Early Hindu Temples & Theology
This Gupta-period temple at Deogarh features well-known reliefs of Vishnu’s cosmic powers.
This island cave complex near Mumbai contains the famous three-headed Maheshmurti of Shiva.
What is Elephanta?
This Pallava king commissioned the Rajasimheshvara (Kailasanatha) Temple at Kanchipuram.
Who is Rajasimha (Narasimhavarman II)?
This early Orissan temple (7th c.) is known for its west-facing orientation and evidence of Pashupata Shaivism?
What is the Paraśurāmeśvara Temple?
These shrines—open-air, hypaethral, often circular or rectangular—were used for tantric worship of 64 yoginīs.
What are Chausath Yogini temples?
This ritual pathway—circling the temple or deity—shapes much of temple space design.
What is the Circumambulatory path (pradakṣiṇā patha)?
Angkor Wat was dedicated to this Hindu deity, whose celestial home on Mount Meru is echoed in the temple’s towers.
Who is Vishnu?
This form of the Vishnu, often shown reclining, symbolizes creation of the cosmic order.
What is Vishnu Anantaśāyin (reclining on the cosmic serpent)?
These monolithic structures at Mamallapuram are carved from single boulders and named after the Pandava brothers.
What are the Five "Rathas" (or monoliths)?
This small "ratha" at Mamallapuram, with an unusual thatch-like roof, is dedicated to which deity?
Who is Durga?
This Orissan temple features elegant, curving śikharas and a famous torana (arched gateway).
What is the Mukteśvara Temple?
This Chandella city contains the famous Khandariya Mahadeva temple.
What is Khajuraho?
This goddess temple at Jagat is a key example of early Mahā-Gūrjara architecture.
What is the Ambikā-mātā Temple?
Angkor Wat famously faces this direction—unusual for Khmer temples—signaling its association with Vishnu and possibly funerary meaning.
What is west?
This architectural concept—literally “cosmic mountain”—is expressed through soaring superstructures (śikharas or vimānas).
What is Mt. Kailasha or Mt. Meru?
This Pallava-period relief, possibly showing Arjuna’s penance or the Descent of the Ganga, is noted for its multivalent interpretation.
What is the Great Relief at Mamallapuram?
This Chalukya-built temple at Pattadakal displays Drāviḍa influence directly appropriated from conquest of the Pallavas.
What is the Virupaksha Temple?
This enormous 13th-century temple, dedicated to Surya, was designed as a colossal stone chariot with carved wheels and horses, symbolizing the movement of the sun across the sky.
What is the Sun Temple at Konarak?
This unusually tall Pratihara-period shrine at Gwalior combines a northern-style tower with a rectangular ground plan and barrel-vaulted roof inspired by earlier Buddhist chaitya halls.
What is the Teli-ka-Mandir?
This spatial feature, usually located in front of the shrine, serves as the public gathering space for worship and is key to the ritual experience of most Indian temples.
What is the mandapa?
The temple’s five towers represent this cosmic mountain at the center of the Hindu universe.
What is Mt. Meru?
This aniconic form of Shiva—placed in the sanctum of both rock-cut and structural temples—represents the deity’s timeless, formless cosmic power.
What is the Shiva linga?
The iconography of the Cave Temple at Elephanta is exclusively representative of this deity.
Who is Shiva?
This Deccan dynasty later excavated the enormous Kailasanatha monolith at Ellora.
Who are the Rashtrakutas?
This great Orissan temple, dedicated to Shiva, marks the culmination of the Kalinga style.
What is the Liṅgarāja Temple?
Many Khajuraho temples include this “mountain-like” tower made of clustered smaller spires rising around a central peak.
What is the śekharī śikhara?
This temple group in western Rajasthan features a series of Shaiva shrines with increasingly elaborate superstructures.
What is Kiradu?
This mythic event—depicting gods and demons churning the sea using a serpent—symbolizes renewal, generative power, and royal legitimacy.
What is the Churning of the Ocean of Milk?
This relief from Udayagiri shows the rescue of the earth goddess from cosmic waters, demonstrating divine kingship and cosmic stability.
What is the relief of Varaha?
This massive monolithic temple at Ellora, excavated top-down, replicates a South Indian structural temple in rock.
What is the Kailasanatha temple (Cave 16)?
This architectural process—moving, adapting, and hybridizing motifs from rival dynasties—is seen in the Chalukya reworking of Pallava forms after victories in the Tamil region.
What is appropriation (or iconographic appropriation, architectural appropriation)?
This administrative center and sacred city, with dozens of temples across periods, forms the core of Orissan architectural innovation.
What is Bhubaneswar?
This 11th-century Paramāra temple is dedicated to Shiva and is one of the best-preserved examples of the Bhumija style that flourished under the Paramāra rulers.
What is the Udayeśvara Temple?
This temple features a large stepwell and an elaborate dance hall with intricately carved pillars.
What is the Sun Temple at Modhera?
Scholars believe Angkor Wat may have served as this type of structure for Suryavarman II, given its orientation and iconography.
What is a royal funerary temple?