Panchayatana (temple)

Example with the plan of the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple in Khajuraho with the subsidiary sanctuaries : see numbers 9.

Hindu temples are built in the Panchayatana layout: the main shrine is surrounded by four subsidiary shrines.^[1] The origin of the name are the Sanskrit words Pancha (five) et ayatana (containing).

Generally, Hindu temples are built along a west-east axis. So the four subsidiary shrines are at the north-east, south-east, south-west, north-west.

Examples of Panchayatana temples[edit | edit source]

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple in Khajuraho
Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar
Jagdish Temple in Udaipur
Lakshmana Temple in Khajuraho
Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar
Arasavalli Temple near Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradesh near Visakhapatnam. Main shrine dedicated to Aditya. Subsidiary shrines dedicated to Ganesh, Shiva, Parvati and Vishnu.^[2]
Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh. It should be the oldest panchayatana temple in India.
Nabaratna Temple in Pantchupi
Shiva Panchayatana Temple in Tumbadi, Tumkur district. Subsidiary shrines dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha, Vinayaka, Parvati and Surya.
Gondeshvara temple, in Sinnar, Maharashtra^[3]

Notes[edit | edit source]

↑ "Khajuraho, India | World Heritage Site". The-world-heritage-sites.com. 1986-11-28. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
↑ "Suryanarayana Temple at Arasavalli". Templenet.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
↑ http://www.msc-sahc.org/upload/docs/new.docs/2008_SVardia.pdf

External links[edit | edit source]

http://templenet.com/Andhra/arasavalli.html

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[1] "Khajuraho, India | World Heritage Site". The-world-heritage-sites.com. 1986-11-28. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2012-10-11.

[2] "Suryanarayana Temple at Arasavalli". Templenet.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11.

[3] ttp://www.msc-sahc.org/upload/docs/new.docs/2008_SVardia.pdf

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