Pancharatha
title: "Pancharatha" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["architectural-elements", "hindu-temple-architecture"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancharatha" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::callout[type=note] See also Pancha Rathas, religious buildings in Bhubaneswar ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Plan_of_subsidiary_shrines_of_Brahmeswara_Temple.jpg" caption="Drawing of a ''pancharatha'' building"] ::
A Hindu temple is a pancharatha 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).
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Triratha-Pancharatha-Saptaratha.jpg" caption="''Triratha'', ''Pancharatha'' and ''Saptaratha''"] ::
Examples of pancharatha temples
- Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar
- Lakshmana Temple in Khajuraho
- Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar
- Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha
- Jagannath Temple in Baripada, Odisha
- Jagannath Temple in Nayagarh, Odisha
- Isanesvara Siva Temple in Bhubaneswar
- Mukteswar Temple in Bhubaneswar
- Brahmani temple in Baleswar, Odisha
|File:Isanesvara.jpg|Isanesvara Siva Temple in Bhubaneswar |File:Jagannath Temple baripada 4.jpg|Jagannath Temple in Baripada |File:Lingaraj Temple bbsr10.jpg|Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar
Notes
References
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