Hinduism is a polytheistic religion practiced in South India. The goal is to achieve moksha through worship of gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and goddesses like Lakshmi and Parvati. Temple architecture is based on a grid system and includes a central sanctuary and pillared halls. Important examples from the Pallava period at Mamallapuram include rock-cut temples and rathas. The Chola period saw large brick temples like Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur with huge gopurams. The Nayaka period Minakshi Temple at Madurai has a hall of thousand pillars and large sculpted gopurams.

1. Hinduism
Dravidian (South) Style

3. Hinduism
 Polytheistic religion (worship many
gods and goddesses)
 Goal is to achieve moksa--by
praying, worshipping (darsana) and
giving offering to gods
 Each god has a female companion
and rides on vehicle such as bull
(Nandi), lion, goose; each holds
some attributes (Siva: tridents and
Vishnu: conch shell and wheel)

4. Triad
 Brahma-God of Creator
 Vishnu-God of Preserver (has many
incarnations such as Rama and
Krishna)
 Shiva-God of Destroyer (also the
protector of animals)
 Devi-goddess (e.g., Laksmi (“Good
Fortune”) and Parvati); symbolizing
beauty, benevolent, and wealth as
well as power and wrath

5. Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, Chola

8. Vastu-purusa mandala
 A myth explains the symbolic diagram (mandala): the
gods in seeking to impose order on chaos, forced the
primeval man, Purusa, into a square grid, the vastu-
purusa mandala, whose basic unit is the square pada
 Hindu temple is the dwelling of the gods. It is based on
the grid systems of 64 (8x8) and 81 (9x9) squares.
 Square is the prefect shape for the ground plan.
 Priests perform ritual of consecrations which connect
between sexual rites and fertility in Hindu architecture.

9. Hindu temples
 The temple is a holy site (tirtha), where they
practitioners can perform circumambulation
(pradaksina). They also perform the pious act of
gazing at the deity (darsan) and offering prayers,
flowers and food (puja). The temple is never a
meeting place for a congregation, but it came to be a
focal point of the community.
 The heart of the temple is the dark hall called garbha
grha (womb hall), where the most important icon is
placed. It is the most important area.
 Pillared halls (mandapa) and porticos were added to
the garbha grha, which was surmounted with a tower
(sikhara)--center of the universe (axis mundi).

10. Vastu-Purusa Mandala

11. Media and ornaments
 Many varieties: wood, brick, terracotta, and variety of
stone (e.g., schist, chlorite, marble)
 Temples required to be heavily ornamented (things lacking
in ornament were considered imperfect or incomplete.
 Motifs: narrative reliefs, animal motifs, floral and
vegetation motifs.

14. Dravidian architecture
 Stone used as medium for funerary monuments
 Religion developments, particularly bhakti cult,
played an important role
 Early phases of architecture consisted of rock-cut
monuments
 Later phase is dominated by structural buildings;
Gopuras became larger than the main building
 The emphasis is on horizontality lines; one or
more stories, topped with stepped-pyramidal
shikhara and a mushroom cap

15. Mamallapuram
 Large remains of Pallava period, 7th century
 Most of the monuments are rock-cut, carved out of the
boulders and cliffs in the area.
 Descent of Ganges River or Arjuna Penance
 Rathas
 Kailasanatha temple (Ellora 16)

16. The Descent of Ganges
 Mid-7th century, Mamalla I at Mamallapuram
 30 meters in length; 50 meters in height
 Contains animals and other objects
 Approximately life-size scale
 Sculptures were done in realistic manner

17. 3.20 The Descent of the Ganges (or the Penence of Arjuna)
Mamallapuram. Pallava period, 7th century

19. Rathas, Mamallapuram
 Mid 7th C, Mamalla I period
 Consists of five free-standing rock-cut structures:
Draupadi (dedicated to Durga), Arjuna, Bhima (to
Vishnu), Dharmaraja, and Nakula-Sahadeva ; three free-
standing animals: lions, bull, and elephant

20. Rathas, Mamallapuram. Pallava period, mid-7th century

21. Rathas, Mamallapuram. Pallava period, mid-7th century

23. Dharmaraja Ratha

26. Rajareshvara Temple (Great Temple),
Thanjuvar (Tanjore)
 Chola period (9th-13th centuries)
 Centered at Thanjuvar (Tanjore)
 Rajarajeshvara or Brihadevara temple to
Shiva at Thanjavur (Tanjore), c. 1000 CE
 Temples made of bricks and stone (for
base)
 Rectangular enclosure
 Large gateways (Gopuras)
 Niches: 30 representations of Siva in his
Tripuramtaka (Destroyer of three Cities)

28. Rajarajeshvara or Brihadevara temple to Shiva, Thanjavur (Tanjore), c. 1000 CE

29. 3.24 Rajarajeshvara or Brihadevara temple to Shiva at Thanjavur (Tanjore), c. 1000 CE

34. Minakshi Temple at Madurai
 Nayak period (16th-18th centuries)
 Dual shrines dedicated to Siva (known
locally as Sundaresvara, “Handsome
One,” and Minakshi “Fish-Eyed One”
 Hall of thousand pillars
 Gopuras (gate): S was built by a wealthy
landowner (197 feet) is covered with over
1500 plaster figures of gods and demons

35. Minaksi-Sundareshvara temple, Madurai, 17th century

37. Minaksi-Sundareshvara temple, Madurai, 17th century

39. Submitted By :
Laxmi Kant 2012UAR1020
Prateek Mondan 2012UAR1056
Vijay Meena 2012UAR1049