CONTENTS : Introduction 8 Nature of the Universe 12 Architecture in Kerala 14 Sri Mahadeva Temple, Ettumanoor 22 Sri Vadakkunatha Siva Temple,Thrissur 26 Sri Mahadeva Temple, Peruvanam 47 Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswarmi Temple, Thiruvananthapuram 58 Sri VallabhaswamiTemple,Thiruvalla 61 Sri Subramanyaswami Temple, Haripad 68 Sri Parasuramaswami Temple, Thiruvallam 74 Sri Mahadeva Temple, VazhapalIi 86 Krishnapuram Palace, near Kayankulam 89 Sri Mahadeva Temple,Vaikom 97 Wooden Houses 104 Sri Mahadeva Temple, Kaviyur 116 TheTen Avatars of Vishnu 123 Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswami Temple, Kumbala 152 Sri Ramaswami Temple, Thiruvangad 166 Sri Mahavishnu Temple, Thirunelli 180 Sri Ramaswami Temple, Thripprayar 182 Koodalmanikkam Sri Bhartharswami Temple, lrinjalakuda184 Sri Poornathrayeesa Temple,Thripoonithura 188 Padmanabhapuram Palace, near Thuckalai,Tamil Nadu191 Perumthrikkovil Sri Mahadeva Temple, Pazhoor 208 Sri Krishna Temple, Karatt211 Sri KrishnaTemple, Tricchambaram 216 Sri Vamanamoorthy Temple,Thrikkakara 220 Postscript225 Map of Kerala226 Glossary 228 Select bibliography 229 Acknowledgements and Photo Credits 232