South India temples
South Indian Temples are the most beautiful architectural expressions of religion in India. Tourists from across the globe show a great deal of interest in exploring the intricately carved and aesthetically designed temples of South India. Forming an integral part of the rich heritage of South India, these temple are a feather in the cap of India. South Indian temple architecture, also called Drāviḍa Style, characterized by its pyramidal, or kūṭina-type, tower. Variant forms are found in Karnataka (formerly Mysore) and Andhra Pradesh states. The South Indian temple consists essentially of a square-chambered sanctuary topped by a superstructure, tower, or spire and an attached pillared porch or hall (maṇḍapa, or maṇṭapam), enclosed by a peristyle of cells within a rectangular court.
The external walls of the temple are segmented by pilasters and carry niches housing sculpture. The superstructure or tower above the sanctuary is of the kūṭina type and consists of an arrangement of gradually receding stories in a pyramidal shape. Each story is delineated by a parapet of miniature shrines, square at the corners and rectangular with barrel-vault roofs at the centre. The tower is topped by a dome-shaped cupola and a crowning pot. The origins of the Drāviḍa style can be observed in the Gupta period. The earliest extant examples of the developed style are the 7th-century rock-cut shrines at Mahābalipuram.
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