Hindu Temples

The Hindu Temple is also called Mandir. It is reserved for spiritual and religious activities. A part of building or the whole building can be exclusively meant for worship .The temple is dedicated to a Hindu deity and the statue of this deity or murti is a unique feature of the temple. This deity is the presiding deity. The temple is sometimes also dedicated to other subordinate deities.

One has to be bare footed to enter the temple. Shoes are not allowed. The mandir should be clean and respected. The bell is rung when the praying or worshipping of the god is going on. The offerings that are given to the god constitutes of flowers and fruits.

The Temple architecture is a religious architecture and is related to sacred geometry and astronomy. The temple is a place of sanctity. Any hindu temple has common features such as

Inner sanctum
The garbha griha or the womb-chamber
A congregation hall
Possibility of an antechamber and a porch

The tower has a shikara. This shikara is like a tower.

On the basis of Architecture the Hindu temples are of three types. They are Nagara, Dravida and Vesara.

Nagara : The nagara style is also called the north Indian temple style. In this style there is Shikhara. The shikhara is a beehive shaped tower. Layer of architectural elements such as gavaksas and kaptas are placed one above the other. This is topped by Amalaka. Amalaka is a large round cushion like element. The whole plan is square based.

The tower give a circular impression just because the walls are broken up. Sometimes many smaller reproductions surround the central shaft. The Chandella temples are the best example of Nagra Style Temples. Most of the ancient northern temples no longer exist and were destroyed during the Islamic rule.

Dravida : The Dravida style is also called the south Indian temple style. It developed in nearly 7^th century. These temples have a pyramid shaped tower. This tower consists of

Small pavilions,
A narrow throat and
Shikhara (Dome on the top)

The repeated storey gives a horizontal visual thrust. The deities were carved on the stone on the inside wall and the outside wall of the temple. Usually the deities are made of panchdhatu. Panchdahtu means five metals -gold, silver, copper, zinc and tin.

Vesara : The vesara style is also called the hybrid or the deccan temple style. It existed in the modern states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Hoysala temple is an example of Vesara style architecture.

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