Abstract
In the Cauvery Delta area of Tamil Nadu (India), temple settlements are featured by distinctive spatial layouts that have evolved for centuries based on ritual processes, agricultural systems and localized geographic conditions. The temple area acts as a focal common core providing the setting for not only worship, but also festivals. Whereas the large temple cities of antiquity have been a subject of earlier studies, smaller and medium-sized temple settlements have not explored much for research. This study employs axial space syntax analysis using DepthmapX, focusing on global integration HH (Hillier and Hanson’s integration) and mean depth, to examine three Paadal Petra Sthalam settlements (temples praised in sacred hymns of 7th and 9th CE) —Thirupungur, Thirupazhanam, and Thiruvenkadu—selected to represent distinct temple-based spatial typologies. The findings reveal three opposite spatial structures, whereby Thiruvenkadu is characterized by a concentric pattern with high central integration, Thirupazhanam can be characterized by a linear street-based structure, and Thirupungur can be characterized by a more scattered and extended pattern. These configurations reveal the role of sacred architecture in revealing accessibility to space and mobility of rituals in neighbourhoods centred on temples. The research also shows the effects of spatial hierarchy in movement potential and settlement cohesion in culturally entrenched rural areas. Using configurational measures, the study gives quantifiable results of the relationship between temple placement and accessibility and depth differences. The results can be used in heritage-sensitive planning as it identifies the significance of maintaining axial routes and circumambulatory street patterns of traditional temple settlements.
Keywords: Dravidian temples, Integration, Mean Depth, Morphology, Space Syntax, Temple Settlements.