470 / 822
ART
Eternal India
encyclopedia
South India. The Kailasanatha temple
at Kanchipuram was built by Nara-
simha II. The Pallavas also built the
rock-cut
and
free-standing
temples
at
Mamallapuram
(Mahabalipuram)
and the famous sculpture known as
the Descent of the Ganga or Arj una's
Penance.
The Cholas
(9th-12th C A.D.)
The art of the Cholas, whose ter-
ritory extended over southern India
below the Tungabhadra river, evolved
from Pallava art. The dancing Shiva
was the favourite deity of the Chola kings. Their art became more i
complex and culminated in the Shaivite temples at Tanjavur (Tan-
jore) and Gangaikondacholapuram. The dance hall of the temple at
Chidambaram was covered with gold by the Chola king Parantaka I
at the beginning of the 10th C. The gopurams belong to the late
Chola, late Pandya, Vijayanagar and even later periods.
The Later or Eastern Chalukyas
(10th-12th C A.D.)
The later Chalukyas of Kalyan established their sovereignty in
the Deccan when Tailappa, a member of the collateral line of the
Western Chalukyas, dethroned the Rashtrakuta king Karkk II in
973 A.D. The temples of this period include the Kalleshvara at
Bagali, the Venugopalswami at Magola, the Kotteshvara at Hira-
hadagalli, the Mallikarjuna at Kuruvatti and many others in Karna-
taka.
Pandyas
(12th-14th C A.D.)
The
Pandyas
gained
suprem-
acy in the south after the Cholas,
The
most
important
rock-cut
monument of this period is the
Shiva
temple
at
Kalugumalai,
known
as
Vattuvankoil,
the;
'sculptor's temple'. It has sculp-
tures
of
Dakshinamurthi,
a
seated Vishnu, a seated Shiva in
his Vishapaharana pose, Nara-
simha and Brahma. The Pandyas
built
impressive
gopurams,
temple
gateways
at
Madurai,
Srirangam and Chidambaram.
Pratiharas
(8th-11th C A.D.)
The Gurjara-Prathihara empire extended from Gujarat to the
borders of Bihar and included Rajasthan, Malwa and Uttar Pradesh.
The remains of their temples can be seen at Osian, near Jodhpur.
Chandellas
(10th-13th C A.D.)
The Chandellas who ruled over Central India from their capital
at Khajuraho, after the break-up of the Pratihara empire, built the
temple complex at Khajuraho from which 20 temples still survive.
The finest and biggest temple in the group is the Kandariya Ma-
hadeva. All the temples have elaborate sculptural decoration.
Solankis
(11th-13th C A;D.)
The Solankis or Chalukyas ruled over Gujarat and Western
Rajasthan, including Mount Abu and Chitor. The sculptures of the
Surya temple at Modhera and the Dhilwara group of Jain temples on
Mount Abu are superb specimens of the art of this period.
Jayasimha Siddharaja, the greatest, monarch of this dynasty, was a
Shaivite but patronised Jain institutions. Hemachandra, the famous
Jain sage, was held in great respect by Jayasimha and his
successor, Kumarapala, who rebuilt the temple of Somanatha,
which was destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni.
Hoysalas
(11 th-12th C A.D.)
The Hoysalas who came to power in Mysore after defeating the
Chalukyas, derive their name from the utterance of a sage who
commanded the founder of the Sala family to slay a tiger — "Strike,
Sala". A prince fighting a tiger is a motif that occurs frequently in
the Hoysala temples. The Hoysala temples at Belur, Halebid and
Somnathpur are superb specimens of Hoysala architecture.
Vijayanagar
(14th-16th C A.D.)
The Vijayanagar empire was founded in southern India in 1335
by Harihara, Kampa and Bukka, the sons of Sangama. The capital
was Hampi. The Vijayanagar rulers favoured Vaishnavism and
therefore most of the sculptures of the period represent Vishnu's
ayatars, Krishna's pranks- and scenes from the epics. The greatest
Vijayanagar monarch was Krishnadevaraya who was a scholar and
patron of the fine arts. The Vitthala temple at Hampi is one of the
greatest achievements of Vijayanagar architecture. After the
battle
of
Talikota
(1565), the Vijayanagar
empire
weakened.
The
Nayak kings of Madurai,
Tanjore and Vellore who
were once loyal to the
emperor
declared
their
independence.
Tirumala
Nayak of Madurai,
Raghunatha
Nayak
of
Tanjavur
and
Chinna-
bomma of Vellore were
famous patrons of art
and
literature.
The
Nayak period at Madu-
rai produced the thou-
sand-pillared
man-
dapam of the Meenakshi
temple complex.