Nagara Style

Nagara Style or Nagara architectural style is a Hindu style of temple architecture, which is popular in Northern, Western and Eastern India (except the Bengal region^[1]), especially in the regions around Malwa, Rajputana and Kalinga.^[2] Temples classified as Nagara Style are found in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha,^[3] Jharkhand,^[4] Bihar,^[4] Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh (areas bordering Odisha) and West Bengal (southwest and Sundarbans areas).

In fifth century, the use of simple curved Shikhara (spires) begins in the temples; the earliest such temples being classified as Early Nagara Style.^[5] The Early Nagara Style was transformed into the Mainstream Nagara Style in the seventh century.^[6]

This architectural style is one of the two main styles of Hindu temple architecture, the other being the Dravidian architectural style.^[2] Nagara style has three sub-styles or schools, which differ slightly from each other. The sub-styles or schools are Orissa school, Chandel school and Solanki school.

Developed in North India, this style of temple is built on a simple stone platform. One or more Sikharas are observed in temples, but the earliest temples consist of only one Sikhara. The garbhagriha is always located directly below the highest Sikhara. Also, the Nagara Style is characterized by the absence of boundary walls, which are widely used in the Dravidian architectural style of Hindu temple architecture. Some temple complexs and individual structures in the Nagara Style are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[a]

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