OJASVI KANDHIA

190009

Sacral Architecture – Cosmic

(1050 CE- 1200 CE)

At its earliest, architecture was man’s attempt to establish a relationship with his environment. From
Greece to Egypt, human beings spent decades to declare their presence to the heavens above and forge
a union. In India, this was done through temples with towering shikhara and a strong axis Mundi. The
doctrine of Vastu Purusha Mandala rendered the man as the conductor of his context. Pure geometry was
the dominant aspect of the sacral architecture with little concern for the common peasant of the time.

A Cosmic Connection

Indian philosophy has been consistently referring to ‘the universe in a grain of sand’ concept in its
teachings. Indeed, the very principle of antaratma, or inner soul, is that it is a microcosm of the
all-encompassing soul, or the aatman. The earliest architecture in India too reflects this notion of
indivisibility, by using as a concept a finite form to represent what is essentially infinite.

The mandala, or Square is one of the most basic repeating units in Indian architecture. From the vedic
fire altars, made in the form of nested squares in the forest, to the basic orthogonal planning of Harappan
cities, to the mighty cathedrals of Khajuraho and Konarka, the square and its permutations play an
important role in Indian architecture. It is indeed the geometry of the square (which the ancient builders
no doubt understood) with its equal sides and easily calculable diagonals, that lend to this form the
concept of immutability and permanence.

It was the square which was to form the basis for the vastupurushamandala, or magic diagram, on which
temple plans were based. Another permutation of the square, the rectangle, was the basis for the plan
form of many examples, such as the gopurams in south India. With its maximum utilization of space, its
static nature, and its ease of lending itself to repetition and combination, the square has been one of the
most recurring motifs in ancient Indian architecture.
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190009

It was the square which was to form the basis for the vastupurushamandala, or magic diagram, on
which temple plans were based. Another permutation of the square, the rectangle, was the basis for the
plan form of many examples, such as the gopurams in south India. With its maximum utilization of
space, its static nature, and its ease of lending itself to repetition and combination, the square has been
one of the most recurring motifs in ancient Indian architecture.

The Semi-Circle was one step further to the production of a full circle, and lent itself to the notion of
doubling-back, or retracing one’s steps from whence one had come. Utilized in combination with the
metaphysical concept of pradakshina, the semi-circle became a motif in early temples, especially in
Aihole. The Buddhists also used the semi-circle in their chaityas, to emphasize the position of the stupa
at the culmination of the chaitya form.

The Circle, though rarely if ever occurring as an element in temple plans, was the form of choice for
Buddhist architecture, symbolizing perhaps movement and dynamism, as well as the metaphysical
notion of heaven crowning the earth.

At Sanchi Stupa, at Bharhut stupa as well, the circle is used both in elevation, as at the anda at Sanchi,
as well as a plan form, again at Sanchi and at other places such as the plan form of the stone pillars of
Ashoka. The dynamic power of the circle is also expressed in a more ‘real’ application in Indian temples,
for example as at the ‘wheels’ of the Konarka temple at Puri.

The triangle, being the most dynamic of the simple shapes, finds a place in ancient Indian
architecture, most notably at the shikharas of Indian temples, representing movement towards, and a
communion with, the divine power located in the heavens. Another version of the triangle, albeit with a
rectangular base, finds itself used in, once again, the gopurams of south India.

The vertical line is probably the most frequent element in ancient Indian architecture, finding
expression mostly as decorated columns and pillars, both in Buddhist and Hindu architecture. Perhaps
recognizing the power of the line, Ashoka built his pillars to propagate his dhamma and the message of
Buddhism. When repetition is added to this vertical unit, we get a dynamic, virtual façade or division
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190009
which is accentuated by the columns and column wall, for example in mandapa halls and the interior of
the Karle chaitya.

The implied space or the void lends itself to very powerful mythical and mystical connotations.
Representing the ‘great unknown’, the outer reaches of space, or even the number ‘0’, Indian
architecture uses voids very skillfully to depict sacred space. The void can be seen in the innermost
reaches of the temple – the garbha griha – to represent human ‘inner space’ or the antaraatman. Other
ways voids are used are at sacred bathing tanks – for example at the great temple at Modhera. The
Buddhists, too used the void to depict inner space at their viharas and chaityas, and neatly reversed the
concept to one of fullness, as at the stupa at Sanchi, which is not a ‘hollow’ space but a complete filled
structure. We may never know the extent to which the void could have been taken in Indian
architecture, as the largest temple to date – Konarka at Puri – collapsed partially under its own weight,
the rest being blocked up by colonial regimes.

This is only a small sampling of design elements being used in Indian architecture, but it does serve to
illustrate that ancient Indian architecture knew well the power of abstraction and metaphysical
connections of a physical form with space. Much has been written about Indian architecture as a sacred
form, but scant attention has been paid to the ‘generators’ of this physical form – the design elements
that make up ancient Indian architecture.