Digital Rare Book:
Studies In Indian Temple Architecture
By Pramod Chandra
Published American Institute of Indian Studies - 1975

Read Book online:

http://bit.ly/2rk7CPD

Download pdf Book:

http://bit.ly/2sR6tB6

Image:
Photograph of the shrine of the Kailasanatha Temple, Chingleput District, Kanchipuram, taken by a photographer of the Archaeological Survey of India around 1900-01. The holy Hindu town of Kanchipuram was the Pallava capital in the 7th and 8th centuries. The great Kailasanatha Temple was built by the ruler Rajasimha at the beginning of the 8th century. It is dedicated to Shiva and faces east. The courtyard in which the temple is situated is surrounded by smaller shrines framed by pillars rising from the heads of rampant lions, typical of the Pallava style. The sanctuary enshrining the linga is covered by a pyramidal tower. In front of it stands a hypostile pavilion (mandapa) decorated with sculptures of rearing yalis and Shaiva figures. This leads to another hall before the cell surrounded by a circumambulatory passageway.

Image and text credit:
Copyright © The British Library Board