Drawing of a pancharatha building

A Hindu temple is a pancharatha (Sanskrit: पञ्चरथ, IAST: pañcaratha) when there are five ratha (on plan) or paga (on elevation) on the tower of the temple (generally a shikhara). The rathas are vertical offset projection or facets. The name comes from the sanskrit Pancha (=five) and Ratha (=chariot), but the link with the concept of chariot is not clear.

There are also temples with three rathas (triratha), seven rathas (saptaratha) and nine rathas (navaratha).

Triratha, Pancharatha and Saptaratha

Examples of pancharatha temples

  • Isanesvara Siva Temple in Bhubaneswar
  • Jagannath Temple in Baripada
  • Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar

Notes

See also