Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c27.6

c27.6

Some such plan was no doubt the intention and ideal, and something of the kind forms the basis of most of the great Dravidian temples of later date, but it was a procedure which, in a systematic manner, was rarely put into practice. In some cases the scheme has been disproportionately enlarged, as for instance in the temple of Srirangam where there are as many as seven concentric rectangular enclosures each with its entrance gopurams, the whole equal in area to that of a fair sized town. These *prakarams* were often contributed as acts of piety by the ruling family, and as the boundary walls were generally crenellated, the royal donors could not have been unaware of their defensive properties as a place of retreat in time of trouble.