Question

What is Shikhara in temple architecture?

Answer 1

Hint: It is a Sanskrit word which means “mountain peak”. It is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu temple of North India. In south India, it is the same as Vimana.

Complete answer: Shikhara is the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India. It is also used in Jain temples. Shikhara is over Garbhagriha. Garbhagriha is the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temple where the primary deity of the temple is kept.
Shikhara can be classified into three main forms - Latina, Sekhari and Bhumija. The Latina has four faces which may include projections within each face. In sekhari, the Latina has attached sub-spires called Urushringa echoing the main shape. In Bhumija the tower has miniature spires, in horizontal and vertical rows, all the way to the top.
Shikharas form an element in the many styles of Hindu temple architecture, the three most common styles are the Nagara, the Vesara and the Dravidian.
By at least 600 CE in Odisha the Latina form of shikhara was well established.

Note: Some famous examples of shikhara are the Adinatha Temple and the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple in Khajuraho, the Lingaraja Temple and the Rameshwar Temple in Bhubaneswar.