Rama

===Temples===
{{Main|Category:Rama temples|l1 = List of Rama temples}}[[File:Ram Temple, Ramtek - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Rama Temple at [[Ramtek]] (10th century, restored). A medieval inscription here calls Rama as ''Advaitavadaprabhu'' or "Lord of the Advaita doctrine".<ref>{{cite book |author=Hans Bakker |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=McwUAAAAIAAJ |title=The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature: Papers on Pilgrimage in South Asia |publisher=BRILL |year=1990 |isbn=90-04-09318-4 |pages=70–73}}</ref>]]
[[File:Painting of Lord Rama on a temple at Bhadrachalam in Khammam District.jpg|thumb|A rare 4th-armed Rama with Sita on his lap (left) and Lakshmana is the central icon of [[Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple, Bhadrachalam|Bhadrachalam temple]]]]
Temples dedicated to Rama are found all over India and in places where Indian migrant communities have resided. In most temples, the iconography of Rama is accompanied by that of his wife [[Sita]] and brother [[Lakshmana]].{{Sfn|Gupta|1991|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XQjgAAAAMAAJ&q=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman 36]}} In some instances, [[Hanuman]] is also included either near them or in the temple premises.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhat|first=Rama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMgclIr9aeEC&q=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman&pg=PA79|title=The Divine Anjaneya: Story of Hanuman|date=2006i|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-41262-4|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMgclIr9aeEC&dq=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman&pg=PA79 79]|language=en|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062747/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMgclIr9aeEC&q=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman&pg=PA79#v=snippet&q=why%20Rama%20always%20drawn%20with%20sita%20and%20lakshman&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hindu temples dedicated to Rama were built by early 5th century, according to copper plate inscription evidence, but these have not survived. The oldest surviving Rama temple is near [[Raipur]] (Chhattisgarh), called the Rajiva-locana temple at [[Rajim]] near the [[Mahanadi]] river. It is in a temple complex dedicated to Vishnu and dates back to the 7th-century with some restoration work done around 1145 CE based on epigraphical evidence.<ref>{{cite book|author=J. L. Brockington|title=The Sanskrit Epics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C |year=1998| publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-10260-4|pages=471–472}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Meister | first=Michael W. | title=Prasada as Palace: Kutina Origins of the Nagara Temple | journal=Artibus Asiae | volume=49 | issue=3/4 | year=1988 | pages=254–280 (Figure 21) | doi=10.2307/3250039 | jstor=3250039 }}</ref> The temple remains important to Rama devotees in the contemporary times, with devotees and monks gathering there on dates such as [[Rama Navami]].<ref name="Harle1994p207">{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl |url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/148 148]–149, 207–208}}</ref>

Some of Rama temples include:
* [[Ram Mandir, Ayodhya|Rama temple]], [[Ram Janmabhoomi|Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya]], [[Uttar Pradesh]].
* [[Bhadrachalam Temple]], [[Telangana]].
* [[Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta]], [[Andhra Pradesh]].
* [[Ramateertham|Ramateertham Temple]], [[Andhra Pradesh]].
* [[Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Kola Valvill Ramar Temple, Tiruvelliyangudi]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Veeraraghava Swamy Temple, Tiruvallur]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Adi Jagannatha Perumal Temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Mudikondan Kothandaramar Temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]].
* [[Vijayaraghava Perumal temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]].
* [[Punnainallur Kothandaramar Temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Eri-Katha Ramar Temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Sri Kalyana Ramaswamy temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Kothandarama Temple, Thillaivilagam]], [[Tamilnadu]].
* [[Kothandaramaswamy Temple]], [[Rameswaram]], [[Tamil Nadu]].
* [[Sri Kothanda Ramaswamy Temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Kothandaramar temple, Vaduvur]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Sri Yoga Rama temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Kodandaramaswamy temple]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Kothandaramaswami Temple, Nandambakkam]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Thriprayar Temple|Triprayar Sriramaswami Kshetram]], [[Triprayar]], [[Kerala]].
* [[Kalaram Temple]], [[Nashik]], [[Maharashtra]].
* [[Raghunath Temple]], [[Jammu district|Jammu]].
* [[Ram Mandir, Bhubaneswar]], [[Odisha]].
* [[Kodandarama Temple]], [[Chikmagalur]], [[Karnataka]].
* [[Odogaon Raghunath Temple]], [[Odisha]].
* [[Ramchaura Mandir]], [[Bihar]].
* [[Sri Rama Temple, Ramapuram]], Kerala.
* [[Thakurdwara Bhagwan Narainji]], [[Gurdaspur district|Gurdaspur]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
* [[Vilwadrinatha Temple]], [[Thiruvilwamala]], [[Kerala]].
* [[Perth Ram Temple]], [[Perth]], [[Australia]].