The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c19.56

c19.56

As a matter of fact, in every South Indian temple which was completed according to the intention of the original builders, the tower of the holy of holies always dominated the gopurams of the mandapam and those of the walls of the quadrangular enclosure, as it does in the Virûpâksha temple. The great temple at Tanjore, completed about the beginning of the eleventh century, is a conspicuous example of this rule. The expedient of making the outer gopurams the principal structural features was only adopted when some ancient and highly venerated shrine already existed on the site, and it might be considered desecration to touch it or to disturb the meditations of its pious custodians.