Synopsis The doctoral thesis by R.K. Kesava Rajarajan is a very serious effort to put some order in the great deal of monuments belonging to a period, which is too often underestimated by the scholars. The work contains both a survey of the temples and an analysis of iconographical themes. The painstaking examination of original sources is perhaps the most important contribution by Rajarajan, but also the chapter "Painstaking examination of original sources is perhaps the most important of the changing European taste in the evaluation of Indian art the material collected is impressive, the references to the literary tradition are vast and exhaustive, the iconographical interpretations are well-grounded and rich in detail. it is my opinion tradition are vast and exhaustive, the iconographical interpretations are well-grounded and rich in detail it is my opinion that, once it is published, it will remain for a long time a fundamental reference book for Nayaka architecture and iconography.