Gopuram, Sri Ekambaranathar Temple, Kanchipuram

This gopuram (or entrance tower, typical of Dravidian temple architecture) I *think* again (there are just many temples to visit in town) belongs to Kanchi's Sri Ekambaranathar Temple, dedicated to Shiva, and said to be one of the largest temples in town, covering some 12 hectares.

If so, this gopuram is said to be early-16th century AD, built under the Vijayanagar empire (known to many visitors to India primarily as the rulers of their capital of Vijayanagara or Hampi, much further west); though construction of the temple is said to have begun under the Pallavas, a Tamil dynasty who ruled large parts of South India from the 3rd-9th century AD, and with Kanchipuram their capital.

'Tis a great pity, I have a number of pics of this temple's arguably pretty stunning interior (and featuring among other things a so-called "thousand pillars hall," another common feature in many Dravidian temples -- few if any of them actually featuring a thousand of them, but, well, you get the idea just by their name) -- none of which turned out quite up to any sort of standards, however. So I'll have to leave it up to the imagination for now.