Temple 17 at Sanchi is a small but historically important structure: one of the best-preserved examples of early Indian temple architecture, dating from the 5th century AD during the Gupta period. Unlike the stupas, which belong to an entirely Buddhist form, Temple 17 shows the emergence of the type that would eventually become the standard Hindu and Buddhist shrine form — a flat-roofed rectangular hall with a portico and four pillars at the front.
The proportions are elegant and the craftsmanship careful. The capital design on the pillars is particularly refined. What makes Temple 17 remarkable is that it represents a transitional moment: you are looking at something close to the prototype of the Indian temple as it would develop over the following millennium. Standing beside it, knowing what it eventually became — the great temple towers of Khajuraho and Konarak — is a useful exercise in architectural imagination.