THE TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE STYLES IN INDIA

The Temple Architecture styles:

The northern style, technically called Nagara, is distinguished by the

curvilinear towers. It originated during the Gupta period (320 -650 AD)
and

is

found

mostly

in

North

and

Central

India.

The

major

developments in temple architecture were during:

Dravida
The evolution of Southern temples were as follow:

Nagara

750 1250 AD [AD/CE] in Orissa

950 1050 AD in Central India

10th to 11th Century in Rajasthan and

11th to 13th Century in Gujarat.

The temple complexes at TIGAWA (In modern MADHYA PRADESH),

NACHNA in RAJASTHAN and DEOGARH in UTTAR PRADESH are
examples of this. Some of temples worth seeing are LINGARAJA temple
at Bhubaneshwar, JAGANNATHA temple in Puri, SURYA temple at
Konarak. Earliest temples in north and central India which have
withstood the vagaries of time belong to the Gupta period, 320-650 A.
D. Mention may be meda of the temples at Sanchi, Tigawa (near
Jabbalpur in Madhya Pradesh), Bhumara (in MP), Nachna (Rajasthan)
and Deogarh (near Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh).

The southern style, known as the dravida, has its towers in the form of
truncated pyramids. The southern style DRAVIDIAN temples had its
genesis during the age of the PALLAVAS of Kanchipuram (600 -850 AD)
and later developed by the CHALUKYAS of Badami and PANDYAS of
Madurai.

The

temple

complexes

at

MAMMALAPURAM

MAHABALIPURAM in Tamil nadu, LAKDHAN temple in Aihole and

Kasinatha temple in Pattadakkal are examples of this style of
architecture.

Pic: Jvaraharesvara Temple at Kanchipuram

600 -850 AD in Tamil nadu during the period of the Pallavas ( rock cut
and RATHA style temples of Mahabalipuram, Kailasanatha and Vaikunta
Perumal temples of Kanchipuram)
900 850 in Tamil Nadu during the Chola dynasty (Brihadeeshwara and
Srirangam temples)
1336 1565 during the period of the Vijayagara empire in Karnataka
(Pampavati and Sri Vithala temples at Hampi)
1600 to 1700 during the Nayaks of Madurai. (Enlarged the existing
Meenakshi temple complex by making it ornate and adding pillared
corridors).

Pic: The south Tower of Madurai Meenakshi Temple. Photograph by

Thresy Anil.
Among the earliest surviving temples in South India are found in Tamil
Nadu and northern Karnataka. The cradle of Dravidan school of
architecture was the Tamil country which evolved from the earliest
Buddhist shrines which were both rock-cut and structural. The later
rock-cut temples which belong roughly to the period 500-800 A.D. were
mostly Brahmanical or Jain, patronised by three great ruling dynasties
of the south, namely the Pallavas of Kanchi in the east, the Calukyas of
Badami in the 8thcentury A.D, the Rastrakutas of Malkhed came to
power and they made great contributions to the development of south
Indian temple architecture. The Kailasanatha temple at Ellora belongs
to this period.

Vesara (vEsara):

Pic: Hoysala pillars in Belur temple

Pic: Belur temple Photographs by Bindu P V

Vesara (vEsara) ( ) is the name given to a particular
architectural style which was prevalent in Karnataka for a number of

centuries during the medieval era. It is essentially a combination of the

nAgara and drAviDa styles which are typical of North India and the
far South respectively.
The geographical position of Karnataka, the wide spread activities of
the important royal dynasties and an attitude which is not unduly
stubborn might have prompted this amalgamation of styles.

This phenomenon is observed right from the days of the architectural

endeavours of Badami Chalukyas till the days of the Vijayanagara
Empire. The word has been given two or three etymological
explanations. Firstly, it is deemed to be a corrupt form of the Sanskrit
word mishra meaning mixed denoting a mixture of two styles.
Secondly, vEsara in Sanskrit means a mule which again is a hybrid of
two animals. Interestingly, the Kannada word for mule is hEsaragatte
which can be easily linked to vEsara. Thirdly, vishra means an area
wherein one takes a long walk. The quarters of Buddhist and Jain
monks who left urban areas to live in cave temples were called viharas.

The VESARA style temples were influenced by the Buddhist apsidal

chapels and evolved during the period the Later CHALUKYAS.
This is also in conformity with the prevalence of Vesara style of
architecture in the Deccan and central parts of South Asia vis--vis
Nagara style prevalent in North India and Dravida style prevalent in
South India.The Vesara style is also described in some texts as the
'Central Indian temple architecture style' or 'Deccan architecture'.
However many historian agree that the vesara style originated in what
is today Karnataka. The trend was started by the Chalukyas of Badami

(500-753AD) who built temples in a style that was essentially a mixture

of the nagara and the dravida styles, further refined by the
Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta (750-983AD) in Ellora, Chalukyas of
Kalyani

(983-1195

AD)

in

Lakkundi,

Dambal,

Gadag

etc.

and

epitomized by the Hoysala empire (1000-1330 AD).

According to Cousens the famous scholar, the Vesara style reduces the
height of the temple towers even though the numbers of tiers are
retained. This is accomplished by reducing the height of individual
tiers. The semi circular structures of the Buddhist chaityas are also
borrowed as in the Durga temple at Aihole.
Many temples in Central India and the Deccan have used the
Vesara style with regional modifications. The Papanatha temple (680
A.D.) in particular and some other temples to a lesser extent located at
Pattadakal

demonstrate

panache

for

this

stylistic

overlap.

The

Svargabrahma temple at Alampur in the state of Andhrapradesh, has

similar characteristics.
This trend of merging two styles was started by the Chalukyas
of Badami (500-753AD) who built temples in a style that was essentially a mixture of the nagara and the dravida styles, further refined by
the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta (750-983AD) in Ellora, Chalukyas of
Kalyani (983-1195 AD) in Lakkundi, Dambal, Gadag etc. and epitomized by the Hoysalas (1000-1330 AD). Most of the temples built in
Halebid, Belur and Somanathapura are classified under this style. The
surfaces in these Hoysala temples are carved in high-relief with
detailed repeating patterns of miniature shrine models, distinguishing
them also from contemporary temples in other parts of India that have
an elaborate use of human and animal figures on their decorative
exterior.
The temples built in the Vesara style are found in other parts of
India also. They include temples at Sirpur, Baijnath, Baroli and
Amarkantak. The temple complex at Khajuraho is a typical example of
the Vesara style.In the west (northern Karnataka) the Aihole and
Pattadakal group of temples (5th to 7th centuries) show early attempts
to evolve an acceptable regional style based on tradition. Among the
better known early structural temples at Aihole are the Huchimalligudi
and Durga temples as also the Ladkhan temple, all assigned to the
period 450-650 A.D. Equally important are the temples of Kasinatha,
Papanatha, Sangamesvara, Virupaksa and others in Pattadakal near
Aihole as also the Svargabrahma temple at Alampur (Andhra Pradesh).

It is in some of these temples, built by the later Calukyas, that we

come across the vesara style, a combination of the northern and the
southern modes.
There are many ancient texts laying down the formal architectural
styles prevalent in the various regions so that the comprehensive text
called the Vastu Sastra has its sources in the Sutras, Puranas and
Agamas besides Tantric literature and the Brhat Samhita. But all of
them are agreed that basically styles can be divided into nagara,
dravida and vesara. They employ respectively the square, octagon and
the apse or circle in their plan. In its later evolution when the vesara
style adopted the square for the sanctum. The circular or stellar plan
was retained for the vimana. These three styles do not pertain strictly
to three different regions but as indicating only the temple groups. The
vesara, for instance, which came to pravail mostly in western Deccan
and south Karnataka was a derivation from the apsidal chapels of the
early Buddhist period which the Brahmanical faith adopted and vastly
improved. In its origin, the vesara is as much north Indian as it is west
Deccanese. Similarly among the 6th 7th century shrines of Aihole and
Pattadakal we find evidance of nagara style in the prasadas or
vimanas.

The

dravida

or

Tamilian

style

cecame

very

popular

throughout south India only from the Vijayanagar times onward. While
the prasada or vimana of the nagara style rises vertically from its base
in a curvilinear form, that of the dravida rises like a stepped pyramid,
tier upon tier. The northern style came to prevail in Rajasthan Upper
India, Orissa, the Vindhyan uplands and Gujarat.
During the next thousand years (from 600 to 1600 A.D.) there was a
phenomenal growth in temple architecture both in quantity and quality.
The first in the series of southern or dravidian architecture was
initiated by the Pallavas (600-900A.D.) The rock-cut temples at
Mahabalipuram (of the ratha type) and the structural temples like the
shore temple at Mahabalipuram and the Kailasanatha and Vaikuntha
Perumal temples in Kancheepuram (700-800 A.D.) are the best
representatives of the Pallava style. The Pallavas laid the foundations
of the dravidian school which blossomed to its full extent during the
Colas, the Pandyas, the Vijayanagar kings and the Nayaks. The
temples, now built of stone, became bigger, more complex and ornate
with sculptures. Dravidian architecture reached its glory during the
Cola period (900-1200 A.D.) by becoming more imposing in size and
endowed with happy proportions. Among the most beautiful of the Cola
temples is the Brhadisvara temple at Tanjore with its 66 metre high
vimana, the tallest of its kind. The later Pandyans who succeeded the

Colas improved on the Colas by introducing elaborate ornamentation

and big sculptural images, many-pillared halls, new annexes to the
shrine and towers (gopurams) on the gateways. The mighty temple
complexes of Madurai and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu set a pattern for
the Vijayanagar builders (1350-1565 A.D.) who followed the dravidian
tradition. The Pampapati and Vitthala temples in Hampi are standing
examples of this period. The Nayaks of Madurai who succeeded the
Vijayanagar kings (1600-1750 A.D.) made the dravidian temple
complex even more elaborate by making the gopurams very tall and
ornate and adding pillared corridors within the temple long compound.
Contemporaneous with the Colas (1100-1300A.D.), the Hoysalas who
ruled the Kannada country improved on the Calukyan style by building
extremely ornate temples in many parts of Karnataka noted for the
sculptures in the walls, depressed ceilings, lathe-turned pillars and fully
sculptured vimanas. Among the most famous of these temples are the
ones at Belur, Halebid and Somanathapura in south Karnataka, which
are classified under the vesara style.
[Bhumija is a variety of northern Indian Sikhara (tower or spire on top
of a shrine) that is particularly popular in temples of western India,
northern Deccan and the Malwa regions in India. It comprises a central
Latina projection, tapering towards the top on all four faces. The
quadrants so formed are decorated with miniature spires, in horizontal
and vertical rows, all the way to the top.[1]
shikhara, ( Sanskrit: mountain peak) also spelled shikara, also called
shikar, in North Indian temple architecture, the superstructure, tower,
or spire above the sanctuary and also above the pillared mandapas
(porches or halls); it is the most dominant and characteristic feature of
the Hindu temple in the north. The North Indian shikhara is basically of
two types:
(1) the latina, curvilinear in outline, the type most usually found above
the sanctuary; and
(2) the phamsana, rectilinear in outline and capped by a bell-shaped
member, the form more usually found above the mandapa. The latina
shikhara is composed of a series of horizontal roof slabs gradually
receding toward the top and provided with projections that extend
from the base and wall of the temple. The surface of the shikhara is
covered with a vinelike tracery composed of diminutive chandrashalas
(ogee arches). Above the truncated top (skandha) projects a necking
on which rests a large grooved disk (amalasaraka), and above it sits a
pot with a crowning finial. Each story is indicated by miniature
amalasarakas at the four corners, repeated all the way to the top. The

latina shikhara has two further variations: the shekhari and the
bhumija. The shekhari consists of the central latina spires with one or
more rows of half spires added on either side and miniature shikharas
clustered along the base and corners. The shekhari was popular from
the 10th century onward and can be observed on most Central Indian
temples;

the

Lakshmana

and

Kandarya

Mahadeva

temples

at

Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, have excellent examples.

The bhumija variation has a flat vertical projection in the centre of
each of the four sides, the quadrants between being filled with rows of
miniature shrines all the way up to the top of the tower. The bhumija
temple was particularly popular in Malwa, in the western part of
Madhya Pradesh, and in the Deccan; an example is the 11th-century
Udayeshvara temple at Udayapur, Madhya Pradesh.

According to South Indian architecture texts, the term shikhara is

reserved for the dome-shaped crowning cap, though art historians
have generally used the term to designate all temple spires, north and
south. The South Indian spire, known as the kutina type, is quite
different in shape from the North Indian shikhara, having a pyramidal
storied arrangement, with each story (bhumi) stepped and relatively
realistically delineated.]