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ARCHITECTURE FEAUTURE
INDIAN TEMPLES
HINDU BUDDHIST JAIN Plan Hindu temples are similar in plan to
Jaina
temples, but with local differences ; Dravidian
temples, for instance, have in addition
characteristic " choultries " or " halls of 1,000
columns," and the surrounding wall generally
encloses sacred lakes or water tanks, while
Chalukyan temples are usually star-shaped on
plan.
The remains of Buddhist " chaityas" show that these temples were
hewn out of the rock with
only one external facade. In plan they resemble
Christian cathedrals with three aisles formed by
two rows of piers or columns ; while the
sanctuary around which the aisle is carried is
semicircular. The "viharas " (monasteries) are
also rock-cut, and generally consist of a central
hall surrounded on three sides by cells for the
priests. Sometimes there are columns in the
central space to support the rock overhead, and
in the larger " viharas " the sanctuary is a special
apartment with a screen of columns, as at Nasik.
Temples owe much to picturesque grouping on hill-sides or in
wooded valleys. They consist of a square cell for the image of the
Jina, roofed with a high curvilinear pyramidal tower or " sikra."
In front is a pillared portico with pointed dome supported on eight
pillars forming an octagon which was brought to a square by adding
four angle columns (p. 792 B), and further columns make the
structure externally cruciform on plan. The planning of the dome,
on an octagonal base makes the width of nave to aisles in the
proportion of o to 7, a some-what similar treatment adopted in the
successful interior of S. Stephen, Walbrook, London (p. 725). The
larger temples stand in a great open court surrounded by numerous
cells, which at Girnar number seventy, each containing a
cross-legged statue of the Jina to whom the temple is
dedicated.
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Elevation ( Form )
Wall construction and treatment is very similar in Buddhist,
Jaina, and Hindu buildings. The material is principally massive
blocks of granite,
stone, or marble, sometimes laid without mortar. Plain wall
surfaces seem to have been avoided, and the characteristic Eastern
treatment of the
whole surface of walls with sculpture is employed in all three
styles. The " gopuras" or gate pyramids of the Dravidian style
resemble, in their
massiveness, the pylons of Egyptian temples.
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Columns
The Northern Hindu Column at Baroli, with
its sculptured shaft reminiscent of the Temple
of Artemis at Ephesus, has evidently lost its
bracket capital, and, with a companion column
on the right, formerly supported a " toran " or
archway. In Dravidian " choultries " there was
great scope for the inventiveness of the Hindu
craftsman. Capitals are of the " bracket " type,
and in some instances not more than two
columns in a building are alike. Some, as at
Madura or Seringham, have life-size figures of
saints or Yalis (weird lion-like monsters)
attached to them, forming a contrast to Greek
caryatids. In other cases there are compound
piers formed of one sturdy and one slight
column.
Indian columns are most characteristic and are
unlike those in any other style. The origin of
their form is unknown, but it seems certain that
they had a timber prototype. There was no
standardised system of recognised types as in
Greece or Rome. The shaft is as much
ornamented as capital and base, and the
characteristic bracket capital takes a variety of
forms. Buddhist columns are often octagonal. In
the great rock-cut Chaityas at Karli and Bedsa
they are stumpy and so closely set as to screen
the rock-wall behind. They gave the necessary
light and shade to the interior, as did the
columns to the exterior of a windowless Greek
temple. The numerous forms of capitals,
resembling in certain instances those of Assyria
and Persepolis, are bewildering. Sculptured
lions, horses, or elephants supporting men,
women, and the " chakra " or Buddhist wheel
occur, as at Bedsa ; while at Elephanta, torus or
Dutch-cheese mouldings, ornamented with palm
leaves, are found under capitals of a coarse
Roman Doric type. In north-west India, in the
Gandhara district, Greek or Byzantine influence
produced capitals with delicate acanthus-leaf
carvings.
Columns are much used and exhibit great
variety of design, and capitals are of the "
bracket" type, probably derived from a
timber original. Sometimes, as at Mount
Abu, they are even superimposed, the upper
supporting an architrave which is further
upheld in the centre by stone struts resting
on the lower capital.
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Decorations
In all three styles mouldings are normally of a bulbous,
swelling outline and often lack refinement. A form made by
overlapping rectangular
slabs is frequently used in the bases and capitals of columns
and " dagobas " (shrines). In other instances, as at Bedsa, a
semicircular open-work
moulding, recalling basket-work, is employed. The torus is used,
and the double-convex shape, into which the cross-pieces of the "
rails " are cut,
forms deep horizontal bands of ornament and takes the place of
mouldings proper.
Sculpture is carried out in all three styles with a profusion
unknown in other countries, and is executed principally in hard
stone ; having little
plain wall surface as a frame, it forms a monument of patient
labour, perhaps unequalled. Sculpture is indeed so bound up with
the peoples'
religion and mythology, of which it forms the mirror, that the
two cannot be considered separately. In Jaina architecture, each of
the twenty-four
Jinas had a distinctive sign, which was utilised by the
sculptors. The trident, shield and " chakra " (or wheel), the "
rail " ornament, copied from
the Sanchi Tope, and imitations of window fronts and facades are
also repeated on the fronts of the early chaityas, as at Bedsa,
Nasik, and
elsewhere. Most characteristic are the repetitions on a facade
or tower of numerous miniature carved representations of itselfa
mode of
decoration also used in Assyriaand the remains often enable a
fanciful restoration to be made. Painted frescoes were employed, as
at Ajanta,
where the walls of the cave were left plain for the purpose. The
evolution of the sculptured umbrella-shaped " tee " surmounting the
" dagoba "
is interesting as the prototype of the nine-storeyed pagodas of
China. On the Gateways at Sanchi (of which there is a plaster copy
in the Indian
Museum, South Kensington) are represented legendary events from
the life and religion of Buddha, the worship of trees and relics as
well as war-
like scenes. The three, five, or seven-headed Naga or serpent is
frequently introduced ; while horses, lions, " hansas " (sacred
geese) form
favourite subjects, in striking contrast to the motifs of
Mahometan sculpture
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Openings
Flat-headed openings are usual, but
variations in roofs are made by the use of
brackets supporting purlins of stone on which
other brackets were placed, thus gradually
reducing the span so that stone slabs could
roof over the apartment, as at the Dravidian
temple at Chidambaram. Chalukyan buildings
have pierced window slabs, as at Baillur and
Hullabid in star-shaped patterns, ornamented
with foliage or with mythological subjects (p.
798 B). These pierced slabs are very distinctive
of this style, though somewhat similar to
Byzantine and Saracenic treatment.
The gateways of the Sanchi Tope are special
and peculiar features of this style. In rock-cut
facades a horse-shoe arch forms one great eye
as the only opening for light. Within this arch an
open decorated wooden screen moderated the
glare of the Eastern sun. This single beam of
subdued light is thrown from behind the
worshippers on to the shrine, and produces an
impressive effect of light and shade among the
surrounding close-set columns.
Openings are normally square-headed. In
pillared porches stone architraves rest on
bracket capitals, and a characteristic Eastern
effect was produced by stone struts,
evidently derived from a timber form, and
occasionally filled in with ornament to form a
triangular-headed opening. An extension of
the bracket capital is sometimes applied to
wall openings, lintels being supported by
brackets built out in horizontal courses.
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Roof
Dravidian temples have roofs over the "vimana" of the storeyed
pyramidal type, normally carried to a considerable height and
carved with miniature representations of itself in each
well-defined storey. Chalukyan towers are either of the storeyed
Dravidian type and follow the curvilinear outline of the Northern
Hindu temples or are in the form of a straight-sided stepped
cone.
The early rock-cut " chaityas " have semicircular roofs
excavated in the rock with stone imitations of wooden ribs.
The " sikra over the idol-cell was formed of stone slabs in
horizontal courses ; its external curved outline was probably
produced by following the internal pointed dome, and the apex was
crowned by a melon-like ornament and finial. The roofs of Jaina
porches are of two types :(I) A roof of flat slabs which was
evolved from the simple square slab of stone resting on architraves
supported by four columns. Larger spaces were roofed by introducing
courses of triangular slabs at the four angles to support the
square slabs. Still larger spaces were roofed by the addition of
two extra columns on each side to support the longer architrave,
making twelve columns to the compartment, of which the intermediate
columns form an octagon. (2) The Jaina dome, which seldom exceeds
30 ft. in diameter, is formed in horizontal courses (cf. the
Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, and is pointed or conical in section
so that a single stone can crown the top. When covering an
octagonal plan, the circular cornice from which the dome springs is
supported by struts from the capitals of the columns forming the
octagon beneath, instead of by pendentives, as in the Byzantine
style. The use of ornamental struts gives an appearance of strength
to the architrave, but their constructive value is doubtful.
Decoration in concentric rings followed the horizontal lines of the
construction and a top stone formed a pendant.
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Architectural Type
The architecture of Hindu temples evolved
over a period of more than 2,000 years and
there is a great variety in this architecture.
Hindu temples are of different shapes and
sizes rectangular, octagonal, semicircular
with different types of domes and gates.
Temples in southern India have a different
style than those in northern India. Although
the architecture of Hindu temples is varied,
they mainly have many things in common.
Buddhist temples are often the center of cultural activities.
From a modern viewpoint, temples can be compared to museums, for
they contain precious and spectacular art forms, and in fact, are
beautiful art forms themselves. Like art museums, they are a
combination of architecture, sculpture, painting, and calligraphy.
Temples offer a harmonised environment and a spiritual atmosphere
that allows one to become serene and tranquil. They are valuable
places for distressed persons to lay down their burdens, soothe
their minds, and achieve a sense of calm. The Buddhist architecture
of every region has its own unique character due to differing
cultural and environmental factors. Close in proximity, Ceylon's
architecture is similar to India's architecture. Burma, Thailand,
and Cambodia also share a similar style, with structures that
incorporate the use of wood into their design. Java's stupas
resemble those of Tibet, which are made of stone and represent the
nine-layered Mandala (symbolic circular figure that represents the
universe and the divine cosmology of various religions: used in
meditation and rituals). Tibet's large monasteries are typically
constructed on hillsides and are similar in style to European
architecture in which the buildings are connected to each other,
forming a type of street-style arrangement.
Jain temples are built with various
architectural designs. Jain temples in North
India are completely different from the Jain
temples in South India, which in turn are
quite different from Jain temples in West
India. All Jain temples have many marble
pillars which are carved beautifully with
Demi god posture. There is always a main
deity also known as mulnayak in each
derasar. The main part of Jain temple is
called "Gambhara" (Garbha Graha) in which
there is the stone carved God idol. The main
deity of a Jain temple is known as
a mulanayak. A Manastambha (column of
honor) is a pillar that is often constructed in
front of Jain temples.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manastambha
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Enlarged Plans
HINDU PLAN BUDDHIST PLAN
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JAIN PLAN
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RR EE FF EE RR EE NN CC EE SS
http://hinduism.about.com/od/temples/p/hindutemple101.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_temple_architecture
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles23/architecture-143.shtml
http://mitchtestone.blogspot.com/2010/04/meenakshi-temple.html
http://hinduism.about.com/od/temples/p/hindutemple101.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_temple_architecturehttp://www.oldandsold.com/articles23/architecture-143.shtmlhttp://mitchtestone.blogspot.com/2010/04/meenakshi-temple.html