DRAVIDIAN

ARCHITECTURE
 INTRODUCTION
• Dravidian architecture or the South Indian temple style is an architectural
idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged in the southern part of
the Indian subcontinent or South India and in Sri Lanka, reaching its final
form by the sixteenth century. 
• South India was little effected by outside invasion ,it enjoyed full
freedom ,hence Dravidian architecture developed into its own form and
tradition.
• The south Indian style is mainly confined to the construction of temples.
• The Hindus considered the temple as a microcosm of the cosmic man . In
all the Dravidian temples one finds the God to whom the temple is
dedicated. 
• In Hindu temples the most distinctive difference from north Indian styles
is the use of a shorter and more pyramidal tower over the garbhagriha or
sanctuary called a vimana, where the north has taller towers, usually
bending inwards as they rise, called shikharas. 
• The majority of the existing structures of the dravidian architectural style are
located in the southern Indian states of Tamil nadu, karnataka , kerala and
Andra pradesh.
 HISTORY
• Dravidian architecture dates back from 600AD to 1000AD.
• Dravidian architecture and symbolism is based on texts such as the
Agamas.
• The Agamas are a collection of Tamil and Sanskrit scriptures chiefly
constituting the methods of temple construction and creation of murti,
worship means of deities, philosophical doctrines, meditative practices,
attainment of sixfold desires and four kinds of yoga.
• Mayamata and Manasara shilpa texts estimated to be in circulation by
5th to 7th century CE, is a guidebook on Dravidian style of Vastu
Shastra design, construction, sculpture and joinery technique.
• Isanasivagurudeva paddhati is another text from the 9th century
describing the art of building in India in south and central India. In north
India, Brihat-samhita by Varāhamihira is the widely cited ancient Sanskrit
manual from 6th century describing the design and construction
of Nagara style of Hindu temples. 
 COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE 

• Chola style temples consist almost invariably of the three following parts, arranged in
differing manners, but differing in themselves only according to the age in which they
were executed:
• The porches or Mandapas, which always cover and precede the door leading to the cell.
• Gate-pyramids, Gopuras, which are the principal features in the quadrangular enclosures
that surround the more notable temples. Gopuras are very common in Dravidian temples.
• Pillared halls (Chaultris or Chawadis) are used for many purposes and are the invariable
accompaniments of these temples.
• Besides these, a South Indian temple usually has a tank called the Kalyani or Pushkarni –
to be used for sacred purposes or the convenience of the priests – dwellings for all the
grades of the priesthood are attached to it, and other buildings for state or convenience.
CHARACTERISTIC
FEATURES 
• The temple is enclosed within a compound wall.
• Gopuram: The entrance gateway in the centre of the front wall.
• Vimana: The shape of the main temple tower. It is a stepped pyramid that rises up geometrically (unlike the Nagara style
Shikhara that is curving).
• In the Dravida style, shikhara is the word used for the crowning element at the top of the temple (which is shaped like a
stupika or octagonal cupola).
• At the entrance to the garbhagriha, there would be sculptures of fierce dvarapalas guarding the temple.
• Generally, there is a temple tank within the compound.
• Subsidiary shrines could be found wither within the main tower or beside the main tower.
• In many temples, the garbhagriha is located in the smallest tower. It is also the oldest. With the passage of time and the rise of
the population of the temple-town, additional boundary walls were added. The newest structure would mostly have the
tallest gopuram.
• Example in the Sriranganathar Temple at Srirangam, Tiruchirappally, there are 7 concentric rectangular enclosure walls each
having gopurams. The tower at the centre has the garbhagriha.
• Famous temple towns of Tamil Nadu: Kanchipuram, Thanjavur (Tanjore), Madurai and Kumbakonam.
• In the 8th to 12th centuries – temples were not confined to being religious centres but became administrative centres as well
with large swathes of land.
 •  Dwarapalakas - twin guardians at the
main entrance and the inner sanctum of
SCULPTURE the temple, 
• Goshtams - deities carved in niches on the
outer side walls of the garbhagriha.