HINDUISM

&
EVOLUTION OF THE TEMPLE

GROUP -5 PRESENTED BY :-MAYANK, MAYANKA, SANDEEP

History of India
 History of India

Indus valley Buddhist Hindu Islamic Mughal

temples influence
civilizations empire
influence
 Gupta Period (320 AD –480 AD
• After the decline of The Gupta period in Indian

history is known as the

Golden Age of India.
• Era of the most advanced civilization, flush
with wealth, higher education, trade with foreign
countries, and an overall happy life.
• Religious tolerance and freedom of worship
• Period of Hindu renaissance.

• Emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism, but Gupta

rulers showed a preference for Hindu religion
• Music, architecture, sculptures and painting
were at its best.
• Various copper statues images of Buddha
reflect the craftsmanship of the Gupta period.
• After the death of the last Gupta ruler in
570 AD, the Gupta empire declined and broke
off.
4th BC- 6th BC
The Gupta Empire was one of the first people to use stone to build instead of wood.

Their architecture was dedicated to building stone temples for the various gods.

Their architecture marked the beginning in the creation of stone structures.

They built the first free standing structural temples.

They made structures called Stupas, this form of architecture made its way to china, where it was altered
slightly and renamed the Pagoda.
They invented manuals which described how to build the temples.
•Sophisticated urban culture, people of prime. Lot of literature, scultpure, texts, art etc
•Best knows old poets from this period Kalidas,Kama Sutra came from this period
•Establishment of Sanskrit culture, high culture of city elites AND Bhramanical Architecture. Rituals were
imbibed in the Temple Architecture. Scientific reasoning was given for all. And were reserved for upper
class.
Revival of Arya concepts as a new civic culture.

•Revival of kingship legitimized but Brahmins as the custodians of order

•Projection of Arya/Vedic age as a lost golden age; modernization of old Vedic gods and rituals
•Incorporation of Buddha and Buddhist ideas, into the new Hinduism.
•The birth of the Hindu temple.
•Rise of Shiva and Vishnu, puja introduced.
 GUPTA ARCHITECTURE – TEMPLES AND THEIR FEATURES

The gupta’s were influenced by Kusana, Mathura, and Gandhara and borrowed the common
features of T-shaped doorways, decorated door jambs, sculpted panels with high-relief figures,
and laurel-wreath and acanthus motifs.

Constructed using sandstone, granite, and brick, Gupta-era temples added to this architectural
heritage with horseshoe gavakshas arches and distinctive curved shikhara towers which are
frequently topped with a ribbed disk ornamentation known as an amalaka,t he crown.

These elaborate buildings are further decorated with a mass of ornate mouldings and
sculptures set in niches.

In Gupta architecture, the square was considered the most perfect form and temples were
designed to be appreciated from all sides so that each carries decorative architectural features.

Most temples also adopt a square plan with the single cubicle garbhagriha in the centre. This is
normally entered by a short columned porch set over a single, highly decorated doorway with a
projecting lintel.

Columns can support a pot-and-foliage capital, and roofs were generally flat, as in surviving
examples at Tigawa and Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh. Other typical Gupta decorative features
include triangle motifs inside doorways and lion's heads at the ends of stone beams.
Evoluti on of Temple Architecture in India during Gupta Period:

During the Gupta period, a firm foundation of temple architecture was

laid when the basic elements of the Indian temple consisting of a
square sanctum a nd pi l a re d porch emerged.

The evolved Gupta temple also had a covered processional path for
circumambulation (PradakshanaPath) that formed a part of the
worship-ritual.
 Ea r l i e rte m pl es o ft he pe r i o dh a da m o no l i t h i c fl at
slabroof.

Later temples in brick and stone developed a Shikhara

The gradual evolution of the Gupta style is traceable through

development of the plan and the ornamentation on the pillars and
doorframe.

the later introducing new decorative motifs like goblins, couples,

flying angels, door-keepers and a figure relief in the centre of the
lintel emblematic of the deity consecrated in the temple

Sculptures of deities, their consorts, celestial beings, couples,

directional deities, composite animals and decorative motifs formed

the mass of images that adorned the walls of the temples and their
interiors.
 The deities consecrated in the sanctum were carved strictly
according to religious canons and installed by performing
a special consecration ceremony.

Temple sculptures were not necessarily religious. Many drew

on secular subject matters and decorative motifs.

The scenes of everyday life consist of military processions,

royal court scenes, musicians, dancers, acrobats and amorous
couples.

TYPES OF GUPTA ARCHITECTURE:

1. TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
2. ROCK-CUT TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
Buddhist and Hindu Temples during
the Mauryan and Gupta Periods
Hindu Temples
• During the Mauryan period,
temples were small, stone
structures with one or two
rooms and flat roofs.
• During the Gupta period, the
temples were more complex,
with huge towers and intricate
carvings.
Buddhist Temples
• Some Buddhists carved entire
temples out of mountainsides.
• The temples at Ajanta and
Ellora are two of the most
famous of this type of
Buddhist temple.
• Another type of Buddhist
temple was the stupa.
 GUPTA IRON PILLAR
Shaft
Lion abacus ; Bell capital
Supports a statue of god Vishnu with a halo
43’ high
At present it is the iron pillar at Delhi
Erected by Kumaragupta,Original site near Mathura
Erected 415 BC
Later shifted to a mosque site
23’ 8” high, made of pure malleable iron
6 tons weight
First it bore the image of Garuda
Moldings on top
Can be divided into three parts
Uppermost- square abacus
Below melon capital
Campani form capital
The iron pillar is 7.21 metres tall, with 93 cm buried below the
diameter of 41 cm
The pillar, made up of nearly seven tones of 98 per cent wrought iron of pure quality, is
7.21m (23 feet 8 inches) high, with 93 cm buried below the present floor level, and
has a diameter of 41cm (16 inches)
According to the inscription on it, the pillar was erected at its original venue by Chandragupta II
Vikramaditya (375–414 C.E.
 EARLY CHALUKYAN PERIOD-5th – 8th
c. AD (550 – 750 AD, 973 – 1190 AD)
The birth of the Chalukyan Dynasty was in the 5th c. with its capitals
at Aihole, Badami, Pattadakkal
Constituted the center of influence for medieval Indian art

The contributions of the Pallavas and Orissa along with Northern influences were absorbed
Aihole illustrates 2 distinct variants in the development of dressed stone Hindu architecture

LATER CHALUKYAN PERIOD-9th – 12th c. AD

• The Pallavas and the Chalukyas were rival dynasties battling the control of south India

• There was hence a style that combined Dravidian and Nagara Styles

• Hence the Structures of this period have Pallavan influence. Most of the later chalukyan

temples were build by Dravidian labourers

• The only difference being it is of dressed rather than rock cut

 MEGUTI TEMPLE RAVANA PHADI CAVE TEMPLE HUTCHIMALLI TEMPLE

•The only dated monument in Aihole, the Meguti Temple was built atop a small hill in 634
AD.

•Now partly in ruins, possibly never completed, this temple provides an important evidence
of the early development of the Dravidian style of Architecture

• HUCHIMALLI TEMPLE- Pronaos (only columns no walls on the sides)was introduced

• Finer masonry- stone blocks used
• Delicate ornamentation
• Fractal method of derivation of vimana
 Lad Khan Temple at
• Dedicated to Shiva
Aihole: EARLY
• Temple consists of a shrine (garba griha) with mandapa in front of it

CHALUKYAN
• rectangular building with a flat roof of stone slabs
• stone-grills on two sides to admit light
PERIOD-5 th
– 8th c.
•The eastern end opens in the pillared porch. The wall is in reality a Pre style of massive
AD (550 – 750 AD, 973 –
stone posts between which the latticed
1190 AD)slabs have KHAN
- LADH been placed like screens.
TEMPLE
•The main shrine houses a Shiva Linga with–aAIHOLE – 450
Nandi and outer walls having many carved
AD
images along with floral motifs.
•The mukha mandapa situated in front of the sanctum and consists of a set of twelve

carved pillars.
•Lad Khan temple is the earliest example of the massive bracket-like capital continued

throughout the Hindu Renaissance period.

Harappan
•Drainage system
•Rectangular intersecting roads
•Sanitary system
Mauryan
•Monolithic Pillars
•Finely carved capitols – Bull capitol and Sarnath capitol
•Stupas start during this period – 4 gateways
•Surface built with bricks
•Viharas and Chaityas
•Rock Cut Architecture
Shunga – Satvahanas
· Early classic architecture
· Carved railings and gateways around Buddhist shrines
Kushan
· Sculpture developed
· The emperor himself was a divine authority
· Buddha was first time given a human form during this time
Gupta period
· Beginning of Hindu temples – temple at Deoghar, Udaigiri caves in Orissa
· Vaishnavite temple in Vidisha
Chalukyas
• Blend of Aryan and Dravidian style of architecture
Pallavas
· Mandaps, Rathas and finely carved panels and pillars
· Shore temple at Mahabs is a structural temple
· Ratha temple is a rock cut temple
· Kanchipuram also has temples.
Panels depict shiva as Natraja, History of Pallavas
Cholas
· Tanjaur Temple: 65 m tall vimana
· Pillared halls and sculptures depicting Bharata’s natyashastra
· Fine paintings
Pandyas
· Built high outer walls and gopuram
· Their gopurams can be seen from long distances
Hoysalas
· Belur and Halebeed temples
· Profusion of manifold pillars with rich and intricate carvings
· Panels depict gods and goddesses
Orissa Temples
· Lingraja temple 40 m high
· Sun Temple
 Temple Architecture
The temple is a holy site (tirtha), where they practitioners can perform
circumambulation (pradaksina).
They also perform the pious act of gazing at the deity (darsan) and
offering prayers, flowers and food (puja).
The temple is never a meeting place for a congregation, but it came to be a
focal point of the community.
The heart of the temple is the dark hall called garbha grha (womb hall),
where the most important icon is placed. It is the most important area.
Pillared halls (mandapa) and porticos were added to the garbha graha,
which was surmounted with a tower (sikhara)--center of the universe
(axis mundi).
Many varieties: wood, brick, terracotta, and variety of stone (e.g., schist,
chlorite, marble)
Temples required to be heavily ornamented (things lacking in ornament
were considered imperfect or incomplete.
Motifs: narrative reliefs, animal motifs, floral and vegetation motifs.
Brahma-God of Creator
Vishnu-God of Preserver (has many incarnations such as Rama and
Krishna)
Shiva-God of Destroyer (also the protector of animals)
Devi-goddess (e.g., Laksmi (“Good Fortune”) and Parvati); symbolizing
10 scientific reasons behind the rituals in Hinduism according
to the ancient texts

1. The Location and Structure of the Temple

• Temples are found
deliberately at a place
where the positive energy
- magnetic and electric
wave conveyances of
north/south post push.

• The idol of God is set in

the core center of the
temple, known as
“Garbhagriha” or
“Moolasthanam”- place
where earth’s magnetic
waves are discovered to be
most extreme.
Elements of Hindu temple
Elements of Hindu temple
• ‘Sikhara’ meaning the tower or the spire.
It is the pyramidal or tapering portion of the temple which
represents the mythological ‘Meru’ or the highest mountain
peak.
• The shape and the size of the tower vary from region to
region.
‘Garbhagriha’ meaning the womb chamber.
• It is nucleus and the innermost chamber of the temple where the image or
idol of the deity is placed.
The chamber is mostly square in plan and is entered by a
• It consists
doorway on its eastern side.
of enclosed corridor carried around the outside of garbhagriha.
• Pradakshina patha’ meaning the ambulatory passageway for circumambulation.
The devotees walk around the deity in clockwise direction as a worship
ritual and symbol of respect to the temple god or goddess.
‘Mandapa’, is the pillared hall in front of the garbhagriha, for
the assembly of the devotees.
It is used by the devotees to sit, pray, chant, meditate and watch the
priests performing the rituals.
 • It is also known as ‘Natamandira’ meaning temple hall of dancing,
where in olden days ritual of music and dance was performed.
• In some of the earlier temples the mandapa was an isolated and
separate structure from the sanctuary like in Mahabalipuram
• . ‘Antarala’ meaning the vestibule or the intermediate chamber.
• It unites the main sanctuary and the pillared hall of the
temple.
• ‘Ardhamandapa’ meaning the front porch or the main entrance of
the temple leading to the mandapa.
1. Garbhagriha
2. Mandapa.
3. Antarala.
4. Mahamandapa.
5. Enclosing wall
6. Pradhikshana path.
Vastu-purusa mandala
A myth explains the symbolic diagram (mandala): the
gods in seeking to impose order on chaos, forced the
primeval man, Purusa, into a square grid, the vastu-
purusa mandala, whose basic unit is the square pada

Hindu temple is the dwelling of the gods. It is based on

the grid systems of 64 (8x8) and 81 (9x9) squares.
Square is the prefect shape for the ground plan.
Priests perform ritual of consecrations which connect
between sexual rites and fertility in Hindu architecture.
•Shikara has the repetition of architectural motifs, converted into an element
of decoration. These architectural motifs have much deeper
meaning.Symbolically it means to reach or get closer to the GOD
•There are two style of temple architecture were followed.
•Dravidian style in south
•Indo Aryan in north.
1. In one concept it was the derivation from the peaked or domed huts.
2. Temple developed form stupa-elongated form of the dome.
3. Temple is referred as ratha or car.so the sikhara

North Indian Nagara Style South Indian Dravida Style Combined Style
 •Shikara has the repetition of architectural motifs, converted into an element
of decoration. These architectural motifs have much deeper
meaning.Symbolically it means to reach or get closer to the GOD
•There are two style of temple architecture were followed.
•Dravidian style in south
•Indo Aryan in north.
1. In one concept it was the derivation from the peaked or domed huts.
2. Temple developed form stupa-elongated form of the dome.
3. Temple is referred as ratha or car.so the sikhara

North Indian Nagara Style South Indian Dravida Style Combined Style
•The Durga Temple is the most unique temple you have ever seen.
• It almost resembles a mini fort. And therefore probably it is named Durg or a fortress
rather than dedicated to Goddess Durga.
•The sign says that it has apsidal plan but non-apsidal curvilinear shikhar.
•the temple is a delight to look at and is emblematic of Aihole town.
•A colonnaded corridor runs around the temple that allows parikrama or
circumambulation.
•The pillars have some great carvings.
•The garbha griha or the sanctum sanctorum is topped with a broken
shikhar.
•The temple was built in the 8th century during the times of the later king Vikramaditya
II.
•The exquisite and detailed carving clearly shows that in 2 centuries since they started
temple construction, the Chalukyan Architecture had reached its peak.
 •This is the brahmanical version of the
Buddhist Chaitya hall adapted to suit the
service of the former belief.
•The durga temple which mostly follows
this model was probably erected during
the sixth century.

•The temple includes mukha

mandapa,sabha mandapa and
garbhagriha.
•It has an apsidal ended structure
measuring 60’ by 36’.
•It is an improvement over the
pteroma
Ladhkhan Temple
•Derived from the Budhist Chaitya
halls-6th Century
•The temple derives its name from
36
’ Durgadagudi meaning 'temple near the
fort'.

60 24’ • Dedicated to Vishnu,

’
Temple of Bhitargaon:

• This temple is the earliest and the most remarkable example of

brick building and bears resemblance to the Buddhist temple of Bodhgaya.

• The temple at Bhitaragaon stands at the centre of a fairly high plinth.
• It is a tower-like edifice, rising in diminishing stages to a height of 70 feet.
• The projected porch on the east side is approached by steps.
•The outer ornamentation of terracotta sculpture is certainly the most striking feature of the Bhitaragaon

temple.
•The walls rise in bold moldings, their upper portions being decorated with a row of rectangular panels

alternating with ornamental pilasters.

•Like many Brahmanical structures, it was not a temple for worshippers but a repository or a shrine for an

image.
•This is the oldest remaining Hindu shrine with a roof and a high Sikhara in which there is a series of

arches