International Journal of History

Hindu temple (Sanskrit: Mandir, Prasada) is a house of god (s). It is a space and structure designed to bring human beings and gods together, infused with symbolism to express the ideas and beliefs of Hinduism. A Hindu temple, states George Michell, functions as a place of transcendence, where man may cross over (do Tirtha) from the world of illusion to one of knowledge and truth.

The spiritual principles symbolically represented in Hindu temples are given in the ancient Sanskrit texts of India (for example, Vedas, Upanishads), while their structural rules are described in various ancient Sanskrit treatises on architecture (Brhat Samhita, Vastu Sastras). The layout, the motifs, the plan and the building process recite ancient rituals, geometric symbolisms, and reflect beliefs and values innate within various schools of Hinduism.

In the South Indian Temples sites of Aihole and Pattadakal, which contain some of the oldest temples in the south; some temples in Aihole, for example, date to approximately 450. For this reason these sites are sometimes referred to as the "laboratory" of Hindu temples. Pattadakal, another capital of the Chalukya Empire, was a major site of temple building by Chalukyan monarchs in the 7th and 8th centuries. These temples incorporated styles that eventually became distinctive on north and south Indian architecture.

In the Pallava site of Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram), south of Chennai, a number of small temples were carved in the 7th century from outcroppings of rock; they represent some of the best-known religious buildings in the Tamil country. Mamallapuram and Kanchipuram, near Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu, were major cities in the Pallava Empire (4^th-9^th centuries). Kanchipuram, the Pallava capital, is sometimes called the "city of a thousand temples". Some of lits temples date to the 5^th century, and many feature magnificent architecture.