ARCHITECTURAL

INTERPRETATION OF HINDU
TEMPLE IN INDIAN CONTEXT:
NAGAR STYLE AND DRAVIDIAN
STYLE

BY
ABDUL MAZED

JAHANGIRNAGAR UNIVERSITY
Savar, Dhaka-1342

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 Abstract
Every style of building construction reflects a clearly distinctive basic principle
that represents a particular culture and era. In this context, the Indian Hindu
temples are not only the abode of God and place of worship, but they are also the
cradle of knowledge, art, architecture and culture. A temple structure is
considered to be everlasting and it should signify the art, architectural and
cultural milieu of the period built. It also helps to retain and expand the social and
cultural values of Hinduism among the people from one generation to another.
This study intends to show that, a temple structure irrespective of its value can
act as an artefact of the present generation’s culture, knowledge and technological
developments.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
“Architecture is that great living creative spirit which from generation to
generation, from age to age, proceeds, persists, creates, according to the nature of
man, and his circumstances as they change. That is really architecture.” -Frank
Lloyd Wright
A study of History of Architecture shows that the meaning of Architecture and its
relation to human experiences have been expressed in number of ways in the past.
The intellectual and creative development of man manifested itself in the varied
nature of architecture in different ages and across different civilizations. Thus, all
over the world, various civilizations and cultures have contributed greatly to the
art of building construction and which have been revealed in substantial form.
Every style of building construction reflects a clearly distinctive basic principle
that represents a particular culture and era. The typical quality of early Indian
Architecture lies in the expression of spiritual contents through its Temple
Architecture. Since the dawn of civilisation, humans have felt compelled to raise
structures to their gods. Before this, they modified things in nature and
worshipped Mother Earth. This chain of events explains the development of votive
structures. Starting with simple offerings placed in nature, places of worship
evolved into small shrines, then large stone structures that we see all over the
planet today.

1.2 AIM
This dissertation focuses on the study of the Hindu temple. There has been a lot
of research into Hindu temple architecture, still many aspects of this subject is
still unexplored. This study attempts to collate all the existing research that has
been undertaken in this field, and potentially contribute to the existing body of
knowledge through a structural analysis of Hindu Temple architecture. This
dissertation presents the philosophical and practical aspects that govern the
construction of a Hindu temple building with the aim to understand how it
influenced the form of the Hindu temple in its evolutionary process.
The various stages of temple construction and construction techniques that have
been employed in temple construction since ancient times has been studied not
only though archival research but also through a comparative study of these

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important aspects and their relevance in modern day Hindu temple construction.
Finally the dissertation aims to present a dimensional study of temples taken from
different time periods from the northern and the southern styles respectively for
the safety assessment of the temples.

1.3 OBJECTIVES
➢ Understand the basic concept of Hinduism and its relevance on the design
and construction of Hindu temple architecture.
➢ Present a study of the concept of a Hindu temple, its evolution, development
of its architectural styles along their materials of construction with the
main focus on Nagara or ‘north indian style’ and Dravidian or the ‘south
indian style’.
➢ Identify and synthesize the geometry and structural systems of Hindu
temple architecture with examples from the Nagara or ‘north indian style’
and Dravidian or the ‘south indian style’ Hindu temples.
➢ Studying the material characteristic, construction techniques and process
involved in the construction of a Hindu temple.
➢ Dimensional study of the temples with respect to the simple indexes for the
safety assesment of the stucture.

2.1 METHODOLOGY
Architectural documentation is a systematic process of recording all relevant
historical and functional information on heritage buildings. International charters
and conservation experts have given importance of documentation as a key phase
for the identification and conservation of heritage structures.
Architectural documentation is a dynamic and time-consuming process requiring
sufficient knowledge and technical support. Often, implementing low-cost
documentation techniques is more feasible and efficient. For this research, authors
adopted a participatory, low-tech and low-cost method of architectural
documentation. As a part of regular academic work, a team of teachers and
architecture students carried out the field survey and data documentation. With
a notion of engaging youth to promote conservation awareness and learning, this
research included few external volunteers. The survey team surveyed the entire
complex in a series of academic field works for data collection.
Since there was a lack of secondary data, authors had to rely mostly on oral
interviews. Primary data collection methods include field survey, visual
observation, oral interview, experts’ opinion. In the second stage of the research
survey data were graphically reproduced and analyzed. The authors applied a
comparative method to interpret the architectural style of the historic structures.
Later, major conservation threats were detected through visual inspection of the
structures.

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2.2 METHODOLOGICAL STEPS
Surveying and documentation of heritage buildings require a scientific
methodological process to achieve the desired conservation outcome. Many
international and national agencies have their recommendations and guidelines
for heritage documentation and survey methods. For this research, authors have
adopted the heritage recording guidelines proposed by Historic England. This
Historic England guidance sets out the process of investigating and recording
historic buildings for historical understanding [23]. Besides, the authors followed
another source of guidelines written by architecture conservationist Bob Hill [24].
Based on the guidelines, the following interventions were made in different phases

(Fig. 1) : Methodological stages and chronological activities

in the research.

3. THE TEMPLE: DIVINITY AND MAN

The ideology behind the designing of Hindu temples is to link man with the gods.
Popularly, Hindu temple is the seat and dwelling of god. But, metaphysically, it is
the concrete manifestation of supreme reality. “A Hindu Temple is microcosmic
representation of the macrocosmic Brahman.”- (Samarangana Sutradhara)
In this world the temple is the symbol of enlightenment, it is the place where god’s
presence can be felt and through rituals and ceremonies men can discover the
divine knowledge. The sacred and secular lives of Hindus are unified and for the
most part, the daily routines require numerous contacts with the divine, whether
it takes place in miniature temple at home or a local temple. Hence, temple
structures were built to establish differences between a man and other organisms.
A temple is also the product of a desire to transcend the world of man. The
principles of its construction, the forms of its architecture and decoration, as well
as the rituals that take place within its walls, are all aimed at ultimate liberation.

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4.1 THE HINDU TEMPLE
The Hindu Temples commonly known as Mandir in Hindi and derived from the
Sanskrit word Mandira, are identified by several names in different parts of India
as Koil or Kovil in Tamil, Devasthana in Kannada and Devalaya, in Telugu etc.
DEFINITIONS
➢ A space which is reserved for spiritual rituals such as prayer and sacrifice.
➢ A space which is believed to bring god and humans together.
➢ According to George Michell, The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its
Meaning and Forms, Chapter 1, TEMPLE is a space which reflects a
synthesis of arts, the ideals of dharma, beliefs, values, and the way of life
cherished under Hinduism. It is a link between man, deities, and the
Universal Purusha in a sacred space.

(Fig. 2): The major temple sites in India

4.2 ORIGIN OF TEMPLES

Man has never lived without some faith in man ‘supernal’ (relating to heaven). In
India, this faith in man ‘supernal’ has culminated in towering personality of the
Hindu Temple, the Prasada. According to Shrimad Bhagavat Purana, “when great
sages and saintly persons saw mutually disrespectful dealings (jealousy, insult,
disrespect) at the beginning of Tretā-yuga, deity worship in the temple was
introduced with all paraphernalia.

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4.3 FACTORS THAT AFFECT STYLES OF TEMPLE
➢ Geographical Location: Style and Construction of Temple changes due to
the change in Geographical Location due to the change in climatic, cultural,
racial, historic, linguistic differences and treatises according to that
location.
➢ Religious Requirement
➢ Ideas and intentions of the king/ the builder (who is fictionizing things)
➢ Skill of Labour and Craftsmen

4.4 DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEMPLES

Change in temple construction technique due to change in manuscripts of Aryans
and Dravidians. Aryan style of temple construction is known as “Nagara Style”.
Its construction techniques are derived from the manuscript, Brihath Samhitha
written by Varahamihira.The Dravidian style of temple construction is known as
“Dravidian Style”. Its construction techniques are derived from Mayamata,
Manasara Shilpa and Sanasivagurudeva Paddhati. VESARA style is a
combination of features of both Nagara and the Dravidian style of Construction.

(Fig. 3): Different types of Temple (Nagara, Vesara, Dravidian)

4.5 INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS AND PERIODS

ON TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION
➢ The history of Northern Style of temple begins from the Guptas and their
successors (5th to 7th century) and advanced to Early Chalukyas (7th to 8th
century), the Kalingas and Eastern Ganges (8th to 13th century), the
Pratiharas and Chandellas (8th to 11th century), the Maitrakas and the
Solankis (8th to 13th century) and the Rajputanas (8th to 12th century).

➢ In the Southern style of temples, the history begins with the Early
Chalukyas, and Kalchuris (6th to 8th century) and advanced to the Pallavas
(7th to 8th centuries), the Rashtrakutas (8th to 10th century), the Cholas
(10th to 11th century), the Hoyshalas and Later Chalukyas (11th to 14th
century) and the Vijayanagaras and the Nayakas (15th to 17th century)

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 (Fig. 4): Nagara style and Dravidian style of Temple.

In Northern India the evolution of Hindu Temple Architecture was largely

interrupted by the Muslim invaders whose presence was increasingly felt from the
11th century AD onwards. Many of the finest temples were destroyed during this
time. In contrast, the Southern India did not experience Muslim rule until a late
period and thus had a less disrupting effect upon Hindu tradition and architecture
of South India. The temples architecture of South India is therefore relatively
better preserved till present time.

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5.1 ELEMENTS OF HINDU TEMPLE
SHIKHARA
Shikhara means the tower or the spire. It is the pyramidal or tapering portion of
the temple which represents the mythological ‘Meru’ or the highest mountain
peak. The shape and the size of the tower vary from region to region.
GARBHAGRIHA
Garbhagriha means the womb chamber. It is nucleus and the innermost chamber
of the temple where the image or idol of the deity is placed. The chamber is mostly
square in plan and is entered by a doorway on its eastern side. The visitors are not
allowed inside the garbhagriha in most of the temples, only the priests perform
the rituals and worship.
PRADAKSHINA PATHA
Pradakshina patha means the ambulatory passageway for circumambulation. It
consists of enclosed corridor carried around the outside of garbhagriha. The
devotees walk around the deity in clockwise direction as a worship ritual and
symbol of respect to the temple god or goddess.
MANDAPA
Mandapa is the pillared hall in front of the garbhagriha, for the assembly of the
devotees. It is used by the devotees to sit, pray, chant, meditate and watch the
priests performing the rituals.
ANTARALA
Antarala means the vestibule or the intermediate chamber. It unites the main
sanctuary and the pillared hall of the temple.
ARDHAMANDAPA
meaning the front porch or the main entrance of the temple leading to the
mandapa.
GOPURAM
Gopuram means the monumental and ornate tower at the entrance of the temple
complex, specially found in South India.
PITHA
Pitha means the plinth or the platform of the temple.
TORANA
Torana means the typical gateway of the temple mostly found in North Indian
Temple.
AMLAKASHILA
Amlakashila means the fluted disc like stone placed at the apex of the shikhara.

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5.2 DISTINCT FEATURES OF ‘NORTHERN STYLE’ AND
‘SOUTHERN STYLE’ TEMPLES
The major and distinct features between the North Indian temple and the South
Indian Temple are their superstructures. In the North, the beehive shaped tower
is the most distinguished element called as the shikhara. The gateways in the
North are plain, simple and small. The plans of the north Indian temples are based
on square but the walls are sometimes broken at so many places that it gives an
impression of temple being circular in plan.

(Fig. 5): Northern style and southern style of temple.

The tower is made up of miniature shikhara creating an amazing visual effect

resembling mountain.In the South, the distinct features are the vimana and the
gopurams. The vimana is a tall pyramidal towerconsisting of several progressively
smaller storeys, the peak of the vimana is called as shikhara in the South Indian
Temples. This stands on a square base. The temple complex consisting of the main
shrine and other smaller shrines are enclosed by the outer wall called as the
prakara. Along these outer walls are the intricate and marvellous gateways called
as gopurams. These gopurams became taller and taller overpowering the main
shrine and its superstructure and dominating the whole temple complex.
COMPARISON CHART
NAGAR STYLE OF TEMPLE DRAVIDIAN STYLE OF TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE
Temples located in Northern India are Temples located in Southern India are
classified as Nagara Style. classified as Dravidian Style
Nagara Style has multiple Shikharas The Dravidian style has 1 single Shikhara.
In Nagara Style, there are multiple towers In Dravidian Style, it is always a single tower.
Central Tower is Curvilinear in shape Central Tower is shaped like a Pyramid
In Nagara style, the most prominent element In Dravidian Style, the most prominent
is the Shikhara element is the Gopuram.
At the entrance of Sanctum Sanctorum; In Dravidian Style, the entrance has
Ganga and Yamuna rivers are depicted in Dwarapalas.
personified form
In Nagara style, there is not much importance In this style, temple boundaries are given high
given to the temple boundaries importance
In Nagara style, pedestals are higher than the Pedestals are at ground level in the Dravidian
ground. Style.
In Nagara Style, deities are inside In Dravidian Style, deities are outside.

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6.1 MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION
The Indian temples were built with all types of materials depending upon the
availability from region to region. The range of material varied from timber to
mud, plaster, brick and stone during all periods and throughout India. The
materials play an important role in the overall appearance, construction
techniques and monumental character of these temples. As the earlier structures
were fashioned from less durable materials such as timber, brick and plaster the
early examples of Hindu architecture and art have mostly disappeared or are
detectable only by the most fragmentary remains. However, some of the relief
carvings and paintings show that the earlier Hindu temples were constructed in
timber and bamboo. Many of the later stone temples were modelled onwood and
bamboo architecture is apparent from the carvings, roof forms and window shapes.
This usage of timber and bamboo governs the form of temples mostly in the
Himalayan valleys and regions of Kerala and Bengal.
The remains of temples constructed in brick dates back to the centuries before the
Christian era. The brick and mortar temples were constructed in the region were
there was easy availability of brick and the availability of suitable stone were
limited. The construction of temple in stone is the most distinctive expression of
Hindu architecture. The highly evolved techniques of excavating and cutting
blocks of stone constitute one of the major technical achievements associated with
the history of the Hindu temple. The construction in stone dates back to 2nd and
3rd centuries in the form of rock cut sanctuaries and later in the form of temples
with use of stones like granite, marble, soap stone, sandstone and locally available
stones. The stones were used with most intricate and ornate carvings and
sculptors throughout India.

6.2 PURPOSE OF A TEMPLE

Sculptures depicting Purusarthas Irrespective of the fact that temples are built
for worship; they are also the structures created for interaction within oneself or
with other individuals/ surroundings for increasing the intellect of an individual.
They are created to achieve the purposes of life.(Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha)

7.1 THE GEOMETRY OF HINDU TEMPLE

Although, the elements of Indian temples may differ across regions, the real
motive was derived from a single philosophy of design. All small and large Hindu
temples built since historic times have been following the same philosophy. This
philosophy has apparently percolated to the remotest parts of India. The
Vastushastra and Shipshastra along with other general manuals on Hindu
architecture are still referred for the construction of the sacred Hindu temples.

7.2 COSMOLOGY AND HINDU TEMPLE

According to the ancient Hindu scriptures, the temple is the microcosm of the
cosmos and the cosmic order is perceived as integral to the human body, mind and
spirit; with the human being a microcosm. The Hindu temple structure presents
the significant information about the science and cosmology of the period in which

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they were constructed. It is a symbolism of the outer and the inner cosmos where
outer cosmos is expressed in terms of various astronomical connections between
the temple structure and the motions of the sun, the moon, and the planets,
whereas the inner cosmos is represented in terms of the consciousness at the womb
of the temple and various levels of the superstructure correspond to the levels of
consciousness.

8.1 THE GROUND PLAN OF HINDU TEMPLE

The plan of a temple is the replica of the Vastupurusamandala, the grids of the
square of 8 x 8. The Nagara style of temples in the West and the Central India
followed the Orthogonal grids of the mandala. In examples from 7th century at the
Vishnu Temple Deogarh in Madhya Pradesh, the square grid was modified by
extending one time on each side outwards. Further, during the 10th century at the
Surya temple, Modera the square grid was modified by extending twice on each
side outwards. Later on, in the 11th century the Hindu temple plan became
complex and reached their final form. This time the square grid was modified by
extending thrice on each side outwards, The Kandariya Mahadev Temple at
Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh is the best example for this.

(Fig. 6): Ground plan of Temple in different stages

The temples in the South India in the early 7th to 8th century and later in the
13th century developed the stellate plans meaning the plan of the garbhagriha
was in the elaborate star shaped. These complex plans were derived from the basic
square. This was achieved by rotating the square around its fixed centre, and

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turning it diagonal through a series of equal angles. Thus, the corners formed by
overlapping so many squares resulted in a star. The number of points and their
proportions could be varied merely by changing the angle through which the
diagonal was turned up at every step.

8.2 THE STRUCTURAL SYSTEM OF THE HINDU TEMPLES

The basic construction technique used in the Hindu temple was the Trabeated
system or the post and the beam method and which was extended by the use of
corbelling techniques. This method was originally used for wooden construction in
India and was later adopted for the stone structures as well.

8.2.1 TRABEATED SYSTEM

In the Trabeated system only the horizontal and the vertical members are used
and the stability is achieved by the massive arrangements of vertical elements
such as pillars and pilasters together and heavy cross beams and lintels. The
arrangement of the internal ceilings in the Hindu temple were deliberately
confined to the overlapping of the one stone course with the another or,
alternatively, to the laying of the diagonal and square stone course to produce
designs with rotating and diminishing squares.Later in the 10th and 11th
centuries the internal ceilings were spanned circular stone courses, seated one
above the other in receding diameters, to produce complex designs.

8.2.2 CORBELLING SYSTEM

In the corbelling system the stones or the bricks in each horizontal course are
projected out to bridge the gap between the two walls to diminish until it can be
closed with a single piece of stone or brick. The corbelling system was used to
create the interiors of the temple and the stone shells of the super structure that
rise above the sanctuary. Later in the 13th century the use of iron clamps and
wedges to hold the stone slabs together, allowed the special feature of corbelling
in which horizontal stone layers were projected out over large spans and cut into
unusual shapes to produce highly decorative ceiling schemes. The use of mortar
was pointless because there being almost no inclined pressure to distribute
between the courses of masonry. Therefore, the Hindu temple architecture
masonry developed as dry masonry system.

9.CONCLUSIONS
The temple architecture has given India a truly magnificent form of architecture.
The construction technology used in the construction of the Hindu temple, the
processes involved during its construction, the human skills required and methods
utilized by architects and their team, all of this together bring out the art, science
and philosophy behind the construction of the Hindu temple. Today, as new
temples continue to be built the character of Hindu temples follow age old
traditions, though its architectural style is influenced by the local architectural
styles and locally available building material and skills. The dimensional study of
temples by taking examples from primarily ‘north’ and ‘south’ Indian temples is
an attempt to graphically analyse the structures with respect to its structural
stability.

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 The finding of the above studies is that the stability of the temple structure
depends mainly on the geometrical compatibility of the elements with respect to
the load applied rather than material failure. The analysis therefore constitutes
an important step in safety assessment of this kind of structures. The data
concerning the main geometrical property of temple from the ‘north’ and ‘south’ of
India here have been collected and elaborated through some specific though
limited number of examples. In spite of the limited number of samples it is possible
to find some interesting trend even though the absence of a statistical validity
constitutes a starting point for future works concerning the stability analysis of
the temples."

REFERENCE
Michell, G. 1988. The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to its Meaning and Forms.
Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.

Tomory, E. (1982) A history of Fine Arts in India and the West. Madras: Orient
Longman Limited.

Barker, L. M. 1969. Pears Cyclopaedia. London: Pelham Books Ltd.

Brown, Percy. 1942. Indian Architecture: Buddhists and Hindu Period. Bombay:
Taraporevala & Sons.

Rowland, B. 1953. The Art and Architecture of India. Harmondsworth: Penguin

Books.

Building science of Indian Temple Architecture. Shwetha Vardia.

Huntington, S.L. (1985)The Art of Ancient India.New York: Weatherhill.

BYJU'S.(2022) Difference between the Nagara Style and Dravidian Style Temple
Architecture.[online] Available from: https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/difference-
between-nagara-and-dravidian-style/ [Accessed: 20 February 2022].

Wikipedia.(2022) Hindu Temple Architecture. [online] Available from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_temple_architecture [Accessed: 20 February
2022].

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