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Shiva Temple is always associated with Hindu mythology and is believed that Shiva temple are found only in India, but this is not true. As many other countries proudly a home to beautiful Shiv temples, let’s see some beautiful Shiva temple which are located outside India.
Pashupatinath Temple, Nepal
Pashupatinath Temple is a popular Shiva temple located in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is one of the most visited temples in Nepal and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The temple grabs attention due to its Pagoda-style, gold covering copper roof and silver coated doors.
Prambanan Temple, Indonesia
Prambanan Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia and the second-largest temple Southeast Asia after Angkor Wat. The temple is dedicated to Trinity which is Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. The temple compound is spread in an area of 17 kilometers and is about 47 metre high. It was made in ninth century during the reign of Sanjaya dynasty. It was designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.
Katasraj Temple, Pakistan
Katasraj temple which is located in Chakwal district of Pakistan’s Punjab is also an important temple. The temple compound also has a pond which is believed to have been created with Lord Shiva’s tears at the time he was devastated with the death of his wife, Sati. The pond occupies an area of two kanals and 15 marlas. It is also related to Mahabharata and is said to be the same pond which was described as a place where Yudhishtra passed Yaksha’s riddle contest at the time of Pandva’s exile.
Munneswaram Temple, Sri Lanka
Munneswaram Temple is one of the biggest Hindu temple in Sri Lanka. The temple dated back to 1000 CE, however, there are stories related to temple which is associated with Ramayana. The complex consisted of five temples and central temple belongs to Shiva. The temple was destroyed two times to Portugues colonial officers but was reconstructed by the locals both times.
Arulmigu Sri Raja Kaliamman Temple, Malaysia
Arulmigu temple is one of the oldest Hindu temple located in Johar Bahru. It was constructed a hundred year before in 1922. The temple attracts a lot of tourists and is recorded in Malaysian Book of Records for being the first and only glass temple in Malaysia in May 2010. The temple remains open from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm daily, however, visiting hours for tourists are between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne, Australia
Shiva Vishnu Temple is one of the popular Hindu temple located in Melbourne, Australia. It was constructed in 1982. Most of the Hindu festival is celebrated in the temple which is attended by thousand of devotees. The temple remains open from 7:00 am to 12:05 pm from Monday to Friday while on weekends and public holidays the timing change to 7:30 am to 1:05 pm.
Mukti Gupteshwar Temple in Minto, Australia
Mukti-Gupteshwar Mandir is a beautiful Shiva temple located in Minto, Sydney, Australia. The temple remains open from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm from Monday to Friday while on weekends it remains open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. The temple is known for being a man-made cave temple. It contains replica of 12 Jyotirlinga, 108 human made lingas and 1008 fannings of Lord Shiva which represents his Sahastra namas. There are total of 1128 small mandirs inside this temple.
Shiva Mandir in Auckland, New Zealand
Thiru Subramaniyar Aalayam is a beautiful Shiva Temple located in Auckland, New Zealand. The temple is made in South Indian style with granite idols of various Hindu deities including Lord Shiva, Lord Murugan, Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganpati. The temple is visited by many Hindu residing in all over New Zealand.
Sri Somesvara Temple in North Carolina, USA
Sri Somesvara Temple is located in Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. It is also called as Mount Kailash of the West. Over 46 tons of hand-carved granite was transported from India to create deities, shrines, and entryway at the time of construction of this temple. The temple opens at 9:30 am and closed at 1:30 pm and again evening darshan opens at 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm after Sandhya aarti.
Shiva Vishnu Temple in Livermore, California
The temple was constructed by Hindu community of the area in 1977. It remains open from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm while in evening it opens at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. A number deities could be seen inside the main temple which includes Shiva, Ganesha, Parvati, Sridevi, Kartikeya, Bhoodevi, Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita, Hanuman and Dashbhuja Durga. The devotees can take part in various types of events which includes celebration of Holi, Diwali, Maha Shivaratri, Sri Rama Navami, Ugadi and Vasantha Panchami.