Eternal India Encyclopedia

ARCHITECTURE

Eternal India

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Kailasa on which Shiva and Parvati are seated. Shiva overpowers

the demon through the use of his big toe. On a sublime level, the

story is an expression of faith in the power of Shiva, and the reas-

surance that evil no matter how strong cannot suppress the great-

ness of the God. An interesting feature is the addition of a separate

shrine for the

Saptamatrikas,

showing increasing use of female

symbolism, the female representing

shakti,

that is a necessary

component for the achievement of release

(moksa),

i.e with the uni-

versal reintegration. However, Hindus virtually abandoned the

rock-cut technique in favour of structural buildings.

Regional, cultural and artistic variations become increasingly

discernible in North, South, Central (Deccan) India, especially ob-

served in unique Kashmiri art which was dependent on influences

from Bactro-Gandhara, Iran and Inner Asia. During the Karkota

period (C 625-885 A.D.), the temple of Martand (the sun) depicts a

Syro-Roman influence seen in the fluted columns and Hellenistic

elements in the pediment motif, trilobate arches, surrounding per-

istyle, vaulted arches and engraved columns. Other monuments in-

clude the stupa at Parihasapura, Avantisvami temple in Avantipur

(9th century) with great iconographic variations in Vaishnav sculp-

tures. Artistic development of ivory and metal images from Ka-

shmir follow the same patterns as those in stone, although divorced

from any particular monument. Delicate images of Buddha from

Karkota Utpala and Lohara periods are a continuum of stylistic

trends which have an overlay of Gupta style. A standing figure of

Buddha in brass is noteworthy with accentuated hips; the implicit

movement in the figure bears a similarity to the walking Buddha of

Thailand. The most elaborate known Kashmiri bronze is a crowned

Buddha, seated on a lotus, flanked by stupas (dated 9 A.D) donated

by a prince implying patronage by nobility.

Worship of the Mother Goddess dates back to dim antiquity. In

India worship of the Mother Goddess goes back to the time of the

Indus Valley civilization that is about 3000 B.C. The goddess is a

personification of the all-pervading power

(shakti)

of the all-pow-

erful Lord. She is called by various names —

Aditi

(mother of

gods),

Lakshmi

(goddess of fortune),

Saraswati

(goddess of wis-

dom),

Mahakali

(destroyer of the evil),

Prithvi

(goddess of earth),

Shailaputra

(daughter of the mountains),

Annapoorna

(goddess of

food),

Siddhidatu

(giver of success or perfection). She is the su-

preme power responsible for the creation, preservation and de-

struction of the universe.

Sri Vaishno Devi is the most famous of the Shakti shrines in the

country. It attracts lakhs of pilgrims from all Over India, and is situ-

ated 39 miles north of Jammu. The shrine is located in the bosom of

a mountain whose conical peaks rise up in a trinity, giving it the

name of Trikuta. On this account the shrine is sometimes referred

to as the Trikuta Devi. The mountain range is referred to as Devi

dhar.

The shrine is a natural cave in which on a raised rock platform,

are three small images of Maha-Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi and

Maha Kali, representing the creative, preservative and destructive

aspects of Divine Energy. The cave is nearly a hundred feet long.

Inside it is a huge rock and a stream of crystal-clear cold water,

issuing from a side of the cave. It is known as Charan Ganga.

THE CHALUKYAS

The cradle of Hindu temple architecture may be said to be in the

Deccan of the Chalukya empire with over 100 structural temples

which constitute this earliest large corpus of extant structural

temples in India that

are tied by history and

period. The three sites

are

Aihole,

Badami

(originally

Vatapi,

capital of the early

Western

Chalukyas)

and Pattadakal, where

the

three

styles

architecture,

Dravida

(southern),

Nagara

(northern) and Vesara

can be found. While

some

temples

were

built for the Jain relig-

ion, the majority are Hindu buildings but there is also a Buddhist

temple. The chronology of these temples is a major problem for art

historians as simple-to-elaborate structures is not necessarily the

rule. The temples owe their debt to the Badami caves. An impor-

tant cave is the Saivite Ravana Phadi at Aihole. A set of four caves

at their capital Badami can be dated to 578 A.D. especially cave 3

which consists of a few Hindu paintings in Ajanta style. It consists

of three major units, the

verandah, pillared hall of

a small shrine at the rear,

the

arrangement

based

on a Buddhist vihara.

The placement of the

royal inscription next to a

large

sculptural

relief

showing

Varaha

was

because Varaha was the

dynastic symbol of the

early

Western

Cha-

lukyas and symbolised

their role as protector as the kings viewed themselves as incarna-

tions of Vishnu. The sculptural programme of the cave consists of

a number of gigantic panels showing various forms of Vishnu, while

the

Mithunas

(couples) serve as bracket figures which becomes a

motif in later Deccan style. Cave 1 has a unique figure of Shiva.

Here is an extremely fine image of Nataraja, in a graceful pose.

Cave 1 has an 18-armed dancing Shiva, a two-handed Ganesha,

Mahishasuramardhini, Ardhanariswara and Sankaranarayana.

Cave 2 has panels of Trivikrama and Bhuvaraha. Cave 3 has

panels of Trivikrama, Narasimha, Sankara Narayana, Bhuvaraha,

Anantasayana and Harihara. Cave 4 has an image of Mahavira

adorning the sanctum. Other carvings are of Padmavathi and other

Tirthankaras. Most early Western Chalukya temples may be con-

sidered as 'regular' i.e categorised as being North or South with a

conventional plan built.

An example of northern type of sikhara may be seen in the

Huchehimalli Gudi temple in Aihole. Once the capital of the early

Chalukyan dynasty (6-8th C) it is a picturesque village on the

banks of the Malaprabha river. It is historically famous as the

cradle of Hindu temple architecture. There are about 125 temples

divided into 22 groups scattered all over the village. The Durgagudi

temple, dedicated to Vishnu appears like a Buddhist Chaitya. It is

the most elaborately decorated monument in Aihole. There are

panels from the Mahabharata and Ramayana and idols of