. TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE Gudied By Presented By Ms KAVITHA P ESARATH K THANKAPPAN LecturerSemester 7,CIVIL Dept of CIVILRoll No:49

INTRODUCTION Temple architecture tradition of Kerala comes within the mainstream of Indian temple building tradition. In the detailed articulation of its formal structure Kerala temple follows its own indigenous methods, the basic conceptions are not something different or extraneous from the total cultural developments of the mainland.

TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE For constructing a temple we can consider different factors that are related to it. They are:  Site selection  Sighting  Shape  Size  Foundation  Basement  Steps  Conduit  Doors  Walls  Floor  Roof

SITE SELECTION The site selected for constructing the temple is according to the following conditions; Flow of water through ground Near the bank of river Top of the hill Forest Monastry Capital Lot of water during summer

. The sites which are not selected for temple constructions are; The site is in a circular shape Site is in half moon shape Places which have three, five, six sides When we dig got borns, hair, worms etc Places where bad smell comes out

SIGHTING Sighting of temple is based on the God or Godesses that are placed in the temple. Normally the sighting of the temple is in the eastward direction. But in some special cases the sighting can be in westward direction.

SHAPES The concept of place of worship being taller than all other buildings. So they were in the shape of a pyramid in the case of square temples and conical in the case of round temples. The main factor of selecting the shapes as conical or pyramids are; Conical shapes are stable against wind. They are stable against seismic effects. Rain water would drain out quickly and there would be no leakage.

. Temple

SIZE The sizes of the temples are varying. For a square Temple, the measurement of one side is 2.22m. Normally the wall height of the temple from plinth level is 2.75m and from plinth to the top of roof is 3.66m.

FOUNDATION For foundation, excavation is done to whole basement area. The excavational height is related to the strength of the soil. We use rubble masonry for foundation. And provide PCC or RCC over foundation.

BASEMENT The height of the basement is varying from 1.98m to 2.25m. It increases upto 11m height. The basement are of different types which are according to the number of parts;  Divided into 24 equal parts.  Divided into 21 equal parts.

Basement of division of 24 parts.

Basement of division of 21 parts.

STEPS In the main entrance from plinth level to ground level of 4.32sq m or 5.76sq m area, there built steps slanding to the ground. The measure of rise and thread are same and the number of rise and thread are even. The handrails are built in beautiful shape like a long leaf.

Steps.

CONDUIT A conduit is provided at the end of the step, in the basement. The length of the conduit is as the height of the basement or 3/4 th the height of the basement or one and a half of the length of the basement to the outer side and half the length of the conduit to the outer side to the inner side of the basement. Conduit is made as it is starting from the open mouth of the Monster. The shape of conduit is like Trunk of Elephant.

Conduit.

DOORS The temple doors are made using special quality wood which not only has mythological significance but also allow proper ventilation. Door sizes of temples are of according to the size of the temple, if sizes of temple is normal then the size of door is 1.52m height and 0.61m breadth. The door panels are two, with 0.305m of breadth. The thickness of door is 3.81cm. One panel of door contains Sutrapattika.

Door.

WALLS Wall thickness of the temples are 24 cm. Normally the walls of the temples are made up of bricks or coursed laterite stone masonry plastered in mud and lime.

FLOOR Floor of the temple is normally of Plain Cement Concrete. P.C.C is well finished or some times it is made up of marbles or tiles and also well finished rocks.

ROOF Sloped roof is generally adopted for temples. The roof is steep and pointed. With a circular plan, one sees a conical roof, while with a square plan the roof is pyramidal. The sloping superstructure made of wooden planks, tiles or sheet metal on timber frames

Roof of a Temple.

Other important features of Temple Constructions Temples can be constructed with any number of floors. If the height is below or equal to 7.2m then it is considered as single floor. Upto 8.64m, it is considered as two floor. Thus every 1.44m increases it is considered as one floor.

More constructions in a Temple Complex Kuuthambalam Thidappally Chuttambalam Manddapam Mast Oblation stone One of the most important feature of temple is Thazikakudam. It gives the temple be pointed and also that it is placed above the roof at the center.

CONCLUSION Construction of temple is entirely different from that of the construction of other buildings. There are many rules and regulations for the construction of temples. The temple’s life is very longer than any other buildings. It is because of the shape and construction of Temples.

REFERENCES 1) Dr.C.V. Kand ‘Civilisation and Sthapatis of India’ The Indian Concrete Journal, August 2008 pages 18 to 29. 2) Pangaakam Publications, ‘Thandrasamuchayam’ 3) architecture in india.com. 4)temple architecture.com. 5)www. hindupedia.com/en/Introduction_to_Temples_of_Kerala. 6)Kerala temple history.com 7)B. Niranjan Babu, ‘Vaastu’

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