Many large bannabs (grand stone temples) still stand in South India. Ritual tends to be orthodox and elaborate especially in the large vedic brahmincal temples, which follow the pan-Indian Sanskrit agama scriptural traditions. Apart from the main fixed stone deities, processional deities made of panchaloha (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, zinc and tin) are bathed, dressed, decorated with valuables and taken out in processions for festivals throughout the year. The richer the temple, the more elaborate the festivals. However, many ancient temples in small villages with great architectural and historical heritage value languish for lack of funds for maintenance.
Famous South Indian temples are Thiruppathi temple, Andhra; Mookambi temple, Karnataka; Chennakesava temple, Belur (Karnataka); Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Kerala; Sabarimala temple, Kerala; Guruvayoor temple, Kerala; Kodungallor temple, Kerala; Anikkattilammakshethram, kerala; Kanyakumari temple, Tamilnadu (TN); Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Tamilnadu; Srirangam Ranganathar temple and Thiruvanaikaval temple of Trichy, TN; Golden Temple of Sripuram, TN; Brihadeshwara temple, Tanjore, TN; oldest temples such as Kailasanathar temple, Varatharajaperumal temple, Kamakshi temple and Ekambareshwarar temple of Kanchipuram, TN; Thirukadiyur Abirami temple, TN; Andal temple, Srivilliputhur, TN; Natarajar temple, Chidambaram, TN; Kumbeshwara, Kumbakonam, TN; Thiruvannaamalai temple, Tamil Nadu; Palani temple, Tamilnadu; Kodungallor temple, Kerala; Chettikulangara Devi temple, Kerala; Aranmula Parthasarathy temple, Kerala; Tripunithura sree Poornathrayesa, Kerala.
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