Under the patronage of the Chola rulers, hundreds of temples were built in South India. It was a continuation of the previous Pallava architecture, with some variations. This is what came to be known as the Dravidian style of temple architecture. The features of the Dravidian style or Chola style are:
Unlike the Nagara temples, the Dravidian temples were surrounded by high boundary walls.
The front wall had a high entrance gateway known as the gopuram.
The temple premise was laid out in the panchayatan style with a principal temple and four subsidiary shrines.
In the Dravidian style, the spire is in the form of a stepped pyramid that rises up linearly rather than curved. It is known as vimana.
The crowning element is shaped in the form of an octagon and is known as shikhara. It is similar to the kalash of the Nagara temple, but not spherical.
There is only one vimana in the Dravidian architecture on top of the main temple. The subsidiary shrines do not have vimanas, unlike in Nagara architecture.
The assembly hall was connected with the garbhagriha by a vestibular tunnel known as antarala.
The entrance of the garbhagriha had sculptures of Dwaarpal, mithun and yakshas.
The presence of a water tank inside the temple enclosure was a unique feature of the Dravidian style.
Example:Brihadeswara temple at Tanjore (built by Raja Raja I in 1011 A.D.), Gangaikondacholapuram temple (built by Rajendra I to commemorate his victory in the Gangetic delta), etc.
Chola Sculpture
An important feature of the Chola temples was the importance placed on the decoration through sculptures. An important piece of Chola sculpture was the sculpture of Nataraja in the Tandava dance posture. Though the earliest known Nataraja sculpture, which has been excavated at Ravana phadi cave at Aihole, was made during the early Chalukya rule, the sculpture reached its peak under the Cholas.