A gopuram or gopura is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South Indian architecture of the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana, and Sri Lanka. In other areas of India they are much more modest, while in Southern Indian temples they are very often by far the highest part of the temple.
Detail in gopuram showing Vamana measuring earth and sky
Ulagalantha Perumal Temple, Tirukoyilur
Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram
Rajagopalaswamy Temple, Mannargudi
A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Koil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and devotion. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicated. The design, structure and symbolism of Hindu temples are deeply rooted in Vedic traditions, which use circles and squares in their architecture. The temple's design also represents the concept of recursion and the equivalence of the macrocosm and the microcosm through astronomical numbers and specific alignments related to the location of the temple and the connection between the deity and the worshipper. A temple incorporates all elements of the Hindu cosmos — presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of the Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life — symbolically presenting dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and karma.
Image: Undavalli Caves
Image: Hindu temple in Ubud
Image: Masrur rockcut temple
Image: Somnath current