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The Architeetural Forms of temples
313 varify the texts within reference to existing monuments, the Dravidian temples are not hexagonal or octagonal in ground plan. This supports our contention that the shape (or geographical regions ) are not the criterian of different modes of expression. From the exisiting monuments it can be derived that the Drāvida temples are the: square temples surmounted by a Sikhara which are divided into compartments like storeys, on the top of which are two kinds of crowing pieces, one like that on the Shore Temple at Mamalapuram, and the other like the one in Ganesa Ratha of that place. All the manuals on Vāstu-śāstra especially those belonging to the Maya school or Drāvida School, describe temple divisons on the basis of the storeys in the Sikharas which might be 12 (or 12 to 17) in number. The crowning peice is called the Stūpi with Kalasa. The Sm. Su. in this respect has exactly followed the Southern text and so its representation pertaining to this style is quite fitting to the existing monuments of South.
The Aparājitapracchā divides temples into two main
groups 121
Sudhachanda
comprising
eight
(a) those belonging to varieties 122 viz.,
(1) Nāgara (2) Dravida
(3) Varāta · (4) Miśraka
(5) Latina (6) Sandhara (7) Vimāna (8) Bhūmija
121 APPR. CIII, 1-3, CXII. 2-3, 13-15, 122. APPR. CLV, CLVII,
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