Thousands of temples with lofty towers dot the skyline of the entire state of Tamil Nadu. The Tamils have been the greatest of temple builders. Successive Tamil rulers, patrons of art and architecure belonging to the Pallava, Chola and Pandya Dynasty have all contributed greatly.

Some of the prominent Pallava temples are the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, The Kailashanatha Temple at Kanchipuram, the Vaikuntha Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram, and the Talagiriswara Temple at Kanchipuram. Some of the prominent Chola temples are the Brihadishwara temple at Thanjavur, Brihadishwara temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Airavatesvara temple at Darasuram and Kampaharesvara temple at Thirubuvanam.

The Pandyas were not prolific temple builders and mainly concentrated on the Gopurams. Some of the Gopurams built by them include Sundara (also spelt as Sundar) Pandya Gopuram added to the Jambukeshvara temple and the Eastern Gopuram in the Chidambaram temple. The Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjavur made significant contributions like the Ranganatha temple at Srirangam.