What does gopuram mean?

What does gopuram mean?

gopura, also spelled gopuram, in south Indian architecture, the entrance gateway to a Hindu temple enclosure.

What purpose does the gopuram of an Indian temple serves?

The gopuram refers to the pyramidal-shaped tower at the temple entrance and is an important feature in South Indian temples. Its great height serves a purpose, acting as a beacon for devotees from afar and allowing them to pray or meditate in preparation for their entrance into the temple.

Who started gopurams?

Annamalaiyar Temple covers 10 hectares, and is one of the largest temples in India. It is surrounded by four large unpainted gopurams, one facing each cardinal direction. The southern gopuram is called the Tirumanjana Gopuram. Rajagopalaswamy Temple was started by Chola kings.

What were gopurams used to exemplify?

These included structures of immense scale that must have been a mark of imperial authority, best exemplified by the raya gopurams or royal gateways that often dwarfed the towers on the central shrines, and signalled the presence of the temple from a great distance.

What is temple gopuram called in English?

Definitions. A monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a temple, especially in Southern India. noun.

What were Gopurams Class 12?

Gopuram – Huge main entrance gate of the temple is known as Gopuram in South India. Mandapas – Pavilions and long pillsred corridors that ran around the shrine within the temples complex.

What is a gopuram What changes did it signify in architecture?

A Gopuram or gopura (Sanskrit: गोपुरम्, gopuram) is a monumental gatehouse tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Dravidian architecture of the Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana states of Southern India. douwdek0 and 118 more users found this answer helpful. Thanks …

Which temple has gopuram?

Murudeshwara Temple of Karnataka has the tallest Gopurams in India followed by Ranganathaswamy Temple,Annamalaiyar Temple, Nanjundeshwara Temple of Karnataka,Sri Lakshmi Narasimha,Azhagar Kovil,Karnataka Hampi and Sankaranayinarkoil Temple.

Who built the Srirangam temple?

Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

Ranganathaswamy Temple Thiruvarangam
Architecture
Type Dravidian
Creator Early Cholas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Pandyas, Vijayanagara Empire
Inscriptions over 600

Which God is in Rameshwaram temple?

Shri Ram
The Holy abode of the Hindu God, Shri Ram (addressed so with all respect & humility) is a virtual paradise for the devout. No Hindu’s journey is complete without a pilgrimage to both Varanasi and Rameswaram for the culmination of his quest for salvation and is hallowed by the epic ‘Ramayana’.

What are gopurams and Mandapas?

In the Hindu temple the mandapa is a porch-like structure through the (gopuram) (ornate gateway) and leading to the temple. It is used for religious dancing and music and is part of the basic temple compound. The prayer hall was generally built in front of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha).

What are Gopurams and Mandapas?