Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A tall, often beehive-shaped superstructure set above the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple in northern Indian temple design.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Sanskrit śikharaḥ, point, spire; akin to śikhā, topknot, point, of unknown origin.]
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Examples
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This temple, with its massive pale-ocher shikhara (tower) and assemblage of domes, sits at the edge of a vast seascape glazed over with heat.
India’s New Face 2009
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This temple, with its massive pale-ocher shikhara (tower) and assemblage of domes, sits at the edge of a vast seascape glazed over with heat.
India’s New Face 2009
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The temple, with its distinctive domes, shikhara, turrets and cupolas rises majestically from the slope of a hill.
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Only 150m south of Durga Temple is the modern marble shikhara-style Tulsi Manas Temple, built in 1964.
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This temple is built in north Indian Nagara style with a multi-tiered shikhara (spire).
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