{"id":2979,"date":"2026-05-25T13:21:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/?p=2979"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:21:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:51:38","slug":"which-of-the-following-temples-has-have-a-nagara-style-shikhara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/upsc\/prelims\/which-of-the-following-temples-has-have-a-nagara-style-shikhara","title":{"rendered":"Which of the following temples has\/have a Nagara-style shikhara?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Malegitti Shivalaya, Badami<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Huchimalligudi Temple, Aihole<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Select the answer using the code given below: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list mcq\">\n<li>1 and 2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 and 3<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 only<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 and 4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Answer: (b) 2 and 3<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Statement 1 is incorrect:<\/strong>\u00a0The Malegitti Shivalaya in Badami (built in the late 7th century CE) is a well-preserved example of early\u00a0<strong>Dravida<\/strong>\u00a0architecture. Instead of a curvilinear Nagara shikhara, it features a tiered\u00a0<em>vimana<\/em>\u00a0with an octagonal crowning roof structure typical of the southern style.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Statement 2 is correct:<\/strong>\u00a0The <strong>Huchimalligudi Temple in Aihole, built during the Early Chalukya period <\/strong>(around the 7th\u20138th century CE), showcases vital early evolution in Hindu temple design. It features a <strong>fully developed curvilinear\u00a0<em>Rekhanagara<\/em>\u00a0(Nagara-style) shikhara<\/strong> over its main sanctum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Statement 3 is correct:<\/strong>\u00a0The <strong>Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh) is an early 6th-century Gupta-era monument<\/strong>. Widely considered a precursor to the classic North Indian style, it is one of the earliest structural temples in northern India to possess a <strong>Nagara-style pyramidal shikhara (tower) atop its\u00a0<em>panchayatana<\/em>\u00a0layout.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Statement 4 is incorrect:<\/strong>\u00a0The Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal, commissioned in the 8th century CE by Queen Lokamahadevi, represents the zenith of the Chalukyan\u00a0<strong>Dravida<\/strong>\u00a0style. Heavily influenced by the Pallava Kailasanatha Temple at Kanchipuram, it possesses a multi-storeyed, stepped\u00a0<em>vimana<\/em>\u00a0rather than a Nagara shikhara.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Huchimalligudi-Temple-Aihole-Nagara-Style-1024x684.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2990\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4970976405694978;width:592px;height:auto\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Huchimalligudi-Temple-Aihole-Nagara-Style-1024x684.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Huchimalligudi-Temple-Aihole-Nagara-Style-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Huchimalligudi-Temple-Aihole-Nagara-Style-768x513.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Huchimalligudi-Temple-Aihole-Nagara-Style-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Huchimalligudi-Temple-Aihole-Nagara-Style.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Huchimalligudi Temple in Aihole in Karnataka, built by Chalukyas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Dashavatara-Temple-Deogarh-Nagara-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2991\" style=\"width:594px;height:auto\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Dashavatara-Temple-Deogarh-Nagara-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Dashavatara-Temple-Deogarh-Nagara-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Dashavatara-Temple-Deogarh-Nagara-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Dashavatara-Temple-Deogarh-Nagara.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh (Nagara)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1536\" src=\"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Comparison-of-Indian-temple-styles.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2992\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Comparison-of-Indian-temple-styles.png 1024w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Comparison-of-Indian-temple-styles-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Comparison-of-Indian-temple-styles-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Comparison-of-Indian-temple-styles-768x1152.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Feature<\/th><th>Nagara (North)<\/th><th>Dravida (South)<\/th><th>Vesara (Deccan\/Central)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Region<\/strong><\/td><td>North India (Himalayas to Vindhyas)<\/td><td>South India (Krishna to Kaveri rivers)<\/td><td>Deccan region (between Vindhyas and Krishna)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Main Tower<\/strong><\/td><td><strong><em>Shikhara<\/em> (Curvilinear, beehive shape)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong><em>Vimana<\/em> (Stepped, pyramidal shape)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Blend of both (often curvilinear base with a domed crown)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Compound<\/strong><\/td><td>Usually open, no grand boundary walls<\/td><td>Enclosed by high walls and massive <em>Gopurams<\/em><\/td><td>Often enclosed, but with more fluid, open architecture<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Iconic Features<\/strong><\/td><td>Crowded by an <em>Amalaka<\/em> and <em>Kalasha<\/em> on top<\/td><td>Intricate carvings, temple tanks, and pillared <em>Mandapas<\/em><\/td><td>Often star-shaped ground plans and highly polished soapstone carvings<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Examples<\/strong><\/td><td>Kandariya Mahadeva (Khajuraho), Sun Temple (Konark)<\/td><td>Brihadeshwara (Thanjavur), Meenakshi (Madurai)<\/td><td>Chennakesava (Belur), Hoysaleswara (Halebidu)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Select the answer using the code given below: Answer: (b) 2 and 3 Feature Nagara (North) Dravida (South) Vesara (Deccan\/Central) Region North India (Himalayas to Vindhyas) South India (Krishna to Kaveri rivers) Deccan region (between Vindhyas and Krishna) Main Tower Shikhara (Curvilinear, beehive shape) Vimana (Stepped, pyramidal shape) Blend of both (often curvilinear base with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[43],"years":[74],"class_list":["post-2979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prelims","category-upsc","tag-art-and-culture","years-74"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":3,"label":"Prelims"},{"value":1,"label":"UPSC"}],"post_tag":[{"value":43,"label":"Art and Culture"}],"years":[{"value":74,"label":"2026"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"LotusArise","author_link":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/author\/team-lotusarise"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Prelims","slug":"prelims","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":1,"count":1251,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":1251,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Prelims","category_nicename":"prelims","category_parent":1},{"term_id":1,"name":"UPSC","slug":"upsc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1269,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":1269,"category_description":"","cat_name":"UPSC","category_nicename":"upsc","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":43,"name":"Art and Culture","slug":"art-and-culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":43,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":80,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"years","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotusarise.com\/qna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/years?post=2979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}