Transformation of forms of Indian temples takes place through a dual process -- time as well as space.  These two patterns of transformation, through time and (while representing time) in space, reflect one another closely.

One of the richest traditions of temple building that India has produced took shape in the 7th century A.D., centered in what is now the state of Karnataka, and lasted until the 13th.  This was one of the two main branches of Dravida or 'Southern' temple architecture, giving rise to such famous temples as the Virupaksa, Pattadakal, the Kailasa, Ellora and the Hoysalesvara, Halebid.

These temples are analysed, along with more than 250 other buildings, in this monumental study that, for the first time, explains the Karnata Dravida tradition as one continuous, coherent development.