Gopuram: Design and Architecture
Gopuram, also known as gopura, is the monumental entrance to a Hindu temple. Most commonly seen in Southern India. Comparatively smaller at first, the size of the Gopuram significantly increased since the mid-12th. Resulting in the colossal gateway came that we know now. With the size of the Gopuram increasing so did its prominence and dominance in the temple enclave. Surpassing not just in size but also in architectural elaboration. A temple houses a series of gopurams acting as an entry gateway for each new enclosure wall.
Constructed with a stone as its base, with a superstructure of brinks and pilaster. The plan is to be rectangular, topped by a barrel-vault roof, with one or many kalasams placed on top. Exquisitely decorated with sculptures and carvings covering the exterior of the walls, with paintings depicting various themes derived from Hindu mythology. Associated with the presiding deity.
Gopuram also has several aspects related to God, puranic stories, and lessons for devotees. These also represent the strength of Indian and Dravidian architecture. On top of this, some temples have Dwarapalakas or guardian deities on the gopurams, as they are the doorkeepers of the temple.
The rule in constructing temple Gopuram is that the height of the temple towers needs twice or thrice that of the width and size of the temple towers needs to be decreased as they approach the main sanctum. This is why you see their out Gopurams are massive compared to the Gopurams inside which are relatively smaller.
The number of Gopurams constructed in a temple may also depend on the number of enclosures the temple has. Among all the gopurams in a temple, the eastern gopuras are considered the most auspicious. This is the reason why eastern gates are considered as the main gate for entering the temples.
Coming to more scientific aspects of the Temple Gopuram, the Gopuram are known to absorb, maintain and spread cosmic energy which it absorbs from the sun, the moon, and the earth’s core. They spread the energy all across the temple grounds giving benefits these energies to all the devotees. This is due to its unique structure as well the stones used to make the gopura.
To increase the lifespan of the Gopuram, they are gold plated. Gold is well known as an indestructive material, it’s also a highly conductive material that amplifies Gopuras’ ability to absorb, maintain and spread the cosmic energy it gathers. Not only Gold is a non-corrosive metal meaning it does not corrode over time as other metals like copper or iron do. Having a coating of gold on it significantly increases the durability of the Gopura by several folds.
We are Smart Creations use the most advanced technology for Gold plating called NTGD Nano Technology for Gold deposition. Using this technology pure gold gets deposited on the base metal, and we can reduce the thickness of the coat to microns that 0.0001 millimeters, giving a perfectly even coat while using 80 percent less gold compared to traditional methods. Smart creations have done work in over 5000 temples in India, worked on over 10,000 Kalasam, and restored 100,000 idols.