Dravidian culture and its relation to architecture
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Dravidian architecture is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent or South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It consists primarily of Hindu temples where the dominating feature is the high gopura or gatehouse; large temples have several. Mentioned as one of three styles of temple building in the ancient book Vastu shastra, the majority of the existing structures are located in the Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Various kingdoms and empires such as the Cholas, the Chera, the Kakatiyas, the Pandyas, the Pallavas, the Gangas, the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas, the Hoysalas, and Vijayanagara Empire among others have made substantial contribution to the evolution of Dravidian architecture. This style of architecture can also be found in parts of North India (Teli ka Mandir Gwalior, Bhitargaon Baitala Deula, Bhubaneshwar), Northeastern and central Sri Lanka.
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:[17]
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.[17]