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ARCHITECTURE
Eternal India
encyclopedia
like a coat of arms. It consists of an elaborate archway topped with
a lion-head, with a dwarfish figure leaning against the arch on
either side. There is the figure of a lion both above and below it. The
intermediary ribs are decorated with small replicas of the tower,
placed one above the other. On the top of the tower there is a big
cushion-like structure and above this is a
'kalasa'
topped by the
trident of Shiva.
The walls of the temple have niches houring various deities.
The niches are separated by carvings of lion--, crouching on ele-
phants or figures of maidens.
Another temple, known as the Muktesvara at Bhubaneshwar is
the gem of Orissan art, one of the highest achievements of Orissa
art datable to the tenth C A.D., reign of Yayati I, king of Somavamsi
dynasty. Its importance is -not only in its beauty and architectural
perfection but also as a watershed in the development of Orissa
architecture marking the transition between the ’early’ and ’late’
developments of style; the early structures consist of only two
main parts
(deuls
and
jagmohan
) while the later structure is of four
separate units. An unusual feature is the torana which is heavy,
with an arch built out of a separate piece of stone, including
makara
ends, female figure pillars and niches. With the coming of the
Gangas a number of Vaishnavite temples were erected (the former
were Saivite) including the famous Jagannath temple at Puri which
is in active worship and the great Lingaraja temple and the Ananta
Vasudeva temple at Bhubaneshwar. The Sun temple at Konarak
(with a lost sikhara) was built by Narasimhadeva in 1251 A.D., for
the Sun God. This stands on a deserted stretch of coast in Orissa,
overlooking the Bay of Bengal. The sailors navigating the shore
called it the "Black Pagoda" to distinguish it from the "White
Pagoda" - the famous Jagannatha temple twenty miles up the coast
in Puri. The temple was built to commemorate Narasingha Deva’s
victories over the Muslims, who were pushing into Orissa from the
east. It was famous even during the time of Akbar. Abul Fazl, the
court biographer of Emperor Akbar the Great, wrote:
"Near Jagannath (Puri) is a temple dedicated to the Sun. Its cost
was defrayed by twelve years' revenue of the province. Even those
whose judgment is critical stand astonished at the sight.... Twenty-
eight temples stand in its vicinity, six before the entrance and
twenty two within the enclosure, each of which has its separate
legend."
Although only the entrance hall has remained intact, this
magnificent ruin has on its walls sculptures of beauty covering
every aspect of life - scenes of love and war, trade and court
transactions, hunting, catching of elephants, sages teaching,
childbirth, amorous dalliances, dancers and mythical figures vie
with each other for attention on the panels and niches of this
immortal work of art. The architecture and iconographic programme
show that it was built to facilitate worship of the Sun God, although
daily sun rituals, monthly ceremonies, equinoxes and eclipses
formed part of the basic functions. The concept of the temple as a
chariot is used here, while the seven horses dragging the chariot is
part of the design of 12 pairs of wheels of the massive plinth
representing the 12 months, each wheel being 3 metres in diameter
with 8 major and 8 minor spokes and carved in detail with decorative
foliate motifs and figures. Manuscripts dealing with the temples
tell us of the wheels being related to a sign of the zodiac. This
Hindu temple architecture in Orissa is among the most clearly
perceived development in Indian art.
The art of the Rajput is commonly remembered for miniature
painting but the monumental religious architecture and sculpture
produced prior to the 16th century comprises an important chapter in
the history of south Asian art. It fulfilled the major northern Indian
style temple tradition. The art of the Gurjara Prathiharas (730-
1027) includes Gupta idiom and those under the Maitrakas as well
as those from the Vakataka Kalachuri styles. Surviving sculptures,
such as those from Bharatpur (the marriage of Shiva and Parvati),
depict the female as full-bodied and fleshy but the facial features
are hardened. The forms of Shiva sway into an angular Tribhanga
posture, and his jewellery is overpowering and precisely depicted.
The architecture of the period may be studied at Osian (near
Jodhpur) where 116 remaining temples testify to its cultural emi-
nence.
KHAJURAHO
The Chandellas of Bhundelkhand established their supremacy
in Bundelkhand around Khajuraho where significant architecture re-
mains are located. Traditionally over 80 temples are of Chandella
construction, although only 20 remain. They represent a ho-
mogenous group and were a product of royal patronage belonging to
Shaivite, Vaishnavite and Jain religions. Their styles link them
together distinguishing them from temples of the North Indian type
at other sites in India. The temples such as the Chausath Yogini
temple of ninth C A.D. constructed out of granite, is exceptional in
subject matter. It is related to Hindu
tantric
practice particularly to
kapalika
practice in which the female was given great importance as
the seat of the self whereby the realisation of the self was located
in the yoni. Related to the tantric concept are the
vulva
and
numerous
mithunas
on the exterior walls of the temple in mildly
erotic, precoital and coital postures which often raises the question
of erotic images on religious monuments. The Lakshmana temple
is an example of active poses of figures in 3D and almost freed from
the background. Researches (such as the one by Devangana De-
sai) explain them as one commonly practised by royalty, as well as
due to magical practices and securing the walls of the temples
between joints where they are placed as motifs. In addition are the
celestial beings, figures of gods and goddesses and decorative
motifs. The Lakshmana temple typical of the period of A.D. 954
was erected by Yosovarman and dedicated to Vishnu caturmurti.
The figure was said to be acquired by him as booty. The temple