Temples in Jammu

Raghunath Temple is a Hindu temple located in Jammu in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It consists of a complex of seven Hindu shrines. Raghunath Temple was constructed by the first Dogra ruler Maharaja Gulab Singh in the year 1835 and later his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh got it completed in the year 1860 During Dogra rule. The temple has many gods in its complex of shrines, but the presiding deity is Rama – also known as Raghunath, an Avatar of Vishnu. All the spiral-shaped towers have gold plated spires. The niches in the walls of the shrines are decorated with 300 well-crafted icons of gods and goddesses including those of Surya and Shiva, but most are particularly related to the life stories of Rama and Krishna. The paintings in the 15 panels of the main shrine are based on themes from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad Gita. The temple premises include a school and a library that preserves over 6,000 manuscripts in many Indian languages, with a notable collection of Sarada script Sanskrit manuscripts.

Shiv Khori, is a famous cave shrines of Hindus devoted to lord Shiva, situated in the Sangar village, Pouni, near Reasi town in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir in India.Khori means cave (Guffa) and Shiv Khori thus denotes Shiva's cave. This natural cave is about 200 metres long, one metre wide and two to three metres high and contains a self made lingam, which according to the people is unending. The first entrance of the cave is so wide that 300 devotees can be accommodated at a time. Its cavern is spacious to accommodate large number of people. The inner chamber of the cave is smaller.

The temple is believed to have been built during 8th century in 1822 a little after the Maharaja Gulab Singh came to power. As per local folklore, it is believed that around 300 years ago, goddess Maha Kali appeared in Pandit Jagat Ram Sharma’s dream and spoke about her appearance in the form of a Pindi or stone buried on the hill top. Shortly after that a stone was found and a temple was built on the hill. The black stone that is symbolic of the goddess is said to have been got from Ayodhya by the kings belonging to the Solar dynasty, Raja Bahu Lochan and Raja Jambu Lochan much before the temple was constructed. The Mahakali temple famous as Bawe Wali Mata Temple has been built on a elevated platform and houses a black stone coloured idol of the Goddess Mahakali. Kali Mata Mandir is built within the premises of Bahu Fort, which overlooks the mighty Tawi River. The temple is considered to be second only to the Mata Vaishnodevi temple. A number of devotees make a beeline to Jammu each year to soak in the spiritual aura of the region. Built using white marble on a raised platform about 3.9 feet high, this temple has an idol of goddess Maha Kali in black stone. This is a small temple from within so only a few devotees can enter at time.

Amarnath Temple is a Hindu shrine located in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The cave, located in Lidder Valley, is surrounded by glaciers, snowy mountains and is covered with snow most of the year, except for a short period in the summer, when it is open to pilgrims.The Amarnath cave, abode of the Mahamaya Shakti Peetha, is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, temples on the Indian Subcontinent that commemorate the location of fallen body parts of the Hindu deity Sati. The Shiva Lingam at the shrine is a Swayambhu lingam. The lingam is a natural stalagmite formation inside a 40 m (130 ft) tall cave at an elevation of 3,888 m (12,756 ft) on the Amarnath Mountain.

The Martand Surya Temple is located in the city of Anantnag in Kashmir valley, Jammu Kashmir, India. The temple was built in 8th century by Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty. It was dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity in Hinduism. The temple was destroyed by Sikandar Shah Miri. The ruins and the remnants of structure were further ruined by several earthquakes. The Archaeological Survey of India has declared the Martand Sun Temple as a site of national importance in Jammu and Kashmir. The temple appears in the list of centrally protected monuments as Sun Temple .

The Shree Ranbireshwar Temple is located in the city of Jammu, Jammu Kashmir, India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple was built in the year 1880 AD by Maharaja Ranbir Singh. This temple is known as one of the most oldest temple in the city of Jammu. The unique feature of the temple is that the idol of Lord Shiva is situated on the first floor and a statue of Shri Ranbir Singh with folded hands is seen praying to Lord Shiva is located in front of the temple.