Towering, multi-storeyed gateway characteristic of South Indian Dravida temple architecture. A temple may have several gopurams, or gopuras, punctuating the prakaras or enclosure walls of the complex, the largest one marking the main entrance along the ritual axis, with smaller gopurams facing the other cardinal directions. Inspired by the form of the vimana structure over the main shrine, the gopuram features a stone base and a brick superstructure — they were made entirely in stone prior to the twelfth century — comprising a series of talas (storeys) of diminishing size, topped with a barrel-vaulted roof and kalasha finial. The surface is adorned with brightly painted plaster sculptures of deities, guardian figures, dancers, and mythical beasts. They evolved to their full monumentality and sculptural grandeur by the fifteenth century as important markers of ritual space and political patronage; the main gopuram is often the tallest structure in the temple complex. Prominent examples include those of the Thillai Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram (twelfth–thirteenth century) and the Meenkashi Temple in Madurai (sixteenth–seventeenth century).