Pancharatha

A Hindu temple is a pancharatha when there are five ratha (on plan) or paga (on elevation) on the tower of the temple (generally a shikhara).

[1] The rathas are vertical offset projection or facets.

The name comes from the sanskrit Pancha (=five) and Ratha (=chariot), but the link with the concept of chariot is not clear.

There are also temples with three rathas (triratha), seven rathas (saptaratha) and nine rathas (navaratha).

[1]