Vimana (architectural feature)
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Vimana is the structure over the garbhagriha or inner sanctum in the Hindu temples of South India and Odisha in East India. In typical temples of Odisha using the Kalinga style of architecture, the vimana is the tallest structure of the temple, as it is in the shikhara towers of temples in West and North India. By contrast, in large South Indian temples, it is typically smaller than the great gatehouses or gopuram, which are the most immediately striking architectural elements in a temple complex. A vimana is usually shaped as a pyramid, consisting of several stories or tala. Vimana are divided in two groups: jati vimanas that have up to four tala and mukhya vimana that have five tala and more.
A seven-storey vimana
The vimana of the Jagannath Temple at Puri in the Kalinga style of architecture
Golden shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Vimanam and gopuram
Garbhagriha
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A garbhagriha is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, what may be called the "holy of holies" or "sanctum sanctorum".
Devotees offering prayers at the garbhagriha in Chennakeshava Temple, Belur, which houses the icon of the god Vishnu.
Garbhagriha at Pattadakal with the Lingam icon of the god Shiva.
A schematic of a simple Hindu temple showing the garbhagriha sanctum, antarala and mandapa
Architecture of a Hindu temple (Nagara style). These core elements are evidenced in the oldest surviving 5th–6th century CE temples.