Many illustrious dynasties ruled different parts of South India, which consists of parts of today's Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tami Nadu. According to historical records, archaeological evidence and literary sources and traditions, these dynasties built palaces and temples of great acclaim and merit. South Indian architecture was influenced for centuries by the Cholas in the east and the Chalukyas in the west.
The legacy of great builder dynasties like the early Chola kings of the south and southeast, the Pandya kings from the south center, and the Chera kings of the southwest remain only as memories in Tamil epics, folk poetry, and legend. Other dynasties were the Chalukyas of Mysore (600-450 A.D.) the Pallavas of Kanchi (600-900), the Rashtrakutas (or the later Chalukyas of Mysore, ninth century), the later Cholas (900-1150), the Gangas of Mysore (tenth century), the Hoysalas (1050-1300), the later Pandyas (1152-1350), the Vijayanagaram Kings (1340-1565), and the Nayaks of Madurai (1600-1700).
Tamil epic literature, and later folk traditions, credit the extinction of the palaces to natural causes. Kaviripoomapattinam, an ancient Chola capital known to the Greeks and Romans for its affluence, fell to the angry waters of the Bay of Bengal. Woriyur, another resplendent Chola capital was destroyed in a dust strom and Madurai, the Pandya capital and pride and joy of Tamil civilization and city planning, was destroyed, according to tradition, from fire emanating from the curse of a woman whose husband was wrongly executed by the Pandya king.
Of the palaces of Jayam Conda Cholapuram and Thanjavur only the temples remain. The palaces of the Tamil Chera kings, except for the unique and beautiful palace at Padmanabhapuram, probably succumbed to the climatic conditions of the rain forests and jungles.
The palaces of antiquity all fell to natural causes--not the ravages of enemy legions and hordes. Today only the extensive ruins of the Vijayanagaram era and the living buildings and structures of the Nayaks of Madurai remain.
Of the modern palaces, none has received as much publicity and acclaim as the palace of the Maharaja of Mysore for its regalia, wealth, grandeur, and traditions as well as for its extravagance, pomp, and spectacle. The palace architecture has made use of Hindu, Moghul, and European styles and motifs.
Padmanabhapuram, the thirteenth-century palace at Travancore in Madras State, contains artistically and historically valuable relics of antiquity. A complex structure, its design has a rare austere unity and beauty. The palace's greatest attraction lies in its numerous seventeenth-and eighteenth-century paintings, depicting scenes from the epics.
India accommodates all the world's religions. For over 2,000 years tolerance and even celebration of totally opposing views and practices has been practiced in India. Therefore temples do not necessarily refer to Hindu temples alone though this essay will deal primarily with the Hindu. Any shrine is called a temple. There are the temples of Jains, the Viharas of the Buddha, pre-Christian Jewish temples, churches dating from the time of the Christian era, Islamic mosques, and Sikh temples among
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