Explanation:

The temple is enclosed within a compound wall.
Gopuram: The entrance gateway in the centre of the front wall.
Vimana: The shape of the main temple tower. It is a stepped pyramid that rises up geometrically (unlike the Nagara style Shikhara that is curving).
In the Dravida style, shikhara is the word used for the crowning element at the top of the temple (which is shaped like a stupika or octagonal cupola).
At the entrance to the garbhagriha, there would be sculptures of fierce dvarapalas guarding the temple.
Generally, there is a temple tank within the compound.
Subsidiary shrines could be found wither within the main tower or beside the main tower.
In many temples, the garbhagriha is located in the smallest tower. It is also the oldest. With the passage of time and the rise of the population of the temple-town, additional boundary walls were added. The newest structure would mostly have the tallest gopuram.
Example in the Sriranganathar Temple at Srirangam, Tiruchirappally, there are 7 concentric rectangular enclosure walls each having gopurams. The tower at the centre has the garbhagriha.
Famous temple towns of Tamil Nadu: Kanchipuram, Thanjavur (Tanjore), Madurai and Kumbakonam.
In the 8th to 12th centuries – temples were not confined to being religious centres but became administrative centres as well with large swathes of land.