Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v1.c56.89

v1.c56.89

Again I entirely agree with the learned authoress of Hindu Temple when she says, (Page 182), "Śikhara thus particularly denotes a shape curvilinear in the vertical section whether it is used to designate the whole super-structure of North Indian Prāsādas or the cupola of the High Temple only which is placed on top of the super-structure of South Indian Prāsādas. This two-fold use of the term Śikhara in Indian Vāstu-śāstra has led to wrong interpretations. Its square or round etc. horizontal section on South Indian Temple (Śiraśchanda; Mayamata, XVIII-1) has mistakenly been considered by modern scholars a criterion of the entire super-structure of a Hindu Temple".