Shikhara (Sanskrit:शिखर,IAST:Śikhara), aSanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in theHindu temple architecture ofNorth India, and also often used inJain temples. Ashikhara over thegarbhagriha chamber where the presiding deity is enshrined is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu temple of North India.[1][2]
InSouth India, the equivalent term isvimana; unlike theshikhara, this refers to the whole building, including the sanctum beneath. In the south,shikhara is a term for the top stage of the vimana only, which is usually a dome capped with afinial;[3] this article is concerned with the northern form. The southernvimana is not to be confused with the elaborate gateway-towers of south Indian temples, calledgopuram, which are often taller and more prominent features in large temples.
It is argued that stylistic aspects seen onBuddhist architecture like thestupa may have been influenced by theshikhara, a stylistic element which in some regions evolved to thepagoda.[4][5]
Shikhara can be classified into three main forms:[6]
Latina. Thelatinashikhara has four faces, which may include projections orratha within each face. All the elements run smoothly up the face in a curve. They are also sometimes called "homogeneous"shikhara, as opposed to the next two types, which may be called "heterogeneous".[7] It is the most common form of ashikara.[8]
Sekhari. Thesekhari shape has added engaged (attached) sub-spires or spirelets calledurushringa, echoing the main shape. These may run up most of the face. There may be more than one size of these, sometimes called secondary and tertiary. Tertiary spirelets are typically near the ends of the face or on the corners.[9]
Bhumija. The tower has miniature spires, in horizontal and vertical rows, all the way to the top,[10] creating a grid-like effect on each face. The tower is generally less strongly vertical in overall shape, often approaching a pyramidal shape. This shape is mainly found in the northernDeccan and West India.[9]
The early history of the Hindu shikhara is unclear,[12] but theBuddhistMahabodhi Temple atBodh Gaya has a straight-sided shikhara tower over 55 metres (180 feet) high, with anamalaka near the top. The current structure dates from theGupta Empire, in the 5th–6th century CE. When the temple acquired its shikhara tower, today considered more characteristic ofHindu temples, is uncertain.[13] However, the current structure of the Mahabodhi Temple may represent a restoration of earlier work of the 2nd or 3rd century CE.[11]
Ernest Havell traced the origin ofshikhara to AncientMesopotamia and referred to the royal fortress palaces of similar forms depicted in the stele of Naram-Sin.[14] However, the evidence for this origin is not adequate and could easily have been influenced by colonial-era perspectives. plaque fromKumrahar dated 150-200 CE, based on its datedKharoshthi inscriptions and combined finds ofHuvishka coins, already shows the Mahabodhi Temple in its current shape with a stepped truncated pyramid and astupafinial on top, together with devotional images of theBuddha and the elephant-crownedPillar of Ashoka next to the entrance.[15] It is thought that this shape of a truncated pyramid was derived from the design of the steppedstupas which had developed inGandhara, as seen in the stupas ofJaulian, with an elongated structure formed of a succession of steps with niches containing Buddha images, alternating withGreco-Roman pillars, and topped by a stupa.[11][16] However this is merely a theory and the evidence is not satisfactory to class this beyond the status of fringe theory.
By at least 600 CE inOdisha,[17] and perhaps somewhat later in theDeccan Plateau and West India,[18] the Latina form of the shikhara is well-established, with anamalaka disk-stone at the top, and then akalasha urn. There is often asukanasa feature over the entrance door.[19]
The forms with smaller subsidiary spires begin in the 10th century,[20] and from then on tend to predominate. TheKhajuraho Group of Monuments has several early forms from early in the century, though Latina ones reappear after about 1050, in examples like theVamana Temple.[21] The bhumija spire probably first appears around 1000-1025, with other temples begun in the 1050s, such as theShiv Mandir, Ambarnath.[22]
The Nagara style is more prevalent in northern India, within which, the shikhara is recognized as a high curved shape. In the north-east, the local termdeul ordeula is more often used, both for towers and often the whole temple. InOdisha, aRekha Deula is the sanctum and the tower over it;gandi is also a term for the upper tower only, equating to shikhara. The curve is also very slight until the top, and the amalaka rather large, typically supported by four lion sculptures facing out.[23] Of the many temples inBhubaneswar, only theRajarani Temple has significant spirelets.[24]
TheVesara style, a synthesis of Nagara and Dravidian, is seen inKarnataka and most commonly inHoysala and laterChalukya temples. In thevesara style, the tower moves towards a lower conical shape, with highly ornate carving.
TheDravidian style is prevalent in southern India, in which the equivalent of the shikhara is thevimana. The superstructure above the sanctum is typically more like a four-sidedpyramid in overall shape, consisting of progressively smaller storeys of pavilions (talas), with a profile that is normally straight than curved. The Dravidian superstructure is generally highly ornate.
In every style of shikhara/vimana, the structure culminates with a"kalasha", or urn for offerings, or water-pot, at its peak.
^Harle, James Coffin (1994).The art and architecture of the Indian subcontinent (2nd ed.). New Haven London: Yale University Press. p. 201.ISBN978-0-300-06217-5.
^Michell, George (1990).The Penguin guide to the monument of India. London: Penguin book. pp. 228–229.ISBN978-0-14-008144-2.
