''Urushringa'' (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: ''uruśṛn̍ga'' उरुशृङ्ग, lit. ''having high peak'') is a subsidiary tower springing from the sides of the main ''

shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

'' tower in the

Hindu temple architecture Hindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the ''garbha griha'' or womb-chamber, where ...

of northern India.Pdf file about the Khajuraho temples
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Overview

The urushringa is smaller and narrower than the shikhara, and "engaged" or connected to it where they meet, except right at the top. It strengthens the feeling of height given by the temple, and may give some structural support by acting like a

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

, as well as adding to the visual symbolism of the temple as a sacred mountain. They often reflect the complex shape of the sanctuary structure at ground level, following the ''ratha'' projections up into the shikhara. The style of shikhara with urushringas is known as sekhari. Many of the temples in the famous

Khajuraho Group of Monuments The Khajuraho Group of Monuments are a group of Hindu and Jain temples in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh, India, about 175 kilometres southeast of Jhansi. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples are famous for their nagara-styl ...

have sekhari towers, though others do not. On the

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (Devanagari: कंदारिया महादेव मंदिर, Mandir), meaning "the Great God of the Cave", is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in ...

there are 84 urushringas around the shikhara.Harle, 233-235; Michell, 121-123 The urushringa echoes the form of the main shikhara, and often has its own

amalaka An amalaka ( sa, आमलक), is a segmented or notched stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim, that sits on the top of a Hindu temple's shikhara or main tower. According to one interpretation, the amalaka represents a lotus, and thus the ...

and kalasha at the top, as in the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple.

Notes

References

*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, *Michell, George, (1977) ''The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to its Meaning and Forms'', 1977, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN, 978-0-226-53230-1 Hindu temple architecture