Temple Mandapam

Mandapam is a pillared hall or pavilion, with pillars usually carved; a mandapa is typically square, rectangle, octagonal or circular; it may have walls with perforated stone windows, it may just be open on some or all sides. Large temples may have many interconnected mandapas. It is a gathering place, a place for pilgrims to rest (choultry), a part of the circumambulation space, or to wait during prayers or Sanskara (rite of passage) rituals. A mandapa may have a tower (shikhara) of its own, but it is lower than that above the sanctum.