Dravidian Architecture
The dominant South Indian temple-building tradition, characterised by the pyramidal gopuram and vimana towers, originating with the Pallavas and reaching its peak under the Cholas and Nayaks.
Dravidian architecture is the principal architectural tradition of South India, most prominently expressed in the great Hindu temple complexes of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The tradition is characterised by the pyramidal tower form (both the vimana above the main shrine and the gopuram at the enclosure gateways), built up in diminishing storeys to a crowning barrel-vault form.
The tradition emerged in the early historical period with the rock-cut and structural experiments of the Pallava dynasty (7th–9th century CE), reached its classical maturity under the Cholas (9th–13th century CE), and achieved its most spectacular scale under the Vijayanagara empire (14th–17th century CE) and the Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu (17th–18th century CE).