Temple Building Style

Basic Forms of Hindu Temple

• Sanctum, originally a small cube with a single entrance that eventually expanded into a bigger chamber (garbhagriha, literally "womb-house"). The primary icon, which is the subject of intense ritual attention, is intended to be housed in the garbhagriha.
• A mandapa is the name for the temple's entryway, which could be a portico or a colonnaded hall with room for many worshippers.
• Free-standing temples typically have a mountain-like spire, which in South India is known as a vimana and can take the form of a shikhar in North India.
• The major deity's mount or vehicle, known as the ....