Pallipadai

Built Environments & Structures Premodern Culture

A Shaivite temple or shrine constructed in the cemetery of a ruler or member of the royal family to commemorate the deeds of the rulers. It is conjectured that this tradition evolved during the Chola period c. tenth to eleventh centuries CE.

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Ratha

A spoked-wheel chariot or cart, usually drawn by horses. Evidence of their use and construction has been found in the…

Ardhamandapa

A half-open pillared hall in Hindu temples. The ardhamandapa serves as an open porch at the entrance of the temple…

pediment

Triangular gable-like structure surmounting the end of a portico or doorway at the entrance of buildings, especially religious or other…

Roll Bracket

Also known as taranga potika, it is a corbel-bracket with a roll-like pattern or moulding.

Ananda Nilayam

The name of the vimana (the sanctum sanctorum and the tower over it) of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra…

Ikshvaku Architecture

Architecture patronised by the Andhra Ikshvakus (c. fourth to third century BCE) (not to be confused with the legendary Ikshvaku dynasty…

Agastya Teertha

A manmade lake in the vicinity of the Badami Cave Temples, it constructed during the reign of the Early Western…

Shala

Derived from the Sanskrit word broadly meaning "house" or "shelter", shala may refer to a covered pavilion, often oblong; a…