Ancient Indian Architecture - Paradigm of Art

Architecture of India is the most tangible and

awe-inspiring projection of Indias art, culture and global
discourse across thousands of years

Chronological Order
Indus Valley and early sramana architecture (2600 - 100 BC)
Buddhist and Jain rock-cut and structural architecture (300 BC
- 900 AD)
Changes in Hinduism (600 BC - 400 AD)
Gupta and Gupta-inspired architecture (400 - 800 AD)
Post-Gupta regional architecture (800 - 1000 AD)
Monumental Hindu temples starting with the Cholas (1000 - 1200
AD)
Kakatiya and Hoysala (1100 - 1400 AD)
Monumental temples of Orissa (1000 - 1300 AD)
Chandella and other central Indian temples (900 - 1100 AD)
Dilwara and other western Indian temples (1000 - 1300 AD)
Prambanan, Majapahit, and Khmer (900 - 1300 AD)

Indus Valley and early sramana architecture

(2600 - 100 BC)

The most ancient architectural remains in the

subcontinent are the 4500 year-old (2600-1900 BC)
ruins of the mature Indus Valley civilization: their
planned cities and monumental buildings (such as the
Great Bath at Mohenjodaro). This was followed by a
period of reduced architectural activity during the Vedic
age, possibly because people worshipped in open-air
altars, and lived in semi-permanent settlements. The
remarkable, reactionary sramana (wandering ascetic)
movements that became significant around the 6th
century BC, (the most successful sramanas were the
Buddha and Mahavira) eventually produced a very rich
architectural legacy.
Some of the examples of this architecture are Jain
caves in the eastern Ghats at Udayagiri and Khandagiri in
Orissa.

Buddhist and Jain rock-cut and structural

architecture
(300 BC - 900 AD)

The earliest structural sramana monuments were

Buddhist stupas, built in about the 3rd century BC but
then enlarged and elaborated over centuries to
magnificent complexes, such as at Sanchi, Amaravati,
Sarnath, and Bharhut. This concept of extending and
adding to a core religious site over time is a common
theme across regions and religions in India. Both rockcut and structural Buddhist and Jaina monuments
continued to be built till about the 9th c AD in India
and till much later outside India.
Some examples of later sramana architecture are the
vast maha-viharas at Nalanda and Paharpur built in
eastern India during the Pala era, the extensive rockcut complexes at Ellora and Ajanta, and the huge stupas
built outside India, such as at Anuradhapura in Sri
Lanka, Pagan in Burma, and Borobudur in Java

Changes in Hinduism
(600 BC - 400 AD)

Sramana movements and other influences also caused

changes in the Hindu religion from the 6th c BC
onwards. By the 4th century AD, the main Vedic rituals
and deities (such as Agni and Varuna) were relegated
and two minor deities, Vishnu and Siva were gaining
popularity. The process of social assimilation was
complemented by religious assimilation through claims
that tribal deities were manifestations or avatars of
Vishnu or Siva. Worship of these new deities focused
on the concept of darsana or viewing an image of the
deity placed within the confines of a sanctuary. This
need, in turn, led to the first Hindu temples. While
some concepts of architecture and sculpture were
taken from Buddhist and Jain examples, Hindu temple
architecture evolved along completely different lines.

Gupta and Gupta-inspired architecture

(400 - 800 AD)

The initial Hindu sanctuaries are from the Gupta period

such as the Vishnu temple at Deogarh, Parvati temple at
Nachna.
The Gupta style was adopted and transformed by several
regional empires. Perhaps the finest examples are of the
Western Chalukyas at Badami, Pattadakal,and Alampur,
where there are rock-cut and structural Hindu temples
from the 7th c AD.
The Pallava dynasty also built several rock-cut and
structural shrines in and around their capital at
Kanchipuram, the finest examples being temples and
rock-cut sanctuaries at Mamallapuram and the 8th c
Kailasnatha temple at Kanchipuram.
Several Gupta-inspired structural temples were built in
Bhubaneswara, one of the earliest and finest.

Post-Gupta regional architecture

(800 - 1000 AD)

In Bengal, the most remarkable legacy of the postGupta period was the Hindu and Buddhist sculpture in
polished black basalt produced during the Pala and Sena
rule (8th - 11th c). Most of the sculpture was probably
intended for private worship rather than for installation
in temple complexes.
In addition to the vast numbers of Pala-Sena sculpture
in museums in Bengal and abroad, sculpture figures are
preserved in modern shrines in villages across Bengal.
Around Mumbai, there are some fascinating rock-cut
Hindu shrines from the Kalachuri and Rashtrakuta
periods, the most famous of which are the rock-cut Siva
temple (possibly of the Pasupata sect) at Elephanta
island (6th c) and the greatest rock-cut temple, the
Kailasa Temple at Ellora (8th c).

Monumental Hindu temples starting with the Cholas

(1000 - 1200 AD)

This initial period of temple building (5th - 9th c) was

characterised by small to mid-sized but intricate
temples. In the next period (10th - 13th c) monumental
temple complexes were built by powerful and wealthy
Hindu dynasties. In the Tamil zone, Rajaraja Chola built
the Brihadisvara temple in Tanjore in the late 10th c,
the greatest architectural project in south India of the
time. His son Rajendra, built a similarly massive complex
at Gangaikondacholapuram, to celebrate his successful
north India campaign. Building activity continued
throughout the rest of Chola rule with temples being
constructed at almost every village in the Kaveri delta,
but the most celebrated examples of later-Chola
architecture are the intricately sculpted temple
complexes at Darasuram and Tribhuvanam.

Kakatiya and Hoysala

(1100 - 1400 AD)

In the Deccan, Hindu temple architecture went through

fascinating transformations. The Western Chalukya
style was adopted and greatly modified by the Kalyani
Chalukyas (10th-12th c) who built primarily in the Gadag
region of northern Karnataka. Their style, exemplified
in the Trikutesvara temple complex
This style evolved further under the Kakatiya dynasty
(11th - 13th c) in the north Deccan, who built several
temples in and around their capital at Warangal, the
largest and most famous of which is the Ramappa temple
at Palampet.
In southern Karnataka, the Hoysala dynasty (12th 14th c) developed a unique variant of the Kalyani
Chalukya, thelargest and finest examples of this style
are the royal temples at Belur and Halebid.

Monumental temples of Orissa

(1000 - 1300 AD)

In Orissa, Gupta-inspired temples evolved into a unique

and confident architectural style, with a series of
structures (mandapas) preceding the main sanctuary.
The 10th c Muktesvara temple is remarkable for its
intricate sculpture but it is still a small temple, probably
intended for royal use.
Within a century of building the Muktesvara, Orissan
architects constructed the Ananta Vasudeva temple
with the full complement of three adjoining halls and
eventually built the immense Lingaraja temple complex
in the late 11th c.
Architectural scale continued to increase and the most
massive temples, built in the Ganga period were the
Jagannatha temple at Puri (12th c) and the Sun temple
at Konark (13th c).

Chandella and other central Indian temples

(900 - 1100 AD)

The most impressive and well-preserved temples in

central India were built by the Chandella dynasty at
Khajuraho and surrounding towns in the 10th-12th c.
The central group of monuments at Khajuraho are an
impressive ensemble, with the monumental Lakshmana
and Kandariya Mahadeva temples the finest examples of
the Chandella style. Other temples from this period
include the early 11th c Udayesvara temple of the
Paramara dynasty near Vidisha.

Dilwara and other western Indian temples

(1000 - 1300 AD)

In western India, a series of magnificently carved

marble Jain temples were built at Dilwara (in modern
Rajasthan) in the 11th-13th c by royal patrons of the
Chalukya dynasty. Of the series, the Vimal Vasahi and
the Luna Vasahi temples are outstaning in their
sculptural decoration.
In Gujarat, the Sun Temple at Modhera built in the 11th
century by a Solanki ruler is the most remarkable
structure of this period.
The examples in Gujarat from this period are
particularly striking, outstanding ones are the Mata
Bhavani's vav at Ahmedabad and the Rani vav at Patan.

Prambanan, Majapahit, and Khmer

(900 - 1300 AD)

Massive Hindu temple complexes were built around this

time outside India as well. The triple-shrined temple
complex at Prambanan and smaller temples around it, all
built in the 9th century by the Sanjaya dynasty are the
finest examples in Indonesia.
Soon after, these Hindu dynasties moved east and
established themselves as the Majapahit empire in
eastern Java, where they built a series of smaller highspired temples around the 13th century AD.

Early Islamic architecture in Delhi (1200 - 1500 AD)

Regional early Islamic architecture (1300 - 1500 AD)
Deccan Sultanates (1400 - 1700 AD)
Vijayanagara and Nayaka (1350 - 1700 AD)
Mughal imperial architecture (1600 - 1800 AD)
Regional Mughal architecture (1600 - 1800 AD)
Rajputs and Marathas (1500 - 1800 AD)
Terracotta temples of Bengal (1700-1900 AD)

Conclusion
Indian architecture as it stands today is a pluralistic
body of production that cannot in all justice be
exemplified by the approaches, buildings and architects
cited above.It has evolved over the centuries and has
been affected by numerous invaders aho have brought
different styles from their motherlands.
But it is an unavoidable fact that certain expressions
tend to get magnified and others reduced when set
against the vast canvas of the world. In that sense,
there is a distillation to an essence that does not have
all the ingredients. A more representative selection can
occur only at a deeper level of study.

Thank You
Compiled by :L Sai Ram (12BCL0187)
Chaitanya Karan (12BCL0222)