Temple Architecture: Nagara, Dravida and Vesara Styles
Complete notes on Indian temple architecture for exams: parts of a temple, the Nagara, Dravida and Vesara styles, rock-cut caves and the regional schools.
By GK24 Editorial Team· Published · 4 min read
A temple in India is not one building but a plan. Every stone temple, from a small shrine in a village to the Brihadeshwara at Thanjavur, grows out of the same idea: a dark cubical cell holding the image of the deity, a tower over that cell, and a hall in front where the worshipper stands. Examiners return to this topic every year because it is made of pairs that can be asked in one line: a term and its meaning, a style and its region, a temple and its builder. The notes below take the topic in that order.
The parts of a temple
The shrine chamber is the garbhagriha, literally the womb house. It is small, square, windowless and holds the main image; only the priest enters it. Over it rises the tower, called the shikhara in the north and the vimana in the south. In front is the mandapa, the pillared hall for the devotees, joined to the shrine by a short vestibule called the antarala. A passage for circumambulation around the shrine is the pradakshina patha. South Indian temples add a towering gateway in the enclosure wall, the gopuram, and the wall itself is the prakara.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Garbhagriha | The sanctum holding the deity, the most important part of the temple |
| Shikhara / Vimana | Tower over the sanctum: curving in Nagara, stepped and pyramidal in Dravida |
| Amalaka and kalasha | The ribbed disc and the pot finial that crown a Nagara shikhara |
| Mandapa | Pillared hall in front of the sanctum for the worshippers |
| Gopuram | Gateway tower in the enclosure wall of a South Indian temple |
| Panchayatana | Plan with a main shrine and four subsidiary shrines at the corners |
The three styles
Texts and examiners divide temple building into three styles. The Nagara style of north India stands on a raised platform called the jagati, has a curving shikhara topped by an amalaka and a kalasha, and normally has no enclosure wall or gateway. The Dravida style of the south puts the temple inside a walled compound entered through gopurams, and its vimana is a pyramid of shrinking storeys finished with an octagonal shikhara and a stupika. The Vesara style of the Deccan mixes the two, and Pattadakal in Karnataka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the standard example of the mixing.
Rock-cut beginnings and the first structural temples
Before temples were built they were cut. The Barabar caves in Bihar are the earliest rock-cut caves in India, of the Mauryan period. Buddhist chaityas and viharas were cut at Bhaja, Karle, Kanheri near Mumbai and Ajanta, while the Jain caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri in Odisha carry the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela. Elephanta near Mumbai is a Shaivite rock-cut group where the Trimurti Sadashiva is modelled in deep light and shadow, and the Kailasa temple at Ellora, cut for the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I, is a whole temple carved out of one rock from the top downwards. The first free-standing temples are Gupta: the brick temple at Bhitargaon and the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh.
The regional schools
| School | Region | Temples to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Odisha (Kalinga) | Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark | Lingaraja, Jagannath, Konark Sun Temple of Narasimhadeva I |
| Chandela | Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh | Kandariya Mahadeva, the tallest there, on a panchayatana plan |
| Solanki (Maru-Gurjara) | Gujarat and Rajasthan | Modhera Sun Temple, Dilwara Jain temples at Mount Abu |
| Hoysala | Karnataka | Chennakeshava at Belur, Hoysaleshwara at Halebidu, stellate plans in soapstone |
| Pallava | Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram | Monolithic rathas, the Shore Temple, Kailasanatha temple |
| Chola | Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram | Brihadeshwara of Raja Raja I, Airavatesvara at Darasuram |
| Vijayanagara and Nayaka | Hampi, Madurai, Srirangam | Virupaksha and Vittala temples, Meenakshi temple, tall gopurams |
Points that decide the question
- The Konark Sun Temple is called the Black Pagoda and is designed as the chariot of the sun god with stone wheels and horses.
- The Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur was completed by Raja Raja I in 1010 CE and is part of the Great Living Chola Temples inscribed by UNESCO.
- Hampi, the Vijayanagara capital on the Tungabhadra, shows the Dravidian style at its most elaborate, with the stone chariot and the musical pillars of the Vittala temple.
- Gopurams grew taller than the vimana under the Nayakas of Madurai, which is the opposite of the Chola practice.
- Kerala temples are marked by circular and apsidal shrines with tiered copper roofs, as at Vadakkunnathan in Thrissur.
Exam Point of View
Examiners test four things here. First, terms: garbhagriha as the most important part, shikhara against vimana, gopuram, antarala, amalaka, panchayatana. Second, style against region: Nagara in the north, Dravida in the south, Vesara and Pattadakal in the Deccan. Third, temple against builder or dynasty: Brihadeshwara with Raja Raja I, Kailasa at Ellora with Krishna I of the Rashtrakutas, Konark with Narasimhadeva I, Modhera with Bhima I, the Shore Temple with Narasimhavarman II. Fourth, cave site against state: Kanheri and Elephanta in Maharashtra, Udayagiri and Khandagiri in Odisha, Barabar in Bihar. The usual traps are calling the vimana a shikhara, confusing Udayagiri of Odisha with Udayagiri of Vidisha, and pairing Konark with Modhera.
Important Facts
| Sanctum | Garbhagriha, the small square cell holding the presiding deity |
|---|---|
| Tower | Shikhara in Nagara, vimana in Dravida |
| Three styles | Nagara (north), Dravida (south), Vesara (Deccan blend) |
| Vesara example | Pattadakal, Karnataka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site |
| Earliest rock-cut caves | Barabar caves, Bihar, Mauryan period |
| Monolithic temple | Kailasa temple, Ellora Cave 16, Rashtrakuta king Krishna I |
| Great Living Chola Temples | Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram |
| Black Pagoda | Konark Sun Temple, Odisha, Narasimhadeva I |
| Tallest temple at Khajuraho | Kandariya Mahadeva, Chandela dynasty |
| Hoysala material | Chloritic schist or soapstone, on star shaped plans |
| Oldest brick temple | Bhitargaon, Uttar Pradesh, Gupta period |
Practice MCQs on this topic
In the context of temple architecture, the most important part of the temple is:
- A.Gopuram
- B.Mandapam
- C.Pradakshina Patha
- D.Garbhagriha
Show answer
The garbhagriha, the womb house, is the small square windowless cell that holds the image of the presiding deity. Every other part of a temple is added around it: the tower rises over it, the hall stands in front of it and the circumambulatory passage runs around it.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following heritage sites shows the Dravidian style of architecture?
- A.Konark
- B.Bodh Gaya
- C.Akshardham
- D.Hampi
Show answer
Hampi on the Tungabhadra in Karnataka was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire, and its Virupaksha, Vittala and Hazara Rama temples are Dravidian work of the most elaborate kind: walled enclosures, towering gopurams, pillared kalyana mandapas, the famous stone chariot and the musical pillars.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following features distinguishes the Elephanta Caves from other rock-cut sites of early India?
- A.They are primarily Buddhist caves with large stupas.
- B.The caves focus on Shaivite themes and feature sculptural depth through light and shadow.
- C.They contain a mix of Jain and Vaishnavite depictions in pillar halls.
- D.The caves are entirely monolithic structures from the Mauryan period.
Show answer
Elephanta, on Gharapuri island near Mumbai, is a Shaivite rock-cut group whose panels tell Shiva stories: the Trimurti Sadashiva, Ardhanarishvara, Gangadhara, the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and Shiva as Nataraja.
Read the full explanation →The famous caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri are located in ______.
- A.Uttarakhand
- B.Chhattisgarh
- C.Tripura
- D.Odisha
Show answer
The twin hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri stand near Bhubaneswar and hold Jain rock-cut cells cut for monks in the first century BCE.
Read the full explanation →The Kanheri Caves, built by Buddhists, are located in which of the following states?
- A.Maharashtra
- B.Odisha
- C.Rajasthan
- D.Delhi
Show answer
The Kanheri caves are cut into a basalt hill inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai.
Read the full explanation →The Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur was built by which ruler?
- A.Rajendra Chola I
- B.Raja Raja Chola I
- C.Narasimhavarman II
- D.Krishnadeva Raya
Show answer
The Brihadeshwara or Rajarajeshwara temple at Thanjavur was completed about 1010 CE by Raja Raja I. Its vimana rises in shrinking storeys to over sixty metres and is crowned by a single huge capstone, the whole structure is of granite, and the courtyard holds one of the largest monolithic Nandi…
Read the full explanation →The curving tower raised over the sanctum of a north Indian temple is called the:
- A.Vimana
- B.Shikhara
- C.Gopuram
- D.Antarala
Show answer
In the Nagara style of north India the tower over the garbhagriha is the shikhara.
Read the full explanation →The monolithic Kailasa temple at Ellora was excavated during the reign of which dynasty?
- A.Rashtrakuta
- B.Chalukya of Badami
- C.Satavahana
- D.Yadava
Show answer
Cave 16 at Ellora, the Kailasa temple, was cut for the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the eighth century.
Read the full explanation →The temples at Pattadakal in Karnataka are best known because they show:
- A.Only the Nagara style
- B.Only the Dravida style
- C.A blending of the Nagara and Dravida styles
- D.Kerala style circular shrines
Show answer
Pattadakal on the Malaprabha was a coronation city of the Chalukyas of Badami, and its temples stand side by side in both idioms: the Papanatha and Galaganatha temples carry curving Nagara towers, while the Virupaksha temple, built by queen Lokamahadevi to mark Vikramaditya II's victory over the Pallavas, and the…
Read the full explanation →The Sun Temple at Konark, designed in the form of a chariot, was built by:
- A.Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty
- B.Anantavarman Chodaganga
- C.Mihira Bhoja
- D.Bhima I of the Solanki dynasty
Show answer
The Konark Sun Temple in Odisha was raised in the thirteenth century by Narasimhadeva I. The plan is the chariot of Surya: a high platform carrying twelve pairs of carved stone wheels drawn by seven horses.
Read the full explanation →The Chennakeshava temple at Belur and the Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu belong to which style?
- A.Pallava
- B.Hoysala
- C.Chandela
- D.Kalinga
Show answer
The Hoysalas ruled southern Karnataka from Belur and Dwarasamudra, today's Halebidu, and their temples are unmistakable: a raised star shaped platform called the jagati, shrines on a stellate plan, soft chloritic schist or soapstone that allowed jewellery and hair to be carved in minute detail, lathe turned pillars, and bands…
Read the full explanation →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a shikhara and a vimana?
Both are towers over the sanctum, but the shikhara of the Nagara style curves inward as it rises and carries an amalaka and kalasha at the top, while the vimana of the Dravida style is a pyramid of shrinking storeys finished with an octagonal shikhara and a stupika. In the south the word shikhara is used only for that small crowning member.
Which temple is called the Black Pagoda?
The Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha, built by the Eastern Ganga ruler Narasimhadeva I in the thirteenth century. Its dark stone mass was a landmark for sailors, who called it the Black Pagoda to distinguish it from the whitewashed Jagannath temple at Puri, the White Pagoda.
What is a panchayatana plan?
A plan in which the main shrine stands on a platform with four subsidiary shrines at the four corners, making five shrines in all. The Dashavatara temple at Deogarh and several Khajuraho temples, including Kandariya Mahadeva and Lakshmana, follow it.
Where is the Vesara style best seen?
At Pattadakal in Karnataka, where Chalukyan builders raised Nagara and Dravida temples side by side, and in the later Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebidu. Aihole and Badami nearby carry the early experiments that led to it.
Sources
- An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class XI), chapters on temple architecture and the rock-cut caves — NCERT
- World Heritage List: Great Living Chola Temples, Group of Monuments at Hampi and Pattadakal, Sun Temple at Konarak — UNESCO
- World Heritage and Centrally Protected Monuments — Archaeological Survey of India
