Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v1.c53.67

v1.c53.67

Śālās in the Purāṇas like Matsya (Ch. CCLVI, V. 35) and Skanda, (Vaiṣṇava-Khaṇḍa II Ch. XXV, vv. 3, 26) also favour this conclusion. I am, therefore, of opinion that these Śālā structures in the shape of storeyed mansions are a later phases of development, their prototypes being Maṇḍapas—the pavilions for piety, alms, rest, sermons, education, amusement (cf. dancing halls and theatre etc.) and so on. They, therefore, in their later phase of development, took the Gopura-super-structure, the most common feature of the South Indian temples. Works like Mānasāra and Kāmikāgama—representative compendiums of South Indian architecture, must mirror this phase of development. Śālā as a hall or pavilion architecture is corroborated by a number of inscriptions (vide Ency. Hindu Arch. page 487-489) wherein the word Śālā has been used for halls or pavilions like Nāṭyaśālā, Bhakta-śālā, Japaśālā, Dāna-śālā, Yajña-śālā, and Virūpākṣa-śālā (temple). This is one way in which we can explain this character of the Śālā architecture quite divergent from that of the North Indian works like Viśvakarmīya Śilpa, the Purāṇas and the S.S., the most representative works of this school.