21 Unique Indian Temples That Many Indians Don’t Know Exist

Temples are holy places where worshippers worship various gods/goddesses. What if we told you that some of the temples in this country worship humans and animals instead of gods?! Shocking, right? The world is full of strange phenomena and India is not far behind.

Let us take a look at some of the religious places in this country which are, as you may choose to call them – unique, strange or weird.

1. The Amitabh Bachchan Temple, Kolkata

Fans, oops sorry, devotees of the great Amitabh Bachchan worship a 25 kg ‘idol’ of the star in this one-of-its-kind temple. This temple is the brainchild of Sanjay Patodia who refuses to call himself a fan of the star, and considers himself a devotee. He built this temple in 2003 in a section of his house.

2. The Sachin Tendulkar Temple, Bihar

He was addressed as the ‘God of Cricket’ and the people took it way too seriously by building a temple around a statue of Sachin Tendulkar to worship him. The temple is a part of 15,000 square feet area owned by Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwary’s family.

3. Sonia Gandhi Temple, Telangana

Believe it or not, there is a temple dedicated to Sonia Gandhi after she aided in the creation of Telengana in 2014. The temple has a white marble statue of Sonia Gandhi along with portraits of the whole Gandhi family. The emotion behind all this was the gratitude that the Congress leaders and people of the district had towards Sonia Gandhi.

4. Jwala Ji, Himachal Pradesh

Not too far away from Dharamshala, lies a small town of Jwalamukhi. The unique thing about this place is the Jwala Ji Temple built here. The temple house natural caves with nine eternal flames burning continuously since decades.

5. The Dog Temple, Karnataka

Awwww! Being a dog lover, this was my first reaction when I came to know about it. No doubt, dogs are, and should always be, appreciated for their loyalty and love. However, the people of Channapatna’s Ramnagar district done the unbelievable by dedicating a temple to dogs. Here, not only are the dog statues worshipped but poojas and prayers are also held for the ‘dog-god’.

6. Brahma Baba Temple, Uttar Pradesh

A small village near Jaunpur is home to a temple where devotees hang clocks as offerings. People from all religious flock this temple, which is looked after by the locals and not by any priest or trust. There is no boundary or security around the temple/tree and still not even one clock has ever been stolen from here.

7. Ravana Temple, Madhya Pradesh

A village called ‘Ravangram’ in Vidisha has a set of devout worshippers of Ravaan who pay their respects and offerings to a 10 feet long reclining statue of Ravana. Needless to mention that these villagers do not burn effigies of Ravana nor do they celebrate Dussehra, but worship and include Ravana in most religious ceremonies.

8. Shaheed Baba Nihaal Singh Gurudwara, Punjab

This gurudwara is also known as ‘Hawai Jahaz Gurudwara’ or ‘Aeroplane Gurudwara’. Any guesses, why? Well, the reason is that this gurudwara is known for answering peoples’ wishes of obtaining a visa for travelling abroad. Worshippers bring toy aeroplanes as offerings and pray for their visa applications to be approved.

9. Gata Loop Bottle Temple, Manali-Leh Highway

People who have travelled on the Manali Leh highway would have heard of this temple for sure! According to a legend, a truck cleaner was stranded in this area as his truck had broken down and the driver had to go too far in search of help. By the time the driver came back with help, the cleaner had died of thirst and exposure. In the following years, many people spotted the cleaner’s ghost begging for water. In order to placate the ghost, the locals then made a memorial for him and started keeping bottles filled with water as offerings.

10. Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir, Sikkim

Captain ‘Baba’ Harbhajan Singh‘ was a soldier of the Indian Army. Legend has it that he drowned in a glacier in 1968 and his soul helped the rescuers find his body. Moreover, his soul has been warning Indian soldiers of any impending attacks three days in advance. In his honour, soldiers of the Indian Army built a shrine where grants favours to those who revere and worship him.

11. Bharat Mata Temple, Uttar Pradesh

This one-of-its-kind temple has a huge map of undivided (before partition) India carved in marble. This temple is situated in the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith campus in Varanasi and unique because of the fact that it houses a map of Bharat instead of idols gods and goddesses.

12. Om Banna Temple, Rajasthan

Located on Pali-Jodhpur Highway near the Chotila village, is this shrine dedicated to Om Banna who was killed when his bike rammed into a tree. As per the belief, when the police took his motorcycle to a nearby police station, it disappeared the next day only to be found back at the accident site. This continued for a couple of times, despite the bike being emptied and fully chained. Considered as a miracle by the locals, they began worshipping the bike and soon built a temple around the bike.

13. Devji Maharaj Mandir, Madhya Pradesh

Every month on the night of full moon, devotees come to this temple to placate the evil spirits/ghosts residing in them. Devotees also hold an annual ‘bhoot mela’ for exorcism. Spooky right?

14. Kaal Bhairav Nath Temple, Madhya Pradesh

This temple is located on the banks of river Shipra in Ujjain and is dedicated to Kaal Bhairav which is the guardian deity of the city. The thing that sets this temple apart from the rest is the offering, which is – wait for it – liquor! Unlike other temples, the vendors outside this temple sell baskets of offerings containing coconuts, flowers and a bottle of liquor, which is all government approved. It is believed that miraculously, the deity swallows the offered liquor without having any slit/cavity.

15. Chinese Kali Mata Mandir, Kolkata

This temple is a fine example of ‘unity in diversity’ as what started as a couple of sindoor smeared black stones worshipped under a tree, gradually transformed into a temple managed by both Hindus and Chinese residing there. What sets it unique is that the offerings and prasad are in the form of noodles, chop suey, rice and veggie dishes.

16. Devaragattu Temple, Andhra Pradesh

Unique or weird, however you may call it, but this temple has rituals where men hurt each other and themselves with ‘lathis’ to commemorate the killing of a demon by Mala Malleshawara (Lord Shiva). This temple lies in the Kurnool district and this ritual is held during every Dussehra.

17. Chilkoor Balaji Temple, Telangana

Located in Hyderabad, this temple is popularly known as the ‘Visa Temple’ as it is believed to grant wishes related to going abroad for studies or work. The worshippers get their passports and get them touched by the deity’s feet. As per the norms, you are required to visit the temple before appearing for your visa interview and take 3 rounds of the temple making a promise to come back to take 108 more rounds if the visa gets approved.

18. Digambeshwara Temple, Karnataka

Believe it or not, young toddlers and babies are thrown from a height only to be caught by devotees standing down below holding a sheet. All in the name of good luck and good health for the kid! There have been many controversies surrounding this temple but it continues to follow these rituals.

19. Temple of the scorpion goddess Kondammai, Karnataka

Situated in the Yadgir district of Karnataka, this temple is flocked by people of Kandkoor village who worship the idol of the scorpion goddess Kondammai by not just offering prayers, but having the scorpions crawl on their bodies! This happens during the festival of Nag Panchami.

20. Poruvazhy Peruviruthy Malanada, Kerala

Well, the fact that distinguishes this temple from the rest and makes it unique is the idol who is worshipped here – Duryodhana. It is the only temple in South India. where devotees worship Duryodhana considering the part of Kaurawas in the epic Mahabharata.

21. Mehandipur Balaji Temple, Rajasthan

We have been hearing horror stories of this temple since childhood. Situated in Dausa district of Rajasthan, this temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman. It is known for its ritualistic healing and exorcism of evil spirits, black magic or spells.

No matter how progressive we may get, religion still occupies a major place in most of the peoples’ lives. And as you go into the interiors of the country, you tend to realise the extent of it. From gods and goddesses to film stars and cricketers, people have been getting better at innovating temples and for those that have been existing for decades, there is no backing down on their rituals.