The culture and architecture of India has been formed for many thousands of years, taking into account the traditions of many nationalities (more than 200) and a wide variety of styles. The Hindu temple has a history of more than four thousand years, but still, its construction is carried out according to certain architectural canons, known since ancient times.
Ancient temples
In ancient India, architectural structures were built both religious and secular. Most often, wood and clay were used for construction, because they have not survived to our time. They begin to build from stone only in the first centuries of our era. During the construction, everything was strictly done according to ritual Hindu texts. To answer the question: how the architectural forms of the Hindu temple developed over millennia and acquired the form that has survived to this day, one should understand the types of temples.
The architecture of the Hindu temple has two varieties:
- The Dravilian style (Dravida), whose accessory is high pyramidal towers, decorated with carved columns depicting kings, gods, warriors (style of the southern regions of India). The tiers in the pyramid are usually reduced in diameter upwards, and at the top is a dome (shikhara). Such temples are lower in height. These include the temple of Katharmal and Baijnath.
- The Nagara style (common in the northern regions of the country) - with towers in the form of beehives (shikhara), composed of several layers of architectural elements, the completion of which looks like a “drum”. Style dates back to the 5th century BC. The basis of the layout of the temple is a square, but the decorative elements inside divide the space and give the impression of roundness. In later buildings, the central part (mandapa) is surrounded by small temples, and the entire structure becomes visually similar to a fountain.
There is also a Visar style in which some elements of these two styles are combined.
The biggest difference in these types of temples is the size of the gate: in the northern temples they were made very small, and in the south they built huge beautifully decorated gates (Gopuram), which open the entrance to the courtyard of the Indian temple. Often such gates were decorated with sculptures and painted.
How ancient architects built
A Hindu temple in India was built from material that was selected according to local building capabilities. For example, temples of the Hoysal period in the 12-13th centuries - with a large number of sanctuaries and decorative elements - were built from plastic soapstone. Due to the plasticity of such a stone, ancient sculptors had great opportunities in creating magnificent decorative ornaments of temples.
Conversely, in the area of Mamalapuram, where the temple was built of granite, it was impossible to make good detail on the surface of the walls. Temples built of bricks are also distinguished by their stylistic features.
The Hindu temple was conceived and built as the dwelling of God, all proportions and reliefs were always made according to the canons. Of particular interest is how the architectural forms of the Hindu temple reproduce the basic principles of the Vastu-sastra science, the science of architectural design and the construction of temples. The principles of this science were developed by the legendary architect Visvakarman, who is now called the divine artisan.
Varieties of ancient temples
The most ancient temples in architecture can be divided into three groups:
- One-story small in the form of a circle or square without a superstructure.
- Cave-like temples are usually one-story buildings with apsid curvature.
- Tall buildings (6-12 floors), built in the form of a world mountain, decorated with a superstructure-shikhara.
The plan of the Hindu temple is often presented in the form of a mandala (a geometric diagram with potential but secret possibilities). The movement of the believer in the temple should be directed from the outside to the inside, towards the center. Moreover, the believer does not pass directly, but in a roundabout way, through "some gates, passages", and on the way he must discard all unnecessary in order to come to the foundations of existence.
The internal layout of the temple
Hindu temple dating back to the 6th century AD e., has a plan subordinate to the canon governing all interior decoration and religious rituals.
The central place in the temple belongs to the altar with a shrine (garbha graha), over which a tower was built (shikhara). Next to the altar is the assembly hall, followed by the anti-hall and the entrance with the portico.
An important part of the temple is the sanctuary of Garbhagriha, which is a square, the entrance to which is represented by a narrow and low single passage, there are no doors and windows in this room (and it is very dark). In the center is the Deity. Around it is a circular passage along which believers make parikrama.
A passage connects the sanctuary with a large hall (Mukhamandapa). There is also a narrow passage of Antaral (manhole). Mandapa is used for religious ceremonies, because sometimes the building was rather large in size to accommodate all believers.
Before entering the temple, an animal (a sculpture or a flag with an image) is usually located, to which this temple is dedicated. It can be a bull (the temple of Shiva), a lion (the temple of the Mother Goddess), a person with a bird's head (in Vishnu temples). The temple, most often, was surrounded by a low wall. Inside the fence shrines of deities can be located.
Hindu religion
Hinduism is a very ancient national religion uniting the traditions and philosophical schools of India. According to this religion, the world (samsara) is a series of rebirths, consisting of the ordinary and the everyday, and beyond it lies the reality where the Absolute rules.
Any person in Hinduism is trying to somehow break out of the world and unite with the Absolute, and the only way to achieve this is self-denial and austerity. Karma is actions in the previous rebirth (both good and bad), and division into castes also correlates with a certain karma.
Of the many Indian gods, three main ones gradually came to the forefront:
- the god Brahma, who created and rules the world;
- the god Vishnu, who helps people with various disasters;
- the formidable god Shiva, the carrier of creative and destructive cosmic energy.
Temples carved in caves
A Hindu temple carved entirely from natural rock is an example of the highest craftsmanship and a variety of artistic and architectural techniques. The art of carved architecture arose in connection with the geological features of the terrain. The most striking representative of the monolithic temple is the Kailasanatha temple in Ellora, which is dedicated to Shiva. All parts of the temple were cut down in the thickness of the rocks for several years. Presumably, the process of carving the temple was carried out from top to bottom.
This temple and 34 nearby monasteries are called Ellora's Caves; these structures are 2 km long. All monasteries and the temple are carved in basalt rocks. The temple is a prominent representative of the Dravidian style. The proportions of the building and the carved stone sculptures that adorn the temple are an example of the highest craftsmanship of ancient sculptors and artisans.
Inside the temple there is a courtyard, on the sides of which there are 3-story arcades with columns. Sculpted panels with huge Hindu deities are carved on the arcades. Previously, there were also stone bridges that connected the galleries between the center, but under the influence of gravity they fell.
Inside the temple are two buildings: the temple of the bull Nandi Mandap and the main temple of Shiva (both 7 m high), the lower part of which is decorated with stone carvings, and at the base there are elephants that support both buildings.
Stone sculptures and bas-reliefs
The role of the sculptural decoration of the Hindu temple (depicting the animal world and the ordinary life of the common people, scenes of mythological traditions, religious symbols and gods) is to remind the viewer and believers about the true purpose of their life and existence.
The external decor of the temple reflects its connection with the outside world, and the internal indicates a connection with the divine world. If you look at the decorative elements from top to bottom, then it is read as the condescension of the divine to people, and in the direction from the base to the top - the ascent of the spirit of man to the divine height.
All sculptural jewelry is a significant cultural and religious achievement and heritage of Ancient India.
Buddhist temples
Buddhism over the past millennium has spread throughout the world, but this religious movement was born precisely in India. Buddhist temples were built in such a way as to immediately embody the "Three Treasures" (Buddha himself, his teachings and the Buddhist community).
A Buddhist temple is a building that is a place of pilgrimage and the habitat of monks, which is completely protected from any external influences (sounds, smells, circuses, etc.). Its entire territory is completely closed behind powerful walls and gates.
The central part of the temple is the “Golden Hall” (condo), where the statue or image of the Buddha is located. There is also a pagoda where the remains of the earthly body of the Buddha are stored, usually consisting of 3-5 tiers with the main pillar in the center (for the remains under it or above). The monumental structures of Buddhist temples are decorated with a large number of arches, columns, reliefs - all this is dedicated to the Buddha.
The most popular Buddhist temples in India are located in the state of Maharashtra:
- Ajanta (cave complex of monasteries).
- Ellora, where Buddhist and Hindu temples are adjacent (of 34 caves: 17 - Hindu, 12 - Buddhist).
- Mahabodhi (where according to legend, Gautam Sidhartha reincarnated as Buddha) and others.
Buddhist stupas are very popular in India - structures that are a monument to some religious event of Buddhism, which store the remains of prominent people. According to legend, stupas bring harmony and prosperity to the world, affect the field of the universe.
