Temple architecture: Nagara and Dravidian

Detailed description about Nagara and Dravidian style of architecture

1. TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE: NAGARA AND DRAVIDIAN STYLE

2. NAGARA STYLE

3. 3 NAGARA STYLE Style of temple architecture that became popular in northern India. It is common in this style to build an entire temple on a stone platform with steps leading up to it. The Nagara style has its origin in the  structural temples of the Gupta period(fifth century A.D onwards) Used stone such as Chlorite, sandstone and white marble. Usually built on upraised platforms.

4. 4 NAGARA STYLE:Description

5. Garbhagriha: It literally means ‘womb-house’ and is a cave like sanctum . The Garbhagriha is made to house the main icon (main deity) which is itself the focus of much ritual attention. Mandapa : It is the entrance to the temple. It may be a portico or colonnaded (series of columns placed at regular intervals) hall that incorporate space for a large number of worshippers. Shikhara or Vimana : They are mountain like spire of a free standing temple. Shikhara is found in North Indian temples and Vimana is found in South Indian temples. Shikhara has a curving shape while vimana has a pyramidal like structure . 5 NAGARA STYLE:Features

6. 6 NAGARA STYLE:Features   Amalaka : It is a stone(horizontal fluted) disc like structure at the top of the temple (usually seen in North Indian temple). Kalasha : On the top of Amalak , specrical shape was placed.(usually seen in North Indian temple)   Antarala (vestibule): Antarala is a transition area between the Garbhagriha and the temple’s main hall ( mandapa ).   Jagati : It is a raised platform for sitting and praying and is common in North Indian temples. Vahana : It is the mount or vehicle of the temple’s main deity along with a standard pillar or  Dhvaj  which is placed axially before the sanctum.  

7. There are of three types Shikharas : 1.Rekha Prasad / Latina It is the simple and most common type of shikhara . Square at the base and the walls curve inward to a point on the top . The top is called ‘latina’ or the rekha-Prasad type of Shikhara Latina types are mainly used for housing the garbhagriha 7 NAGARA STYLE: Shikhara

8. 2.Phamsana They tend to have broader base and shorter in height than latina buildings. Their roofs are composed of several slabs that gently rise to a single point over the center of building. They slope upwards on a straight incline. Phamsana roofs do not curve inwards. In many North Indian temples Phamsana was used for mandapa . 8 NAGARA STYLE: Shikhara

9. 3.Valabhi   Rectangular building with a roof that rises into a vaulted chamber. The edge of the vaulted chamber is round, like the bamboo or wooden wagons that would have been drawn by bullocks in ancient times. The form of this temple is influenced by ancient building forms that were already in existence. They are usually known as wagon vaulted buildings 9 NAGARA STYLE: Shikhara

10. Three sub schools developed under Nagara style: 1.Odisha School:Features The deul ( rekhadeuls ), corresponding to the southern vimana , is the cubical inner apartment which enshrines the image, and is surmounted by a tower. In front of this is the antarala or porch called the jaganmohan which is usually square-shaped and has a pyramidal roof. In some cases one or two more mandapas found, such as the natmandir and the bhogmandir , can be found in front of the jaganmohan Exterior walls are lavishly decorated through intricate cravings but interior walls are plain No use of pillars- Instead of pillars, iron gridders were used, to support roof. 10 NAGARA STYLE:School

11. Shikhara is called Deul and is almost vertical till the top when it suddenly curves sharply inwards Examples: The   Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneswar (11th century), the Jagannath Temple at Puri (12th century) and the great Sun Temple at Konark (13th century)  11 NAGARA STYLE : School

12. 2.Khujuraho/ Chandel school Khajuraho’s temples are known for their extensive erotic(drew inspiration from Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra .) sculptures Patronized by Chandela kings of Bundelkhand (10 th  and 11 th  century). 12 NAGARA STYLE : School

13. Features: The  temples  had  three chambers  –  garbhagriha, mandapa  and  ardha - mandapa .  Some temples had a  vestibular entrance  to the  garbhagriha  known as   antarala . In these temples, both the interior and exterior walls were lavishly decorated with carvings. The  temples  were made of  sandstone. The temples were generally north or east facing. The temples were built on relatively high platform. Panchayatan style of temple making was followed. Even the subsidiary shrines had rekja-prasad shikharas . This created an impression of a mountain range . Example: Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Lakshman temple at Khajuraho , etc. 13 NAGARA STYLE : School

14. 3 .Solanki school In the north-western parts of India including  Gujarat and Rajasthan , this school developed under the  patronage of the Solanki rulers. 14 NAGARA STYLE : School

15. Solanki school:Features  : The  garbhagriha  is connected with the  mandapa both internally  as well as  externally. The  porticos  have  decorative arched gateways  known as  torans . A unique feature of this school is the presence of step-tank, known as surya-kund in the proximity of the temple. The steps of the tank are full of small temples. There are wooden carvings present in these temples. The Solankis used a variety of material to make temples including sandstone, black basal and soft-marble. Most of the temples are east-facing and designed such that every year, during the equinoxes, the sun-rays fall directly into the central shrine. Example: The temple at Sunak (10th century), Sun temple at Modhera (11th century), the Vemala Temple at Mount Abu (11th century) and the Somnath Temple at Kathiawar (12th century) 15 NAGARA STYLE : School

16. DRAVIDIAN STYLE

17. Developed in South, during the Chola Empire, between 9th–12th Century AD The majority of the existing buildings are located in the Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka Unlike the nagara temple, the dravida  temple is enclosed within a compound wall . There is  only one Vimana  in the Dravidian architecture on top of the main temple. The subsidiary shrines do not have vimanas , unlike in Nagara architecture. 17 DRAVIDIAN STYLE

18. 18 DRAVIDIAN STYLE :Structural view

19. 19 DRAVIDIAN STYLE :LAYOUT G opuram Antharala Garbhagriha Mandapa

20. The front wall had a high entrance  gateway  known as the  gopuram . Vimana : were multiple storeys built above the garbhagriha (chief diety’s room). Number of storeys varied from 5-7.  The crowning element is shaped in the form of an octagon and is known as shikhara ( It is similar to the kalash of the Nagara temple, but not spherical). Mandapa : a pillared hall with elaborately carved pillars and a flat roof was placed before the diety’s room. It acted as an audience hall which featured ceremonial dances too . The assembly hall was connected with the garbhagriha by a  vestibular tunnel  known as  antarala . The temple premise was laid out in the  panchayatan style  with a principal temple and four subsidiary shrines . 20 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Features

21. The entrance of the garbhagriha had sculptures of  Dwaarapalas ,   mithun and yakshas . The presence of a  water tank  inside the temple enclosure was a unique feature of the Dravidian style. Examples : Shore temple at Mahabalipuram , Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi , Brihadeswara temple  at Tanjore , Gangaikondacholapuram temple etc. 21 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Features

22. The Dravidian style/ Southern style of architecture can be classified into the following periods 1. Pallavan Style 600AD – 900AD 2. Chola Style 900AD – 1150AD 3. Pandya Style 1100AD – 1350AD 4. Vijayanagara Style 1350AD – 1565AD 5. Nayak /Madura Style 1600 AD onwards 22 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Pallava

23. 1. Pallavan Style :600AD – 900AD The early buildings of Pallavas were rock-cut( 7th century AD ); while the later ones were structural ( built in 8th and 9th century AD). The lasting monolithic temples known as  rathas  and  mandapas  provide superb skill of sculptors of Pallava period. Examples: Mahendravarman :  Mandagapattu rock cut temple. Rajsimha ( Mammalla ) :  Kailasanathar Temple, Kanchipuram , Shore Temple Mahabalipuram . 23 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Pallava

24. 2 . Chola Style: 900AD – 1150AD The temples pyramidal multi-storeyed Vimana rises a massive seventy metres, topped by a monolithic shikhara , and the kalasha  on top by itself is about three metres and eight centimetres in height. The main deity of the temple is Shiva, who is shown as a huge lingam set in a two storeyed sanctum. Example:   Brihadeswara temple at Tanjore (built by Rajaraja I in 1011A.D) 24 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Chola

25. 3 . Pandya Style: 1100AD – 1350AD Pandya architecture includes both rock-cut and structural temples. The early rock-cut temples have monolithic vimanas . The structural ones are small stone temples and have all the features of bigger temples i.e. vimana , mandapa and sikhara . Pandya rulers mainly concentrated on building gopurams or monumental entrances for existing temples. Examples: Gopuram of T hillainatraja temple,Srivilliputturandal temple etc. and Groups of small temples are to be seen at Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu. 25 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : P andya

26. 4 . Vijayanagara Style :1350AD – 1565AD Created their own architecture style named Provida style which plays a lot of emphasis on piers and pillars. Built of hard stone, the temples are large structures with spacious Mandapas and lofty Gopurams Exquisitely carved pillars and the massive solid granite rathas with three huge wheels in the open courtyard with exceptional carvings and murals both within and on the outer walls. Inscribed stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on the walls of the various temples. Depiction of animal like horses and elephants on the walls were common figures . 26 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Vijayanagara

27. Example: Vittala-swamy temple and Hazara temples at Hampi , Tadapatri and Parvati temples at Chidambaram, Varadraja and Ekambarnatha temples at Kanchipuram etc. 27 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Vijayanagara

28. 5.Nayak/Madura Style 1600 AD onwards Presence of  Prakarns or huge corridors  in the portico, around the garbhagriha , along with roofed ambulatory passageways. The gopurams built under the Nayaka rulers were some of the  largest gopurams .  The Meenakshi temple in Madurai has the tallest gopuram in the world. The art of  gopuram reached its climax  in the Nayaks style. The temple structure was filled with intricate carvings Example: Meenakshi temple, Madurai, etc. 28 DRAVIDIAN STYLE : Nayak

29. 29 Difference : Nagara and Dravidian style Nagara Dravidian North Indian states of UP, MP, and Bihar. In southern India between the reaches of River Krishna and Kanyakumari . It has towers or shikharas with rounded top and curved linear outline. Towers in the shape of a pyramid called the Vimana are present. Pillars are absent in these temples. Pillars are prominent features. Gopurams are absent. Gopurams are present Water tank absent Water tank is present

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