Vedic architecture

history of architecture

1. Vedic Architecture

2. ORIGIN After the decline of Indus Valley Civilization another glorious civilization flourished in India. Aryas or Aryans were responsible for the evolution of this civilization. Aryan literally means free born/ noble character. They belong to Indo-Europeans and entered India from north-west. In about 1500 BC the Aryans, a nomadic people from Central Asia, settled in the upper reaches of the Indus, Yamuna, and Gangetic plains.  They spoke Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Gothic, Persian and worshipped gods similar to those of later-era Greeks and northern Europeans. The Aryans appeared in India than 1500 BC. The earliest aryans settled down in eastern Afghanistan, Punjab, and fringes of Uttar Pradesh. The settlement was confined to the valley of the river Sindh and its tributaries and of the Saraswati and the Drishadwati .

3. The Rig Vedic Society (Early Vedic Society) Kingdom: Extremely limited. As they were busy establishing their settlement in India. Family: Lowest Stratum of the state system. Joint family system was one of the feature of the iron age. Oldest male member was the head of the family. Women were dependant on men. The Aryans desired male child. Tribe: The families in blood relation formed tribes. They were under the rule of a Chief. Inter-tribal conflicts were frequent. During this period tribal identity of a man was all that counted.

4. Administration and Justice Providing defense against foreign invasions, security of life and property of subjects and maintenance of law and order, constituted the kings primary obligation. The king tried cases of appeal of his subjects with the help of the priests. The guilty was punished. Theft of cow and forcible occupation of land and other immovable’s were of frequent occurrence. The king had to redress these wrongs. The subjects usually did not pay any regular taxes to the king. They paid the same willfully. The king did not enjoy ownership of land. The kingdom was divided into several units for its proper governance.  High officials were appointed to assist the king in his administration. The priest was unofficially very close to the king. 

5. Defense The official called ‘ Senani ’ discharged his duty to organize the army and conduct war. The ‘ gramani ’ used to undertake the civil and military obligations. The envoys and spies kept the king informed of the movement of the enemies. There were infantry men and soldiers carried by chariots. Weapons used in the war were arrows, spears, swords, axes etc. There was another weapon called, ‘ Rathemushala ’. Lethal weapons through this machine were thrown against the enemy from running chariots.

6. Status of Women in Early Vedic Period:  In the Vedic society, women were treated with great respect. They co operated with men in domestic and social works. They were ideal wives. But they were not allowed to have more husbands than one. They were chief mistresses in household matters. No such practice as the ‘ Purdah ’ was prevalent among the Vedic women. They received proper education. In the Rig-Vedic age such women as Biswabara , Ghosa , Apala , and Mamata etc. earned proficiency in different branches of Scripture or Shastra . Some of them became famous as composers of Vedic hymns. Besides literary pursuit, the women learnt the art of warfare, brandishing of sword etc. Child marriage and widow marriage were not in vogue. Nor was the sati burning practiced. But there was the practice of marrying brother’s childless widow. Standard of women’s moral character was high.

7. Rig Veda Caste System   At the early phase of their coming to India, the Aryans remained divided socially into three classes, such as: warriors of landed aristocrats, priests and commonalty. After this, society was divided into four classes on the basis of occupation such as : Men engaged   in learning, teaching and performing sacrificial rites, were called ‘ Brahamanas .’ Those, engaged in warfare’s were called ‘ Kshatriyas ’. People who adopted agriculture, cattie-rearing trade and business as their calling were known as ‘ Vaishyas ’. Lastly, the men who served the above three were known as “ Sudras .”

8. Chatur Ashrama (Four Stages of Life)   “ Chatur-ashrama ” or Four Stages of life is one of the prominent features of Aryan society.It was confined to first three classes of Society. Brahmacharya :  The first stage of life was called “ Brahmacharya-ashrama .” During this period, every male person had to stay in the residence of his preceptor (Guru) and continue study under the latter’s guidance. The pupil had to share equally the weal and  . woe of the preceptor’s family. Grihastha :  After completion of his study at the preceptor’s house, the pupil returned home and led the life of a family man ( Grihastha-ashrama ). The main duty of a family man was to get married and to discharge the domestic obligation by looking after his wife and children. Vanaprastha :  The third stage of life is “ Vanaprastha -ashram”. It   was the practice to adopt “ Vanaprastha ashram” at a mature age. During this time, the person concerned got relieved of the domestic obligations, erected hut in the forest and lived a life of detachment. Sanyas :  The last stage of life is called ` Sannyas ’. During this period, the person concerned had to live the life of a hermit.

9. Dress, Food and Society of Aryans In the Aryan society, close attention was paid to dress and ornaments. In the Vedic Culture, three types of cover were in vogue – a loose outer garment for the upper portion of the body ( uttariya ), garment for lower portion ( nibi ) and the main garment above the nibi ( Paridhan ). Garments were made of cotton, hide and wool. Milk, ghee, fruits of various kinds, barley and wheat constituted the chief items of food of the Aryans. During ceremonial occasions, beast meat was taken. During sacrificial rites, the Aryans used strong intoxicant called ` Somarasa ’ or ` Sura ’. Hunting, fishing, riding, charioteering , singing and dancing were the chief festivals of joy and amusement. Although the caste system had its beginning in the Rig Vedic period, no rigorous restrictions were imposed on such social matters as marriage, dining and occupation.

10. Houses And City Planning The early aryans who had invaded cities of Indus valley civilization had seen the use of brick in their cities, however the descendants of early aryan people did not use brick and chose to build their village settlements in timber and thatch which were readily and abundantly available from the forest. This can result of their knowledge of carpentry which already excelled in making chariots for the fighting aryan tribes. It is likely they adopted their carpentry skills to build wooden structures. Timber structure and bamboo dwellings were also easier and simpler to maintain or rebuilt in case of damage by rains and floods. These temporary structures were built because the builders wee for them were symbolic of a re still nomadic by nature and permanent structures were against their instincts.

11. Type of Housing Circular Hut: The most elementary hut was circular in plan. This was the simplest to construct with bamboo and thatch. But they had functional limitations. Rectangular Hut: An addition was made to the circular hut and was changed to elastic. The huts were arranged in groups of three or four around local courtyard. The village was safe from wildlife by a timber fence. Gateway was installed in front of the entry portion to provide a controlled entry. The cities of the V edic period were rectangular in plan and divided into 4 quarters by two main thoroughfares intersecting at right angles, each leading to a city gate. One of these quarters contained the citadel and another housed the residential area. A third quarter was reserved for the merchants and the last for the tradesmen who could display their wares.

12. Vastupurusa For the basis of Hindu architecture often reference is made to Vastupurusa or “the spirit of the site”. One legend explains this as follows. There was an evil demigod (bhuta) who was born during Siva’s fight with the Asur Andhaka. This bhuta possessed a terrifying countenance and an insatiable hunger. The legend goes that having done great penance, the bhuta won a boon from Siva that allowed him to swallow the three worlds that constitute the Hindu cosmos. As this being stretched himself and began to occupy the heavens, he fell flat on the earth. The various gods and demigods seized this opportunity and pinned various parts of his body to the ground, rendering him helpless. This being came to be called Vast (or Vastupurusa ) because the gods and demigods managed to lodge themselves on his body. Legends hold that the deities, in pinning him down, occupied different parts of his body and continued to reside there.

13. In order to satisfy his hunger, Brahma ordained that he receive offerings from people on building sites before construction. The body of the Vastupurusa is supposed to be sensitive at a number of points called marmas. The well-being of the Vastupurusa assures the well-being of the building and, by implication, its owner. An important criterion for any building, therefore, is to avoid injury to the marmas located on the body of the Vastupurusa. To ensure that this is achieved, texts prohibit any direct construction upon the marmas themselves. The marmas are specifically said to lie at the intersection of major diagonals, seen as the veins ( siras or nadis ) of the purusa .

14. Vedic architecture or vasthu shastra To define Vastu Shastra - Vastu , which means physical environment and Shastra meaning knowledge or principles, is one of the traditional Hindu canons of town planning and architecture . Its current popularity stems from its focus on a wholesome approach to space and form . A home can be so much more — it can be a special space that creates an influence of good health, happiness, family harmony and enlightenment. Vedic architecture reliably gives our homes these influences by using laws of nature that connect individual intelligence with cosmic intelligence. Vastu Shastra in essence unifies many subjects together like science, art, astronomy and astrology. It can also be said as an ancient mystic science that was used for designing and building the ancient palaces . Vastu Shastra according to believers helps one to make lives better by securing the living space and preventing things from going wrong .

15. Vastu as the science of direction , combines all the five elements of nature and balances them with an individual and the material. The five elements namely Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space. According to scriptures , ancient sages and seers had known the secrets of using all the five elements of this universe and their special characteristics and influences such as the magnetic field, gravitational effect etc. This knowledge formed the base for what evolved as Vastu Shastra . The five elements otherwise also called " Paanchbhootas " of the nature , pave the way for enhanced health, wealth, prosperity and happiness in an enlightened environment. Most importantly Vastu extracts the positive energies of the five basic elements of nature - the solar energy of sun, lunar energy of moon, wind energy, magnetic effects of earth and heat energy of fire and balances them to bring harmony into the life of a person planning to build or live on a premises. There are four categories of Vastu : The Earth site or Bhoomi , which is the principle dwelling place on which everything rests   The structure or the Prasada ,  which would be the building   Moving vehicles or Yaana Furniture or Sayana .

16. So, the principles of Vastu Shastra extend from the macro level to the micro level which includes site selection, site planning and orientation. It also deals with zoning and disposition of rooms, proportional relationships between the various parts of buildings and the character of the building. Significantly the rampant sense of faithlessness in anything that modern science fails to explain, it is practically impossible to even dream of a home or office confirming to the laws of " Vastu ". Its current popularity stems from its focus on a wholesome approach to space and form. Some perfect Examples of Ancient Buildings that have been built as per Vastu :- The Taj Mahal - Agra , India Prashanti Nilayam - Puttaparthi , India The temple of Lord Sri Venkateshwara - Tirupati , India. Nirmal Hriday Bhawan - Calcutta (Mother Teresa) , India. Vivekananda Rock Memorial - Cape Camorin ( Kanyakumari ) , India. Vijaynagar Steel Plant - Torangallu , India The Sun Temple in Konarak -Orissa ,India is a perfect example of Vastu