Ground Plan of the Pagoda at Chillimbaram
Nothing reliable can by adduced concerning the age of the existing structural temples of India, which are called pagodas, from the word bhagarati, i.e. sacred house. They belong to both antiquity and modern times. Some of these pagodas are wonderfully large and magnificent. The consist of one or more quadrangular courts with towers at the corners, surrounded by a wall (a). Large pyramids (b) rising in stages cover the entrance, behind which extend colonnades.