Hinduism

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Hinduism

• Dravidian (South) and Nagara (North) Styles

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Hinduism

• Polytheistic religion (worship many gods and
  goddesses)
• Goal is to achieve moksa--by praying, worshipping
  (darsana) and giving offering to gods
• Each god has a female companion and rides on
  vehicle such as bull (Nandi), lion, goose each
  holds some attributes (Siva tridents and Vishnu
  conch shell and wheel)

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Triad

• Brahma-God of Creator
• Vishnu-God of Preserver (has many incarnations
  such as Rama and Krishna)
• Shiva-God of Destroyer (also the protector of
  animals)
• Devi-goddess (e.g., Laksmi (Good Fortune) and
  Parvati) symbolizing beauty, benevolent, and
  wealth as well as power and wrath

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3.25 Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, Chola,
11-12th C
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Vastu-purusa mandala

• A myth explains the symbolic diagram (mandala)
  the gods in seeking to impose order on chaos,
  forced the primeval man, Purusa, into a square
  grid, the vastu-purusa mandala, whose basic unit
  is the square pada
• Hindu temple is the dwelling of the gods. It is
  based on the grid systems of 64 (8x8) and 81
  (9x9) squares.
• Square is the prefect shape for the ground plan.
• Priests perform ritual of consecrations which
  connect between sexual rites and fertility in
  Hindu architecture.

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Hindu temples

• The temple is a holy site (tirtha), where they
  practitioners can perform circumambulation
  (pradaksina). They also perform the pious act of
  gazing at the deity (darsan) and offering
  prayers, flowers and food (puja). The temple is
  never a meeting place for a congregation, but it
  came to be a focal point of the community.
• The heart of the temple is the dark hall called
  garbha grha (womb hall), where the most important
  icon is placed. It is the most important area.
• Pillared halls (mandapa) and porticos were added
  to the garbha grha, which was surmounted with a
  tower (sikhara)--center of the universe (axis
  mundi).

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Vastu-purusa mandala
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Media and ornaments

• Many varieties wood, brick, terracotta, and
  variety of stone (e.g., schist, chlorite, marble)
• Temples required to be heavily ornamented (things
  lacking in ornament were considered imperfect or
  incomplete.
• Motifs narrative reliefs, animal motifs, floral
  and vegetation motifs.

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Dravidian architecture

• Stone used as medium for funerary monuments
• Religion developments, particularly bhakti cult,
  played an important role
• Early phases of architecture consisted of
  rock-cut monuments
• Later phase is dominated by structural buildings
  Gopuras became larger than the main building
• The emphasis is on horizontality lines one or
  more stories, topped with stepped-pyramidal
  shikhara and a mushroom cap

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Mamallapuram

• Large remains of Pallava period, 7th century
• Most of the monuments are rock-cut, carved out of
  the boulders and cliffs in the area.
• Descent of Ganges River or Arjuna Penance
• Rathas
• Kailasanatha temple (Ellora 16)

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The Descent of Ganges

• Mid-7th century, Mamalla I at Mamallapuram
• 30 meters in length 50 meters in height
• Contains animals and other objects
• Approximately life-size scale
• Sculptures were done in realistic manner

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3.20 The Descent of the Ganges (or the Penence of
Arjuna) Mamallapuram. Pallava period, 7th century
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3.20 The Descent of the Ganges (or the Penence of
Arjuna) Mamallapuram. Pallava period, 7th century
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Rathas, Mamallapuram

• Mid 7th C, Mamalla I period
• Consists of five free-standing rock-cut
  structures Draupadi (dedicated to Durga),
  Arjuna, Bhima (to Vishnu), Dharmaraja, and
  Nakula-Sahadeva three free-standing animals
  lions, bull, and elephant

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3.21 Rathas, Mamallapuram. Pallava period,
mid-7th century
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3.21 Rathas, Mamallapuram. Pallava period,
mid-7th century
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3.21 Dharmaraja Ratha
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Buddhist Art

• Read Fisher, Buddhist Art and Architecture,
  chapter pp. 11-64.
• Important figures 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 32, 33,
  37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44

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Kailasanatha temple, Ellora 16

• World Heritage site
• Built during the reign of King Krisna I of the
  Ratchatrakuta Dynasty, 757-773
• Free standing rock-cut architecture
• Main building exterior richly carved with
  niches, high reliefs, windows as well as images
  of deities, mithunas and the other figures main
  subjects are Saivite
• Nandi Shrine solid
• Built in rectangular format

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3.22 Kailasanath temple, Ellora, Rashtrakuta
dynasty, c. 760-800
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3.22 Kailasanath temple, Ellora, Rashtrakuta
dynasty, c. 760-800
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Rajareshvara Temple (Great Temple) at Thanjuvar
(Tanjore)

• Chola period (9th-13th centuries)
• Centered at Thanjuvar (Tanjore)
• Rajarajeshvara or Brihadevara temple to Shiva at
  Thanjavur (Tanjore), c. 1000 CE
• Temples made of bricks and stone (for base)
• Rectangular enclosure
• Large gateways (Gopuras)
• Niches 30 representations of Siva in his
  Tripuramtaka (Destroyer of three Cities)

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3.24 Rajarajeshvara or Brihadevara temple to
Shiva at Thanjavur (Tanjore), c. 1000 CE
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3.24 Rajarajeshvara or Brihadevara temple to
Shiva at Thanjavur (Tanjore), c. 1000 CE
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Minakshi Temple at Madurai

• Nayak period (16th-18th centuries)
• Dual shrines dedicated to Siva (known locally as
  Sundaresvara, Handsome One, and Minakshi
  Fish-Eyed One
• Hall of thousand pillars
• Gopuras (gate) S was built by a wealthy
  landowner (197 feet) is covered with over 1500
  plaster figures of gods and demons

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3.35 Minaksi-Sundareshvara temple, Madurai, 17th
century
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3.35 Minaksi-Sundareshvara temple, Madurai, 17th
century
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Nagara

• Refers to art in the regions of Bengal, Orissa,
  NE, and NC, Delhi and Gujarat region.
• Used stone such as Chlorite, sandstone and white
  marble
• Temple emphasis is primarily on vertically
  horizontality is suppressed.
• High base emphasis the vertically of the whole
• The porch and congregational halls are called
  mandapa, which in the S style was clearly
  separated with the tower over the shrine.
• Sikhara is the tallest structure, symbolizing the
  center of the universe often rose around 24-30
  meters (79-98 ft) some reached over 60 m (196
  ft).Amalaka is a capstone.

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Nagara

• Amalaka-the finial in a shape of a turban
• Torana-Gate
• There are 2 main type-sited in the N style
  Khajuraho and Bhuvanesvara

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3.26-27 Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho,
1000 CE
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3.28 Vishnu and Laksmi, Parsvanatha temple, c.
1000
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Exterior Wall, Kandariya Mahadeva temple
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