In ancient Indian temple architecture, 'Panchayatana' refers to a style in which:

In Hindu temple architecture, "Panchayatana" ("five shrines") is a style in which the main shrine is built in the centre of a platform, with four smaller subsidiary shrines at the four corners.

About the Panchayatana style:

• "Pancha" means five, and "ayatana" means shrine or abode.
• The main shrine is dedicated to the principal deity, while the four corner shrines are dedicated to other deities.
• It is a common arrangement in temples of both the northern (Nagara) and other styles.
• It is associated with the "Panchayatana Puja", a form of worship of five deities (Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha), popularised by Adi Shankaracharya according to tradition.
• In this worship, one of the five deities is placed in the centre, depending on the devotee's preference, and the other four are placed around it.

Examples of Panchayatana temples:

• The Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh), built in the Gupta period (around 500 CE), is one of the earliest examples of the Panchayatana plan.
• The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple and the Lakshmana Temple at Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh).
• The Brahmeswara Temple at Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
• The Lingaraja Temple complex at Bhubaneswar has elements of this plan.

Other features of Hindu temple architecture:

• "Garbhagriha": the sanctum, where the main deity is placed.
• "Mandapa": a pillared hall for worshippers.
• "Shikhara" or "vimana": the tower over the sanctum.
• "Antarala": the vestibule between the sanctum and the mandapa.
• "Pradakshina patha": the path for circumambulation.
• "Jagati": the raised platform.

Gupta temples:

The Gupta period saw the beginning of structural temples, with the square sanctum and small porch, which developed into the full Nagara style.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Five gateways, five storeys and five rivers are not the meaning of "Panchayatana".