Summary

Art and Culture Class 05

INTRODUCTION (01:10 PM)

A brief overview of the previous class.

SOUTH INDIAN ARCHITECTURE (01:14 PM)

Temple art in South India began under Pallava rulers in the early 7th century AD. Initially, rock-cut structures were created which paved the development of real structural temples in later stages.
The evolution of South Indian temples happened in the following four phases:
Phase 1: Mahendravarman stage: This stage developed under Pallava ruler Mahendravarman. In this stage rock-cut cave architecture was created. Rocks were cut from the inside but the outer surface remained untouched.
These structures were known as Mandapa. It was mainly created at Mammandur, in Tamil Nadu.
Phase 2: Narsimhavarman stage: In this stage, rocks were cut not only from the inside but also from the outside. It was cut in the shape of a temple and these newly created structures were known as ratha.
Example Pandava Ratha of Mammalapuram/ Mahabalipuram. The biggest ratha was Dharmaraja ratha and the smallest was Draupadi ratha.
Phase 3: Rajsimhavarman stage: In this stage, real structural temples were created. The characteristic feature of this phase was the introduction of a pyramidal inclining tower known as Vimana.
Example- Shore temple at Mahabalipuram and Kailasanath temple of Kanchi.
This stage gave rise to the Dravida style of temple.
Phase 4: Nandivarman stage: In this stage, the Dravida style of temple was popularised in different parts of south India. Example Vaikunthaperumal temple of Kanchi.

DRAVIDA STYLE OF TEMPLE (01:32 PM)

Temple art in India started to develop under the Pallava rulers but it reached its climax during the Imperial Chola dynasty.
Features:
A high enclosure wall is a necessary feature of the Dravida temple.
The entrance gateways known as Gopuram as created from all sides sometimes their numbers even exceed more than four.
The characteristic feature of the Dravida style is the presence of an inclining pyramid tower known as vimana.
Vimanas were not only created on the garbhagriha but also on the gateways. In fact, some of the tallest vimanas were created on the gopurams.

PANCHAYATAN (02:00 PM)

In both Dravida and Nagara some of the temples practice the Panchayatan style whereby 5 deities are placed inside Garbhagriha which includes 1 main god and 4 subsidiary gods.
The ardhamandap is meant for installing the image of Nandi and the flag pillar of the temple.
Antaral is a narrow passage that connects the mandap to the garbagriha.
At the entrance of Garbhagriha generally sculptures of dwarpala were created.
(in the Nagara temples generally the sculptures of river goddess Ganga and Yamuna or Mithuna were created.
Stepped water tank is also a necessary feature of the Dravida temple.
Inside the premise of the temple they create Nardamandapa for devotional purposes and Bhoga Mandapa for Prasada distribution.
On the panels of the vimana large number of sculptures were created based on Hindu mythology.
Generally, Dravida temples also follow the crucified ground plan.
Brihadeeshwara temple of Tanjore by Rajaraja Chola in 1011 AD.
It is considered one of the architectural wonders of India. They did not use any cementing agent in the construction of this temple. In fact puzzled technique or interlocking pattern was used.
Its tower was tallest in India i.e. 68m high.

SUBSTYLES OF DRAVIDA TEMPLE

1. Vijayanagara temple:
It developed under the patronage of Vijayanagar rulers, particularly under Raja Krishna Devaraya.
Features:
They created very high enclosure walls in the temple.
On the walls of the temple images of supernatural horses and other animals like elephants and lions were represented.
One of the unique features of the Vijayanagara style was the introduction of the second garbhagriha known as Amman Shrine dedicated to the chief wife of the main god.
Inside the premise of the temple Kalyan Mandapa was also created to celebrate the annual marriage functions of the god.
In some of the temples, 1000 pillared halls were created e.g. Virupaksha temple of Hampi, and Hazara Ramaswamy temple, and both are located in Lepakshi.
2. Nayaka temple:
This style developed under Nayaka rulers of the Madurai. It was the climax of the Dravida temple style.
Features :
In this style large number of Gopurams with huge Vimanas were created.
A water tank was created inside the premises of the temple.
Huge corridors were created known as parakrama which connected different parts of the temple.
Like the Vijayanagara style they also followed the Amman shrine tradition.
On the gopurams or vimanas large number of sculptures were created in vivid colours and the characters were based on Hindu mythology.
Example- Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple Madurai, Shri Ranganath Swamy temple Srirangam, Lakshmi Narayani temple Vellore.

OTHER STYLES OF TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE (03:04 PM)

Vesara style:
Vishara means to take a long path. This style of temple was developed under the Chalukya rulers of Karnataka.
It is considered a mixture of Dravida, Nagara, and Buddhist chaitya.
Features:
1. the tower was similar to Dravida Vimana.
2. in line with the Nagara style they created a covered ambulatory passageway.
3. semicircular halls like Buddhist chaitya were also created.
Example- Durga temple, ladkhan temple Aihole, Papanath temple Pattadakal.
Hoysala style of temple:
It was developed by the Hoysala rulers of Karnataka.
Features
1. It is noted for its unique ground plan i.e. star shaped stellate ground plan.
2. Generally, these temples were created from calcite stone which is good for sculpture making.
3. In a dry state it is smokey grey in color but with water turns black.
4. the style of the temple is noted for intricate figures on the wall based on Indian mythology, Ramayan and Puranas.
Examples: Hoysaleswara temple of Halebid in Karnataka, Channakeshwara temple- Belur, temple of Somanathapura, Doda Basappa temple Dambal.

MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE OR INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA (03:20 PM)

	Trabeate Architecture	Arcuate Architecture
	The architecture of ancient India is also referred to as trabeate.	The Islamic architecture of India is referred to as arcuate.
Entrance and roof	lintel entrance and roof were created (flat roof).	Arch was created at the entrance and dome at the top of the building.
Towers	In the religious premises, shikhara and vimana were the towers	Minar or minarets were created attached to the mosque.
Major construction materials	stone and brick were major construction materials.	Brick, limestone, and mortar were the major construction materials.

Features of Indo-Islamic architecture:
1. they followed the arch and dome method of construction.
2. they used a wide variety of stones like red sandstone, grey sandstone, and white marble.
3. initially the old existing religious structures were converted into Islamic premises moreover they also increased the space of these premises.
4. they avoided the representation of human figures on buildings.
5. they employed a wide variety of decoration methods e.g. creation of geometrical designs on buildings and calligraphy.
6. in the early phase one special font of Persian script Kufi was developed for the purpose of writing the Quranic verses on the buildings.
Arabesque method of decoration:
It was also used. It is identified with the depiction of a continuous running stem and similar identical leafy structures on both sides of the stems.
Pietra Dura method of decoration:
It was one of the methods of decoration. In this technique, colored marble and semi-precious stones were tessellated on the walls.
Another method of decoration was the creation of intricate Jali work or stone tracery work. It also highlights the importance of sunlight in Islam.
Another important feature of Islamic architecture was the creation of stepped water tanks, small drains, and fountains in the premises of the building.
They also started the tradition of planting gardens around their buildings.

The topic for the next class is medieval architecture of India, provincial architecture.