DRAVIDIAN STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE

BY:PRIYA JAIN

PRANJAL GUPTA

GOPURAMS

A gopuram is usually rectangular in form with ground-level wooden doors, often richly decorated, providing access. Above is the tapering gopuram, divided into many storeys which diminish in size as the gopuram tower narrows. Usually the tower is topped with a barrel vaulted roof with a finial.

Gopurams are exquisitely decorated with sculpture and carvings and painted with a variety of themes derived from the Hindu mythology, particularly those associated with the presiding deity of the temple where the gopuram is located.

EPILOGUE:

The form began rather modestly in the 10th century, as at Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram, with the 11th century Brihadeeswarar Templein Thanjavur marking a crucial step forward with two multi-storey gopurams from that period, much larger than any earlier ones, though much smaller than the main tower of the temple. The four gopurams of the Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram are important early examples, begun in the mid-13th century but completed over a longer period.

A Gopura (singular) (Sanskrit: गो�पु�र) or Gopuram (plural) is a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of any temple, especially in Southern India.

This forms a prominent feature of Koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style.They are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial.The gopuram's origins can be traced back to early structures of the Tamil kings Pallavas; and by the twelfth century, under the Pandyarulers, these gateways became a dominant feature of a temple's outer appearance.

 It also dominated the inner sanctum in amount of ornamentation. Often a shrine has more than one gopuram.They also appear in architecture outside India, especially Khmer architecture, as at Angkor Wat.

A koil may have multiple gopurams, typically constructed into multiple walls in tiers around the main shrine. The temple's walls are typically square with the outer most wall having four gopura-vimanas, one each on every side, situated exactly in the center of each wall. The sanctum sanctorum and its towering roof (the central deity's shrine) are also called the vimanam.

Generally, these do not assume as much significance as the outer gopurams, with the exception of a few temples where the sanctum sanctorum's roofs are as famous as the temple complex itself. The Ananda Nilayam gopuram-vimanam of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a famous example where the gopuram of the main shrine occupies a very special place in the temple's history and identity.

ETMOLOGY :The Sanskrit word, गो�पु�र, is often translated as "town gate". Separately, it consists of two words go, with the possible meanings of "cow" or "sky", and pura, meaning city. The word was borrowed into Tamil where it is pronounced kopuram and given a folk etymology of derivation from the two words: (Kō) and (puram) meaning 'King' and 'exterior' respectively.It originates from the Sangam age when it was known as meaning 'Imperishable gateway'.Adhering to the orthodox grammar of sankattamiḻ (Classical Tamil), it would be pronounced koh-puram as the velar is always voiceless in the Tamil language.

PHYSICAL IMPORTANCE:

In ancient days, Temples served as the major landmarks of the land. A place was identified either using the palaces or temples.

In order to facilitate the traveling folk to identify the locations easily, the Gopuram’s of the temples have to be built at high.

By means of seeing the Gopuram’s from distance, passengers calculated the approximate distance of their destination from their location.

Further, temples served as the main shelter for travelers. When people travel between places, they stay at the temple premises to take rest.

Gopuram acts as a lightning arrest. A metallic object mounted on top of a building, electrically bonded using a wire or electrical conductor to interface with ground or "earth" through an electrode, engineered to protect the building in the event of lightning strike. If lightning targets the building it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to ground through the wire, instead of passing through the building.

SCIENTIFIC REASON :

The science behind these constructions is that, the temple architecture gives cosmic energy to the main deity in the Garbha Griha. Firstly, the Juathaskambam acts like an antenna and receives the cosmic energy from the space and through an underground channel it is connected to the main deity in the Garbha-graha. The cosmic energy constantly flows through the Jathuskambam to the idol and energies the it.

Secondly, the celestial power drawn through the dome gives the deity effulgence and metaphysical powers. The cosmic-energy is further maintained by Vedic chants)and the pyramid like tomb. The pyramid like structure helps to amplify and preserve the cosmic energy. These are the reasons for anyone to feel a positive energy, goodness, calmness or divinity when we approach the inner sanctum.

Murudeshwara Temple 236 FT

Annamalaiyar Temple 216 FT

Srivilliputhur Andal Temple 193 FT

Tallest gopurams :

Ulagalantha Perumal Temple 192 FT

Meenakshi Amman Temple 170 FT

Rajagopalaswamy Temple 154 FT