A Hindu temple can be a separate structure or a part of a building. In most of the temples there is the presence of murtis or idols of the Hindu deity to whom the temple is dedicated. They are usually dedicated to one primary deity, called the presiding deity, and other subordinate deities associated with the main deity. Some of the temples are dedicated to several deities, whereas some have symbols instead of a murti.

The main focus of temple architecture in Vedic India was to blend the temple with its natural surroundings. A major consequence of this style of temple design, was the construction of several cave temples across the Indian subcontinent. The 5th century caves of Ellora are one of the most magnificent examples of Indian rock-cut architecture in the world. Most of the early Hindu cave temples were carved out of a single large rock. A prominent feature of these cave temples was the elaborate sculptures of various Hindu deities.

Temples in India were regarded as sacred places where man can forget all his sorrows and connect himself with almighty God. The temples are built on the principles of vastushastra. The vastushastras describe temple as a symbolic, miniature representation of the outer space. A typical Hindu temple consists of the following major elements - an entrance, often with a porch; one or more attached or detached mandapas or halls; the inner sanctum called the garbagriha, and the tower build directly above the garbagriha.

Some of the important Hindu temples in India are mentioned as below:
Lepakshi temple, Tirupati temple, Chattarpur temple, Akshar Dham, Lakshmi Narayan temple, Somnath temple, Dwarkadhish temple, Chamunda Devi, Sthaneshwar Mahadev temple, Jwalamukhi temple, Jhakhu Temple, Amarnath tmple, Raghunath temple, Bull temple, Vaishno Devi temple,Guruvayoor temple, Cave temple, Sabarimala temple, Tiruvalla temple, Khajuraho temple, Omkareshwar temple, Orcha temple, Kailash temple, Jagannath temple, Lingaraj Temple, Mahalakshi temple, Kalibari temple, Maha Bhairav temple, Hanuman mandir, etc are some of the significant one.