Temple architecture

The essentials

A Hindu temple is planned as a house for the deity. Its innermost chamber is the garbhagriha (womb-house), a small, dark room holding the main image. In front is the mandapa, a hall for devotees, sometimes joined by a vestibule (antarala). Above the sanctum rises a tower. Many temples have a path for walking around the sanctum (pradakshinapatha). Texts such as the Mayamata, the Manasara and King Bhoja's Samarangana Sutradhara give rules for temple planning.

Early structural temples appear in the Gupta period (around the 5th–6th century CE), such as Temple 17 at Sanchi (a flat-roofed shrine with a porch), the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh and the brick temple at Bhitargaon.

Three main styles developed:

• Nagara (north India): a curved tower called the shikhara, topped by a ribbed stone disc (amalaka) and a pot-shaped finial (kalasha).
• Dravida (south India): a pyramidal tower called the vimana rising in storeys; large gateways called gopurams in later temples; enclosures with walls.
• Vesara (Deccan): a blend of the two, seen in later Chalukya and Hoysala temples.

Key points

• Garbhagriha – sanctum; mandapa – hall; shikhara/vimana – tower.
• Amalaka and kalasha crown a Nagara shikhara.
• Gopuram – gateway tower, prominent in Dravida temples.
• Gupta temples are early, simple, with flat roofs at first.

Exam tips

• Learn to identify style from a description: curved tower = Nagara; stepped pyramid tower and gopurams = Dravida.

Common mistakes

• Calling the south Indian tower a shikhara in the technical sense — it is the vimana.
• Thinking the gopuram is above the sanctum; it is the entrance gateway.