About
Why we built this temple
A doorway for the days you cannot be at your mandir, and a gathering place for families far apart.
The Upanishads teach that the Divine pervades all that exists, and the Bhagavad Gita says that one who sees the Divine everywhere is never apart from it. A mandir is where we go to see and be seen, which is what darshan means. Yet devotion was never bounded by walls.
Many of us live far from the temples we grew up with. Some live in another city or another country. Some are at home caring for a child or an elder, or are unwell themselves. Some work long shifts and pass the temple doors only after they have closed. For all of these days, we wanted a place that is always open.
We also wanted our children, and anyone curious, to learn why a bell is rung, why we walk around the sanctum keeping the deity on our right, why Shiva receives bilva and Krishna receives tulsi. Every temple here is built in a real regional tradition, with the offerings, music and customs that belong to that deity, and checked carefully for respect.
Online Hindu Temple is free and needs no account. It is not meant to replace your local mandir, your family traditions or a priest’s guidance. It is a doorway for the days you cannot be there, and a gathering place where families in different cities can stand side by side for aarti.
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति“Whoever offers Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of love I accept.” Bhagavad Gita 9.26
यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति“One who sees Me everywhere, and sees everything in Me, is never lost to Me.” Bhagavad Gita 6.30
Inside every temple
What you can do inside
Darshan
Stand before the murti, see today’s swaroop and shringar, and sit quietly in the hall or the gardens.
Aarti together
Five times a day, at the hours of a temple in India, the pujari leads the aarti and devotees around the world raise their thalis at the same moment.
Offerings
Ring the bell, light incense and a diya, set flowers, tulsi or bilva gently before the deity, and receive prasad.
Japa
Count a mantra or a divine name 108 times on a rudraksha, tulsi or sandalwood mala.
Learn the day
Tithi, nakshatra, auspicious muhurat and festivals, with teachings in five languages.
Family darshan
Send an invite link and stand side by side with family in another city or country.
Sanatana Dharma
About Hinduism
Hinduism, also called Sanatana Dharma or “the eternal way”, is one of the world’s oldest living spiritual traditions, followed by more than a billion people. It has no single founder or book; it grew through the Vedas and Upanishads, the epics, the Puranas and the songs of countless saints.
Devotees worship the one Divine in many forms, as God and as Goddess: Ganesha, Shiva, Ram, Krishna, Durga, Hanuman, Lakshmi and many more. They walk many paths to the Divine: devotion (bhakti), knowledge (jnana), selfless action (karma) and meditation (yoga). Temple worship brings these together in darshan, puja and aarti.
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति“Truth is one; the wise call it by many names.” Rig Veda 1.164.46
With reverence
A temple, not a game
Some devotees ask whether it is right to take darshan on a screen, or whether this turns worship into a game. It is a fair question, and we asked it of ourselves before building anything.
Our tradition has always honoured worship offered with a true heart, wherever it is offered. In the Shiva Manasa Puja, Adi Shankaracharya offers Shiva a jewelled seat, a bath, fine cloth and a lamp entirely in the mind. Millions already join aarti from the great temples through television and live streams. What reaches the Divine is bhava, the feeling behind the offering, more than the place or the means.
We let you walk and take part, rather than only watch, because a temple visit is something we do: we leave our footwear at the steps, ring the bell, offer a flower and bow. Done with care, even on a screen, these simple acts turn the mind toward the Divine. That is all this temple asks of you.
The murtis here are representations made with respect, like a picture in a home mandir. They are not consecrated, and no prana pratishtha is claimed. Please keep visiting your mandir whenever you can; this is a doorway for the days you cannot.
रत्नैः कल्पितमासनं हिमजलैः स्नानं च दिव्याम्बरं“A seat set with jewels, a bath of cool water, divine garments”, each imagined in the heart and offered to Shiva. Shiva Manasa Puja, Adi Shankaracharya
भावग्राही जनार्दनः“Janardana receives the bhava”, the feeling in the heart behind every offering. A traditional saying
No points, scores or prizes
There is nothing to win, unlock or collect. A diya lit here is an offering, never a reward.
Temple customs kept
Footwear is left at the steps, aarti follows the hours of a temple in India, and each deity receives the offerings that belong to that deity.
Only ever a devotee
No one plays as a deity or moves a murti. Everyone comes the same way: as a devotee, for darshan.
Free, quiet, and offered as seva
No advertising, nothing for sale and no account. It was made with devotion, as a personal seva.
With care
A note on respect
Ritual details and translations here are simplified. Customs differ from region to region and from family to family; please follow your own family’s and temple’s traditions, and a priest’s guidance where you have it.
If you notice something that should be corrected, the creator would be grateful to hear from you on LinkedIn or X.