The Brahmasthana is the centre of the temple where a finite representation of divinity

Madurai is not one among the five. The five temples are Chidambaram Nataraja temple, Thanjavur Brahadeeswara temple, Sarangapani temple at Kumbakonam, Arunacaleswara temple at Thiruvannamalai and Vrddagirisvara temple at Vriddhachalam.

Ramayana and Mahabaratha have references to the word Devalaya

Achicara murtis are a latter tradition and perhaps evolved in response to the history. Abhicara murtis are installed to protect the society or kingdom from physical enemies.

Chavundaraya Basadi at Shravanabelagola. You may notice that there are no sculptures of deities in the Bhitti

The States that have a Jyotirling are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh

The mukhamantapa is the feature in this Badami Temple in Dravida style. This was built during the Badami Chalukya period.

The legendary Pandurang Vaman Kane uttered these words, highlighting the moralizing tendency of Indian Government only towards Hindu customs.

Sodasopacara refers to sixteen steps in a Puja starting from seating the divinity to dissolution of the divinity.

The puranas describe the conception of a drop of Shiva’s blood, the pushing down of Vastu Purusha on earth and Devalaaya as a meeting place of Akasha and earth. Devaalaya as a representation of divinity of nature is a logical explanation for the evolution of temples.

Pushkarini is the tank or step well outside the Prakara. The devotees are able to clean themselves in the Pushkarini before entering the Devaalaya

Dhatu means relic and Stupa refers to a place which houses the Dhatu or where a Dhatu is buried. Relic can be physical remains or articles used or Dharma Cakra or miniature stupa.

As humans settled down in large cities, there was a need to establish order in governance which gave rise to Artha Shastra, need for entertainment gave rise to Natya Shastra and the need for worshipping divinity

Rekha Nagara style and Nagara style refer to the same. Rekha means a single line which the Nagara style follows

None of the recovered deities have been returned to their temples. These are being retained by ASI in its warehouses in poor conditions ascribing lack of security in temples.