Knowra Dravidian architecture Dravidian architecture Dravidian architecture is a South Indian temple tradition marked by stepped, pyramidal towers over sanctums, monumental gateways, and expansive temple compounds.
Vimana : A temple superstructure built above a Hindu shrine, especially the sanctum tower in South Indian temples. Its stepped pyramidal form distinguishes the sanctum tower from the towering gateways.
Shore Temple : An eighth-century Pallava temple complex at Mamallapuram, built beside the Bay of Bengal. Its stone shrines preserve an early monumental expression of the southern temple tradition.
Pallava dynasty : A South Indian dynasty that ruled parts of Tamil Nadu from roughly the fourth to ninth centuries. Pallava rulers sponsored early rock-cut and structural temples that shaped the tradition.
Temple town : An urban settlement whose layout, economy, or public life is strongly organized around a major temple. Large temple compounds often anchored settlements and drew people, trade, and services.
Gopuram : A monumental entrance tower over a temple gateway, often covered with sculpted figures. These gateways punctuate the enclosing walls of large Dravidian temple compounds.
Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur : An eleventh-century Chola temple in Thanjavur, crowned by a monumental stone vimana. Its soaring sanctum tower demonstrates the scale achieved under Chola patronage.
Chola dynasty : A Tamil dynasty that built a powerful South Indian empire, especially from the ninth to thirteenth centuries. Chola kings commissioned some of the tradition’s largest and most influential stone temples.
Chola bronze sculpture : A tradition of South Indian bronze images, especially Hindu deities made under Chola patronage. Temple ritual and processions created settings for these portable sacred images.
Garbhagriha : The innermost chamber of a Hindu temple, housing its principal deity or sacred image. The vimana rises directly above this innermost shrine.
Meenakshi Temple : A major Hindu temple complex in Madurai, known for its tall, sculpture-covered gopurams. Its gateways and nested precincts exemplify the mature, expansive temple complex.
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