Deula

For the villages in West Bengal, see Deula, Magrahat and Deula, Medinipur.

Simplified schema of a Kalinga architecture temple

Deula (Odia: ଦେଉଳ deuḷa) is an architectural element in a Hindu temple in the Kalinga architecture style of the Odishan temples in Eastern India.[1] Sometimes the whole temple is also referred to as Deula. The word "deula" in Odia language means a building structure built with a particular style that is seen in most of the temples from Odisha.[2] Deul is also used in English, though the deul temples are also of a different form in the Manbhum region of Western Bengal.

There are three types of Deulas:[3] In terms of the general north Indian terminology, the Rekha Deula (rekha deul) is the sanctuary and the tower over it, respectively the garbhagriha and the shikhara, the Pidha Deula (pida deul) is the mandapa where the faithful are present. The Khakhara deula is an alternative form of tower over the sanctuary, which in shape resembles the oblong gopuram temple gatehouses in southern Dravidian architecture.

  1. ^ "Architecture on the Indian Subcontinent - Glossary". Retrieved 26 January 2007.
  2. ^ Fergusson, James (2013). "ORISSA". History of Indian and Eastern Architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 92–116. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139814638.007. ISBN 9781139814638.
  3. ^ http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/nov2005/engpdf/Orissan_Temple_Architecture.pdf p. 45-47