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Temples destroyed and rebuilt

Some of Bharat’s holiest temples were sacked again and again, and each time they were raised again. Each record below gives the dated events of its destruction and rebuilding; the sources are on each temple’s own page.

Temples destroyed and rebuilt: 14 temples

Somnath Jyotirlinga

Somnath Jyotirlinga

  1. 1026 Mahmud of Ghazni sacked the temple and broke the linga (al-Biruni; Ibn al-Athir).
  2. 1169 Kumarapala of the Chaulukyas rebuilt it in stone (Prabhas Patan inscription of Bhava Brihaspati).
  3. 1299 Alauddin Khalji’s army under Ulugh Khan sacked it again; it was restored by local rulers.
  4. 1706 Aurangzeb ordered the temple destroyed once more, so that worship could not be resumed.
  5. 1783 Ahilyabai Holkar built a new temple close by, where worship continued.
  6. 1951 The present temple, begun on Sardar Patel’s resolve, was consecrated on 11 May 1951 in the presence of President Rajendra Prasad.
Kashi Vishwanath

Kashi Vishwanath

  1. 1194 After the defeat of the Gahadavalas, Qutb-ud-din Aibak’s forces destroyed the temples of Kashi.
  2. 1585 Raja Todar Mal and Narayana Bhatta rebuilt the Vishweshwar temple.
  3. 1669 Aurangzeb ordered it demolished (Maasir-i-Alamgiri); the Gyanvapi mosque was raised on its plinth.
  4. 1780 Ahilyabai Holkar built the present temple beside the old site.
  5. 1835 Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave gold to plate the towers.
  6. 2021 The Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor, linking the temple to the Ganga, was opened on 13 December 2021.
Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, Mathura

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, Mathura

  1. 1018 Mahmud of Ghazni sacked Mathura and its temples (al-Utbi, Tarikh-i-Yamini).
  2. 1618 Bir Singh Deo Bundela of Orchha built the great Keshava Deva temple.
  3. 1670 Aurangzeb ordered the Keshava Deva temple destroyed (Maasir-i-Alamgiri); the Shahi Idgah was built on the site.
  4. 1951 The Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust was formed; the present temple complex beside the Idgah was built in the following decades.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya

  1. 1528 A mosque was raised at the Janmabhoomi under Mir Baqi, a commander of Babur (inscription on the building).
  2. 1992 The structure was pulled down by kar sevaks on 6 December 1992.
  3. 2003 ASI excavation ordered by the Allahabad High Court reported the remains of a large structure beneath.
  4. 2019 The Supreme Court, on 9 November 2019, gave the site for the building of the Ram Mandir.
  5. 2024 The Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ram Lalla was performed in the new temple on 22 January 2024.
Martand Sun Temple

Martand Sun Temple

  1. c. 750 Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty built the temple to Surya (Rajatarangini, Book IV).
  2. c. 1400 Sultan Sikandar of Kashmir had it destroyed (Jonaraja’s Rajatarangini); the ruins still stand on the Mattan plateau.
Sun Temple, Modhera

Sun Temple, Modhera

  1. 1026 Built under Bhima I of the Chaulukyas; an inscription on a wall gives Vikram Samvat 1083 (1026–27 CE).
  2. c. 1300 The sanctum was desecrated and the murti lost in the raids on Gujarat; worship ceased. The ASI conserves the temple.
Rudra Mahalaya, Siddhpur

Rudra Mahalaya, Siddhpur

  1. 1140 Jayasimha Siddharaja completed the great Rudra Mahalaya at Siddhpur.
  2. c. 1300–1415 It was broken in the Khalji raids and part of it was turned into a mosque under Ahmad Shah I; only fragments stand.
Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain

Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain

  1. 1235 Iltutmish sacked Ujjain and its Mahakala temple (Tabaqat-i-Nasiri).
  2. 18th c. After the Maratha conquest of Malwa, the temple was rebuilt under the Scindias’ diwan Ramchandra Baba Shenvi.
  3. 2022 The Shri Mahakal Lok corridor was opened on 11 October 2022.
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai

  1. 1311 Malik Kafur’s army plundered Madurai and its temples.
  2. 1371 Kumara Kampana of Vijayanagara ended the Madurai Sultanate and restored worship (Madhura Vijayam of Gangadevi).
  3. 1623–59 Thirumalai Nayak and the Nayaka kings rebuilt and enlarged the temple to its present form.
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

  1. 1323 In the Delhi Sultanate’s invasion, devotees carried the utsava murti of Namperumal away to keep it safe; many were killed defending the temple.
  2. 1371 After Kumara Kampana’s victory, Namperumal returned to Srirangam and was reinstalled.
  3. 1987 The unfinished rajagopuram was completed, rising about 73 metres.
Kamakhya Temple

Kamakhya Temple

  1. 16th c. The old temple on Nilachal lay in ruins.
  2. 1565 The Koch king Naranarayan and his brother Chilarai rebuilt it; the Ahom kings later added to it.
Govind Dev Temple, Vrindavan

Govind Dev Temple, Vrindavan

  1. 1590 Raja Man Singh of Amber built the seven-storeyed red sandstone temple.
  2. 1670 Its upper storeys were pulled down under Aurangzeb; the murti of Govind Dev had been taken away for safety and now stands in Jaipur.
Vittala Temple, Hampi

Vittala Temple, Hampi

  1. early 16th c. The Vittala temple was enlarged under Krishnadevaraya with its stone chariot and musical pillars.
  2. 1565 After the battle of Talikota the city of Vijayanagara was sacked for months; the temple stands damaged and without worship.
Bhojshala, Dhar

Bhojshala, Dhar

  1. c. 1034 Raja Bhoja of the Paramaras is held to have founded the Bhojshala as a seat of learning with a shrine of Vagdevi (Saraswati).
  2. 14th–15th c. The building was turned into the Kamal Maula mosque; Hindu worship on Tuesdays and Basant Panchami is now allowed by ASI order.