serves as the southern (Dakshina) Dham of Adi Shankaracharya's Char Dham. Which temple is the northern Dham?
- ✓ Badrinath
- • Dwarka
- • Jagannath Puri
- • Kedarnath
Answer: Badrinath in the Garhwal Himalayas is the northern dham of Adi Shankaracharya's pan-India Char Dham circuit.
Read the full story →11. At Badrinath, the chief priest (rawal) is by unbroken tradition a Brahmin from which state?
- • Uttarakhand
- ✓ Kerala
- • Tamil Nadu
- • Karnataka
Answer: The rawal of Badrinath is by an unbroken tradition a Namboothiri Brahmin from Kerala, an institutional bridge across the length of India.
Read the full story →12. At the Jagannath Temple in Puri, who stands alongside Lord Jagannath and his sister Subhadra on the high altar?
- • His son Pradyumna
- ✓ His elder brother Balabhadra
- • His friend Sudama
- • His charioteer Daruka
Answer: Jagannath (Krishna) stands between his elder brother Balabhadra (Balarama) and his sister Subhadra, three siblings on one altar, a configuration unique in Hindu iconography.
Read the full story →13. The Jagannath murtis are carved from sacred Daru wood, and the deities' bodies are renewed in which ritual?
- • Snana Yatra
- ✓ Nabakalebara
- • Chhera Pahanra
- • Anavasara
Answer: In the Nabakalebara, performed every twelve to nineteen years, the deities' wooden bodies are ritually renewed with a newly carved pair of murtis.
Read the full story →14. At the Kamakhya Temple near Guwahati, the goddess is worshipped in what natural form rather than a sculpted murti?
- • A flame
- ✓ A natural rock cleft shaped like a yoni
- • A footprint in stone
- • A river spring
Answer: Kamakhya worships the Divine Feminine as a natural rock cleft shaped like a yoni, where Sati's yoni is said to have fallen, kept moist by an underground spring.
Read the full story →15. At Vaishno Devi in the Trikuta hills, the goddess is venerated as how many natural rock pindis?
- • One
- • Two
- ✓ Three
- • Five
Answer: Three natural rock pindis, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati, are venerated as the unified manifestation of Adi Shakti in the cave at Bhawan.
Read the full story →16. The Konark Sun Temple in Odisha is conceived as the chariot of Surya, complete with how many carved stone wheels?
- • Twelve
- • Sixteen
- ✓ Twenty-four
- • Thirty-two
Answer: Konark is built as a giant chariot with twenty-four stone wheels, each carved so precisely that their spokes still function as sundials, drawn by seven horses.
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