🇮🇳 India · Hydraulic works
Dholavira Rock-Cut Reservoirs – Rann of Kutch
Early to Mature Harappan to Late Harappan · Harappan (Sindhu–Sarasvati)
16 Harappan rock-cut reservoirs (2600–1900 BCE) — 250,000 m³ desert catchment, Dholavira.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Hoysaleswara Temple Halebidu
Hoysala Empire 1121–1160 CE · Hoysala Hindu (Karnataka)
Hoysaleswara (1121–1160) – Hoysala double shrine (Shiva Hoysaleswara/Shantaleswara) on jagati platform with Dvikuta plan: stellate (star-shaped) 16-point vimanas, lathe-turned chloritic schist…
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Sanchi Great Stupa and Temple Complex
Maurya to Gupta (3rd c. BCE–5th c. CE; Great Stupa core 260 BCE, gateway 1st c. BCE) · Mauryan, Sunga, Satavahana, Gupta Buddhist
Great Stupa No.1 at Sanchi – Ashoka's 3rd c. BCE relic mound enlarged to 36m hemispheric brick-and-stone anda, 16m high stone torana gateways (Satavahana 1st c.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Pattadakal Temple Complex
Early Chalukya 7th–8th century CE, peak 740–760 CE · Hindu (Shaiva, Vaishnava) under Chalukya Vikramaditya II
Chalukya structural temples laboratory fusing Nagara and Dravida shikhara styles.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Elephanta Caves
Late Gupta to Early Chalukya 5th–8th century CE · Hindu (Shaiva) and Buddhist under Kalachuri/Chalukya patronage
Rock-cut Shaiva cave complex on Elephanta Island with colossal Trimurti sculpture, 5th–8th c. CE.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Mahabalipuram Group of Monuments
Pallava dynasty 630–700 CE · Hindu (Shaiva) under Pallava
Pallava seaside rock-cut trials: Shore Temple surviving tsunami and 27-m bas relief.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Kailasa Temple Ellora Outlier
Rashtrakuta c.756–773 CE · Rashtrakuta Hindu (Ellora)
Kailasa (756–773, Krishna I Rashtrakuta) – world's largest monolithic rock-cut temple, excavated top-down from 200,000 tonnes basalt: 33m shikhara, surrounding courtyard 98×48m, two-storey gopura,…
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Mahabodhi Temple Bodh Gaya
Maurya to Gupta and Pala (3rd c. BCE–6th c. CE core; current 5th–6th c. brick shikhara) · Indian Buddhist (Mauryan-Gupta-Pala)
Mahabodhi (5th–6th c. Gupta brick shikhara 55m) – on Vajrasana where Buddha attained enlightenment under Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa descendant).
🇮🇳 India · Ancient city
Fatehpur Sikri
Mughal 1571–1585 CE · Mughal (Akbar)
Mughal imperial city founded 1571 by Akbar as capital to honor Sufi Salim Chishti, combining Persian, Timurid and Gujarati-Rajasthani architecture in red sandstone.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Brihadeeswarar Temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Chola c.1035 CE · Chola Hindu (Tamil)
Gangaikonda Cholapuram Brihadeeswarar (1035, Rajendra Chola I) – sister to Thanjavur: 55m vimana, concave curve vs Thanjavur's straight, 9m Nandi, Simhakeni tank.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Chennakesava Temple Complex Belur
Hoysala 1117–1210 CE · Hoysala Vaishnava
Chennakesava (1117) – Hoysala Vishnu soapstone flagship commissioned by Vishnuvardhana after Talakad victory.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Airavatesvara Temple Complex Darasuram
Chola 12th c. (1146–1172 CE) · Chola Hindu (Rajaraja II)
Airavatesvara (1146–1172, Rajaraja II) – Chola chariot temple (Skt ratha) where front mandapa wheels are stone chariot wheels, music steps that resonate seven tones, and yali_balustrade.
🇮🇳 India · Archaeological wonder
Rani ki Vav (Queen's Stepwell)
Solanki Chaulukya 1022–1063 CE · Gujarati / Solanki Hindu (Maru-Gurjara)
Jewel-box stepwell (1022–1063 CE) built by Queen Udayamati in memory of Bhima I, 64 m long with seven descending galleries and 500+ principal sculptures.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Khajuraho Group of Monuments
Chandela period 950–1050 CE · Chandela / Bundelkhand Hindu and Jain
Eighty-five (25 surviving) sandstone temples (950–1050 CE) of Chandela dynasty, celebrated for Nagara shikharas rising in clustered peaks and intricate sculptures.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Great Stupa at Sanchi
Maurya to Gupta 3rd century BCE–12th century CE (great stupa 260 BCE, gateways 25 BCE–50 CE) · Maurya / Sunga / Satavahana / Gupta Buddhist
Earliest stone Buddhist stupa (Maurya 3rd c BCE, enlarged Sunga 1st c BCE–1st c CE) crowning hilltop at Sanchi, 36.5 m diameter hemispheric brick-and-stone dome encasing relics.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram
Pallava Dynasty 580–728 CE (Mamalla and Rajasimha phases) · Tamil / Pallava Hindu (Shaiva/Vaishnava)
Pallava (7th–8th c CE) coastal temple town with 40 rock-cut shrines: Shore Temple granite seaside, Five Rathas monolithic chariot-temples cut from single boulders, Arjuna's Penance 27 m bas-relief,…
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Badami Cave Temples
Early Chalukya, 6th–7th century CE · Hindu and Jain under Early Chalukya dynasty
Four 6th-c. Chalukya sandstone cave temples at Vatapi with Nataraja and Vishnu iconography.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya
Mauryan 260 BCE to Pala 12th c CE; temple late Gupta 5th–6th c · Indian Buddhist (Mauryan → Gupta → Pala)
Holiest Buddhist site where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment c.528 BCE under Bodhi Tree descendant.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Ajanta Caves
Satavahana early phase 200 BCE–100 CE; Vakataka renaissance 460–480 CE · Buddhist (Hinayana → Mahayana)
Thirty horseshoe-gorge rock-cut caves overlooking Waghora River with exquisite murals and sculptures: early 2nd century BCE–1st century CE Hinayana phase and later 460–480 CE Mahayana phase under…
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Ellora Caves
Late classical: Kalachuri, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta periods 600–1000 CE · Buddhist, Hindu (Shaiva), Jain under Rashtrakuta patronage
Largest rock-cut monastery-temple complex in world with 34 caves carved 600–1000 CE into basalt Charanandri Hills: 12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu, 5 Jain, including monolithic Kailasa Temple (Cave 16)…
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Sun Temple, Konârak
Eastern Ganga · Gangesvara Eastern Ganga (Narasimhadeva I)
Sun Temple, Konârak in Odisha, India is a Eastern Ganga temple complex attributed to Gangesvara Eastern Ganga (Narasimhadeva I) culture. Inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site (ID 246).
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Khajuraho Group of Temples
Chandela · Chandela Rajput
Khajuraho Group of Temples in Madhya Pradesh, India is a Chandela temple complex attributed to Chandela Rajput culture. Inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site (ID 240).
🇮🇳 India · Hydraulic works
Dholavira — Eastern Reservoir Rock-Cut Complex
Harappan (2650–2000 BCE) · Harappan Dholavira
Kutch Dholavira excavated by Bisht 1989–, signboard 10 Indus signs and stadium 300 m.