Famous Temples in Tamil Nadu

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous American Architect wrote "Architecture is that great living creative spirit which from generation to generation, from age to age, proceeds, persists, creates, according to the nature of man, and his circumstances as they change. That is really architecture. As one of the oldest civilisations in existence, our nation proudly flaunts its wonderful temples and historic monuments. It is matter of great pride that our country houses architectural marvels from centuries ago. Basically temples can be considered as a contact between man and God. The msot wonderful part is that the rituals and ceremonies performed carried in the temples can be scientifically related to the temple architecture. Its amazing that even centuries ago our architecture was so much developed. Temples built thousands of year ago have a design based on sacred geometric diagrams (Mandala) - symbolized as a miniscule image of the universe with its coordinated organized structure Tamil Nadu is well known for its magnificient temples and is populary known as land of temples' for its grand temples that are architectural masterpieces. With 30,000 plus temples constructed by rulers of different dynasties over the yearstemples of state of Tamil Nadu are standing testimony to the rich Dravidian art and culture with each one showcasing a distinctive wonderful style, built by Chola, Pallava, Nayak, Pandya and Vijaynagar rulers, were great patrons of art and architecture.

The temples of South India, especially of Tamil Nadu, are known for their grandeur in size, architectural styles and iconographical features. The temples portray the rich past of the region in terms of the history and culture. Temple towns, which are a major characteristic of the Tamil provinces, house temples of massive proportions. Belonging to the Dravidian style of architecture, the temples of Tamil Nadu range from modest sized temples to very large ones of high artistic merit. The temples have gone through a long process of evolution from the Sangam age to late medieval times. The Sangam age saw much encouragement being extended to several forms of art. Initially, the works of art and architecture were made of perishable materials, but, in course of time, stone came in for extensive applications. In fact, in as far as Indian architecture is concerned, the shift to stone, a more lasting material has been a significant step in the evolution of architecture in India. Temples were patronised by the royalty, nobility, landlords, wealthy merchants, guilds as well as lay devotees, including those of lower castes and classes. Such acts of patronage contributed to the expansion of temple complexes with its series of pillared halls (mandapams), enclosures (praharas) and gateways (gopuras), and a horizontal expansion of the temples, creating physical and religious space for the complex society and economy that developed in Tamil Nadu during the medieval period.