A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Koil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and devotion. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicated. The design, structure and symbolism of Hindu temples are deeply rooted in Vedic traditions, which use circles and squares in their architecture. The temple's design also represents the concept of recursion and the equivalence of the macrocosm and the microcosm through astronomical numbers and specific alignments related to the location of the temple and the connection between the deity and the worshipper. A temple incorporates all elements of the Hindu cosmos — presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of the Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life — symbolically presenting dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and karma.

Koil or Koyil or Kovil, is the Tamil term for a distinct style of Hindu temple with Dravidian architecture. Both the terms koyil and kovil are used interchangeably. In Tamil, kōvil is the word derived, according to the rules of Tamil grammar.