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Ep347: Largest and Oldest Temples in India · Kidcast Daily

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  Spin the wheel, let's take a ride.
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  Sports and science bursting from inside a world of wonder open
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  wide. Come on kids, let's amplify kid
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  cats. Daily starts your day.
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  Fun and laughter come your way. Sports and trivia games galore.
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  Good day, knowledge adventurers. Welcome to Kick Ass Daily, where
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  every episode takes you on a journey through sports, science,
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  history and all the fascinating corners of our world.
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  Today we are exploring some of the largest and oldest temples
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  in India. A temple is a special place
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  where people go to pray, think quietly and celebrate festivals.
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  In India, many temples are also like outdoor museums.
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  They show art carved in stone, careful geometry in their
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  shapes, and smart engineering that has survived earthquakes,
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  rain and heat for hundreds or even thousands of years.
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  Let's start with what makes a temple.
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  Well, a temple. Many Indian temples have a main
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  tower In the southern part of India.
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  This tower over the central shrine is called a vamana, and
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  the tall gateway towers are called gopirams.
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  In the northern part of India, the main tower is called a
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  shakara. Inside, there is often a hall
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  called a mandapa where people gather, and a quiet inner room
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  called the garbhagraha, or the sanctum, where the main idol is
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  placed. Around the main building, there
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  can be courtyards, water tanks for ritual baths and long
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  corridors for walking. Now let's meet one of the
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  largest temple complexes in India by area the
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  Sriranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu.
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  It covers about 156 acres, which is bigger than many city parks.
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  It has multiple rings of walls and streets inside the complex,
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  almost like layers of a giant square onion, but all made of
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  stone and brick, with markets, homes for priests and many
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  smaller shrines. During big festivals, 10s of
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  thousands of visitors walk through its tall gateways.
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  Its tallest gateway tower rises high above the trees and can be
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  seen from far away. The temple is active every day
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  with lamps lit, bells ringing, and long lines of people moving
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  with patience and respect. Another big and famous temple in
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  the South is the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai.
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  This temple is known for its colorful towers covered with
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  detailed statues of people, animals, and scenes from
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  stories. The complex has long corridors
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  where the ceilings are painted in bright patterns.
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  There is also a sacred tank called the Golden Lotus Tank.
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  People visit, sit on the steps and watch the reflection of the
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  towers in the water. Artists, craftspeople and
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  builders worked for many generations to make these
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  details and they continue to maintain them today.
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  If you travel to Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu, you can see the
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  Brahadiz were a temple built around the year 1010 by King
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  Rajaraja Cholai. It has a huge granite vamana
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  that rises about 66 meters. Granite is a very Hard Rock and
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  moving it without modern cranes was a big challenge.
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  Builders use sloped ramps and teams of workers to lift heavy
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  blocks into place. The stone carvings include
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  dancers, musicians and inscriptions carved in the
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  ancient Tamil language that record donations, festivals and
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  rules for the temple. In the city of Bobineshwar in
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  Edisa, the Lingaraja temple shows the tall, curving Shakara
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  style of the East. Its tower looks like many
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  stacked layers rising to a point made of sandstone blocks fitted
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  together. Around its stand dozens of
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  smaller shrines, creating the feeling of a city of stone.
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  The temple grounds are neat and orderly, and visitors remove
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  their shoes and walk on smooth paths worn by many feet over
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  many years. Now, what about very old
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  temples? India has several that date back
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  many centuries. The shore temple at
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  Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu was built in the early 7 hundreds
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  along the Bay of Bengal. Its builders carved parts of it
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  from granite blocks and decorated the walls with lions,
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  bulls and geometric patterns. Sea, wind and salt have worn
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  down some surfaces, but the shape and strength are still
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  clear. Another remarkable place is the
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  Kailasa temple at Ellora in Maharashtra.
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  It was carved in the seven hundreds and eight hundreds out
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  of a single rock Cliff from the top down.
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  Imagine starting at the roof level and removing millions of
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  kilograms of rock to reveal pillars, halls and statues.
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  There are no separate blocks to take apart.
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  The whole structure is one piece of stone.
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  Here's a quick check in question.
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  Do you think any Indian temple has a hall with more than 1000
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  pillars, each carved with different designs?
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  Yes. The Thousand Pillar Hall at the
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  Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam and the 1000 pillar
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  halls at other South Indian temples show rows and rows of
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  pillars, each with its own patterns, made with careful
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  symmetry. Let's look at how people built
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  and maintain these places. Temple builders often used
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  interlocking stones instead of modern cement.
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  They measured with ropes, wooden scales and simple tools, but the
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  results are straight, balanced and stable.
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  Many temples include step tanks that collect rainwater, which
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  helps in a country with hot summers.
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  Temple towns grew up around these complexes with market
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  selling flowers, lamps, sweets and small copper or brass items
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  used in rituals. Did you know that some temples
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  were planned with astronomy in mind?
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  Certain doorways line up with the sun on special days.
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  In some places, the first ray of sunlight on a festival morning
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  shines directly into the inner sanctum.
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  This required careful planning of angles, heights and positions
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  over long distances. Let's add a trivia moment with
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  something new. Which Indian state is home to
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  the Sun Temple at Madura, where the first sunlight on certain
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  days lights up the inner steps of a grand tank?
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  It is in Gujarat. The temple includes a large
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  stepped tank called the Surya Khand, where the geometry of the
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  steppes creates striking, repeating patterns.
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  Here's a yes or no question that introduces a new seaside detail.
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  Is the Somnath Temple, located along the coastline facing the
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  Arabian Sea, where visitors can hear waves while standing in the
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  courtyard? Yes, Somnath stands near the
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  shore in Gujarat and the open view to the sea is a special
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  part of the visit. Another temple famous for size
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  is the Animal Layer Temple in Tirvanamalai, Tamil Nadu.
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  Its high gateway towers mark the temple from far away, and the
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  complex includes long, straight corridors and open courtyards
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  that fill during festivals. The city around it provides food
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  stalls, flower markets and small shops that serve pilgrims all
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  year. To understand oldest, it helps
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  to know that stone temples came after wood and brick structures
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  that did not last as long. Among the oldest surviving
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  temple structures is the Mandeshwari temple in Bihar,
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  which inscriptions date to around the first or second
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  century of the Common Era. It is small compared to later
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  temples, but it shows early forms that later became common,
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  like a central shrine and simple but strong walls.
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  This temple is still used for worship, which means it has been
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  active for many centuries. Let's bring in a material
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  challenge. Is there a temple built mainly
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  of white marble that shines in sunlight and has delicate
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  carvings so thin you can see light through them?
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  Yes, the Dilwara temples at Mount Abu in Rajasthan are
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  famous for white marble pillars, ceilings and screens that look
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  almost lace like because of a fine carving.
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  Here is another new material question.
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  Which South Indian temple is known for soapstone carvings
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  where jewelry and hair strands appear very fine and detailed
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  under close view? The Hoisels wear.
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  A temple at Holabudu in Karnataka is carved from
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  soapstone, A softer stone that allows for very detailed work,
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  including tiny chains and beads carved from single pieces.
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  Let's add one more tall fact in the form of a question.
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  Is there a modern tall gopuram on the West Coast of India that
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  visitors can ride an elevator to the top of for a wide view of
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  the sea? Yes, at Mirjshwar in Karnataka,
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  the Talgopyrim has an elevator that takes people up to viewing
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  floors, which is a newer feature not seen in ancient towers.
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  Before we wrap up, here are a few tips for visiting these
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  places. Wear comfortable clothes that
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  cover shoulders and knees because many temples have dress
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  codes. Remove your shoes were asked,
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  and be respectful by speaking softly.
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  Inside the halls. Look for signs that describe the
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  art and history. If guides are available, they
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  can point out small carvings and inscriptions you might miss.
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  Bring a bottle of water and take breaks under shade if it is hot.
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  Remember that for many people, these temples are not just old
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  buildings, they are active places of worship, so following
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  the rules helps everyone have a good visit.
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  Let's recap what we learned today.
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  A temple usually includes a tower, a hall, and an inner
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  sanctum, plus courtyards and water tanks.
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  Some of the largest complexes in India include the Sri
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  Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam and in the
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  Meenakshiman temple in Madurai with many halls, tall towers and
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  busy streets. Inside the Brai Hadees were a
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  temple shows how hard granite can be shaped into a 66 meter
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  tall vamana, while the Lingaraja temple shows the tall curved
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  Shakara style. Very old temples include the
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  Shore temple at Mahabalipuram and the Kailasa temple at Illora
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  carved out of rock. One of the oldest surviving
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  temple sites is the Mandeshwari temple in Bihar.
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  We also discovered new facts through our questions, like the
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  Sun Temple at Madura in Gujarat, the seaside location of Somnath,
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  the marble marvels of the Dulwara temples, the soapstone
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  details at Hoiselswara, and the elevator view from the
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  Mirajwargopyaram. India's temples are full of art,
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  math, engineering, and daily life, and they welcome curious
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  minds that look closely and learn with care.
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  Thanks for exploring with me today.
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  Keep your curiosity steady, check trusted books and museum
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  guides when you want to learn more, and share what you
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  discovered with friends and family.
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  Until next time, keep noticing the details that make the
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  world's places unique and full of stories.
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