Module 2 indian temple architecture

INDIAN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE

Dr. Binumol Tom
Professor, Department of Architecture,
College of Engineering, Trivandrum

• The Hindu temple Temple Architecture of
architecture developed
over two thousand India
years.
• The architectural
evolution of the
indian temples took
place within the rigid
frameworks derived
entirely from religious
thoughtfulness.
• Therefore the architect
was bound to keep to
the ancient primary
dimensions and strict
configurations, which
remained unaltered
over the period of time.

The architectural elements and decorative details in the temple
had their origin in the early wood, timber and thatch buildings.
It had persisted for centuries in one form or another in the stone
structures even though the original purpose and context was
lost. This can be studied from the horseshoe shaped window.
The origin of this type of window can be traced from the chaitya
arch doorway first at the Lomash Rishi cave in the Barabar
Hills used in the 3rd century BC.
It was transformed later into a dormer window known as a
gavaksha and eventually it was used strictly as the decorative
design of interlaced forms seen on the towers of medieval
temples.

• The architect and
sculptor were given a
plenty of freedom in
the ornamentation
and decoration of the
temples.
• This resulted in an
overwhelming riches
of architectural
elements, sculptural
forms and decorative
ebullience that is the
characteristic feature
of Indian temple
architecture has few
analogues in the
aesthetic
manifestation of the
whole world.

The distinct architectural styles of temple construction of
the north India and the south India was the result of the
broad geographical, climatic, ethnic, racial, historical
and linguistic differences resulted, from early on, in.
The Vastu Shastras, the ancient canonical texts on
architecture, classify temples into three different orders:

the Nagara or the Indo-Aryan or Northern style,
the Dravida or the Southern style and
the Vesara or Mixed style of temple architecture.

There are also definite regional styles in peripheral areas
like Bengal, Kerala and the Himalayan areas.

• In the early years, when the temple building had just begun, the
shape of their superstructures can distinguish the two styles.
• The most significant difference between the later northern and
southern styles are the gateways.
• The shikhara in the north Indian temples remained the most
prominent component of the temple and the gateway was ordinarily
unassuming.
• In the south Indian temples, the enclosure walls were built around
the whole complex.
• Elaborate and often magnificent gateways called gopurams were
ideally set along the east-west and north-south axes of these walls,
which led the devotees into the sacred courtyard.
• Less obvious differences between the two main temple types include
the ground plan; the selection and positioning of stone-carved
deities on the outside walls and the interior, and the range of
decorative elements that are sometimes so numerous as to almost
obscure the underlying architecture.

Examples
• The best examples of the north Indian style of
temple architecture are the Khajuraho Group
of temples, Sun temple, Konark, Surya temple,
Modhera, Gujarat and Ossian temple, Ossian,
Gujarat.
• The finest examples of Dravidian style are
temples of Tanjore, Madurai, Mahabalipuram,
Badami, Pattadakal and Kanchipuram.

Parts of a Hindu temple
• Garbha-griha, which contains the main deity of the
temple. It has a tower called a vimana over it.
• The ardha-mandapa and maha-mandapa are in front of
the garbha-griha (inner sanctum).
• The gopurams are entrance towers.
• The veranda next to the inside walls of the pradakshina
path.
• Tanks and wells, which are either sacred or for bathing
purposes.
• Subsidiary deities and shrines dedicated to minor gods.

North-Central Indian temples of
Khajuraho
The temples at
Khajuraho, built by
the Chandella rulers
circa 1000 AD are at
the pinnacle of the
Nagari architectural
style.
900 AD to 1100 AD
The Nagari style has
several distinct
features, all of which
are clearly manifested
in the temples at
Khajuraho.

Panchayantana Temple

• Five shrined complex – Main shrine at the
centre and four subsidiary shrines on the four
corners of the large platform.

Architectural Features -Khajuraho
• 1000 AD
• High terraces
• Flight of steps – 10 to 12 ft
• Unity of composition
• Cella, mandapa and the
entrance vestibule are the
parts of a harmonious whole
• Shikharas – Architectural
materpieces
• Vertical axis
• Top piece – Amalaka or
capstone in perfect rhythm
with the curvilinear outline of
the shikhara
• Kalasa on top

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, Khajuraho

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, Khajuraho

• Largest and loftiest in the
Khajuraho group
• 109t X 60ft
• Height of it shikhara is 116ft
6 inches
• Mandapa size – 25 ft X 25 ft
• No enclosure walls
• Erected on platform (Jagatis)
which are large enough to
perform pradhakshina
• Garbhagriha, antharala,
mahamandapa, mandapa and
arthamandapa present

Khajuraho group of temples
• The temples have
been built from
granite or
sandstone, the two
chief rocks found
in this area upon
raised platforms.
• The platforms
themselves stand
on solid rock
masses that are one
of the oldest rocks
on this earth.

The Kendariya Mahadeo
temple is the finest example in
Indo-Aryan temple style
because of its attainment of
unity in design of its
components such as
mandapas.
• It becomes a composite design
in plan and exterior profile.
• It results into overall jagged
profile of mostly revered
Kailash.
• The raised platform on which
the temples stands in itself
becomes dominant feature of
the composition.
• The great flight of steps gives
one a sense of arrival in
higher ritualistic sense also.

• The sculptures are
exquisite.
• They show the daily
lives of the kings
(hunting etc), the
deities in their
various forms, the
beautiful apsarases
in their elegant and
enticing postures
and other royal
motifs like lions and
elephants.

Eastern Indian temples of Orissa
• Under the ancient name of Kalinga, Orissa was
the seat of great empires as far back as 300 B.C.
• as the most remarkable examples of architectural
achievement in all of Asia.
• Although Orissa presents a fairly large variety of
styles in temple building, it has nevertheless a
characteristic architectural genius.
• Its temples have been described as one of the
most compact and homogeneous architectural
groups in India.
• In these the Indo-Aryan style of architecture may
be seen at its best and purest.

Eastern Indian temples of Orissa
• The design which flourished in eastern Indian state
of Orissa and Northern Andhra Pradesh are called Kalinga
style of architecture.
• The style consists of three distinct type of temples
namely Rekha Deula, Pidha Deula and Khakhara Deula.
• Deula means "Temple" in the local language. The former two
are associated with Vishnu, Surya and Shiva temple while the
third is mainly with Chamunda and Durga temples.
• The Rekha deula and Khakhara deula houses the sanctum
sanctorum while the Pidha Deula constitutes outer dancing
and offering halls.
• The prominent examples of Rekha Deula are Lingaraj
Temple of Bhubaneswar and Jagannath Temple of Puri.
• The Konark Sun Temple is a living example of Pidha Deula.

• The temple-building movement in Orissa, which reached its peak of
excellence in the 10th and 11th centuries, stretches from roughly 650 A.D.
to 1200 A.D. and illustrates more coherently than any other similar
movement the growth and development of the Nagara style of architecture.
• In general, all Orissan temples follow a common structural plan.
• A typical temple consists of two apartments.
• The deul, corresponding to the southern vimana, is the cubical inner
apartment which enshrines the image, and is surmounted by a tower.
• In front of this is the antarala or porch called the jaganmohan which is
usually square-shaped and has a pyramidal roof.
• Occasionally, one or two more mandapas, such as the natmandir and the
bhogmandir, can be found in front of the jaganmohan, but these, where
they exist, are almost without exception were superimposed on top of the
original plan.

• Bhubaneswar has the richest
profusion of temples and is known
as the temple town of Orissa, not
only because of the large number
of temples found there, but also
because it is the home of the
famous Lingaraja temple.
• The city of Bhubaneswar is
believed to have been created by
Yayati, founder of the Kesari
dynasty of Orissa.
• The striking concentration of
temples in Bhubaneswar is partly
accounted for by the fact that the
city was the seat of powerful
religions.
• The sacred lake of Bhubaneswar
was once encircled by 7,000
shrines, of which only 500 now
survive in different stages of
dilapidation.

Lingaraja temple
• The great Lingaraja temple, believed to have been
built around 1000 A.D.
• It stands in a cluster of sixty-five smaller shrines
in a spacious compound meausring 520 feet by
465 feet and its mighty tower (the vimana)
dominates the landscape for miles around.
• Constructed without mortar, this tower is 127 feet
high and is divided into vertical sections.
• The angles of the recesses are filled in with
miniature vimanas and on the top, are figures
representing a lion crushing an elephant.

Lingaraja temple
• Initially it consisted of a cella and a mandapa
• Cella – 56ft square and rises about 140 ft
• Mandapa is rectangular

Mukteshwar Temple
• Little Architectural
Gem
• Deul and
Jagmohan
• Length – 45ft,
width – 25ft,
shikhara height –
35ft
• Heavy
ornamentation and
interesting carving
• Shikhara – well
proportioned
• Entrance – Torana
– ssemicircular
arch carried by
two pillars

Sun Temple, Konark
• Sun God – in ruins today
• Greatest achievement in
Orissan architecture
• Temple conceived as the eternal
sun god travelling in a ratha
(chariot) – the chariot of time.
• High plinth
• 12 no; of 10ft diameter wheels
(6 on either side)
• Drawn by a team of 7 horses
• Upper part of the ratha – Deul
and Jagmohan
• Path on the plinth for parikarma
• 3 subsidiary shrines on S, W
and N

Sun Temple, Konark
• Main entry – wide flight of
steps in East
• Height of the tall Deul –
shikhara – about 225ft
• Cella – 25ft X25 ft
• Jagmohan – 100ft X 100ft, ht
– 100ft – cubical mass
• Temple is full of sculptures of
erotic nature
• Temple stands in the centre of
a large enclosure – 860 ft X
540 ft
• Dwajasthamba nd Nat mandir
in front
• Stone – good variety of
laterite
• Mortarless work

Sun Temple, Konark
• The natmandir and the bhogmandir were detached structures, all
enclosed within a courtyard measuring 865 ft. by 540 ft.
• The sculptures executed in hard stone to ensure their preservation,
display an exuberance of mood and appearance rarely encountered
elsewhere.
• The technique also varies from designs carved with minute precision
to vigorous groups modeled on a massive scale.
• Much of the relief work on the outer walls of the temple at Konark --
as of certain other temples in Orissa --has an obviously erotic
import.
• This is indicative of the emergence of a phase in Hinduism known as
Tantrism, the mithuna ritual of which is depicted in the carvings of
this temple as well as of the temples in Mathura and Khajuraho.
• According to Tantric thought, all human experience – which by
implication also includes experience connected with carnal desire –
has a value, for it is only through experience that man can attain the
stage of self-immolation.

Chalukyan style
is the distinctive style of ornamented architecture that
evolved during the rule of the Western Chalukya
Empire in the Tungabhadra region of
central Karnataka, India, during the 11th and 12th
centuries.
The centre of cultural and temple-building activity lay in
the Tungabhadra region, where large medieval
workshops built numerous monuments.
These monuments, regional variants of pre-
existing dravida (South Indian) temples, defined the
Karnata dravida tradition.
Temples of all sizes built by the Chalukyan architects
during this era remain today as examples of the
architectural style.

• The Chalukyan style originated in Aihole around
A.D. 450 and was perfected in the neighbouring
villages of Badami and Pattadakal (all in Bagalkot
district of Karnataka).
• Chalukyan artists experimented with different
styles, blended the Indo-Aryan Nagara and
Dravidian styles, and evolved their own
distinctive style.
• One can see magnificent examples of their
earliest works in Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal.
• These certainly are not the earliest temples.
• Temples were constructed centuries before the 4th
and 5th century A.D., but with wood and bricks
and have not survived.

• The surviving Western Chalukya monuments
are temples built in the Shaiva, Vaishnava,
and Jain religious traditions.
• None of the military, civil, or courtly
architecture has survived; being built of mud,
brick and wood, such structures may not have
withstood repeated invasions.

Chalukyan temples fall into two categories —
• the first being temples with a common mantapa (a
colonnaded hall) and two shrines (known as dvikuta),
and
• the second being temples with one mantapa and a
single shrine (ekakuta).
• Both kinds of temples have two or more entrances
giving access to the main hall. This format differs from
both the designs of the northern Indian temples, which
have a small closed mantapa leading to the shrine and
the southern Indian temples which generally have a
large, open, columned mantapa.

• The Chalukyan architects retained features from both
northern and southern styles.
• However, in the overall arrangement of the main temple and
of the subsidiary shrines, they inclined towards the northern
style and tended to build one main shrine with four minor
shrines, making the structure a panchayatna or five-shrined
complex.
• Chalukyan temples were, almost always, built facing the
east.
• The Sanctum (cella) is connected by a vestibule (ardha
mantapa or ante-chamber) to the closed mantapa (also
called the navaranga), which is connected to the
open mantapa.
• Occasionally there can be two or more open mantapas. In
Shaiva temples, directly opposite the sanctum and opposite
the closed mantapa is the nandi mantapa, which enshrines a
large image of Nandi, the bull attendant of Shiva. The shrine
usually has no pradakshina.

• The pillars that support the roof of the mantapa are monolithic
shafts from the base up to the neck of the capital. Therefore, the
height of the mantapa and the overall size of the temple were
limited by the length of the stone shafts that the architects were able
to obtain from the quarries.
• The height of the temple was also constrained by the weight of the
superstructure on the walls and, since Chalukyan architects did not
use mortar, by the use of dry masonry and bonding stones without
clamps or cementing material.
• The absence of mortar allows some ventilation in the innermost
parts of the temple through the porous masonry used in the walls
and ceilings.
• The modest amount of light entering the temples comes into the
open halls from all directions, while the very subdued illumination
in the inner closed mantapa comes only through its open doorway.
• The vestibule receives even less light, making it necessary to have
some form of artificial lighting (usually, oil lamps) even during the
day. This artificial source of light perhaps adds "mystery" to the
image of the deity worshipped in the sanctum.

A typical Western Chalukya temple may be
examined from three aspects —
• the basic floor plan,
• the architectural articulation, and
• the figure sculptures.

• The basic floor plan is defined by the size of
the shrine, the size of the sanctum, the
distribution of the building mass, and by the
pradakshina (path for circumambulation), if
there is one.

• Architectural articulation refers
to the ornamental components that
give shape to the outer wall of the
shrine.
• These include projections,
recesses, and representations that
can produce a variety of patterns
and outlines, either stepped,
stellate (star-shaped), or square.
• If stepped (also called "stepped
diamond of projecting corners"),
these components form five or
seven projections on each side of
the shrine, where all but the central
one are projecting corners
(projections with two full faces
created by two recesses, left and
right, that are at right angles with
each other).

• If square (also called
"square with simple
projections"), these
components form three
or five projections on a
side, only two of which
are projecting corners.
Stellate patterns form
star points which are
normally 8-, 16-, or 32-
pointed and are sub-
divided into interrupted
and uninterrupted
stellate components.

• Figure sculptures are miniature representations
that stand by themselves, including
architectural components on pilasters,
buildings, sculptures, and complete towers.
• They are generally categorised as "figure
sculpture" or "other decorative features".
• On occasion, rich figure sculpture can obscure
the articulation of a shrine, when
representations of gods, goddesses, and
mythical figures are in abundance.

To look at some of these evolutionary features, it
may be noted that the
the temples had flat or slightly sloping roofs and
they were surmounted by small ‘shikhara’s.
A pillared hall (mandapa) was a later addition.
Features such as ‘sukanaasi’, ‘garbhagriha’, ‘mukha
mandapa’ and ‘pradakshina patha’
(Circumambulatory path) which became default
features at a later date are conspicuous by their
absence in some of these early Chalukyan
temples.
Durga temple at Ihole is an exception.

Papanath temple, Pattadakkal
• 7th century temple
• Last example of a
Southern shrine
adorned with a
shikhara

The Virupaksha temple in Pattadakal, built around
A.D. 740.

The Lad Khan temple in Aihole, which was built around the 7th century A.D.

Hoysala style
• The merging of the Dravidian and North Indian styles
created a temple that is unique, so much so that it is
often classified as the Hoysala style.

The Star in Plan
• To add to its distinctiveness, the Hoysala
temple in plan composed of numerous cellas or
garbha-grihas served by a common mandapa.
• The plan of each of these cellas was a star.
• The departure from the accepted square form of
the temple is understandable when we analyze
the plan and see that it is made up of a grid of
rotating squares.
• The resulting outline thus emerges as a star.
• The mandapa remained a square, though it was
now distinguished by circular columns, the
shafts of which had been lathed and thus
acquired a number of parallel knife-edges.

Somnathpur Temple
• The Somnathpur Temple is said
to be the finest example
of Hoysala Architecture and was
built in 1268 under the Hoysala
king Narasimha III.
• It is built using chloritic chist
(Soapstone).
• The architect/sculptor was
Ruvari Malithamma who has
kindly left his signatures for
easy identification.
• It is also symmetrical in its
design, it has 3 shrines, each of
which are equally important,
having intricate carvings.

Somnathpur Temple
• There is a high outer compound that surrounds the temple
and a Lamp Pillar on the grounds outside, it could also be a
Garuda Stumbha (Column) since it is the mount of Vishnu
and this is a Vishnu temple.
• Once inside there is a lengthy inscription carved in kannada
on an enormous tablet that describes the origins of the
temple.
• There is a covered walk way all around the temple, which is
closed and currently held up by steel supports and
apparently under restoration. There are huge lathe carved
pillars that hold up the structures inside the temple itself.

• There are 3 deities inside all are forms of Vishnu. There are
no Shivaite statutes here.

Somnathpur Temple
• Though built around a
single shrine, the temple
has all the distinguishing
features of the Hoysala
style - a pillared
mandapa, bell-shaped
towers and above all the
star-shaped plan.
• The gaps between the
outer pillars were covered
with a jaali meant to
provide privacy for the
Brahmins, and especially
the 'highly seductive
dancing of the devdasis'.

Dravidian culture - Rock cut productions
under Pallavas

• The Pallavas were instrumental in the transition
from rock-cut architecture to stone temples.
• The earliest examples of Pallava constructions are
rock-cut temples dating from 610–690 CE and
structural temples between 690–900 CE.
• The greatest accomplishments of the Pallava
architecture are the rock-cut temples
at Mahabalipuram.

Dravidian culture
• There are excavated pillared
halls and monolithic shrines
known as rathas in
Mahabalipuram.
• Early temples were mostly
dedicated to Shiva.
• The Kailasanatha temple
inKanchipuram and the Shore
Temple built
by Narasimhavarman II, rock cut
temple in Mahendravadi by
Mahendravarman are fine
examples of the Pallava style
temples.

Dravidian culture
• The five ratha temples commonly known as the
Pancha Rathas or five chariots stand
majestically on the southernmost extreme of
Mahabalipuram.
• Built by the Pallava ruler Narsimha Varman 1
(AD 630- 68) alias Mamalla in the 7th and 8th
centuries, each temple is a monolith, carved out
of a single rock.
• The temples which are different icautiously cut
out from a huge rock, sloping from south to
northn forms, plans and elevations were.
• These individual 'rathas' are named after the
Pandava brothers Yudhistara (Dharmaraja),
Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula & Sahadeva of the Epic
Mahabharata and their wife Draupadi.

Dravidian culture
• Besides these rathas, the sculpture of an
elephant (the vehicle of Indra), lion (the vehicle
of Durga) and Nandi bull (the vehicle of Shiva)
are structurally displayed.
• Though these temples are named after the
Pandava brothers, they are not in any way
related to Mahabharata.
• While the Dharmaraja, Arjuna and Draupadi
rathas are square on plan, the Bhima ratha is
rectangular and Nakula Sahadeva ratha apsidal.

Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram
The Shore Temple is a five-storeyed
structural Hindu temple rather
than rock-cut as are the other
monuments at the site.
It is the earliest important structural
temple in Southern India.
Its pyramidal structure is 60 ft high
and sits on a 50 ft square
platform.
There is a small temple in front
which was the original porch
It is made out of finely cut local
granite.
Recent excavations have revealed
new structures here under the
sand

• The temple is a combination of three shrines.
• The main shrine is dedicated to Shiva as is the smaller
second shrine.
• A small third shrine, between the two, is dedicated to a
reclining Vishnu and may have had water channeled into the
temple, entering the Vishnu shrine.
• The two Shiva shrines are orthogonal in configuration.
• The entrance is through a transverse barrel vault gopuram.
• The two shikharas have a pyramidal outline, each individual
tier is distinct with overhanging eaves that cast dark
shadows.
• The outer wall of the shrine to Vishnu and the inner side of
the boundary wall are extensively sculptured and topped by
large sculptures of Nandi
• The temple's outer walls are divided by plasters into bays,
the lower part being carved into a series of rearing lions.

Dravidian culture
Dravidian Order - Brihadishwara Temple, Tanjore

• Brihadeshwara temple - through the gate to the courtyard
where the 60 meter tower, a feast of Dravidian
architecture towers into the sky dwarfing the landscape
offers a glimpse into the mind of the once invincible
imperial Cholas.
• Built in 11th century by Rajaraja I, it established the
power of the Cholas.
• Granite blocks were brought for the temple from a
distance of 50 km.
• The tower or vimana soars to height of 60.96 metres and
the stone cupola at the top weighs 81.284 tonnes.
• Long plinths were used to put the stones in place.

• The temple complex is divided into a number of concentric
quadrangular enclosures contained by high masonary walls.
• It is one of the few temples in Tamil Nadu to have four entrances
facing four directions.
• Vishwantha Nayaka allegedly redesigned the city of Madurai in
accordance with the principles laid down by Shilpa Shastras relevant
to urban planning.
• The city was laid out in the shape of square with a series of concentric
streets originating from the temple.
• These squares continue to retain their traditional names, Aadi,
Chittirai, Avani-moola and Masi streets, corresponding to Tamil month
names.[
• Ancient Tamil classics mention that the temple was the center of the
city and the streets happened to be radiating out like lotus and its
petals.
• The temple prakarams (outer precincts of a temple) and streets
accommodate an elobrate festival calendar in which dramatic
processions circumabulate the shrines at varying distances from the
centre.
• The complex is in a compound of 45 acres (180,000 m2)

• Designed as a series of concentric courtyards or
PRAKARMAS
• Outermost circle – edifices of a practical nature
than spiritual such as account ofices, dormitories
for pilgrims, kitchens, shops, maintenance
workshops etc. and parking for wooden festive
chariots
• Inner prakarmas – pavilions or devotional songs
and story telling, bathing tanks for ritual ablutions
and guest houses
• Innermost courts – kitchen for brahmins,
pavilions or dancing girls and treasury
• Actual cella – open only to priests

• Hall of thousand pillars – 985 pillars, 240ft X250ft
• Soaring gopurams – 150ft (48m) high gopuram

Module 2 indian temple architecture

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