''Urushringa'' (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: ''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 different styles, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the ''Garbhagriha, garbha griha'' or womb-ch ...

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 (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

, 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. They are about 46 km (28.6mi) from Chhatarpur, Chhatarpur city, the district headquarter, 283 km (177mi) from Gwalior, southea ...

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 i ...

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 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