There are seven temples or ancient monuments on the Coromandel Coast of Mahabalipuram, they are such extraordinary creations that it can simply be said that they hold a very special place in the level of human proficiency and proficiency. – Prof. Hiren.
Generally, the land situated to the south of the Narmada river is called South India, but South India is also kept in two parts on the geographical basis - Dakshina-path and Far South. The areas between the Narbada and Krishna rivers are called Dakshina-patha and the entire peninsula south of the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers is called Far South.
Many temples were built in South India till the Gupta period, but the real development of temple art in the south started after the fall of the Gupta Empire, that is, from the 6th century AD. After the decline of the Guptas, the power of the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas emerged in the Dakshina-patha.
Similarly in the far-south the powerful kingdoms of Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras were established. Temple-architecture progressed well in these states, which continued till the medieval period.
The temple architecture of South India has stylistic differences from the architecture of North India. The temple style of North India was called Arya temple style and Nagara style and the temple style of South India was called Dravidian temple style. The temple-style built by mixing both the styles was called Besar style.
Although these styles emerged on the basis of regionalism, but their limits were not inviolable. Dravidian style temples have also been found in North India and Nagara style temples in South India. For example, the huge Vaishnava temple in Vrindavan is of Dravidian style. Similarly, the Besar style also crossed its boundaries and went to South India.
The Besara style temples were built by the Chalukya kings in the Kannada region and the Hoysala kings in Mysore. There is no distinction of Brahmin, Buddhism or Jainism in their architecture. Temple legislation is not entirely related to a particular religion.
Some architects have called the Besar style as the later Chalukya style, but in reality it is the style of the early Chalukya temples. This is also the style of Hoysala temples. For these reasons it would not be appropriate to call it mere Chalukya style. In fact, the Hoysalas made more efforts in this direction. The best examples of the Besara style are at Halebid and Velur in the Kingdom of Mysore.
Dravidian style
The Dravidian style temples have been built on a high jala and the sanctum sanctorum and the mandapa are built side by side. Most of the temples in the south are Shaivite, so the Nandi mandapa has been placed in front of the main mandapa, in which the sitting statues of Nandi have been installed, facing the sanctum sanctorum.
From the point of view of the layout, the Dravidian style temples, the sanctum sanctorum, the mandapa and the Nandi mandapa are covered with a form in which the entrance made is called a gopura. In this way five parts are found in the early Dravidian style temples- (1.) Garbhagriha (2.) Mandap (3.) Nandi Mandap (4.) Prakara (5.) Gopura.
Many changes are seen in the style of the later Dravidian temples. Later temples were built on a much larger area. In these temples, each door was made in the middle of the four directions. The outermost entrance gates (gopuras) were grand and high.
The original aircraft appeared to be much smaller in comparison. There were many types of buildings, schools and markets in the huge courtyard around these temples. According to some scholars, these huge temples of Dravidian style are called 'Mandir-Nagar' It would be more appropriate to say.
The Dravidian style temples are recognized from afar because of the huge pyramidal spire built on the sanctum sanctorum. In the Dravidian style temple, when viewed from the side, in terms of height, five parts are visible. The lowest part is a high adhishthana (platform or jagati) on which the sanctum sanctorum and mandapa are built. The walls of the square sanctum sanctorum have been raised above the adhishthana.
The vertical part of the wall is called the thigh, which is divided into three parts at the bottom, in these three parts of the wall or the thigh, the idols of the gods are established by making a window. On top of the walls of the sanctum sanctorum begins the rise of the pyramidal spire. This spire acquires its form by the addition of several planes, gradually rising up and continuously narrowing.
In the pyramidal style, each floor is reduced to a third of the base plane at the end. Each plane of the Jati-vimana is decorated on all four sides with a row of miniature vimanas in such a way that the corners are arranged in the form of kootas (square small vimanas) followed by salas (rectangular surfaces minor vimanas) and kootas. .
The row of these miniature planes on each plane appears as a mekhela. On the top part of the summit, above the griva, there is a huge Shadkar stone called 'Dravadi' or 'Stupi' is called. A Kalash is placed over the Stupi. In this way the peak built on top of the sanctum is visible from a distance.
In front of the sanctum, an open or closed pavilion based on pillars is built, which has a flat roof. The Nandi pavilion built in front of the main pavilion is also an open pavilion with a flat roof based on pillars. Thus, in a Dravidian style temple, there are five parts of the caste vimana from bottom to top - (1.) Kalash, (2.) Stupi (3.) Shikhar (with many tiers) (4.) Jangha and (5. .) Installations.
In the later period, special importance was given to the Gopuram. It is the main entrance to the temple courtyard and is often so high that it hides the spire of the main temple. The Gopuram, built on a rectangular ground, is such an architectural structure built in several storeys, tapering upwards, whose head is like an elephant's back.
Three to eleven urns are placed on it. In its lower part, a place is made for entry. The beauty of the Gopuram is manifested by the numerous sculptures on its floors. The Gopuram of the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai is particularly noteworthy.