or shikhara
Tower characteristic of Hindu temples of northern India.
The sikhara over the sanctuary of a temple is usually tapered convexly, consisting of piled-up roof slabs of diminishing size. The surface is covered with vinelike candrashala (ogee arch) tracery; at the top is a cushion-shaped grooved disk ( amalaka ), and above that a pot with a crowning finial. The sikhara developed during the Gupta period (4th6th century AD) and steadily grew taller and more elaborate, as in the soaring tower of the 11th-century Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar . In a variation of the basic form, half spires are added on either side of the sikhara ; excellent examples are the 10th-century Laksmana and 11th-century Kandarya Mahadeva temples at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. In addition to the curved sikhara , there is a smaller, rectilinear type frequently used above the temple mandapa s (halls).
A 015B; ikhara of the bh 016B; mija type, Udaye 015B; vara temple, Udayapur, ...
P. Chandra