• Jan 25 2016
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Pancharatha Temple

Not to be confused with Pancharatna (architecture).

See also Pancha Rathas, religious buildings in Bhubaneswar

 

Drawing of a pancharatha building

A Hindu temple is a pancharatha when there are five ratha (on plan) or paga (on elevation) on the tower of the temple (generally a shikhara).The rathas are vertical offset projection or facets. The name comes from the sanskrit Pancha (=five) and Ratha (=chariot), but the link with the concept of chariot is not clear.

There are also temples with three rathas (triratha), seven rathas (saptaratha) and nine rathas (navaratha)