The consecration of the much awaited Ram Mandir at Ayodhya is going to take place on the 5th of August. This is a very important milestone in the history of India and every Hindu is waiting for it to happen. In the meetings which are happening from the past couple of weeks, decisions are being taken as to how to construct the temple, what would be the time period so on and so forth.ImageSource

It arouses the curiosity of all of us as to how the magnificence, splendour and the architectural marvels of the temple will be wherein one can have a darshan of Lord Ram. It is a known fact that all temples are based on the rules of Silpa Sastra and are built strictly in the code and adherence of the guidelines mentioned in the same. In these interesting happenings, let’s have an understanding as to what are the different styles of temple architecture.

Sculpture in India undertook a long journey. However the foundation to build huge massive temples with proper planning and artistic marvels was developed during the Gupta period (4th century A.D) and reached the pinnacle of glory in the medieval times (13th to 16th century A.D).

The temples were built by the great rulers, while adding their regional flavour to it and keeping in mind the geographical tolerance needed for the temple to survive the future and the social customs of the region. According to Silpa Sastra, the Indian Temple architecture is basically done in three styles

The Ayodhya Ram Mandir is going to be in the Nagara style. This is the popular style among the temples in North India, which is also called the Indo Aryan style. The entire temple is built on a huge stone platform with steps leading to the main temple. The temple roof is a tall structure usually square shaped, called the Sikhar, it may be a single or multiple ones, depending on the need of the design of the temple. The Garbhagrih (main sanctum) is located under the main Sikhar. This style comes under one of the sub divisions of the Nagara style called the Latina.

There are no boundary walls or enclosures, but in the entrances of the temples, one can find the sculptures of River goddesses, Ganga and Yamuna carved representing that crossing them and entering the temple is purifying one’s body and soul.

The second division is the Phamsana Sikhar, wherein the Sikhar is shorter and slabs of stone are placed on each other to from the Sikhar unlike a singular carved one. Another division is called the Valabhi Sikhar wherein the roof is in a rectangular shape with a roof that rises into a vaulted chamber.

The Nagara style is usually the same in all regions, however there are few exceptions of the Kalinga temples of Odissa, which all though are in the Nagara style, are built slightly different. These temples are more elongated in shape and divided in two parts, namely the Duela and the Jagmohana, both together resembling the shape of a horse-shoe.

The most prominent temples in this style are the Sun temples at Modhera and Konark, The Khajuraho temples, The Dasavatar temple at Deogarh, The Dwaraka temple in Gujarat etc. With the present events happening, the divine temple of Ayodhya is soon going to be another example of the Nagara style added into the Indian temple marvels.