States, private temple management autonomy has been preserved. Etymology and nomenclature In Sanskrit, the liturgical language of Hinduism, the word mandira means "house" (). Ancient Sanskrit texts use many words for temple, such as matha, vayuna, kirti, kesapaksha, devavasatha, vihara, suravasa, surakula, devatayatana, amaragara, devakula, devagrha, devabhavana, devakulika, and niketana. Regionally, they are also known as prasada, vimana, kshetra, gudi, ambalam, punyakshetram, deval, deula, devasthanam, kovil, candi, pura, and wat. The following are the other names by which a Hindu temple is referred to in India: Devasthana (ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) in Kannada Deul/Doul/Dewaaloy in Assamese and in Bengali Deval/Raul/Mandir (मंदिर) in Marathi Devro/Mindar in Rajasthani Deula (ଦେଉଳ) or Mandira(ମନ୍ଦିର) in Odia and Gudi in Kosali Odia Gudi (గుడి), Devalayam (దేవాలయం), Devasthanam (దేవస్థానము), Kovela (కోవెల), Kshetralayam (క్షేత్రాలయం), Punyakshetram (పుణ్యక్షేత్రం), or Punyakshetralayam (పుణ్యక్షేత్రాలయం), Mandiramu (మందిరము) in Telugu Kovil or kō-vill (கோவில்) and occasionally Aalayam (ஆலயம்) in Tamil; the Tamil word Kovil means "residence of God" Kshetram (ക്ഷേത്രം), Ambalam (അമ്പലം), Kovil (കോവിൽ), Devasthanam (ദേവസ്ഥാനം) or Devalayam (ദേവാലയം) in Malayalam Mandir (मंदिर) in Hindi, Nepali, Kashmiri, Marathi, Punjabi (ਮੰਦਰ), Gujarati (મંદિર), and Urdu (مندر) Mondir (মন্দির) in Bengali In Southeast Asia temples known as: Candi in Indonesia, especially in Javanese, Malay and Indonesian, used both for Hindu or Buddhist temples. Pura in Hindu majority island of Bali, Indonesia. Wat in Cambodia and Thailand, also applied to both Hindu and Buddhist temples. Temple sites Some lands, including Varanasi, Puri, Kanchipuram, Dwarka, Amarnath, Kedarnath, Somnath, Mathura and Rameswara, are considered holy in Hinduism. They are called kṣétra (Sanskrit: क्षेत्र). A kṣétra has many temples, including one or more major ones. These temples and its location attracts pilgrimage called tirtha (or tirthayatra). See also List of Hindu temples List of Hindu temples in India List of Hindu temples outside India List of largest Hindu temples List of largest Hindu ashrams Hindu temple architecture Mandi-Mandaean Temple Temple BAPS Notes References Bibliography Deva, Kṛṣṇa (1995). Temples of India. New Delhi: Aryan Books International. Goel, S. R., and Arun Shourie (1992). Hindu temples: what happened to them. New Delhi: Voice of India. Kramrisch, Stella Hindu Temple, Meister, Michael W. Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, Michell, George The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, Ram Rāz, Henry Harkness (1834), —on Hindu Temple Vimana, Pillars and Śilpa Śastras. Nagar, Shanti Lal (1990). The temples of Himachal Pradesh. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. External links Temples