The document describes the three main styles of Indian temple architecture - Nagara, Dravida, and Vesara. The Nagara style originated in North India and is characterized by a cruciform plan and curved, tapering tower. The Dravida style is associated with South India and features temples with multiple sides and a pyramid-shaped tower made of progressively smaller stories. The styles differ in plan, tower shape, and elements like pillars versus cruciform shapes.

1. INDIAN TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE
ACCORDINGTOTHEVARIOUSARCHITECTURAL
TEXTSWRITTEN IN EARLY MEDIEVAL
TIMES,TEMPLEARCHITECTURE CAN BE
BROADLY CLASSIFIEDAS NAGARA, DRAVIDA
ANDVESARA.

2. DIFFERENT STYLES OF
TEMPLE
 NAGARA STYLE IS ASSOCIATED WITHTHE LAND
BETWEENTHE HIMALAYAS ANDVINDHYAS.
 DRAVIDA STYLE WITHTHE LAND BETWEENTHE
KRISHNA AND KAVERI RIVERS.
 VESARA STYLE IS SOMETIMES ASSOCIATED WITH
THE AREA BETWEENTHEVINDHYAS AND THE
KRISHNA RIVER.

3. NAGARA STYLE
 THE NAGARA STYLE HAS ITS
ORIGIN INTHE STRUCTURAL
TEMPLES OFTHE GUPTA
PERIOD.
 DASHAVTARA TEMPLE OF
DEOGARH AND BRICK
TEMPLE OF BHITARGAON
ARE EXAMPLES OFTHIS
STYLE.
 TWO DISTINCT FEATURES OF
THE NAGARA STYLE ARE-
PLANNING AND ELEVATION

4.  THE PLAN IS SQUAREWITH A
NUMBEROF GRADUAL
PROJECTIONS INTHE MIDDLE
OF EACH SIDEWHICH IMPARTS
IT A CRUCIFORM SHAPE.
 THESE PROJECTIONSCAN
OCCURTHROUGHOUT THE
HEIGHT OFTHE STRUCTURE.
 IN ELEVATION IT EXHIBITSA
TOWER (SHIKHARA)
GRADUALLY INCLINING
TOWARDS IN A CONVEX
CURVE.
 THE PROJECTIONS INTHE PLAN
ARE ALSO CARRIED UPWARDS
TOTHETOP OFTHE SHIKHARA
AND IS CALLEDTHE REKHA
SHIKHARA.

5.  THE STRUCTURE CONSISTS OF
TWO BUILDINGS,THE MAIN
SHRINE TALLER AND AN
ADJOINING SHORTER
MANDAPA.
 THE MAIN DIFFERENCE
BETWEENTHESETWO ISTHE
SHAPE OFTHE SHIKHARA.
 INTHE MAIN SHRINE, A BELL
SHAPED STRUCTURE FURTHER
ADDSTOTHE HEIGHT.
 TEMPLES ARE FORMED OF
FOUR CHAMBERS-
GARBHAGRIHA, JAGMOHAN,
NATYAMANDIR AND
BHOGAMANDIR.

6.  ORIGINALLY IN NAGARA
STYLETHERE WERE NO
PILLAR.
 BYTHE EIGHTH CENTURYTHE
NAGARA STYLE EMERGES IN
ITS CHARACTERISTIC FORM.
 THE NAGARA STYLE EXHIBITS
DISTINCTVARIESTIES IN
ELABORATION.
 THIS STYLE IS SEEN FROMTHE
HIMALAYATOTHE NORTH OF
BIJAPUR DISTRICT INTHE
SOUTH,FROMTHE PUNJAB IN
THEWESTTO BENGALTOTHE
EAST.

7.  THEREFORE,THERE
ARE LOCAL
VARIATIONSAND
RAMIFICATIONS IN
THE FORMAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
THE STYLE INTHE
DIFFERENT
REGIONS.
 HOWEVER,THE
CRUCIFORM PLAN
ANDTHE
CURILINEARTOWER
ARE COMMON.

8. DRAVIDIAN STYLE
DRAVIDIANARCHITECTURAL STYLE IS
ASSOCIATED WITHTHETEMPLESOF
SOUTHERN INDIAOR DECCAN.
COMMONCHARACTERSTICS OFTHE
DRAVIDA STYLE ISTHE PYRAMIDAL
ELEVATIONOFTHETOWER (VIMARI
ORVIMANA)
VIMARI CONSISTSOF MULTIPLICATION
OF STOREYAFTER STOREY SLIGHTY
REDUCEDTHAN ONE BELOW,ENDING IN
A DOMICAL MEMBER,TECHNICALLY
KNOWNASTHE STUPI OR STUPICA.
VIMANA IS CROWNED BY A CHAKRA INA
LORDVISHNUTEMPLEANDATRIDENT IN
A LORD SIVATEMPLE.

9.  INTHIS STYLETHERE ARE
MORETHAN 4 SIDES IN
THE SANCTUM
 PILLARS AND PILASTERS
AREVASTLY USED INTHIS
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
 THEY ALSO HAVE
DEDICATED PAVILIONS,
FOR EXAMPLE ,SHIVA
TEMPLES HAVE
DEDICATED MANDAPA
OF NANDI ORVISHNU
TEMPLES HAVE GARUDA
MANDAPA

10.  IN DRAVIDIAN STYLE
TEMPLES,THE SQUARE INNER
SANCTUM IS SETWITHINA
LARGE COVERED ENCLOSURE
AND EXTERNALWALLSWERE
DIVIDED INTO NICHES BY
PLASTERS.
 DRAVIDIANTEMPLES HAVE
BOUNDARYWALLS.
 IN LATER PERIOD, STOREYS IN
VIMANA BECOME MOREAND
MORE COMPRESSED ,
PILLARED HALLSAND
CORRIDORSANDTHE
IMMENSEGOPURAMSWERE
ADDED.
PILLASTERS AND CORRIDOR
PLAN

11. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
NAGARA & DRAVIDIAN
NAGARA STYLE DRAVIDIAN STYLE
 THE PLAN IS SQUARE
WITH A NUMBER OF A
GRADUAL PROJECTIONS
INTHE MIDDLE OF EACH
SIDEWHICH IMPARTS IT A
CRUCIFORM SHAPE.
 INTHE PLANTHETEMPLE
REPRESENTS A SQUARE
CHAMBER AS A SANCTUM
CELL WITHINTHE SQUARE
ENCLOSURE SERVING AS
PRADAKSHINA .
PLAN
SIZE
SOUTHERNTEMPLES ARE MUCH LARGER IN COMPARISION

12.  THE NAGARA STYLE HAVE A
BEEHIVE SHAPEDTOWER
MADE UP OF LAYER UPON
LAYER OF ARCHITECTURAL
ELEMENTS SUCH AS KAPOTAS
AND GAVAKSAS, ALLTOPPED
BY A LARGE ROUNDCUSHION-
LIKE ELEMENTCALLEDAN
AMALAKA
 DRAVIDA OR SOUTHERN
STYLE HAS A PYRAMID
SHAPEDTOWER CONSISTING
OF PROGRESSIVELY SMALLER
STOREYSOF SMALL
PAVILIONS,A NARROW
THROAT, AND A DOME ONTHE
TOP CALLEDA SHIKHARA
SHIKHARA SHAPE
GOPURAM
 DRAVIDIANTEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE USUALLY HAS A
RAJA GOPURAM (BIGGEST
TOWER)ATTHE MAIN GATE AND
A SMALLTOWER FORTHE
SANCTUM SANCTORUM
 SOUTH INDIANTEMPLE
GOPURAMSARE EXTREMELY
INTRICATE FILLEDWITH STATUES