Shikhara

Also called shikharas, śikhara, sikhara

In North India, the curvilinear tower over the sanctum of a temple; in the South, the domed crowning member of the vimana.

Rules that use the word

The curvilinear shikhara in storeys. Raise over the sanctum a tower whose faces curve inward towards the top (rekha), divided into storeys (bhumis) that are marked on the corners by small ribbed discs (bhumi-amalakas).

Amalaka and kalasha. Crown the shikhara with a great ribbed stone disc, the amalaka, on a short neck, and set over it the kalasha, a water-pot finial.

Halls rising towards the sanctum. Lay the halls along the east–west axis in front of the sanctum (porch, hall, great hall, vestibule), each larger and more lofty than the one before, so that the roofs rise in a continuous range to the shikhara.

Towers clustered round the tower. Multiply the shikhara: attach smaller spires (urushringas) against its faces, and smaller ones again against those, so that the tower becomes a cluster of peaks.

Where it appears in the book

In the chapters South and Southeast Asia.

A feature of Hindu Temple: Nagara (North Indian) architecture.

Nearby in the glossary

Shala · Shatyor · Shell · Shengqi · Shinbashira · Shingle · Shinmei-zukuri · Shoin