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The Structural Temples of Gujarat So the characteristics of three varieties Nāgara, Drāvida, Vesara, offered by Āgamas 167 and Silpa texts like Mānasāra etc. 168 may fittingly apply to the temples of South India, which in shape are either square, rectangular circular, hexagonal and octagonal etc. The terminology about five fold shapes of the ground plan offered by Ag, P; Sm. Su. APPR (Vairāja etc.) is seen completely absent here; instead a new terminology about the shape i. e. for square Nagara', for circular Vesara and for hexagonal or octagonal ‘Drāvida' seems adopted by the southern school.
Again, the description of temples under the head of Dravida given by Sm. Su.;169 APPR110 etc , in many respect fits to the existing monuments of southern India. This shows that when the canonical works of Northern school describe the temples belonging to Dravida, etc. school, they have clear idea about their geographical aspect.
So the conclusion, which we are here arriving at, is that in the Southern school the form Nāgara, Drāvida and Vesara is based on the shape of the temple; and to the Northern school the terms are in the sense of the geographical divisions of the country. i. e. the division to which they apply.
But the canonical works do not treat the Lāta type of temples as a separate group of temples obviously it seems merged into all pervading and universal style Nāgara. Sm. Su. treats temples enumerated by early sources like Br. Sm., M. P., VKP etc. as Nāgara temples (LXIII). But the APPR has reflected much light on this type of the temple and first and foremost preferance is given to Nāgara in its fourteen main types of temples. (CIII, CIV etc.) 167. Kami. XLIX; Supra. XXXI, 37-39; Vaikhānasāgama (Vide T. B. Vastuvidya p. 144) 168. Mānasāra. XVIII, 45-51, LIII, 27 XXI. 36 etc. For details see P. K. Acharya's EHA. Nāgara' pp. 260-272. 169. Sm. Su. LXII.
170. APPR. CLXXIV.
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