Hindu architecture and art

SUBMITTED TO : SAURAV DIXITSUBMITTED BY:SHIV SHANKAR MISHRA

Presented by: SHIV SHANKAR

SUBMITTED TO :SAURAV DIXIT

IntroductionThe highest achievement of Indian Architecture

can be seen in temples.The construction of sanctuaries for the images of

Gods dates back perhaps to the 2nd century B.C.

The Gupta period, marks the real beginning of Indian temple architecture.

Styles of architectureThere are mainly three styles of architecture that

dominate the temple architecture in India..1. Nagara- The Nagara style can be found in the

temples of Northern India.. The tower, shikhar is beehive (curvilinear shaped).

2. Dravida-This type of architecture is concentrated in the temples of southern India. - The tower, shikhar consists of progressively smaller stories of pavilions.

3. Vesara-The vesara style of architecture is a combination of the Nagara and Dravida styles. This can be found in the temples of Karnataka.

Temples are a representation of macrocosm or the universe and microcosm or the inner space.

Microcosm • Shikhara• Main Deity• GarbagrihaMacrocosm• Antarala• Mahamandap• Mandap• Ardhamandap• Jagati• Gopuram (mainly founded in South Indian

temples)

Nagara StyleAlmost every temple of the Nagara style reveals distinctive features in

planning and elevation.

These temples have a square base with a number of graduated projections(rathakas) in the middle of each face which gives it a cruciform shape in the exterior.

In elevation it exhibits a tower which is called the shikhara, gradually inclining inwards and is capped by a spherical slab with ribs round the edge(amalaka).

The essential plan of north Indian temples includes an inner chamber(garbagriha), a pavillion (mandapa), the vestibule(antarala) which connects the mandapa with the garbagriha, and the circumambulatory path(pradakshina path).

The finest example is that of the Kandariya MahadevaTemple, the largest and loftiest temple of Khajuraho.

Dravida Style• Vimanam - It is the principal part, the actual

temple itself . It is always square in plan, and surmounted by a pyramidal roof of one or more stories; and it contains the cell in which the image of the god or his emblem is placed.

• Mantapams – It is also called porches, which always cover and precede the door leading to the cell.

• Gopurams - Gate-pyramids,, which are the principal features in the quadrangular enclosures that surround the more notable temples.

• Chawadis - Pillard halls used for various purposes, and which are the invariable accompaniments of these temples.

The best example is that of the Brihadeeshwara temple at Thanjavur.

Vesara style This style of architecture cannot be said

to have an independent origin but represents an outgrowth of the earlier Dravidian style so modified in its development as to have attained separate style in itself.

This style is also referred to as the Chalukyan style.

Mahadeva Temple at Itagi, Koppal district in Karnataka also called Devalaya Chakravarti, an example of Dravida articulation with a Nagara superstructure.

DIFFERENCES Nagara Dravida Vesara

North Indian states of UP, MP, and Bihar.

In southern India between the reaches of River Krishna and Kanyakumari.

In the state of Karnataka.

Period: 320 AD- 499 AD. 7th century AD. 3rd -8th century AD.

It has towers or shikharas with rounded top and curved linear outline.

Towers in the shape of a pyramid called the vimanam are present.

The tower shows mixed features of the nagara and vesara styles.

Pillars are absent in these temples.

Pillars are prominent features.

Pillars are present.

Gopurams are also absent. Gopurams are present. Gopurams are not found in all temples.

A water tank may or may not be present.

A water tank is present from where water is used for sacred purposes.

Water tanks may or may not be present.

Schools of art1.Gandhara School of Art

Timeline: 50 BC-500 AD.Location: The Gadhara region

extending from Punjab to the borders of Afghanistan.

Style:Owing to its strategic location the Gandhara School imbibed all kinds of foreign influences like Persian, Greek, Roman, Saka and Kushana.

The most important contribution of the Gandhara School of Art was the evolution of beautiful images of the Buddha and Bodhisattavas, which were executed in black stone and modelled on identical characters of Graco-Roman pantheon. Hence it is said, "the Gandhara artist had the hand of a Greek but the heart of an Indian."

The best specimens of Gandhara art are from Jaulian and Dharmarajika stupa at Taxila and from Hadda near Jalalabad in modern Afghanistan. The tallest rock-cut statue of Lord Buddha is also located at Bamiyan in modern Afghanistan and dates back to 3-4 century AD.

2.Mathura school of art

Timeline : 1-3rd century AD.Location : Region around Mathura.Style:The earliest sculptures of Buddha were

made keeping the yaksha prototype in mind. They were depicted as strongly built with the right hand raised in protection and the left hand on the waist. The figures produced by this school of art do not have moustaches and beards as in the Gandhara Art. These figures can be seen in the museum of Mathura. The standing Buddha figures resembles the yaksha figures and indicates the Kushan influence. The seated figures are in the padmasana posture.   

The Mathura School not only produced beautiful images of the Buddha but also of the Jain Tirthankaras and gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. Many scholars believe that the Mathura School of Art, although of indigenous origin, was greatly influenced by the Gandhara School of Art. The Guptas adopted the Mathura School of Art and further improvised and perfected it.

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