INDIAN ARCHITECTURE

BY-SHALLAKI AGRAWAL
SYBDES-ID
ITM IDM
 LION-symbol of royalty and stateliness.

• The Mauryan symbolism of the lions indicate “the power of a

universal emperor (chakravarti) who dedicated all his
resources to the victory of dharma "Add your second bullet
point here
• Lions were also depicted as guardians in Buddhist
architecture.
 LION DEPICITION IN INDIAN TEMPLE

1.  Kailasanatha temple.Kamchipuram
 It has a cat-like graceful body, but the head of a lion with
tusks of an elephant (gaja) and tail of a serpent. The
effects of Yali in the hall of temple are three-fold, it has
the strength of an elephant, ferocity and speed of a lion
and most importantly it instills fear as a serpent.  The
symbol lion has been around in many forms in Gupta
architecture, in  the past 2000 years; the Gupta and even
succeeding non-Gupta kings(Vaishnav) used Yali in their
religious buildings
2.Konark temple, Odisha

Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century CE Sun temple

at Konark.Lion is a symbol of pride and power. This is
why it is always associated with Goddess
Shakti (Goddess Durga, Jagadhatri etc sit on lion)
who is the source of any kind of energy and power.
With pride/desire of wealth and power in his mind, a
human cannot walk towards God. He cannot make
his way towards his spiritual enhancement. Because
his condition becomes like the human shown in the
sculpture.
3.Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho

The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, meaning "the Great

God of the Cave", is the largest and most ornate Hindu
temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho
in Madhya Pradesh, India. The Temple is said to be
constructed between years 1017-1029 AD by the king
Dhangadeva, who was arguably one of the greatest
Chandela kings.  The carvings are of circles, undulations
giving off spirals or sprays, geometric patterns, masks of
lions and other uniform designs which has created a
pleasant picture that is unique to this temple, among all
others in the complex.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF LION IN INDIAN CULTURE

The lion symbolism and its cultural depictions can be found in Hindu and Buddhist
art of India and Southeast Asia. The lion symbolism in India was based upon Asiatic Lions that
once spread in Indian subcontinent as far as the Middle East.
Narasimha ("man-lion"), also spelt Narasingh, Narasinga, is described as an incarnation (Avatara)
of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism. It is worshiped as "Lion God" and considered sacred
by all Hindus in India.
Lions are also found in Buddhist symbolism. Lion pillars erected during the reign of
Emperor Ashoka show lions and the chakra emblem. The lions depicted in the Lion Capital of
Ashoka inspired artists who designed the Emblem of India.
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