TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA
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As temples form the backbone of Indian
medieval architectural heritage, it would be appropriate to
discuss their basic architectural features before we move on to
different styles of Indian architecture. Despite the vastness of
the land, Indian temple architecture is remarkably uniform. It
is, however, often distinguished into two chief styles, each
having numerous sub-styles. The Northern or Indo-Aryan style is
marked by a tower with rounded top and curvilinear outline while
the Southern or Dravidian style has the tower usually in the
shape of a rectangular truncated pyramid.
The standard type of the Hindu temple has remained fundamentally
same from the 6th century AD to the present day. The
construction of temples – whether in the north in the south –
essentially followed a similar pattern. There is the sanctuary
or the vimana of which the upper and outer pyramidal and
tapering portion is called the shikhara, or pinnacle. The vimana
is a rather dark place that houses the divine deity. This small
area is called garbha griha, literally meaning 'womb house'. The
entrance is through a doorway, normally from the eastern side.
The doorway is reached through a mandapa or pillared hall, where
devotees congregate for prayers. However, earlier temples may
have had the mandapa at a little distance from the main temple
(the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram near Chennai, circa 700 A.D.),
although this practise was done away with in later
constructions. Later it became necessary to unite both
buildings, making way for the antarala or intermediate
vestibule. A porch or a smaller room called ardha mandapa leads
up to a hall (mandapa), which in turn goes into a maha mandapa.
A tower generally surmounted the shrine-room while smaller
towers rose from other parts of the building. The whole
conception was set in a rectangular courtyard, which sometimes
contained lesser shrines and was often placed on a raised
platform. The most perfect examples of temples on this structure
are the Khajuraho temples. Here, each chamber has its own
separate pyramidal roof rising in gradual steps so that the
final sanctum’s roof towers up, surrounded by smaller spires,
finally forming a graceful, rising stepped pyramid.
In some parts of India, the ascending pyramid roof format was
not followed. The roof in such temples was still pyramidal, but
was formed of layers that gradually became narrower as they
rose. A courtyard was built around the temple, and sometimes a
wall would be constructed to ensure seclusion. The outer walls
were treated by carving in an orderly group of repetitive
miniatures. The shikhara or tapering roof was specifically based
on this design, which may have originated from the domed huts of
central and eastern India.
THE PRATHIHARAS
The Pratiharas, who ruled over an extensive empire from Ujjain
during the 8th and 9th centuries, were among the significant
successors of the Guptas. The Pratihara temples of Central India
have their own unique designs and decorative schemes. The
important temples of Ujjain include the Mahakaleshwar temple,
which has one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of India, Kal Bhairava
temple, which finds a mention in the Skanda Purana, and
Mangalnath temple, which is regarded as the birthplace of Mars,
according to the Matsya Purana.
THE PALAS
The Pala School of Architecture (8-13th Centuries AD) flourished
in Bengal and Bihar under the Pala and the Sena rulers. Nalanda
was its most active centre, whose influence was spread to Nepal,
Myanmar and even Indonesia. Stone sculptures of this period are
found at Nalanda, Rajagriha, Bodh Gaya, Rajashahi and other
places. The Pala School of art is seen at its best at Nalanda
and several sculptures belonging to this period have been
unearthed in excavations.
THE CHANDELAS
The Chandelas of Jijihoti or Bundelkhand were known as great
builders during the l0th-11th centuries. It is they who built
the temples at Khajuraho justly famous for their graceful
contours and erotic sculptures. These 22 temples (out of the
original 85) are regarded as one of world's greatest artistic
wonders. The Khajuraho Temples do not illustrate a development
over a long period of time but were built within a short period
of hundred years from 950-1050 A.D. The Khajuraho Temples have
highly individualistic architectural character and are generally
small in size. Each temple is divided into three main
compartments - the cella or garbha griha, an assembly hall or
mandapa and an entrance portico or ardha mandapa. Some temples
also contain the antarala or vestibule to the cella and the
transepts or maha-mandapa. The Kendriya Mahadev temple is the
largest and most beautiful of the Khajuraho Temples. The Shiva
Temple at Visvanath and the Vishnu Temple at Chaturbhanj are
other important temples at Khajuraho.
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