Well, while this is true, there is some level of survivorship bias here. Plenty of comparable South Indian temples were torn down, and the ones that survive are

Well, while this is true, there is some level of survivorship bias here. Plenty of comparable South Indian temples were torn down, and the ones that survive are mostly quirks of chance. Even the ones that do survive have seen many of their gopurams (monumental gates) collapse after a few centuries due to political apathy in modern times - the one I recall most recently was at Srikalahasti.