Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

encyclopedia

ARCHITECTURE

The attics which are at angles of the temples are called

'kama-kudu'.

They have a roof of a square or circular

section and are surrounded by a single stupi. Those which

are placed in the middle are called

'salai'.

They have an

elongated roof and have three stupi. Between the

'karnakudu'

and the

'salai'

are found some kind of little

windows called

'panjaram'.

Note : The size of the Karnakudu is double that of the

Panjaram but it is only of the size of the Salai.

Kama Kudu

Panjaram

The following factors should be kept in mind.

The upapitha is sometimes simple and sometimes ornamental.

In the

adhistana

the moulding called

padma

is not indispen-

sable. Similarly the

kumuda

sometimes has a blunt corner but

sometimes is also represented as a tore.

There are two kinds of ornamentation of temple walls viz.

(i) the

'gosta panjara'

which contain images of the subsidiary

deities, done in high relief and

(ii) the

'kumbha panjara'

which is a pilaster and the role of which is

purely decorative.

Architecture of entrance

Gopura

and

Mandapa

This is a solid stone structure. The style of the pilasters on the

outer walls indicates the Chola style. There are inscriptions of the

Yadava King of 1217 A.D. There are some more inscriptions on the

Gopura basement belonging to 13th C A.D. There are quite a

number of figures of Hanuman, Narasimha etc. in this. This Gopura

has been almost totally rebuilt.

Pratima Mandapa

This contains the bronzes of the Vijayanagar King Krishnadeva

Raya and his two consorts. The mandapa is exquisite and full of

sculptures.

Dhwajastamba Mandapa

A very narrow mandapa in the western part of the temple has

two rows of five pillars each in the north and the south. The pitha or

base of this mandapa is covered in glittering gold plates. This has

panels depicting Vishnu in the

Matsyavatara, Kaliyamardana

(Krishna dancing on the serpent Kaliya),

Venugopala

(Lord

Krishna playing on the flute).

Gajendra Moksha

(elephant caught

by a crocodile praying to Lord Vishnu), Lord Srinivasa's marriage

scene, Mohini (Vishnu as damsel), Lord Vishnu on Garuda etc.

Tirumalaraya Mandapa

Pillar Mandapa built in the typical Vijayanagar style. This has a

central pillar surrounded by a smaller one, the main pillar having

rearing horses with mounted warriors. There is a pavilion in black

granite in the middle of the mandapa.

Kalyana Mandapa

The spacious Kalyana mandapa is very famous for its exquisite

sculptures. It has a 4 pillared central mandapa. It is made of highly

polished black granite. It is the greatest masterpiece of Vijay-

anagar workmanship.

Pavitrotsava Mandapa

The architecture of the mandapa is the same as the Kalyana

mandapa.

Ranga Mandapa

It is in the south-east corner of the courtyard with a small

portico. The mandapa proper contains 9 pillars. The front part of the

shrine consists of an entrance flanked by a

salakoshta

on either

side. The

kapota

decorated with

nasikas

surmounted by

simhala-

latas

surmount the entire front.

Glossary of Temple Architecture

Amalaka

: Crowning, lotiform member of shikhara

Antarala

: Vestibule, chamber in front of shrine or cella.

Bh.ad.ra

: In Orissan architecture, a structure with a roof in the

form of a terraced pyramid; flat face or facet of the

shikhara.

Bhavanam

: Temple

Bhoga Mandapa

: Literally the ground on which all things are founded; in

architecture, the successive planes or divisions of a

Dravidian temple or the horizontal courses of a

shikhara.

Chaitya

: Originally, a tumulus

(chita)

but subsequently a sanctu-

ary of any kind; sanctuary in the form of an apsidal hall.

Deal

In Bengal & Orissa, generic name for a temple as a

whole but it is also used to signify the sanctuary only such

as cella and its tower, the vimana.

Devagara

Temple