prakara
प्राकार prakaraAn enclosure wall surrounding a temple, characteristic of South Indian complexes, pierced by the gopuram and enclosing the garbhagriha within.
Where this term appears
- Nagara, Dravida and Vesara: The Styles of the Hindu Temple Temples
Enclosure walls, the prakara , ring the sanctum in concentric rectangles.
- Anatomy of a Hindu Temple: Gopuram to Garbhagriha Temples
The South Indian or Dravida temple is ringed by enclosure walls called prakaras , sometimes several of them, set one inside the next.
- What is a Hindu Temple? Temples
Here the tower over the sanctum is the vimana , the stepped pyramid, and the enclosure is ringed by prakara walls pierced by gopuram gateways.