Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Hindu temple architecture
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==History== ===Early structures=== {{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=450|caption_align=center | align = right | direction =horizontal | header=Temple of Vāsudeva in Besnagar (2nd century BCE) | image1 = Besnagar lower levels BSN 3 next to the Heliodorus pillar.jpg | caption1 = Initial excavations | image2 = Elliptic plan of the Temple next to the Heliodorus pillar, Besnagar.jpg | caption2 = Elliptic plan of the Temple | footer_align = center | footer=Excavation of the huge Temple of [[Vāsudeva]] next to the [[Heliodorus pillar]] in [[Besnagar]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Approaches to Iconology |date=1985 |publisher=Brill Archive |isbn=978-90-04-07772-0 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UesUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA41 |language=en}}</ref> The Temple measured 30x30 meters, and the walls were 2.4 meters thick. Pottery remains assigns the site to the 2nd century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ghosh |first1=A. |title=Indian Archaeology 1963-64, A Review |date=1967 |publisher=ASI |page=17 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.3416858 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3416858}}</ref> Further excavations also revealed the outline of a smaller elliptic temple structure, which was probably destroyed by the end of the 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |title=Indian Archaeology -- A Review 1964-65 |date=1965 |pages=19–20, BSN-3 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.1442629 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1442629|author1=Archaeological Survey Of India }}</ref> The platform and the base of the [[Heliodorus pillar]] are visible in the immediate background. }} Remains of early elliptical shrines discovered in [[Besnagar]] (3rd-2nd century BCE)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Julia |title=Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD |date=31 August 2013 |publisher=Left Coast Press |isbn=978-1-61132-344-3 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzkyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Nagari, Rajasthan|Nagari]] (1st century BCE), may be the earliest known Hindu temple structures, associated to the early [[Bhagavata]] tradition, a precursor of [[Vaishnavism]].<ref name="SVM">{{cite book |last1=Mishra |first1=Susan Verma |last2=Ray |first2=Himanshu Prabha |title=The Archaeology of Sacred Spaces: The temple in western India, 2nd century BCE–8th century CE |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-19374-6 |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CtDLDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ray |first1=Himanshu Prabha |title=The Apsidal Shrine in Early Hinduism: Origins, Cultic Affiliation, Patronage |journal=World Archaeology |date=2004 |volume=36 |issue=3 |page=348 |doi=10.1080/0043824042000282786 |jstor=4128336 |s2cid=161072766 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4128336 |issn=0043-8243|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Julia |title=Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD |date=31 August 2013 |publisher=Left Coast Press |isbn=978-1-61132-344-3 |pages=176–177 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzkyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Tamil Nadu]], the earliest version of the [[Murugan Temple, Saluvankuppam]], north-facing and in brick, appears to date from between the 3rd century BCE and 3rd century CE.<ref>{{cite news|title=New finds of old temples enthuse archaeologists|author=N. Ramya|date=1 August 2010|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/New-finds-of-old-temples-enthuse-archaeologists/articleshow/6242174.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915014729/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-08-01/chennai/28281794_1_inscription-shore-temple-oldest-temples|url-status=live|work=[[The Times of India]]|archive-date=15 September 2012}}</ref> In Besnagar, the temple structures have been found in conjonction with the [[Heliodorus pillar]] dedicated to [[Vāsudeva]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Ashish |title=Heliodorous Pillar of Besnagar- Past and Present (pp. 13-19) |journal=Heritage and Us |date=2013 |volume=Year 2 |issue=1 |pages=15–16 |url=https://www.academia.edu/3360811}}</ref> The archaeologists found an ancient elliptical foundation, extensive floor and plinth produced from burnt bricks. Further, the foundations for all the major components of a Hindu temple – ''garbhagriha'' (sanctum), ''pradakshinapatha'' (circumambulation passage), ''antarala'' (antechamber next to sanctum) and ''mandapa'' (gathering hall) – were found.<ref name="MDK92">{{cite journal |last1=Khare |first1=M. D. |title=THE HELIODORUS PILLAR—A FRESH APPRAISAL, BY JOHN IRWIN ( AARP—ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH PAPERS—DECEMBER 1974 ) A REJOINDER |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=1975 |volume=36 |pages=92–93 |jstor=44138838 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44138838 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref> These sections had a thick support base for their walls. These core temple remains cover an area of 30 x 30 m.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Indian Archaeology: A Review 1963-64|last=A.|first=Gosh|publisher=Archaeological survey of India|location=Calcutta|pages=17}}</ref> The sections had post-holes, which likely contained the wooden pillars for the temple superstructure above. In the soil were iron nails that likely held together the wooden pillars.<ref name="MDK92"/> The superstructure of the temple was likely made of wood, mud and other perishable materials.<ref name="MDK92"/> The ancient temple complex discovered in [[Nagari, Rajasthan|Nagari]] (Chittorgarh, Rajasthan) – about 500 kilometers to the west of [[Vidisha]], has a sub-surface structure nearly identical to that of the Besnagar temple. The structure is also associated to the cult of [[Vāsudeva]] and [[Saṃkarṣaṇa]], and dated to the 1st century BCE.<ref name="MDK92"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Julia |title=Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD |date=31 August 2013 |publisher=Left Coast Press |isbn=978-1-61132-344-3 |page=264, note 14; 265, note 10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzkyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264 |language=en}}</ref> ===Classical period (4-6th century)=== {{multiple image|perrow=2/2|total_width=400|caption_align=center | align = right | direction =horizontal | header=Hindu temples of the Gupta period | alt = | image1 = Tigowa 1999 Kankali-Devi-Tempel.jpg | caption1 = Kankali Devi temple in [[Tigawa]], 5th century | image4 = Deogarh01.jpg | caption4 = Dashavatara Temple, [[Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh|Deogarh]], early 6th century | image3 = Gupt kalin mandir bhitargaon (detail).jpg | caption3 = Hindu temple of [[Bhitargaon]], late 5th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harle |first1=James C. |title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent |date=January 1994 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-06217-5 |page=116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwcBVvdqyBkC&pg=PA116 |language=en}}</ref> | image2 = Vishnu_temple_mandapa_at_Eran,_Madhya_Pradesh.jpg | caption2 = Vishnu temple in [[Eran]], late 5th century. | footer= }} Though there are very few remains of stone Hindu temples before the [[Gupta dynasty]] in the 5th century CE, there may be earlier structures constructed from timber-based architecture. The [[Indian rock-cut architecture|rock-cut]] [[Udayagiri Caves]] (401 CE) are among the most important early sites, built with royal sponsorship, recorded by inscriptions, and with impressive sculpture.<ref>Harle (1994), 87-100; Michell (1988), 18</ref> The earliest preserved Hindu temples are simple cell-like stone temples, some rock-cut and others structural, as at Temple 17 at [[Sanchi]].<ref name=meister254>{{cite journal |last=Meister |first=Michael W. |date=1988–1989 |title=Prāsāda as Palace: Kūṭina Origins of the Nāgara Temple |journal=Artibus Asiae |volume=49 |issue=3–4 |pages=254–256 |doi=10.2307/3250039 |jstor=3250039}}</ref> By the 6th or 7th century, these evolved into high shikhara stone superstructures. However, there is inscriptional evidence such as the ancient Gangadhara inscription from about 424 CE, states Meister, that towering temples existed before this time and these were possibly made from more perishable material. These temples have not survived.<ref name=meister254/><ref name=meister370/> Examples of early major North Indian temples that have survived after the [[Udayagiri Caves]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]] include those at [[Tigawa]],<ref>Michell (1990), 192</ref> [[Vishnu Temple, Deogarh|Deogarh]], [[Nachna Hindu temples|Parvati Temple, Nachna]] (465),<ref name=meister370>Michael Meister (1987), Hindu Temple, in ''The Encyclopedia of Religion'', editor: Mircea Eliade, Volume 14, Macmillan, {{ISBN|0-02-909850-5}}, page 370</ref> [[Bhitargaon]], the largest Gupta brick temple to survive,<ref>Michell (1990), 157; Michell (1988), 96</ref> <!-- [[Lalitpur District, India|Lalitpur District]] (c. 525), where exactly??? --> [[Sirpur Group of Monuments#Hindu monuments|Lakshman Brick Temple, Sirpur]] (600-625 CE); [[Rajim#Rajiv Lochan Vishnu Mandir|Rajiv Lochan temple]], [[Rajim]] (7th-century).<ref name=meister280>{{cite journal |last=Meister |first=Michael W. |date=1988–1989 |title=Prāsāda as Palace: Kūṭina Origins of the Nāgara Temple |journal=Artibus Asiae |volume=49 |issue=3–4 |pages=254–280 |doi=10.2307/3250039 |jstor=3250039}}</ref> [[Gop Temple]] in [[Gujarat]] (c. 550 or later) is an oddity, with no surviving close comparator.<ref>Harle, 136-138; Michell (1988), 90, 96-98</ref> No pre-7th century CE South Indian free-standing stone temples have survived. Examples of early major South Indian temples that have survived, some in ruins, include the diverse styles [[Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram|at Mahabalipuram]], from the 7th and 8th centuries. According to Meister, the Mahabalipuram temples are "monolithic models of a variety of formal structures all of which already can be said to typify a developed "Dravida" (South Indian) order". They suggest a tradition and a knowledge base existed in South India by the time of the early Chalukya and Pallava era when these were built. In the [[Deccan]], Cave 3 of the [[Badami]] cave temples was cut out in 578 CE, and Cave 1 is probably slightly earlier.<ref>Michell (1990), 349</ref> Other examples are found in [[Aihole]] and [[Pattadakal]].<ref name=meister280/><ref>Michael W. Meister and M.A. Dhaky (1983), ''South India: Lower Dravidadesa'', Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, Vol. I, Part I, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0691784021}}, pages 30-53</ref> === Medieval period (7th to 16th century)=== {{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=400 | image1 = Bhima Ratha Pancha Rathas Mahabalipuram India - panoramio (1).jpg | image2 = Ganesha Ratha Mahabalipuram Sep22 A7C 02582.jpg | footer = [[Bhima Ratha]] and [[Ganesha Ratha]] temples at Mahabalipuram, ca, 600s. }} By about the 7th century most main features of the Hindu temple were established along with theoretical texts on temple architecture and building methods.<ref name=michellharle335/> From between about the 7th and 13th centuries a large number of temples and their ruins have survived (though far fewer than once existed). Many regional styles developed, very often following political divisions, as large temples were typically built with royal patronage. The [[Vesara]] style originated in the region between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers that is contemporary north Karnataka. According to some art historians, the roots of Vesara style can be traced to the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukyas]] of Badami (500-753AD) whose Early Chalukya or [[Badami Chalukya architecture]] built temples in a style that mixed some features of the ''nagara'' and the ''dravida'' styles, for example using both the northern [[shikhara]] and southern [[Vimana (architectural feature)|vimana]] type of superstructure over the sanctum in different temples of similar date, as at [[Pattadakal]]. This style was further refined by the [[Rashtrakutas]] of [[Manyakheta]] (750-983AD) in sites such as [[Ellora]]. Though there is clearly a good deal of continuity with the Badami or Early Chalukya style,<ref>Michell, 149</ref> other writers only date the start of Vesara to the later [[Western Chalukya Empire|Western Chalukyas]] of [[Basavakalyan|Kalyani]] (983-1195 AD),<ref>Harle, 254</ref> in sites such as [[Lakkundi]], [[Doddabasappa Temple|Dambal]], [[Mahadeva Temple, Itagi|Itagi]], and [[Gadag]],<ref>Harle, 256-261</ref> and continued by the [[Hoysala empire]] (1000-1330 AD). [[File:8th century Shiva spearing evil demon at Virupaksha Shaiva temple, Pattadakal Hindu monuments Karnataka.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pattadakal]] Hindu monuments, 7th-8th century.]] [[File:Ellora cave16 001.jpg |thumb|[[Kailasa temple, Ellora|Kailasanatha temple]], remarkably carved out of one single rock was built by Rashtrakuta king [[Krishna I]] (r. 756–773 CE)<ref>Lisa Nadine Owen, Beyond Buddhist and Brahmanical Activity: The Place of the Jain Rock-Cut Excavations at Ellora, PhD thesis 2006, University of Texas at Austin p. 255</ref>]] The earliest examples of [[Pallava art and architecture|Pallava architecture]] are rock-cut temples dating from 610 to 690 CE and structural temples between 690 and 900 CE. The greatest accomplishments of the Pallava architecture are the rock-cut [[Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram]] at [[Mahabalipuram]], a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]], including the [[Shore Temple]]. This group includes both excavated pillared halls, with no external roof except the natural rock, and monolithic shrines where the natural rock is entirely cut away and carved to give an external roof. Early temples were mostly dedicated to Shiva. The Kailasanatha temple also called Rajasimha Pallaveswaram in [[Kanchipuram]] built by [[Narasimhavarman II]] also known as Rajasimha is a fine example of the Pallava style temple. [[Western Chalukya architecture]] linked between the [[Badami Chalukya Architecture]] of the 8th century and the [[Hoysala architecture]] popularised in the 13th century.<ref name="golden">An important period in the development of Indian art (Kamath 2001, p115)</ref><ref name="golden1">{{cite web|title=History of Karnataka – Chalukyas of Kalyani |url=http://www.ourkarnataka.com/history.htm |author=Arthikaje |publisher=1998–2000 OurKarnataka.Com, Inc |access-date=2006-11-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104095148/http://www.ourkarnataka.com/history.htm |archive-date=4 November 2006}}</ref> The art of Western Chalukyas is sometimes called the "[[Gadag]] style" after the number of ornate temples they built in the [[Tungabhadra]] – [[Krishna River]] [[doab]] region of present-day [[Gadag district]] in Karnataka.<ref name="gadag">{{cite web|title=Temples of Karnataka, Kalyani Chalukyan temples|url=http://www.templenet.com/Karnataka/kalyani_chalukya.html|author=Kannikeswaran|publisher=webmaster@templenet.com,1996–2006|access-date=2006-12-16}}</ref> Their temple building reached its maturity and culmination in the 12th century, with over a hundred temples built across the deccan, more than half of them in present-day Karnataka. Apart from temples they are also well known for ornate stepped wells (''Pushkarni'') which served as ritual bathing places, many of which are well preserved in Lakkundi. Their stepped well designs were later incorporated by the Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara empire in the coming centuries. In the north, [[Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent|Muslim invasions]] from the 11th century onwards reduced the building of temples, and saw the loss of many existing ones.<ref name=michellharle335/> The south also witnessed Hindu-Muslim conflict that affected the temples, but the region was relatively less affected than the north.{{sfn|George Michell|1995|pp=9-10, Quote: "The era under consideration opens with an unprecedented calamity for Southern India: the invasion of the region at the turn of the fourteenth century by Malik Kafur, general of Alauddin, Sultan of Delhi. Malik Kafur's forces brought to an abrupt end all of the indigenous ruling houses of Southern India, not one of which was able to withstand the assault or outlive the conquest. Virtually every city of importance in the Kannada, Telugu and Tamil zones succumbed to the raids of Malik Kafur; forts were destroyed, palaces dismantled and temple sanctuaries wrecked in the search for treasure. In order to consolidate the rapidly won gains of this pillage, Malik Kafur established himself in 1323 at Madurai (Madura) in the southernmost part of the Tamil zone, former capital of the Pandyas who were dislodged by the Delhi forces. Madurai thereupon became the capital of the Ma'bar (Malabar) province of the [[Delhi Sultanate|Delhi empire]]."}} In late 14th century, the Hindu [[Vijayanagara Empire]] came to power and controlled much of South India. During this period, the distinctive very tall [[gopuram]] gatehouse, (actually a late development, from the 12th century or later), was typically added to older large temples.<ref name=michellharle335>Michell (1988), 18, 50-54, 89, 149-155; Harle (1994), 335</ref> ===Southeast Asian Hindu temples=== {{multiple image | direction = horizontal | width = 200 | height = 001 | align = right | footer = [[Prambanan]] in [[Java]], [[Indonesia]] (9th century) and [[Angkor Wat]] in [[Cambodia]] (12th century), examples of Southeast Asian Hindu temple architecture. Both temples were modelled after [[Mount Meru]] in Hindu cosmology. | image1 = Prambanan Temple Yogyakarta Indonesia.jpg | image2 = Angkor (II).jpg }} Possibly the oldest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia dates back to 2nd century BCE from the [[Funan]] site of [[Óc Eo|Oc Eo]] in the [[Mekong Delta]]. They were probably dedicated to a sun god, Shiva and Vishnu. The temple were constructed using granite blocks and bricks, one with a small stepped pond.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sen|first1=Võ Văn|last2=Thắng|first2=Đặng Văn|date=2017-10-06|title=Recognition of Oc Eo Culture Relic in Thoai Son District an Giang Province, Vienam|url=http://asrjetsjournal.org/index.php/American_Scientific_Journal/article/view/3393|journal=American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences|language=en|volume=36|issue=1|pages=271–293|issn=2313-4402}}</ref> [[File:Salah Satu Upacara Besar Di Pura Agung Besakih.jpg|thumb|upright=1.33|A [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] ceremony at [[Besakih Temple]] in [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]].]] The earliest evidence trace to Sanskrit stone inscriptions found on the islands and the mainland Southeast Asia is the [[Võ Cạnh inscription]] of [[Champa]] dated to 2nd or 3rd century CE in Vietnam or in Cambodia between the 4th and 5th century CE.<ref name="Ooi2004p587">{{cite book |author=Ooi |first=Keat Gin |author-link=Keat Gin Ooi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC&pg=PA587 |title=Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-770-2 |pages=587–588}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Richard Salomon dates the earliest Cambodian Sanskrit inscriptions to the 5th century.<ref name="Salomon1998p155">{{cite book|author=Richard Salomon|title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC |year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-535666-3|pages=155–157}}</ref>}} Prior to the 14th-century local versions of Hindu temples were built in Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These developed several national traditions, and often mixed [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]]. Theravada Buddhism prevailed in many parts of the South-East Asia, except Malaysia and Indonesia where Islam displaced them both.<ref>Michell (1988), 18-19, 54, 159-182</ref><ref name="Bakker1990p160">{{cite book|author=Richard Salomon| editor= Hans Bakker|title=The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature: Papers on Pilgrimage in South Asia|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=McwUAAAAIAAJ| chapter= Indian Tirthas in Southeast Asia| year= 1990|publisher= BRILL Academic|isbn= 978-90-04-09318-8|pages=160–176}}, Quote: "In the Indianized regions of ancient southeast Asia, comprising the modern nations of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia (...)"</ref> Hindu temples in Southeast Asia developed their own distinct versions, mostly based on Indian architectural models, both North Indian and South Indian styles.{{sfn|George Michell|1988|pp=159-161}} However, the Southeast Asian temple architecture styles are different, and there is no known single temple in India that can be the source of the Southeast Asian temples. According to Michell, it is as if the Southeast Asian architects learned from "the theoretical prescriptions about temple building" from Indian texts, but never saw one. They reassembled the elements with their own creative interpretations. The Hindu temples found in Southeast Asia are more conservative and far more strongly link the [[Mount Meru]]-related cosmological elements of Indian thought than the Hindu temples found in the subcontinent.{{sfn|George Michell|1988|pp=159-161}} Additionally, unlike the Indian temples, the sacred architecture in Southeast Asia associated the ruler ([[devaraja]]) with the divine, with the temple serving as a memorial to the king as much as being house of gods.{{sfn|George Michell|1988|pp=159-161}} Notable examples of Southeast Asian Hindu temple architecture are the Shivaist [[Prambanan]] Trimurti temple compound in [[Java]], [[Indonesia]] (9th century),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://borobudurpark.com/en/temple/prambanan-2/|title=Prambanan - Taman Wisata Candi|website=borobudurpark.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-12-15}}</ref> and the Vishnuite [[Angkor Wat]] in [[Cambodia]] (12th century).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668|title=Angkor|last=Centre|first=UNESCO World Heritage|website=whc.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2017-12-15}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)