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	{{Short description\|~~tower~~ or spire in Indian temple architecture}}		{{Short description\|Tower or spire in Indian temple architecture}}
	{{About\|the type of architecture\|the wooden boats of Jammu and Kashmir\|Shikara\|\|Shikara (disambiguation)}}		{{About\|the type of architecture\|the wooden boats of Jammu and Kashmir\|Shikara\|\|Shikara (disambiguation)}}
	{{Distinguish\|Chikara (disambiguation)}}		{{Distinguish\|Chikara (disambiguation)}}
	{{Italic title}}		{{Italic title}}
	[[File:Khajuraho3.jpg\|thumb\|right\|''[[Latina (architecture)\|Latina]] in Khajuraho]]		[[File:Khajuraho3.jpg\|thumb\|right\|''[[Latina (architecture)\|Latina]]'' in Khajuraho]]

	'''''Shikhara''''' ([[IAST]]: ''{{IAST\|Śikhara}}''), a [[Sanskrit]] word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the [[Hindu temple architecture]] of [[North India]], and also often used in [[Jain temple]]s. A ''shikhara'' over the ''[[garbhagriha]]'' chamber where the presiding deity is enshrined is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu temple of North India.<ref name="S_Vardia">http://www.msc-sahc.org/upload/docs/new.docs/2008_SVardia.pdf</ref><ref name=eb>{{cite web\|title=Shikhara\|url=http://www.britannica.com/technology/shikhara\|website=Encyclopædia Britannica\|access-date=4 August 2015}}</ref>		'''''Shikhara''''' ([[IAST]]: ''{{IAST\|Śikhara}}''), a [[Sanskrit]] word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the [[Hindu temple architecture]] of [[North India]], and also often used in [[Jain temple]]s. A ''shikhara'' over the ''[[garbhagriha]]'' chamber where the presiding deity is enshrined is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu temple of North India.<ref name="S_Vardia">{{Cite web \|url=http://www.msc-sahc.org/upload/docs/new.docs/2008_SVardia.pdf \|title=Archived copy \|access-date=2012-11-03 \|archive-date=2016-03-03 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214457/http://www.msc-sahc.org/upload/docs/new.docs/2008_SVardia.pdf \|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=eb>{{cite web\|title=Shikhara\|url=http://www.britannica.com/technology/shikhara\|website=Encyclopædia Britannica\|access-date=4 August 2015}}</ref>

	In [[South India]], the equivalent term is [[Vimana (architectural feature)\|''vimana'']]; unlike the ''shikhara'', this refers to the whole building, including the sanctum beneath. In the south, ''shikhara'' is a term for the top stage of the vimana only, which is usually a dome capped with a [[finial]];<ref>Harle, 167</ref> this article is concerned with the northern form. The southern ''vimana'' is not to be confused with the elaborate gateway-towers of south Indian temples, called ''[[gopuram]]'', which are often taller and more prominent features in large temples.		In [[South India]], the equivalent term is [[Vimana (architectural feature)\|''vimana'']]; unlike the ''shikhara'', this refers to the whole building, including the sanctum beneath. In the south, ''shikhara'' is a term for the top stage of the vimana only, which is usually a dome capped with a [[finial]];<ref>Harle, 167</ref> this article is concerned with the northern form. The southern ''vimana'' is not to be confused with the elaborate gateway-towers of south Indian temples, called ''[[gopuram]]'', which are often taller and more prominent features in large temples.

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{{Short description|tower or spire in Indian temple architecture}}
{{About|the type of architecture|the wooden boats of Jammu and Kashmir|Shikara||Shikara (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Chikara (disambiguation)}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:Khajuraho3.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Latina (architecture)|Latina]] in Khajuraho]]

'''''Shikhara''''' ([[IAST]]: ''{{IAST|Śikhara}}''), a [[Sanskrit]] word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the [[Hindu temple architecture]] of [[North India]], and also often used in [[Jain temple]]s. A ''shikhara'' over the ''[[garbhagriha]]'' chamber where the presiding deity is enshrined is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu temple of North India.<ref name="S_Vardia">http://www.msc-sahc.org/upload/docs/new.docs/2008_SVardia.pdf</ref><ref name=eb>{{cite web|title=Shikhara|url=http://www.britannica.com/technology/shikhara|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 August 2015}}</ref>

In [[South India]], the equivalent term is [[Vimana (architectural feature)|''vimana'']]; unlike the ''shikhara'', this refers to the whole building, including the sanctum beneath. In the south, ''shikhara'' is a term for the top stage of the vimana only, which is usually a dome capped with a [[finial]];<ref>Harle, 167</ref> this article is concerned with the northern form. The southern ''vimana'' is not to be confused with the elaborate gateway-towers of south Indian temples, called ''[[gopuram]]'', which are often taller and more prominent features in large temples.

==Forms==
''Shikhara'' can be classified into three main forms:<ref>Hardy, 270</ref>
*''[[Latina (architecture)|Latina]]''. The ''shikhara'' has four faces, which may include projections or ''[[Ratha (architecture)|ratha]]'' within each face. All the elements run smoothly up the face in a curve. The most common.<ref>Hardy, 270-272</ref> They are also sometimes called "homogeneous" ''shikhara'', as opposed to the next two types, which may be called "heterogeneous".<ref name="Inde">{{cite book
|last1= Volwahsen
|first1= Andreas
|publisher= Office du Livre
|title= Inde bouddhique, hindoue, jaïn
|edition= Architecture universelle
|year= 1968
|location= Fribourg (Suisse)
|pages= 143–147
}}</ref>

*''[[Sekhari (architecture)|Sekhari]]''. The ''latina'' shape has added engaged (attached) sub-spires or spirelets called ''[[urushringa]]'' echoing the main shape. These may run up most of the face. There may be more than one size of these, sometimes called secondary and tertiary. Tertiary spirelets are typically near the ends of the face or on the corners.<ref name="Hardy, 273-274">Hardy, 273-274</ref>
*''[[Bhumija]]''. The tower has miniature spires, in horizontal and vertical rows, all the way to the top,<ref name="bhumija">{{cite web|title=bhumija (Indian architecture)
|url= http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-64207/bhumija|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2007-12-30| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071111115538/http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-64207/bhumija| archive-date= 11 November 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> creating a grid-like effect on each face. The tower is generally less strongly vertical in overall shape, often approaching a pyramidal shape. Mainly found in the northern [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] and West India.<ref name="Hardy, 273-274"/>

==History==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Kumrahar Mahabodhi plaque.jpg
| width1 = 170
| caption1 = <center>The Mahabodhi Temple in 150-200 CE. Recent images of the plaque [https://books.google.com/books?id=9jb364g4BvoC&pg=PA242&lpg=PA242][https://twitter.com/i/web/status/965987427226501121]</center>
| image2 = Top of Temple.jpg
| width2 = 142
| caption2 = <center>The [[Mahabodhi Temple]]: a stepped pyramid with stupa finial on top.<ref name=BA238/></center>
}}
The early history of the Hindu shikhara is unclear,<ref>Harle, 111, 136-139</ref> but the [[Buddhist]] [[Mahabodhi Temple]] at [[Bodh Gaya]] has a straight-sided shikhara tower over 55 metres (180 feet) high, with an [[amalaka]] near the top. The current structure dates from the [[Gupta Empire]], in the 5th–6th century CE. When the temple acquired its shikhara tower, today considered more characteristic of [[Hindu temple]]s, is uncertain.<ref>Harle, 201; Michell, 228-229</ref>

However the current structure of the Mahabodhi Temple may represent a restoration of earlier work of the 2nd or 3rd century CE.<ref name=BA238/> [[Ernest Binfield Havell|Ernest Havell]] traced the origin of ''shikhara'' to Ancient [[Mesopotamia]] and referred to the royal fortress palaces of similar forms depicted in the stele of Naram-Sin.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sarkar|first=Gurudas|last2=Shepherd|first2=Charles|last3=Bourne|first3=Samuel|date=1922|title=Notes on the History of Shikhara Temples|url=https://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-123961#footnote62_6emnl01|journal=Rupam - an Illustrated Quarterly Journal of Oriental Art|language=en|issue=10}}</ref> A plaque from [[Kumrahar]] dated 150-200 CE, based on its dated [[Kharoshthi]] inscriptions and combined finds of [[Huvishka]] coins, already shows the Mahabodhi Temple in its current shape with a stepped truncated pyramid and a [[stupa]] [[finial]] on top, together with devotional images of the [[Buddha]] and the elephant-crowned [[Pillar of Ashoka]] next to the entrance.<ref>Buddhist Architecture, Le Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, [https://books.google.com/books?id=9jb364g4BvoC&pg=PA242&lpg=PA242 p.242]</ref> It is thought that this shape of a truncated pyramid was derived from the design of the stepped [[stupa]]s which had developed in [[Gandhara]], as seen in the stupas of [[Jaulian]], with an elongated structure formed of a succession of steps with niches containing Buddha images, alternating with [[Greco-Roman]] pillars, and topped by a stupa.<ref name=BA238>Le Huu Phuoc, Buddhist Architecture, pp.238-248</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ching |first1=Francis D. K. |last2=Jarzombek |first2=Mark M. |last3=Prakash |first3=Vikramaditya |title=A Global History of Architecture |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118007396 |page=231 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isuTDpkqdk8C&pg=PA231 |language=en}}</ref>

By at least 600 CE in [[Odisha]],<ref>Harle, 158-159</ref> and perhaps somewhat later in the [[Deccan Plateau]] and West India,<ref>Harle, 136-139, 166-171</ref> the Latina form of the shikhara is well-established, with an [[amalaka]] disk-stone at the top, and then a [[kalasha]] urn. There is often a [[sukanasa]] feature over the entrance door.<ref>Harle, 140</ref>

The forms with smaller subsidiary spires begin in the 10th century,<ref>Harle, 219</ref> and from then on tend to predominate. The [[Khajuraho Group of Monuments]] has several early forms from early in the century, though Latina ones reappear after about 1050, in examples like the [[Vamana Temple, Khajuraho|Vamana Temple]].<ref>Harle, 232-235</ref> The bhumija spire probably first appears around 1000-1025, with other temples begun in the 1050s, such as the [[Shiv Mandir, Ambarnath]].<ref>Harle, 230-232</ref>

==Major styles==
[[File:Lingaraj Temple bbsr10.jpg|thumb|right|Homogeneous Shikhara (but with [[Ratha (architecture)|rathas]]) of the [[Lingaraja Temple]] in Bhubaneswar]]
Shikharas form an element in the many styles of [[Hindu temple architecture]], of which the three most common are:<ref name=S_Vardia/>
* the [[Nagara architecture|Nagara]] style prevalent in northern India. The shikhara is a high curved shape, and so called. In the north-east, the local term [[deul]] or [[deula]] is more often used, both for towers and often the whole temple. In [[Odisha]] a [[Rekha Deula]] is the sanctum and the tower over it; ''gandi'' is also a term for the upper tower only, equating to shikhara. In Odisha the curve is very slight until the top, and the amalaka rather large, typically supported by four lion sculptures facing out.<ref>Harle, 246</ref> Of the many temples in [[Bhubaneswar]], only the [[Rajarani Temple]] has significant spirelets.<ref>Harle, 246, 249</ref>
* the [[Vesara]] style, a synthesis of the two others, seen mostly in [[Karnataka]] and most commonly in [[Hoysala architecture|Hoysala]] and later [[Chalukya]] temples. In the ''vesara'' style, the tower moves towards a lower conical shape, with highly ornate carving.
* the [[Dravidian architecture|Dravidian]] style prevalent in southern India : The equivalent of the shikhara is the [[Vimana (architectural feature)|vimana]]. The superstructure above the sanctum is typically more like a four-sided [[pyramid]] in overall shape, consisting of progressively smaller storeys of pavilions (''[[Tala (Hindu architecture)|talas]]''), with a profile that is normally straight rather than curved. The Dravidian superstructure is generally highly ornate.
In every style of shikhara/vimana, the structure culminates with a ''"[[kalasha]]",'' or urn for offerings, or water-pot, at its peak.

{{gallery | title=The three main styles | height=300 | width=300 | align=center
|File:Rama eshwar.jpg|Nagara shikhara of [[Rameshwar Deula|Rameshwar Temple]] in [[Bhubaneswar]]
|File:Murudeshwara_Temple.JPG|Dravidian [[Vimanam (tower)|vimana]] of [[Murudeshwara]] Temple
|File:Rear View of Keshava Temple at Somanathapura.jpg|Vesara style of [[Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura]]. Towers are in 16 pointed star plan.
}}

==See also==
{{Commons category|Shikharas}}
* [[Meru tower]]
* [[Vimana (architectural feature)]]
* [[Hindu temple architecture]]
* [[Balinese temple]]
* [[Stupa]]
* [[Kadamba architecture|Kadamba Shikhara]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*[[Adam Hardy|Hardy, Adam]], ''Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation : the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries'', 1995, Abhinav Publications, {{ISBN|8170173124}}, 9788170173120, [https://books.google.com/books?id=aU0hCAS2-08C&pg=PA183 google books]
*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, {{ISBN|0300062176}}
*Michell, George (1988), ''The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms'', University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0226532301}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hindu temple architecture]]
[[Category:Roofs]]

Shikhara - Revision history

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202.142.79.59: Added info with citation