Pocket Temple

A pocket temple is a small closed shrine: a hinged case that opens to a deity inside and shuts flat to travel. It solves a problem a murti cannot, which is keeping a deity with you when you have no shelf to put one on. A bag, a desk drawer, a hotel room, a hostel, a glovebox.

Ours are gold and silver plated, and the range covers most of the pantheon plus the two traditions that make this format their own.

Who we make

Ganesha, Balaji, Radhe Krishna, Shreenathji, Ram Darbar, Nav Durga, Jagannath, Sai Baba, and the Ganesh Lakshmi Saraswati trio. Two are worth calling out because they belong to different traditions and are hard to find well made at this size: the Golden Temple pocket temple, the Harmandir Sahib rendered in gold, for Sikh households, and the Mahaveer Jain pocket temple for Jain households.

Most also come as a gift hamper, which is the easier thing to give.

Why this format, and who it suits

Three buyers keep coming back to it. Students and people in shared or rented rooms, where a full mandir is not practical. Frequent travellers, who want the deity to come along. And people buying a gift for either, since a pocket temple asks nothing of the recipient, no shelf, no daily ritual, no upkeep, and works the moment it is opened.

It is also a natural first devotional object for a young person, and a common gift when someone moves away for study or work.

Material and care

These are plated pieces, a real layer of gold or silver over a base, which is what keeps them light enough to carry. That also makes them display and travel pieces, not abhishek pieces: keep them dry, dust with a soft cloth, and never use water, metal polish or an acidic cleaner, which strip the plating. The hinge is the one moving part, so open and close it gently rather than forcing it.

If you want a shrine that will be actively worshipped with water and offerings, a solid brass murti on a chowki is the better answer. The wider plated range is in gold and silver plated idols.

As a gift

One of the most giftable formats we make, precisely because it needs nothing from the recipient. It suits a housewarming, a student leaving home, a new job in a new city, and travel. The gift-hamper versions arrive ready to give. See griha pravesh and housewarming gifts and corporate gifts, or the bulk order enquiry page. For full-size murtis of the same deities, see god idols and figurines.

Before you order

• Check the closed and open dimensions both. The point of the format is how small it packs.
• These are plated. Keep them dry, dust only, no abhishek.
• Open and close the hinge gently. It is the one moving part.
• Golden Temple and Mahaveer Jain forms are here for Sikh and Jain households.