Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum: The Gopuras of Tiruvannamalai (An Old Book)

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Gopura, the name for the entrance tower of South Indian Hindu Temples, is an imposing architectural feature of the complex of structures that form a temple. In the beginning it was a small structure raised over the passage providing entry into the temple. Such an entrance tower over the gateway in the Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram is one of the earliest examples of its kind. Inscriptions of Pallava and early Chola periods refer to the Gopura as an essential axial adjunct. Some temples of these periods still have Gopuras of modest size. The first experiment in the elaboration of the Gopura could be seen in the Thanjavur Big Temple where we find an inner and outer Gopura. In the next stage of its development Gopuras began to dominate the landscape eclipsing the Vimana (super structure over the Sanctum) which until then was greater in height than the Gopura. Another development is the multiple Gopura lay-out in each of the circuits of the temple complex. The Arunachaleswara temple at Tiruvannamalai is a pleasing example of this design. The Gopuras of this famous temple captivated former Superintendent of this Museum Dr. F.H. Gravely so much as to make him devote his time and energy to writing about them even after his retirement from service in the museum. Nearly a decade after his retirement in 1940 AD, Dr. F.H. Gravely wrote this small monograph on the Gopuras of Tiruvannamalai temple. He has demonstrated in this work the successive changes of styles that have occurred in the construction of the Gopura, from about 11th century AD to 19th century AD.