20/02/2019 Vimana (architectural feature) - Wikipedia

Vimana (architectural feature)

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.

In North Indian temple architecture texts, the superstructure over the

garbhagriha is called a 'shikhara'. However, in South Indian Hindu
architecture texts, the term shikhara means a dome-shaped crowning cap
above the Vimana.[1]

Contents
Architecture
Famous Shrines
Gallery
A seven-storey vimana
See also
Notes

Architecture
A typical Hindu temple in Dravidian style have gopurams in the four directions
i.e. East - main entrance, North and south - side entrances, West - only opened
on auspicious day where it is believed we will go directly to Heaven.The
temple's walls are typically square with the outer most wall having four
gopuras, one each on every side, situated exactly in the center of each wall.
This will continue to next tier depending upon the size of the temple. The
sanctum sanctorum and its towering roof (the central deity's shrine) are also
called the Vimana. Generally, these do not assume as much significance as the
outer gopurams, with the exception of a few temples where the sanctum
sanctorum's roofs are as famous as the temple complex itself.

Famous Shrines
The kanaka-sabai (Golden Stage) at Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, is The Vimana of the Jagannath
another example. This shrine is entirely covered with golden plates, but is Temple at Puri in the Kalinga style of
different in its structure and massive in size when compared to most other architecture
vimanas. Historical evidence states that during the ninth century, Parantaka I

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funded to cover this vimana with ornamental gold and it retains its glory even
today.

The Ananda Nilayam vimana of the Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, is a

famous example where the gopuram of the main shrine occupies a very special
place in the temple's history and identity.

Meenakshi Temple has two golden vimanas,[2] the huge one for Shiva and the
second one for his consort, Meenakshi.

Golden shrine of Tirumala

The Vimana of the Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur, is another example, with a
Venkateswara Temple
very exaggerated height. This form is not very common.

The Jagannath Temple, Puri, has the Neelachakra (http://www.shreekhetra.co

m/neelachakra.html) on the sikhara, i.e., the top of the Vimana. It is a representation of Vishnu's most powerful weapon,
the sudarshana chakra.

The vimana of the Konark Sun Temple was the tallest of all vimanas before it fell.

Gallery

Vimanam and Gopuram Sirkazhi Temple Vimanam Tirunallur Vimanam

See also
Balinese temple
Meru tower
Shikhara
Stupa
Hindu temple architecture
List of tallest Vimanams

Notes
1. Shikhara (https://www.britannica.com/technology/shikhara), Encyclopaedia Britannica
2. "Towers" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090405180658/http://www.maduraimeenakshi.org/menu_pg.php?id=2%3Fs_
id%3D9). Archived from the original (http://www.maduraimeenakshi.org/menu_pg.php?id=2?s_id=9) on 5 April 2009.

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