THE CHANDRASHALA

OGEE CONCEPT IN ANCIENT HINDU TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTION

Dr Uday Dokras Phd Stockholm SWEDEN

Architect Srishti Dokras

Conjectural reconstruction of the main gate of Kusinagara circa 500 BCE adapted from a
relief at Sanchi

SYNOPSIS
Ogee Curves in Hindu Temple architecture is a Gavākṣha (or gavaksa) is a Sanskrit word which
means "bull's or cow's eye". In Hindu temples, their role is envisioned as symbolically radiating
the light and splendour of the central icon in its sanctum. Alternatively, they are described as
providing a window for the deity to gaze out into the world.Like the whole of the classic chaitya,
the form originated in the shape of the wooden thatched roofs of buildings, none of which have
survived; the earliest version replicating such roofs in stone is at the entrance to the non-
Buddhist Lomas Rishi Cave, one of the man-made Barabar Caves in Bihar.

Ogee is a mathematical term, meaning an inflection point.[ In fluid mechanics, the term is used to
refer to aerodynamic profiles that bear such shapes, e.g., as in the ogee profile of
the Concorde supersonic aircraft. As well, ogee curves are used to minimize water pressure on
the downstream face of a dam spillway. In Indian
architecture, gavaksha or chandrashala (kudu in Tamil, also nāsī) are the terms most often used
to describe the motif centred on an ogee, circular or horseshoe arch that decorates many
examples of Indian rock-cut architecture and later Indian structural temples and other buildings.
In its original form, the arch is shaped like the cross-section of a barrel vault. It is called a
chaitya arch when used on the facade of a chaitya hall, around the single large window. In later
forms it develops well beyond this type, and becomes a very flexible unit, "the most common
motif of Hindu temple
An ogee  is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and
building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-,or sigmoid-
shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combination of two semicircular curves
or arcs that, as a result of a point of inflection from concave to convex or vice versa, have ends of
the overall curve that point in opposite directions (and have tangents that are approximately
parallel.

An ogee arch, showing the pair of component blocks on each side that constitute the "double curve" of the
ogee, joined at its peak by a capstone. The midpoint of the two blocks on each side that compose the ogee, the
point at which the overall curve changes direction, is the inflection point referred to in the lead.
A sigmoid function is a mathematical function having a characteristic "S"-shaped curve
or sigmoid curve. A common example of a sigmoid function is the logistic function shown in
the first figure and defined by the formula
 An ogee arch, showing the pair of component
blocks on each side that constitute the "double curve" of the ogee, joined at its peak by a capstone.
The midpoint of the two blocks on each side that compose the ogee, the point at which the overall
curve changes direction, is the inflection point referred to in the lead.

Entranceooooo Cave 19, Ajanta

Cave 19 is a fine late-5th century chaitya. The entrance is surmounted by a large chandrashala.

The sculptural program on the outside is obscure, but has to do with Buddha ordaining his
successors.
      

Special cases of the sigmoid function include the Gompertz curve (used in modeling systems that
saturate at large values of x) and the ogee curve (used in the spillway of some dams). Sigmoid
functions have domain of all real numbers, with return (response) value
commonly monotonically increasing but could be decreasing. Sigmoid functions most often
show a return value (y axis) in the range 0 to 1. Another commonly used range is from −1 to 1.
A wide variety of sigmoid functions including the logistic and hyperbolic tangent functions have
been used as the activation function of artificial neurons. Sigmoid curves are also common in
statistics as cumulative distribution functions (which go from 0 to 1), such as the integrals of
the logistic density, the normal density, and Student's t probability density functions. The logistic
sigmoid function is invertible, and its inverse is the logit function.
First seen in textiles in the 12th century, the use of ogee elements—in particular, in the design of
arches—has been said to characterise various Gothic and Gothic Revival architectural styles. The
shape has many such uses in architecture from those periods to the present day, including in
the ogee arch in these architectural styles, where two ogees oriented as mirror images compose
the sides of the arch, and in decorative molding designs, where single ogees are common profiles
(see opening image). The term is also used in marine construction. word was sometimes
abbreviated as o-g as early as the 18th century, and in millwork trades associated with building
construction, ogee is still sometimes written similarly (e.g., as O.G.).
The term ogee is used in the naming of some manufactured products (e.g., ogee washers, clocks,
and distillation pots), and is used with similar or related meanings in mathematics and fluid
mechanics,] as well as in the plastic surgery-specialisation of medicine.

Gothic ogee arch from the 1300s, over a tomb effigy in recess, in St. Mary the Virgin,
Silchester, in the United Kingdom
In architecture, the principal use of the term is to describe an arch composed of two ogees,
mirrored left-to-right and meeting at an apex. First seen in textiles in the 1100s CE, the use of
ogee elements, and in particular in the design of arches, has been said to characterise Venetian
Gothic and Gothic Revival architectural styles. Ogee windows and arches were introduced to
European cities from the Middle East, probably via Venetian Gothic architecture.[ In particular,
the ogee characterises Gothic architecture, especially in late Gothic decorative elements of the
14th and 15th century—styles called Flamboyant in France, and Decorated in England. In these,
the usual pointed lancet arch with a single curve to each side is supplemented by ogee arches,
especially in windows. Ogee arches were also a feature of English Gothic architecture in the later
thirteenth century.
Moulding: A building's surface detailing, inside and outside, often includes decorative
moulding, and these often contain ogee-shaped profiles—consisting (from low to high) of
a concave arc flowing into a convex arc, with vertical ends; if the lower curve is convex and
higher one concave, this is known as a Roman ogee, although frequently the terms are used
interchangeably and for a variety of other shapes. Alternative names for such a true
Roman ogee moulding include cyma reversa and talon.

sa and talon
The ogee curve is an analogue of a "cyma curve", the difference being that a cyma, or "cyma
recta", has horizontal rather than vertical ends. The cyma reversa form occurs in antiquity. For
example, in ancient Persia, the Tomb of Cyrus featured the cyma reversa. The cyma reversa is
also evident in ancient Greek architecture, and takes its name from the cymatium. ogee and
Roman ogee profiles are used in decorative moulding, often framed between mouldings with a
square section. As such, it is part of the standard classical decorative vocabulary, adopted from
architrave and cornice mouldings of the Ionic order and Corinthian order.
An unorthodox ogee arch in Kilfane Church, Ireland (13th century)
Ogees are also often used in building interiors, in trim carpentry, for capping
a baseboard or plinth elements, as a crown moulding trim piece where a wall meets a ceiling, and
in similar fashion, at the tops of pieces of case furniture.In aesthetic facial surgery, the term is
used to describe the malar or cheekbone prominence transitioning into the mid-cheek
hollow. The aim of a mid-face rejuvenation is to restore the ogee curve and enhance the
cheekbones, common parts of routine facelift surgery.
Manufactured objects with the ogee description
Ogee is the name given to bubble-shaped chambers of pot stills that connects the swan neck to
the still pot, in distillation apparatus, that allow distillate to expand, condense, and fall back into
the still pot.
"Ogee washers" are heavy washers used in fasteners that have a large load-bearing surface; they
are used in marine timber construction to prevent bolt heads or nuts from sinking into the face of
timbers.[ The term ogee is used to describe the ogee shape giving rise to radial symmetry around
the centre of the washer. Due to the size and shape of such washers, they are generally
manufactured as a cast iron product (in accordance with ASTM A47 or A48)
"Ogee clocks" were a common type of weight-driven 19th-century pendulum clock presented in
a simplified Gothic style, with the original design attributed to Chauncey Jerome. Ogee clocks
were typically made in the United States, as mantelpieces or to mount to a wall bracket, ] and are
one of the most commonly encountered varieties of American antique clocks. The overall design
was rectangular, with framing by moulding with an ogee-profile surrounding a central glass door
with a painted scene below the clock face, a door that protected the clock face and
pendulum. Weights supported by pulleys fell inside the ogee moulding and so were hidden from
view.
Ogee Curves in Hindu Temple architecture is a Gavākṣha (or gavaksa) is a Sanskrit word which
means "bull's or cow's eye". In Hindu temples, their role is envisioned as symbolically radiating
the light and splendour of the central icon in its sanctum. Alternatively, they are described as
providing a window for the deity to gaze out into the world.Like the whole of the classic chaitya,
the form originated in the shape of the wooden thatched roofs of buildings, none of which have
survived; the earliest version replicating such roofs in stone is at the entrance to the non-
Buddhist Lomas Rishi Cave, one of the man-made Barabar Caves in Bihar.
The "chaitya arch" around the large window above the entrance frequently appears repeated as a
small motif in decoration, and evolved versions continue into Hindu decoration, long after actual
chaityas had ceased to be built. In these cases it can become an elaborate cartouche-like frame,
spreading rather wide, around a circular or semi-circular medallion, which may contain a
sculpture of a figure or head. An early stage is shown in the entrance to Cave 9 at the Ajanta
Caves, where the chaitya arch window frame is repeated several times as a decorative motif.
Here, and in many similar early examples, the interior of the arch in the motif contains low
relief lattice imitating receding roof timbers (purlins).

The city of Kusinagara in the War over the Buddha's Relics, South Gate, Stupa no. 1, Sanchi.

The arched gable-end form seen at the Lomas Rishi Cave and other sites appears as a feature of
both sacred and secular buildings represented in reliefs from early Buddhist sites in India, and
was evidently widely used for roofs made from plant materials in ancient Indian architecture.
Simple versions of similar structures remain in use today by the Toda people of the Nilgiri Hills
The rock-cut Lomas Rishi Cave was excavated during the reign of Ashoka in the Maurya
Empire in the 3rd century BC, for the Ajivikas, a non-Buddhist religious and philosophical group
of the period. A band below the arch contains a lattice in relief, presumably representing the
ceiling of a thatched roof. Below that is a curved relief of a line of elephants. The entrance leads
into the side of the hall, so unlike most later window frame examples, the arch bears no great
relationship to the space it leads into. The immediately neighbouring cave in the same rock face
has a plain undecorated recess at the entrance, which originally may have held a porch of similar
design in plant materials.

Piled-
up gavakshas at Osian, Jodhpur
Early rock-cut chaitya halls use the same ogee shape for the main window needed to illuminate
the interior, and often also have small relief window motifs as decoration. In these the inside of
the arch has a series of square-ended projections representing the joists, and inside that a curving
lattice in low relief that represents the receding roof timbers of the inside of a notional building.
At the bottom, a small area, more or less semi-circular, represents the far wall of the structure,
and may be plain (e.g. Bhaja Caves over side galleries), show a different lattice pattern
(e.g. Bhaja Caves main front), Pandavleni Caves cave 18, above), or a decorative motif (e.g.
Cave 9, Ajanta, Pandavleni Caves cave 18, over doorway). Often the areas around these window
or gable motifs have bands of latticework, apparently representing lattice railings, similar to
those shown edging the balconies and loggias of the fort-palace in the relief of Kusinagara in
the War over the Buddha's Relics, South Gate, Stupa no. 1, Sanchi. This is especially the case at
the Bedse Caves, in an early example of what James Fergusson noted in the nineteenth century:
"Everywhere ... in India architectural decoration is made up of small models of large buildings".
At the entrance to Cave 19 at Ajanta, four horizontal zones of the decoration use repeated
"chaitya arch" motifs on an otherwise plain band (two on the projecting porch, and two above).
There is a head inside each arch. Early examples include Ellora Caves 10, Ajanta Caves 9 and 19
and Varaha Cave Temple at Mamallapuram.

A building's surface detailing, inside and outside, often includes decorative moulding, and these
often contain ogee-shaped profiles—consisting (from low to high) of a concave arc flowing into
a convex arc, with vertical ends; if the lower curve is convex and higher one concave, this is
known as a Roman ogee, although frequently the terms are used interchangeably and for a
variety of other shapes. Alternative names for such a true Roman ogee moulding include cyma
reversa and talon.
The ogee curve is an analogue of a "cyma curve", the difference being that a cyma, or "cyma
recta", has horizontal rather than vertical ends. The cyma reversa form occurs in antiquity. For
example, in ancient Persia, the Tomb of Cyrus featured the cyma reversa.[8] The cyma reversa is
also evident in ancient Greek architecture, and takes its name from the cymatium. The ogee and
Roman ogee profiles are used in decorative moulding, often framed between mouldings with a
square section. As such, it is part of the standard classical decorative vocabulary, adopted from
architrave and cornice mouldings of the Ionic order and Corinthian order.
Ogees are also often used in building interiors, in trim carpentry, for capping
a baseboard or plinth elements, as a crown moulding trim piece where a wall meets a ceiling, and
in similar fashion, at the tops of pieces of case furniture
 Conjectural reconstruction of the main gate of Kusinagara circa 500 BCE adapted
from this relief at Sanchi.
 
By around 650, the time of the last rock-cut chaitya hall, Cave 10 at Ellora, the window on the
facade has developed considerably. The main window is smaller, and now bears no relation to
the roof inside (which still has the traditional ribs). It has only two of the traditional projections
imitating purlin beam-ends, and a wide decorative frame that spreads over several times the
width of the actual window opening. Two doors to the sides have pediments with "split and
superimposed" blind gavakshas, also with wide frames. This was to be the style of gavaksha that
had already been widely adopted for the decoration of Hindu and Jain temples, and is seen in
simplified form in the Buddhist Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, and the Hindu Dashavatara
Temple, Deogarh.
Also in the 7th century, the sukanasa developed. This is a very large developed gavaksha motif
fixed on the outside of the temple tower over its entrance, normally standing vertical, although

the tower slopes inwards.

By the end of the 7th century, and perhaps earlier, the entire faces of large shikhara towers or
other surfaces could be taken up by grids of interlocking gavaksha motifs, often called "gavaksha
mesh" or honeycomb.[15] Early examples include the Buddhist shikhara tower at the Mahabodhi
Temple, Bodh Gaya, where the motifs cover most of the surface but do not actually interlock.
This is of the 6th century at the latest, but perhaps restoring a design of as early as the 2nd or 3rd
century.[16] Cave 15 at Ellora, complete by 730 if not before, and perhaps begun as a Buddhist
excavation, may be one of the earliest examples of the full style. The motif spread to South India,
for example the 7th and 8th century temples at Pattadakal in Karnataka.
Gop Temple in Gujarat, probably from the 6th century, is the largest and finest of a group of
early temples in a distinct local style. The bare castle-like appearance of the central square tower
today probably does not reflect the original design, as the upper parts of the structure around it
are missing. Above the plain walls the sloping top includes three large gavakshas on each face,
two below and one above, which are unusual in actually being open, rather than in shallow relief,
like almost all later gavakshas. Originally statues stood behind them, of which very little now
remains.
Gavakshas are prominent in some temples of the 8th century group on the Dieng plateau in
central Java, among the earliest monumental Hindu temples in modern Indonesia.
nāsī
Adam Hardy distinguishes between the gavaksha, which he largely restricts to the Nagara
architecture of the north, and its cousin in the Dravidian architecture of the south, the nāsī
("kudu" in Tamil). He allows an early period of "gradual differentiation" as the nāsī evolves from
the gavaksha, the first to appear. In a detailed analysis of the parts of the motif, he points to
several differences of form. Among other characteristics of the nāsī, the motif has no frame at the
base, the interior of the window is often blank (perhaps originally painted), and there is often
a kirtimukha head at the top of the motif. In general, the form is less linear, and more heavily
ornamented.

Pa
norama of Barabar hill, with entrances to Sudama and Lomas Rishi caves.
05 Cave at Aanta

Interior of a rock-cut chaitya hall, Bhaja Caves, the ribs in wood

REFERENCE:
Indorf, Pinna. “Interpreting the Hindu Temple Form: A Model Based on Its Conceptualization as a
Formal Expression of Measured Movement.” Artibus Asiae, vol. 64, no. 2, 2004, pp. 177–211. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/3250184. Accessed 8 Apr. 2021.