The engineering miracle of Indian architecture is reflected in almost all the temples of the country. However, it is not only about the work of ancient Indian engineers. Hindu cosmology also shapes the form of temples, "recreating the universe and each person's struggle over many lifetimes to cast aside illusion and realize divine truth and oneness with an infinite god."
What are Vimanas in India
Vimanas are "flying" palaces described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. Temples are built to house the sacred symbol of a particular god.
The structure is the mountain residence of the gods - the divine figures of India have always been associated with mountains.
The overall shape of the temple, dominated by its large central tower (vimana), recreates the appearance of a god on top of a mountain.
Vimana is a structure above the inner sanctuary in Hindu temples in South India.
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Flying palace architecture
All of these sanctuaries have a beautiful, precise and harmonious geometry. Many of them are richly decorated with sculptures of gods, animals, flowers, erotic scenes, geometric patterns and other figures reminiscent of mythological episodes.
Several temples in India have impressive tall Gopurama towers at their entrances, often richly decorated, especially in South India. They are the dominant architectural feature of the appearance of the sanctuary, sometimes soaring to a height of more than 50 meters and completely overlapping the main temple and other structures with their colossal size.
The early Cholas (a kingdom in southern India) always built the vimana (tower) of the main sanctuary as the tallest structure in the temple complex. Later the medieval Cholas began to erect gopuramas, which were superior in height to the vimanas of the central temple.
This style of building continued and was widely used by the later Hindu dynasties.
The most distinctive feature of the Dravidian style is the division of the vimaana into two parts: garbhagriha and shikhara, which is a trapezoidal structure that rises from a square base. Such temples have gopuram in four directions: east - the main entrance, north and south entrances, west - open only on an auspicious day, when it is believed that "we will go straight to heaven."
"Shikhara" means a dome-shaped crowning hat above the vimana, while the vimana itself resembles a stepped pyramid that geometrically points upward.
The towers symbolize the strength and connection between the human world on earth and the abode of gods and goddesses in the high heavens.
