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Choultry is a resting place, an inn or caravansary for travelers, pilgrims or visitors to a site, typically linked to Buddhist, Jain and
by Charles Augustus Maude Fennell, John Frederick Stanford, pages 244, 235, 242, 781, Quote: "Here pilgrims could rest, or look at the processions, or buy house-idols, lamps, rosaries or various souvenirs. These mandapas (or chavadi, choultry) are of two types: (...)" This term is more common in South India, Central India and West India, while in North India similar facilities are called Dharmshalas. They are known as a chatra, satram, chatram or dharmasala in eastern regions of India. The choultry concept and infrastructure in South Asia dates back to at least the 1st millennium, according to epigraphical evidence such as stone and copper plate inscriptions. A choultry provides seating space, rooms, water and sometimes food financed by a charitable institution. Its services are either at no cost, or nominal rates, or it is up to the visitor to leave whatever they wish as a donation. They were also used by officials traveling on public business. Many major temples have mandapam and pillared halls, some called Thousand pillared halls with an attached kitchen for servicing pilgrims and travelers to the temple. The term choultry may overlap with a ''mandapa''. Many Hindu monasteries (
File:1798 aquatint painting of Tirumala Nayak Choultry, Meenakshi Hindu temple, Madurai Tamil Nadu.jpg, A Madurai Hindu temple choultry
File:1806 painting of Srirangam from across the river, a Hindu temple pilgrim rest house choultry on right, Tamil Nadu India.jpg, A Srirangam temple choultry
File:Raja Tirumala Nayak Choultry at Madurai Hindu temple, a pilgrim traveler rest house.jpg, A choultry built during the Nayaka dynasty rule in Tamil Nadu
Choultry is a resting place, an inn or caravansary for travelers, pilgrims or visitors to a site, typically linked to Buddhist, Jain and Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hi ...
s. They are also referred to as .''The Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised Words and Phrases Edited for the Syndics of the University Press''by Charles Augustus Maude Fennell, John Frederick Stanford, pages 244, 235, 242, 781, Quote: "Here pilgrims could rest, or look at the processions, or buy house-idols, lamps, rosaries or various souvenirs. These mandapas (or chavadi, choultry) are of two types: (...)" This term is more common in South India, Central India and West India, while in North India similar facilities are called Dharmshalas. They are known as a chatra, satram, chatram or dharmasala in eastern regions of India. The choultry concept and infrastructure in South Asia dates back to at least the 1st millennium, according to epigraphical evidence such as stone and copper plate inscriptions. A choultry provides seating space, rooms, water and sometimes food financed by a charitable institution. Its services are either at no cost, or nominal rates, or it is up to the visitor to leave whatever they wish as a donation. They were also used by officials traveling on public business. Many major temples have mandapam and pillared halls, some called Thousand pillared halls with an attached kitchen for servicing pilgrims and travelers to the temple. The term choultry may overlap with a ''mandapa''. Many Hindu monasteries (
matha
A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.
) also built and operated such choultries.
Etymology
InTelugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
and Tamil ''chaawadi'', savadi, chau, Skt. chatur, 'four,' vata, 'road, a place where four roads meet Alternatively, it is derived from ''chatra'' (छत्र) which means "umbrella, cover", or 'shraaya'' (श्राय) which means shelter. The word ''satram'' (సత్రం,'' സത്രം'')'' is used for such buildings in the Telugu states and in Kerala''.'' In West India
Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Uni ...
the form used is chowry or chowree (Dakhan. chaori). A pillared hall, a shed, or a simple loggia, used by travellers as a resting-place.
Other usages
In South India, especially inKarnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...
a choultry can also denote a Hindu wedding hall.
Gallery
See also
*Caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes coverin ...
* Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
References
{{reflist Hotel types Living arrangements Architecture in India Hindu temple architecture