Hindu art and architecture are deeply spiritual and symbolic in nature. Art is seen as a path to spiritual enlightenment, with different art forms like sculpture and painting used to depict Hindu gods and concepts from a symbolic and idealized perspective rather than a realistic one. Hindu temple architecture also has spiritual significance, with styles like Nagara and Dravida using symbolic forms like towers to represent the universe. Major elements of Hindu art include depictions of gods like Ganesha and Shiva, as well as symbolic motifs like lotuses and snakes.

1. Hindu Art
and
Architecture
Sarah Modi, Sarah Mupo, Katie
Murphy, Mary Petersen
IB World Religions: Blue 4

2. Art

3. “The man who knows nothing of
music, literature, or art is no
better than a beast.”
•Warning of ancient Hindu wisdom
•Hindus think highly of art
•Art = the key to salvation of the ultimate
release sought by all good Hindus
•Art is a unity of many forms and artistic
experiences very holistic

4. Yoga
•Indian art in its purest form
•A disciplined style of self-restraint and worship
•India’s oldest indigenous “science”
•spiritual exercise leading to the beatific vision
-also a psychological process of drawing
oneself into the dynamics which control the
universe
-and to ready oneself for all kinds of mental
and physical activity

5. Yoga and Artists
• give the craftsman
his creative skill
• inspire the artist,
poet, and musician
who sought spiritual
enlightenment

6. The Art
• Hindu/ Indian artists have celebrated/ immortalized
the beauty of human bodies in bronze and stone for
more than 5,000 yrs
• Art is most often associated with Hindu religion and
philosophy
-difficult to appreciate fully unless one has
knowledge of Hindu ideals
-religious urge, a looking beyond
-attempt to bring down the beauty of the things
above

7. Art Con’t
• Art is essentially idealistic, mystic, symbolic,
and transcendental
- Mere bodily strength and mundane
perfections of form are never glorified in
Indian art.
• Artist is both priest and poet
• Only by meditating on the Ultimate Perfection
could the artist perceive the beauty of the
Godhead

8. •Hindu poetry, art, and
mythology, depict the sublime
nature of the Himalayas
-regarded as special revelation of
divine beauty
-seen as fitting shrine for all the
gods
The Himalayas

9. •Hindu philosophy recognizes the
impossibility of human art capturing the
form of God
•Creates in Indian painting and sculpture a
symbolical representation of milder,
humanized (but still superhuman), divine
appearances which mortal eyes can bear
Philosophy of Art

10. Purpose of Art
• To suggest divine attributes to Indian people
is the purpose of Hindu art
• True Indian art is stripped of the superfluities
and vulgarities which delight the uneducated
eye
- believe that Hindu art requires a
higher degree of artistic understanding

11. Bhakti
•the moving spirit of
all great religious art
•keeps Indian art alive
•Indians believe lack
of it Bhakti is what
makes modern
Western art so
lifeless

13. Ganesha
• the Lord of success and
destroyer of evils and
obstacles
• worshipped as the god of
education, knowledge,
wisdom and wealth
• one of the five prime
Hindu deities

14. Shiva
•The “Great God” of yogic
practice
•Visually represented as
“King of Dance”
•most remarkable single
symbol of divine powers

15. The Lotus
Brahma on the lotus
flower which sprang
from Vishnu’s naval
•Even in earliest art, lotus is fashioned as a seat
or as a pedestal on which divine or sacred beings
rest in a sitting or standing posture
•Symbol of divinity of major Hindu gods

16. Snakes
• important images in
Hindu art
• Sacred to Hindus
• seen as protectors and
often featured in Hindu
art as wrapped around a
god

17. Architecture

18. Overview
•Not meant for
congregational
worship
•Concentrate on
religious and
spiritual
•Made from rock
•Conservative

19. Overview Cont’d
• Vimana
• Shikhara
• Garba-griba
• Sanctum sanctorum
• Mandapa
• Ardh-mandapa
• Mandala

20. Temple Architecture
•Religious
– Astronomy
– Sacred geometry
•Representation of macrocosm and microcosm
•Has an inner sanctum: garba girha
•Sanctum crowned by a shikara
– Distinguishes the Nagra and Dravida styles

21. North Indian Styles

22. North Indian Styles
• Nagara style
• From Himalayas to the Deccan
• Shikhara – beehive shaped
– Capotas and gavakas
– amalaka
• Shrine is square at center
• Bell-shaped structure on main shrine

23. Lingaraja Temple
Rajarani
Temple
Jagannath
Temple

24. South Indian Styles

25. South Indian Style
•Dravida Style
•Shikhara – pyramid shaped
•Have different: ground plan; position of
stone deities; decorative elements
•Walls around whole building
•Different types: Pallava, Chola, Pandya,
Vijayanagar, Nayak

26. Pallava – Shore
Temple
Chola -
Brihdiswara
Temple
Pandya -
Chidambaram
Nayak –
Rameswaram
Temple

27. Historical Development
• The earliest worship centers
– Abu Simpbel
– Elephanta
– Ellora
• Horse shoe shaped window
• Originally inspired by the Buddhist Stupa
• The Great Stupa

28. Historical Development cont’d
• The Stupa
– Addition to the temple from Buddism
• Shilpa Shastra
– Point of reference
for architects
• Hindu temples
– Large temples vs.
mandirs:

29. Historical Development cont’d
• Shwe Dagon temple
• Temples Today
– Fundamentally the same as the 6th century
– Richly decorated

30. Works Cited
"Art and Architecture" http://hinduism.iskcon.com/index.htm. The Heart of
Hinduism Project. 2004. 1 section. 3 Nov 2006. ISKCON Educational
Services <http://hinduism.iskcon.com/lifestyle/805.htm>
"Architectural Mosaic" http://www.hinduonline.com/. The Hindu. 12 May
2002. 5 sections. 2002 1 Nov 2006 <
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/05/12/stories/200205120045
>
Batchelor, Anthony. “Indian Temple Architecture.” TempleNet. 13 Nov.
2006. <http://www.indiantemples.com/temparc.html>
“Ganesha: The Elephant God.” About. 13 November 2006.
<http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa083000a.htm>.
Havell, Ernest Binfield. The Art heritage of India. Dutton, 1911.
Hindu Architecture. Indiasite.com. 10 November 2006.
<http://www.indiasite.com/architecture/hindu.html>.

31. Works Cited Con’t
"Hindu Architecture" 10 Aug 2004, 7 paragraphs. Project India. 11 Nov 2006 <
http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/student_work/global_programme/indiaweb/PI2/hindu
>.
Hindu Art. 15 August 2006. Hindu Wisdom. 13 November 2006.
<http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Hindu_Art.htm#h%20i%20n%20d%20u
%20%20%20%20a%20r%20t>.
Hindu Temple Architecture. Answers Corporation. 15 November 2006.
<http://www.answers.com/topic/hindu-temple-architecture>.
Kumar, Nitin. “The Hindu Temple: Where Man Becomes God.” May 2006. Exotic
India. 12 Nov. 2006. <http://www.exoticindiaart.com/read/hindu_temple.htm>.
Nangia, Ashish. “Poetry in Stone: Crystallization of the Hindu Temple.” 15 Nov.
2001. Boloji.com. 13 Nov. 2006.
<http://www.boloji.com/architecture/00006.htm>.
Temples. Indian Heritage. 10 Nov. 2006.
<http://www.saigan.com/heritage/tindex.html>.