IN PICS: India's most glorious temples

We invited you, our readers, to share images of your travels around the world and we were inundated with your emails. Here is a fresh batch of responses:

What is India without its temples? As a melting pot of cultures, India has a rich and varied history of temples from various ages and cultures. From the Jain temples of Ahemedabad (pictured above) and Madhya Pradesh to Hindu temples of Kedarnath and Dwarka, we bring you snapshots of temples from around the country in the pages to follow.

We begin with this photograph from T Prakash of a "Jain temple in Ahmedabad that is famous for its rococo (post-baroque) style ornamentation”.

The Hutheesing Jain temple was built in 1848 AD by Sheth Hutheesing and is dedicated to the 15th Jain Tirthankar, Shri Dharmanatha.

Next up is this photograph from Prashanth T V of the Chennakeshava temple in Belur, a historical town in Hassan district of Karnataka.

Built during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty, this temple was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana when he became a Jain as well as for various military conquests that he achieved during his reign.

Jayant N Tandulkar from Nagpur, Maharashtra shares this photograph of Muktagiri, a Jain pilgrimage centre located in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.

Here's another one from Tandulkar of the Ganesh temple located in Adasa village, 45 km from Nagpur.

“The 12 feet tall and 7 feet wide monolithic stone idol of Lord Ganesh is believed to be self- evolved,” writes Tandulkar.

Harish Ranga sent us this picture of the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand that was taken in June 2012.

“It is the only structure that withstood the Himalayan tsunami, in June 2013. Jai Kedar!” writes Harish from Kolkata.

P Suryanarayana sent us two pictures. First up is of the Lepakshi temple.

“This is the open mandap of 17th century Veerabhadra temple built by Vijayanagara kings at Lepakshi town in Andhra Pradesh," writes P Suryanarayana.

This is the Moovar Koil temple complex.

“On a road trip to visit temples in Tamil Nadu, we went offtrack to Kodambalur (36 km from Pudukkotai) to see the magnificent 10th century Moovar temples. Only two of the three temples exist, with the plinth of the razed temple seen in the foreground,” writes P Suryanarayana.

Pushkal Rakesh shares this picture of Hari-ki-Pairi ghat at Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

It is believed that Vishnu left his footprint on this ghat. And that is how Haridwar -- which mean Vishnu's gateway -- got its name.

Here’s another photograph from Pushkal Rakesh.

The rock-cut temples of Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu are a virtual architectural treasure house. The uniqueness of these temples has earned them recognition from UNESCO which has declared as a world heritage site.

Next up is a photograph of the Nag Devta temple in Sangla, Himachal Pradesh sent by Amarjit Singh.

The impressive Bhimakali temple in Sarahan, Himachal Pradesh, rises majestically against a snowy Himalayan backdrop.

Sarahan -- on the Kinnaur-Shimla border -- was the capital of the kings of Bhushar, who once ruled neighbouring Kinnaur. Located about 180 km from Shimla, the temple is located in what was once the palace complex.

Sun-down in Dwarka. “This picture was clicked in Dwarka (Gujarat) around 6 pm. Lovely sunset,“ writes Rasheshwarnath.

Dwarka, located on the Kutch coast, is one of the four holy cities -- char dham -- of India.

This photograph of the Nyingmapa monastery in Kushalanagari, 125 km from Bangalore was sent by P Soujanya.

Finally, we have this photograph of the Bheru Tarak Dham in Mt Abu from Divyang Momaya.

“This beautiful Jain temple located in the Aravali range is surrounded by hills and offers a picturesque view,” writes Divyang.

Would you like to share your memorable travel pictures with us? They could be of your international holiday (like these) or of stunning Indian landscapes (like these) or the Himalayas (like these) or quite simply photographs of the sun (like these). Simply e-mail your pictures to travelpicsga@rediffmail.com (subject line: 'Memorable summer pics') -- we'll publish the most interesting ones right here on Rediff.com and in India Abroad. And make sure to include a little write-up of where you clicked the snap.

Disclaimer: The photographs featured in this series are, to the best of our knowledge, original entries submitted by readers. Rediff.com does not assume any responsibility for their originality.