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Divine Doorways – Gopurams of South India
Gopurams are the towering pyramidal gateways that welcome you into a south Indian temple. Ancient Hindu texts describe Devalaya Vastu or the layout of a temple in anatomical terms as the body of the purusha or cosmic man, with its various structures representing specific parts: the garba-griha or sanctum sanctorum is the head, the mantapas or vestibules leading from it constitute the neck and chest, the flag-staff marks the centre of the body and the gopuram are the feet. As a devotee enters a temple by passing under a gopuram, they symbolically touch the feet of this cosmic being. Seen through these massive portals, the shrine inside is framed like a gemstone in pleasing symmetry. Gopurams are a distinctive feature of Dravidian temple architecture, and they came to be an integral part of the Hindu temple complex during the reign of the Pallavas and the Imperial Cholas. Subsequent empires including the Vijayanagaras, the Nayakas and the Wodeyars of Mysore also rose to the occasion by building highly ornate, soaring gateways that dominated the skyline. Gopurams inspire ambition even in the heart of the contemporary devotee—the tallest gopuram, gracing the Ranganathaswamy temple on the island town of Srirangam in Tamil Nadu, was built in 1987. The rare photographs in this gallery date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries and capture ancient and medieval temples across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
Main gate of Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam by Edmund Lyon, late 19th century
This photograph presents a view of the island town of Srirangam dominated by the massive gopurams of the Ranganathaswamy temple complex. Located in Tiruchirapalli district, Tamil Nadu, the temple is dedicated to a reclining avatar of Lord Vishnu called Ranganatha. It is one of the most important Vaishnava temples of south India and has played a major role in the region’s mythology.
The temple's construction began during the Chola period. However, some inscriptions found at Srirangam date to the era of Pandya, Hoysala and Vijayanagar dynasties, which successively completed the complex between the 13th and 16th centuries.
The gopurams seen here are all topped by a central kirtimukha, an ornamental motif depicting a fearsome face. The temple complex is made in a sapta-prakaram formation, spanning seven concentric rectangular enclosures, covering over 156 acres of land. Today, there are a total of 21 massive gopurams at Srirangam’s Ranganathaswamy Temple, with the tallest one, the Raja Gopuram, measuring over 70 meters high.
Seringham pagoda, east of the largest gateway, attributed to Edmund David Lyon from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', 1860s
Srirangapatna was originally a part of the ancient Hoysala and Vijayanagara kingdoms before becoming Tipu Sultan's stronghold on the banks of the Kaveri river. The Ranganatha Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is a well-known landmark in this region. While the first inscription in the temple is from 894 CE, many dynasties, including the Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagaras and Mysore's Wodeyars, have contributed to the temple's expansion and restoration over time.
The temple's town-like plan is created with seven enclosures built inside the other, each endowed with gopurams. There are 21 gopurams in all, with the largest being on the outermost southern compound. This photograph is of a nine-tier structure, probably the Vellai Gopuram, situated east of the temple and standing over 44 metres tall.
Entrance of temple at Madura (Madurai), unidentified photographer, from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', late 19th century
As the Vijayanagara empire weakened in the mid-16th Century, Nayakas, their viceroys in the southern regions, progressively assumed independent rule. In Madurai, Nayakas cemented a reputation for being fantastic builders. They contributed substantial endowments to the town’s complex of temples during the 16th and 17th centuries.
High enclosing walls surround the Madurai temple complex with curved profile gateways or gopurams. Photographed here is an unidentified gopuram with a temple ratha or chariot parked near the entrance. The gopuram appears to be highly ornate on each succeeding tier, with representations of divinity and celestial beings carved into the plaster.
The Great Gopuram, Madura (Madurai), attributed to Nicholas & Company, from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', late 19th century
The gopura emerged as a robust structural part of temple architecture under the Cholas and under the Nayakas of Madurai, it grew in height and ornamentation. Dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Meenakshi, the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai is an important pilgrimage site. The construction of this temple began under the rule of the king Kulasekara Pandya (1190–1216 CE), and it was later renovated and expanded in the 17th Century by Thirumala Nayaka. A six-hectare (nearly 15 acres) rectangular courtyard surrounds the temple complex, embellished with 14 massive gopurams, the largest of which mark four entrances situated in the four cardinal directions. The tallest gopuram in the complex is the southern one, which measures approximately 170 feet (nearly 52 metres) and is adorned with more than 1500 carved figures.
South-west gateway and sculpted temple tower, Tanjore by Underwood & Underwood, early 1900s
Thanjavur, located on fertile Kaveri delta, was conquered by Vijayalaya Chola in 850 CE and became the Chola capital. Subsequently, his successor Rajaraja Chola I's reign saw campaigns towards present-day Kerala and southern Pandya region, the Chalukya territory of the north, and even Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands. Later, from 1012 to 1014, he expanded his territory by governing jointly with his son Rajendra I and extending to the north and east of India and Southeast Asia.
Seen here is the famed Thanjavur temple complex, founded and built by Rajaraja Chola and expanded by his son Rajendra I. A line of three gateways leads into the complex from the east. The outer arched gateway seen here, in the foreground, is a Maratha period feature, but the two gopurams following it are Chola-period structures.
A brick wall in this view surrounds the outer arched doorway. The gateway's entryway is adorned with arched niches, the central one housing figurines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. On the ground floor, on either side of the entryway, there are two roofed subsidiary shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya.
A partial glimpse of the outer gopuram can be seen behind the arched doorway. Built during the Chola dynasty, it stands alone, unattached to the compound wall's rampart, and reaches over 33 metres high.
Entrance to the temple of Kumbakonam, attributed to Nicholas Penn, late 19th century
Kumbakonam, a temple town in Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, was an important centre in the Chola kingdom from the 9th through 13th centuries. It is home to twelve major temples dedicated to various Hindu deities, each functioning as a primary centre of ritual throughout the year. Many of the early Chola temples here are dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
The image here shows a street scene from Kumbakonam, which served as an important municipality district during British rule. A large temple gopuram towers over the roofs of the buildings in the foreground. A similar gopuram mirrors the view at a distant corner to maintain symmetry and perspective in the photographic frame.
Ekambareswarar Temple, Kanchipuram, unidentified photographer, late 19th century
Kanchipuram was the seat of Pallava rule in 7th Century CE, later ruled by the Cholas, the Vijayanagara and Nayakas. One of its most popular monuments is the Ekambareswarar Temple, which is devoted to Lord Shiva. The temple was first built by the Pallavas and later extended by the Cholas. However, credit for the largest gopuram, at 59 metres, goes to Emperor Krishna Devaraya of the Vijaynagara dynasty. Five enclosures and a pillared hall make up the temple complex.
Gopuram at Jalakandeswarar Temple, Fort Vellore, unidentified photographer, late 19th century
The Jalakanteshwara temple of Lord Shiva is located within the Vellore Fort, about 60 kilometres from Kanchipuram. There isn't a lot of historical information on this temple, but it is usually associated with the patronage of Chinna Bomma, a subordinate chieftain who served the Vijayanagara empire in the second part of 16th Century. Later modifications are credited to Vijayanagara ruler Venkatapatideva Raya in the early 17th Century.
The complex, built in the Vijayanagara style, is enclosed by high walls. This photograph shows the outer southern seven-storey gopuram, alongside a smaller three-storey one that accesses the inner enclosure.
Gopuram at Tirupati, Madras, unidentified photographer, late 19th century
The Govindaraja temple in Tirupati is among the oldest in this prosperous temple town of Andhra Pradesh. Dating back to 12th Century CE, the temple’s presiding deity is Lord Vishnu. Seen here is Govindraja temple’s eastern gopuram, also known as the Rajagopuram. Straight ahead and perfectly framed by the seven-storey structure, the photograph captures another gopuram inside the main enclosure.
Gopuram to the Vijaya Vithala Temple, Hampi, Vijayanagara by Edmund David Lyon from an untitled album containing 'Views of South India and Palitana', c. 1865-1869
The Vijayanagara empire consisted of four dynasties: the Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu. Together, they ruled a large part of southern India from 14th Century CE to mid-17th Century. Their capital was at Hampi on the shores of the Tungabhadra river. An ancient and hallowed city, Hampi is the site of many temples and shrines.
Considered a masterpiece of Vijayanagara temple architecture, the Vijaya Vithala temple was founded during the Tuluva period and dates to the late 15th or early 16th century. The temple stands in a vast rectangular courtyard with gopurams on three sides.
This photograph shows the temple's east gopuram, commissioned in 1513 by Emperor Krishna Devaraya's queens, Tirumala Devi and Chinna Devi. According to historian Dr (Sr) Anila Verghese, this is the earliest structure of the Vithala temple that we can date; historians have not been able to accurately pinpoint the vintage of the temple itself.
View of Gopuram at the Padmanabha complex, Trivandrum, unidentified photographer, from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', late 19th century
The 17th Century saw the Nayakas of Madurai and the Venad kings of Thiruvananthapuram competing to support building projects. The magnificent Padmanabhaswamy temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, was restored by Martanda Varma of Travancore in early 18th Century and it presents a harmonious blend of Keralite and Tamil sensibilities. In the photograph, we see the temple’s entrance path and its eastern gopuram with the vaulted roof reflecting the Nayaka style of architecture.
Divine Doorways – Gopurams of South India
Gopurams are the towering pyramidal gateways that welcome you into a south Indian temple. Ancient Hindu texts describe Devalaya Vastu or the layout of a temple in anatomical terms as the body of the purusha or cosmic man, with its various structures representing specific parts: the garba-griha or sanctum sanctorum is the head, the mantapas or vestibules leading from it constitute the neck and chest, the flag-staff marks the centre of the body and the gopuram are the feet. As a devotee enters a temple by passing under a gopuram, they symbolically touch the feet of this cosmic being. Seen through these massive portals, the shrine inside is framed like a gemstone in pleasing symmetry. Gopurams are a distinctive feature of Dravidian temple architecture, and they came to be an integral part of the Hindu temple complex during the reign of the Pallavas and the Imperial Cholas. Subsequent empires including the Vijayanagaras, the Nayakas and the Wodeyars of Mysore also rose to the occasion by building highly ornate, soaring gateways that dominated the skyline. Gopurams inspire ambition even in the heart of the contemporary devotee—the tallest gopuram, gracing the Ranganathaswamy temple on the island town of Srirangam in Tamil Nadu, was built in 1987. The rare photographs in this gallery date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries and capture ancient and medieval temples across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
Main gate of Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam by Edmund Lyon, late 19th century
The temple's construction began during the Chola period. However, some inscriptions found at Srirangam date to the era of Pandya, Hoysala and Vijayanagar dynasties, which successively completed the complex between the 13th and 16th centuries.
The gopurams seen here are all topped by a central kirtimukha, an ornamental motif depicting a fearsome face. The temple complex is made in a sapta-prakaram formation, spanning seven concentric rectangular enclosures, covering over 156 acres of land. Today, there are a total of 21 massive gopurams at Srirangam’s Ranganathaswamy Temple, with the tallest one, the Raja Gopuram, measuring over 70 meters high.
Seringham pagoda, east of the largest gateway, attributed to Edmund David Lyon from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', 1860s
The temple's town-like plan is created with seven enclosures built inside the other, each endowed with gopurams. There are 21 gopurams in all, with the largest being on the outermost southern compound. This photograph is of a nine-tier structure, probably the Vellai Gopuram, situated east of the temple and standing over 44 metres tall.
Entrance of temple at Madura (Madurai), unidentified photographer, from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', late 19th century
High enclosing walls surround the Madurai temple complex with curved profile gateways or gopurams. Photographed here is an unidentified gopuram with a temple ratha or chariot parked near the entrance. The gopuram appears to be highly ornate on each succeeding tier, with representations of divinity and celestial beings carved into the plaster.
The Great Gopuram, Madura (Madurai), attributed to Nicholas & Company, from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', late 19th century
South-west gateway and sculpted temple tower, Tanjore by Underwood & Underwood, early 1900s
Seen here is the famed Thanjavur temple complex, founded and built by Rajaraja Chola and expanded by his son Rajendra I. A line of three gateways leads into the complex from the east. The outer arched gateway seen here, in the foreground, is a Maratha period feature, but the two gopurams following it are Chola-period structures.
A brick wall in this view surrounds the outer arched doorway. The gateway's entryway is adorned with arched niches, the central one housing figurines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. On the ground floor, on either side of the entryway, there are two roofed subsidiary shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya.
A partial glimpse of the outer gopuram can be seen behind the arched doorway. Built during the Chola dynasty, it stands alone, unattached to the compound wall's rampart, and reaches over 33 metres high.
Entrance to the temple of Kumbakonam, attributed to Nicholas Penn, late 19th century
The image here shows a street scene from Kumbakonam, which served as an important municipality district during British rule. A large temple gopuram towers over the roofs of the buildings in the foreground. A similar gopuram mirrors the view at a distant corner to maintain symmetry and perspective in the photographic frame.
Ekambareswarar Temple, Kanchipuram, unidentified photographer, late 19th century
Gopuram at Jalakandeswarar Temple, Fort Vellore, unidentified photographer, late 19th century
The complex, built in the Vijayanagara style, is enclosed by high walls. This photograph shows the outer southern seven-storey gopuram, alongside a smaller three-storey one that accesses the inner enclosure.
Gopuram at Tirupati, Madras, unidentified photographer, late 19th century
Gopuram to the Vijaya Vithala Temple, Hampi, Vijayanagara by Edmund David Lyon from an untitled album containing 'Views of South India and Palitana', c. 1865-1869
Considered a masterpiece of Vijayanagara temple architecture, the Vijaya Vithala temple was founded during the Tuluva period and dates to the late 15th or early 16th century. The temple stands in a vast rectangular courtyard with gopurams on three sides.
This photograph shows the temple's east gopuram, commissioned in 1513 by Emperor Krishna Devaraya's queens, Tirumala Devi and Chinna Devi. According to historian Dr (Sr) Anila Verghese, this is the earliest structure of the Vithala temple that we can date; historians have not been able to accurately pinpoint the vintage of the temple itself.
View of Gopuram at the Padmanabha complex, Trivandrum, unidentified photographer, from the album 'Souvenirs de Voyage, Madras', late 19th century
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