Constructing a Gopuram. RAMBLINGS !

Dr Uday Dokras
1. Way-finders: They serve as way-finders for travelers. In ancient times devoid of
tall buildings, a gopuram could easily be seen from kilometers away thus
leading a lost traveler to the 'nearest city'.
2. Watchtowers: Gopurams could have easily been used as watchtowers. They
usually have stairs leading up till the top floor, from where you can keep a
watch on a large perimeter.
3. Positive energy: I'm not sure about this, but gopurams might have been built
to be a source of positive energy to people.
4. Show-off: Kings might have built highly ornate and tall gopurams to show-off
that they can.

Regarding the number of storeys and the statues, I don't think they hold any special
significance. From observing a gopuram, you might be able to tell who (the dynasty or
maybe the king) built the temple. But for that, you need to 'study' gopurams and their
architecture.

Gopuram:

It represents auspicious fire from Yagum/yajna. It is a symbolic representation of

entering Lord’s house through the fire that burns our ignorance of maya.

Storeys of Gopuram:

Generally built in odd numbers ranges from 3 to 13 mostly. The smallest in ancient
temples is Kailasanathar temple, Kanchipuram 3 storeys and tallest is srirangam
rajagopuram-13 storeys though it is recently built.

1
Rarely in even number - 20 storeys in Murudeshwar Temple

Learnings from Gopuram:

Gopuram is the sangama where bhakthi and history merges. some of the examples

1)Srirangam Vellai Gopuram: East Entrance White Gopuram:

Coloured in White in remembrance of Devadasi Vellayi who sacrificed her life in saving
the temple from Invaders.

In same gopuram you can also see the idols of two jeeyars who sacrificed their life for
the Temple (Exact Reason unknown).

The legend of Vellayi

2
2) Chidambaram Gopuram:

Idols of Kulothunga Chola II & Sekkizhar

Kulothunga II ordered sekkizhar to compile shaiva saints history Periyapuranam.sekkizhar

gave periyapuranam to the world in chidambaram temple.

Entry of Manikkavasagar

Manikkavasagar entered Chidambaram Temple and achieved salvation.

3
Temple Architects with Measuring Scale:

Idols of two Temple Architects with measurement scale used in the construction of
Temple

Image Credit: from Book -Tamizhaga Gopura Marabu (Tamilnadu Gopuram

Traditions ) by Kudavayil Balasubramanian

Likewise you can make hundreds of observations in the Temple Gopurams inf India.

Reference Book:

Tamizhaga Gopura Marabu (Tamilnadu Gopuram Traditions ) by Kudavayil

Balasubramanian

4
The temples in South India. The earliest known famous stone temple in Tamil Nadu will
be the Ratha Temples in Mahabalipuram built by the Pallavas during the 7th century.
These are rock cut temples - carved out of rocks / boulders.Then you ll find the later
Cholas building a temple out of stones in the starting of 9th century - the Vijayalaya
Choleswaran Temple at Narthamalai

After a century, you ll the find the construction of Tanjore Big Temple - the magnum
opus of the Chola architectural style. It was again built by the later Cholas in the 10th
century.The point is you see the evolution of the architectural style, capability of the
people over a period of years. In history, nothing comes out of the blue but you will
always find the precursor to it like the evolution of organisms.

This is the Tomb of Sultan Hoshang Shah at Mandu in the State of Madhya Pradesh.
Built in 1440, the Hoshang Shah’s tomb is a mausoleum built entirely of marble.
Considered to be India’s first marble monument, it is believed that the design and
architecture of Taj Mahal at Agra was inspired by this tomb. 200 years later, Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan sent one of the architects involved in the building of Taj Mahal,
Ustad Hamid to pay homage to the architects of this building which is known to us

through the inscription on the arched doorway.

Before building the Taj, the Mughals built another beautiful edifice completley in marble
pretty closer to Taj Mahal in Agra. It is the Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah. The mausoleum
was commissioned by Nūr Jahān, the wife of Emperor Jahangir, for her father Mirzā
Ghiyās Beg. The tomb, built between 1622 and 1628 represents a transition between the
first phase of monumental Mughal architecture – primarily built from red sandstone with
marble decorations, as in Humayun's Tomb in Delhi and Akbar's tomb in Sikandra – to its
second phase, based on white marble and pietra dura inlay, most elegantly realized in
the Tāj Mahal.

After the completion of the Taj Mahal, the Mughals built this one.

Unless you look deep into this picture, you might mistake it for the Taj Mahal. No
wonder it is called the Taj of the Deccan and it was designed inline with the Taj Mahal by
the son of the principal designer of the Taj Mahal. It is one of the finest Mughal buildings
existing in the south of India and it was built during the rule of Mughal Emperor
Aurangazeb but you can safely assume it wasn't built by him considering his austere
nature as well as his orthodox religious views. It was constructed by his son Prince Azam
Shah in memory of his mother Dilras Banu Begum and this beautiful mausoleum is
widely known as Bibi ka Maqbara- Tomb of the lady.

As you can see from the design & construction patterns, I believe the Taj Mahal to be a
Mughal Construction but not a Shiva Temple.

5
I have been to other mosques / Islamic monuments which had been converted /
constructed over temples or by the materials taken from the Hindu Temples and you
would see stark evidences / architectural designs in them like the ones given below

own understanding from my 2 year travels across India and my visit to huge
number of historical monuments in India. In my humble opinion, The Taj is nowhere
closer to the architectural grandeur & engineering prowess of the Indian Temples like
The Kailasanatha Temple in Ellora, The Big Temple in Tanjore, The Konark Sun Temple in
Odisha and I can go on. All these were 600 years older to Taj and I can only fathom if
India wasn't invaded what we would have constructed.

The Taj is not a Shiva temple and never was. There is overwhelming evidence that the
Taj Mahal was always just that- a monument to love. Usually I present answers giving
facts and scientific/historical evidence, but it is unnecessary in this case. All the
statements in this regard can be traced back to one person:

Purushottam Nagesh Oak. Now, shut off logic and reasoning for a minute before reading
the rest of the answer.

His other statements include:

1. Christianity is a derivative of Hinduism

2. Christian - Krishna sound alike
3. Vatican and the Papacy are Hindu derivatives (Vatican came from Vatika)
4. Stone henge is a Hindu structure
5. Islam is a derivative of Hinduism
6. Kabba is a Hindu structure/temple
7. Arabia was visited by Vikramaditya (Indian King)
8. All civilizations were born in India
9. Red fort is a Hindu structure

I could go on, but you get the general idea right? There are more theories of his that I
am not mentioning here, the more curiously inclined can do more digging.

When he filed a public interest litigation in court to declare the Taj a Hindu structure, it
was thrown out of court. To quote:

Somebody has a bee in his bonnet, hence this petition was the remark of a Division
Bench comprising Mr Justice SP Bharucha and Mr Justice Ruma Pal

India has a rich history inherited from various cultures. Why try to categorize these
structures according to religion?The builders of these structures had resources,
architectural genius and wanted to inspire awe and respect, not hate and prejudice.
Forget these conspiracy theories and focus on the beauty and symmetry that is universal.

6
Hinduism is a complete way of life which includes daily rituals, habits, culinary skills for
daily and special days/periods, plant based medications and most of all societal
interactions. Temple is part of what is known as “community meeting place” for
commoness in worship and seek mental balance.

Temples have always been a place of chants, purity, serenity, worship and communal
interaction for the general well being of one and all. It is to be noted that temple
structures have a conical roof top, images made from special rock formations and vast
space of emptiness which reverberate the chants which become part of daily routine.
This is where when a person sits down or walks around grounded (no footwear and
hence feet touches the ground) to absorb the positive vibrations and also absorbs
negative ions to balance them for a better day and most importantly mental stability. Of
course would it mean if one never visited a temple they would be mentally unstable -
not at all - the temple just augments the situation.

Temples have always been built traditionally as the center of every village or community
and it's “rajagopuram” or entrance stands tallest amongst the buildings around it. The
vessels which are made of high conductivity metal such as Gold, Copper, bronze, etc are
fitted and then connected through a string of structures to ground a lightning strike. This
protects the households around the temple.

Secondly the Rajagopuram has “vessels” which contain the germinating seeds of all
those cultivated in and around the area - certain temples only have three or four “heads”
whereas larger temples have many more - this is to accommodate the seeds which are
used by agriculturists around the area. A repository of seeds for a period in time. This is
retained in the structure for a maximum of 12years and then renovated with fresh set of
seeds. This seed vaults high up is preserved for distribution in the event of a regional
calamity either through excessive floods, epidemic or drought! Since it is considered part
of a worshipping center chances of theft or vandalism is minimum and also people will
respect the structure in awe than with evil intent.

The temples also played another role of preserving local culture, folklore and natural
resources. Take for instance Chidambaram, the temple has supported and encouraged
BharathaNatyam for centuries, the Tirupati Temple has ensured the forest lands, the
animals living within and the hills themselves are preserved forever! Temples instil a
moral obligation, divine fear and social responsibility amongst the community to ensure
preservation! Preservation encompasses not just resources but also values, culture and
even language!