The Hindu temple architecture is divided into the Dravidian style of southern India and the

Nagara style of northern India, with other regional styles. Housing styles also vary between
regions, depending on climate.

The first major Islamic kingdom in India was the Delhi Sultanate, which led to the development
of Indo-Islamic architecture, combining Indian and Islamic features. The rule of the Mughal
Empire, when Mughal architecture evolved, is regarded as the zenith of Indo-Islamic
architecture, with the Taj Mahal being the high point of their contribution. Indo-Islamic
architecture influenced the Rajput and Sikh styles as well.

During the British colonial period, European styles including Neoclassical, Gothic Revival, and
Baroque became prevalent across India. The amalgamation of Indo-Islamic and European
styles led to a new style, known as the Indo-Saracenic style. After India's independence,
modernist ideas spread among Indian architects as a way of progressing from the colonial
culture. Le Corbusier - who designed the city of Chandigarh - influenced a generation of
architects towards modernism in the 20th century. The economic reforms of 1991 further
bolstered the urban architecture of India as the country became more integrated with the world's
economy. Traditional Vastu Shastra remains influential in India's architecture in the
contemporary era.[1]

Neolithic period
In South India, the Neolithic began in 6500 BCE and lasted till around 1400 BCE when the
Megalithic transition period began. The South Indian neolithic period is characterized by ash
mounds from 2500 BCE in the region of Karnataka, which later expanded into Tamil Nadu.
[citation needed]

Neolithic settlements have been found in the northwest (Kashmir), east (Bihar and Odisha),
south (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh), and the northeastern frontier (Meghalaya)
of India.

Neolithic Structures

Megalithic Dolmens in Mallachandram, Tamil Nadu

Stone circle at Junapani, Nagpur

Stone Umbrellas shaped Megalithic burials of Stone Age are situated in Ariyannur, Kerala

Megalithic monument in Karkabhat megalithic burial site near Balod, Chhattisgarh

The earliest clear evidence of the megalithic urn burials, discovered at various places in Tamil
Nadu, date back to 1000 BCE. The most notable megalithic urn was discovered in Adichanallur,
24 kilometers from Tirunelveli, where archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India
unearthed 12 urns containing human skulls, skeletons and bones, husks, grains of charred rice
and Neolithic celts, confirming the presence of the Neolithic period 2800 years ago.
The unearthed local and foreign antiquities (of art, architecture, customs, and rituals) depicted
by the engravings on pottery and other artifacts, indicate that the prehistoric people of the
Burzahom established contact with Central Asia and South West Asia, and had links to the
Gangetic plains and peninsular India.

Megalithic burial sites have been found scattered all over the subcontinent. The Neolithic period
lasted up until 3300 BCE, overlapping with the following Early Harappan (Chalcolithic to Early
Bronze Age) period. One of the earliest Neolithic sites in India is Lahuradewa in the Middle
Ganga region and Jhusi near the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, both dating to
around the 7th millennium BCE.

Indus Valley Civilization (2600 BCE – 1900 BCE)

Main articles: Ancient Indian architecture and Harappan architecture
The Indus Valley civilization covered a large area around and beyond the Indus River basin in
the late Bronze Age of India. In its mature phase, from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, the civilization
developed several cities marked by great uniformity within and between sites, including
Harappa, Lothal, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mohenjo-daro.

Planning of Indus valley civilization cities

Layout of Dholavira

Layout of Kalibangan

The drainage system at Lothal

Kalibangan pre-Harappan structures

The civic and town planning and the engineering of these cities are deemed remarkable, but the
building designs are "of a startling utilitarian character". There are granaries, drains, water-
courses and tanks, but neither palaces nor temples have been identified, though cities have a
central raised and fortified "citadel".[2] Mohenjo-daro has wells which may be the predecessors
of the stepwell.[3] As many as 700 wells have been discovered in just one section of the city,
leading scholars to believe that 'cylindrical brick lined wells' were invented by the Indus Valley
Civilization.[3]

Architectural decoration is extremely minimal, though there are "narrow pointed niches" inside
some buildings. Most of the art found is in miniature forms like seals, and mainly in terracotta,
but there are very few larger sculptures of figures. In most sites, fired mud-brick (not sun-baked
as in Mesopotamia) is used exclusively as the building material, but a few sites, such as
Dholavira, are in stone. Most houses have two storeys, and uniform sizes and plans. The large
cities declined relatively quickly, for unknown reasons, so a less sophisticated village culture
was left behind.[4]
After the collapse of the Mature Harappan Period, some cities still remained urban and
inhabited. Sites like Bet Dwarka in Gujarat, Kudwala (38.1 ha) in Cholistan, and Daimabad (20
Ha) in Maharashtra are considered urban. Daimabad (2000–1000 BC), developed a fortification
wall with bastions in its Jorwe culture period (1400–1000 BC), and had public buildings, such as
an elliptical temple and an apsidal temple. It also shows evidence of planning in the layout of
rectangular houses, and streets or lanes, and planned streets. The area had risen to 50
hectares in with a population of 10,000 people. A 580 meter long protection wall dated 1500
BCE was found at Bet Dwarka which was believed to be damaged and submerged following a
sea storm.[5][6]

600 BCE—250 CE
Further information: Ancient Indian architecture, Buddhist architecture, and Indian rock-cut
architecture

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

City of Kushinagar in the 5th century BCE according to a 1st century BCE frieze in Sanchi Stupa
1 Southern Gate
Indian architecture after the Indus Valley Civilization around the Maurya Empire, from 322 to
185 BCE, most likely used wood or recycled brick. Much of the remains discovered from this
period onwards are of Indian rock-cut architecture, predominantly Buddhist.

The construction of Buddhist monastic buildings began before the death of the Buddha, around
400 BCE.[7] This first generation of monasteries only survive in floor-plans, notably the
Jivakarama vihara in Bihar.

Important features of the period's architecture include, walled and moated cities with large gates
and multi-storied buildings, wooden chaitya arches for roofs, and further structures above solid
storeys. The reliefs of Sanchi, dated to the 1st centuries BCE-CE, denote places such as
Kushinagar or Rajagriha as splendid walled cities, as in the Royal cortege leaving Rajagriha or
War over the Buddha's relics. These views of ancient Indian cities are relied on for the
understanding of ancient Indian urban architecture.[8]

In the case of the Mauryan capital Pataliputra (near Patna), we have Greek accounts, and that
of Faxian; Megasthenes (a visitor around 300 BCE) mentions 564 towers and 64 gates in the
city walls. Modern excavations have uncovered a "massive palisade of teak beams held
together with iron dowels".[9] A huge apadana-like hall with eighty sandstone columns shows
clear influence from contemporary Achaemenid Persia.[10] The single massive sandstone
Pataliputra capital shows clear Hellenistic features, reaching India via Persia.[11] The famous
Ashoka columns show great sophistication, and a variety of influences in their details. In both
these cases a now-vanished Indian predecessor tradition in wood is likely.[12]

Post-Maha-Janapadas Architecture
The Great Stupa at Sanchi (4th–1st century BCE). The dome-shaped stupa was used in India
as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics.

The Mahabodhi Temple built by Asoka at Bodh Gaya. Relief from Sanchi, 1st century CE
Such a tradition is extremely clear in the case of the earliest-known examples of rock-cut
architecture, the state-sponsored Barabar caves in Bihar, personally dedicated by Ashoka circa
250 BCE. The entrance of the Lomas Rishi Cave there has a sculpted doorway that clearly
copies a wooden style in stone, which is a recurrent feature of rock-cut caves for some time.
These artificial caves exhibit an amazing level of technical proficiency, the extremely hard
granite rock being cut in geometrical fashion and given the Mauryan polish, also found on
sculpture.[13][14] Later rock-cut viharas, occupied by monastic communities, survive, mostly in
Western India, and in Bengal the floor-plans of brick-built equivalents survive. The elaborately
decorated facades and "chaitya halls" of many rock-cut sites are believed to reflect vanished
free-standing buildings elsewhere.