{{Short description|Type of entablature in Hindu temple architecture}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} A 1834 sketch of prastaras|250px|thumb|right '''Prastara''' ({{langx|sa|प्रस्तर|prastāra}}, extension, flat top) is a sort of entablature in Hindu temple architecture.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Cyril M. |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture |date=2013 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=9780486132112 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kp_DAgAAQBAJ&q=Prastara+entablature&pg=PT1165 |accessdate=30 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
==Overview== It is a horizontal superstructure of bands and moldings above column capitals, sometimes functioning as a parapet of a story. Prastara is both functional and decorative element located above the architrave of the temple.{{sfn|Adam Hardy|1995|p=82, 390}}{{sfn| Vinayak Bharne| Krupali Krusche|2014|pp=112, 126-130, 149-152, 280}}{{sfn|Prasanna Kumar Acharya|2010|pp=328-336}} Being the third part of the building counting from the bottom, prastara is a very important element of the overall architectural composition of the temple.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Joanna Gottfried |title=Kalādarśana: American Studies in the Art of India |date=1981 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004064980 |page=149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qoeAAAAIAAJ&q=Prastara+entablature&pg=PA149 |accessdate=30 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=SMYTHIES |first1=ADRIAN GREVILLE |title=THE ARCHITECTURE AND ICONOGRAPHY OF THE HINDU TEMPLE IN EADS, TENNESSEE |url=http://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2006m/smythies.pdf |accessdate=30 May 2019 |date=2006}}</ref>
==Meaning== In the Dravidian context, prastara signifies a meeting place, where the two divisions of the temple, ''prasada varga'' (the Earth) and the ''pada varga'' (the Heaven), meet each other.<ref>''Shodhganga: Temples of Salem Region up to 1336 AD''</ref>
==Parts== Prastara consists of several parts from bottom to top: uttara, valabhi (stringcourse above uttara), and kapota (dripstone).<ref>{{cite web |title=An Introduction to Temple Architecture in India |url=https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesFarEast/India_Modern_Temples01.htm |website=www.historyfiles.co.uk |accessdate=30 May 2019}}</ref> Kapota is usually shaped as a pigeon's head.
==References== {{Reflist}} Category:Hindu temple architecture
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