INDIAN ARCHITECTURE

India, Pakistan together w/ Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & the Maldives constitute
the geographical area called the Indian subcontinent.

North -- high mountains stretching from the Indian Kush in the west, thru the Pamir, Karakoram and the
Himalayas to the mountains of Sichuan in China to the NE.

East, South & West -- Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal.

From the earliest times land communication was thru Persia & western Asia via Afghanistan

Climate & conditions vary from those of equatorial coral reefs to those of snow-capped mountain
regions in the Himalayas.

From the historical point of view, it seems that major climatic changes have taken place in parts of South
Asia.

Excavations of Mohenjodaro have indicated that the Lower Indus Valley, now largely semi-desert, once
supported rich agricultural settlements of the kind associated with tropical jungles.

This may explain, in part, the replacement of wood by stone as a building material in later periods.

INFLUENCE

A. HISTORY / POLITICS

INFLUENCE

1. Mehrgarh culture—Indus Valley Civilization (7000 BC—1500 BC)

Archaeological evidence shows construction of mud brick houses and granaries. 

Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization around 4500 BC.

The size and prosperity of the Indus civilization grew as a result of this innovation, which eventually led
to more planned settlements which further made use of drainage and sewers.

By 2800 BC, private bathrooms, on the ground floor, were found in nearly all the houses of the Indus
Valley Civilization.

The pottery pipes in walls allowed drainage of water. The Indus Valley Civilization had some of the most
advanced private lavatories in the world. 

"Western-style" toilets were made from bricks using toilet seats made of coal on top. The waste was
then transmitted to drainage systems. Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed by
the Indus Valley Civilization, including the artificial reservoirs at Girnar in 3000 BC and an
early canal irrigation system from circa 2600 BC.
Large-scale sanitary sewer systems were in place by 2700 BC.

The drains were 7–10 feet wide and 2 feet (0.61 m) below ground level.

The sewage was then led into cesspools, built at the intersection of two drains, which had stairs leading
to them for periodic cleaning. 

Plumbing using earthenware plumbing pipes with broad flanges for easy joining with asphalt to stop
leaks was in place by 2700 BC.

2. Post Maha Janapadas period (1500 BC—200)

The Buddhist stupa, a dome shaped monument, was used in India as a commemorative monument
associated with storing sacred relics.

Fortified cities with stūpas, viharas, and temples were constructed during the Mauryan empire. 

Wooden architecture was popular and rock cut architecture became solidified. 

Rock-cut stepwells in India date from 200-400 C

The city of Mohenjo-daro has wells which may be the predecessors of the step well. As many as 700
wells, constructed by 3rd millennium BC, have been discovered in just one section of the city, leading
scholars to believe that 'cylindrical brick lined wells' were invented by the people of the Indus Valley
Civilization.

Cave temples became prominent throughout western India, incorporating various unique features to
give rise to cave architecture in places such as Ajanta and Ellora.

Walled and moated cities with large gates and multi-storied buildings which consistently used arched
windows and doors are important features of the architecture during this period.

The Indian emperor Ashoka (rule: 273—232 BCE) established a chain of hospitals throughout the
Mauryan empire by 230 BCE. One of the edicts of Ashoka (272—231 BCE) reads: "Everywhere King
Piyadasi (Asoka) erected two kinds of hospitals, hospitals for people and hospitals for animals. Where
there were no healing herbs for people and animals, he ordered that they be bought and planted." 

The Great Stupa at Sanchi (4th-1st century BC). The dome shaped stupa was used in India as a
commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics.

Grand Anicut dam on river Kaveri (1st-2nd C) is one of the oldest water-regulation structures in the

world still in use.

3. Early Common Era—High Middle Ages (200 C—1200 C)

Universities—housing thousands of teachers and students—flourished at Nalanda and Valabhi between

the 4th-8th centuries.
South Indian temple architecture—visible as a distinct tradition during the 7th century C

The South Indian temple consists essentially of a square-chambered sanctuary topped by a tower, or
spire and an attached pillared porch or hall (mandapa, or mantapam), enclosed by a peristyle of cells
within a rectangular court.

The external walls of the temple are segmented by pilasters and carry niches housing sculpture. The
superstructure or tower above the sanctuary is of the kutina type and consists of an arrangement of
gradually receding stories in a pyramidal shape.

Each story is delineated by a parapet of miniature shrines, square at the corners and rectangular with
barrel-vault roofs at the centre. The tower is topped by a dome-shaped cupola and a crowning pot.

4. Late Middle Ages (1100 —1526)

Vijayanagara Architecture of the period (was a notable building style evolved by the Vijayanagar
empire that ruled most of South India from their capital at Vijayanagara on the banks of
the Tungabhadra River in present-day Karnataka. 

The architecture of the temples built during the reign of the Vijayanagara empire had elements of
political authority.

This resulted in the creation of a distinctive imperial style of architecture which featured prominently
not only in temples but also in administrative structures across the deccan. The Vijayanagara style is a
combination of the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya and Chola styles

INFLUENCE

Large and small temples built

during this era remain as examples of the Hoysala architectural style, including
the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava
Temple at Somanathapura.

A feature of Hoysala temple architecture is its attention to detail and skilled craftmanship. The temples
of Belur and Halebidu are proposed UNESCO world heritage sites.

5. Islamic influence and Mughal Era (1526-1857)

The most popular Islamic building type in India is the tomb or the mausoleum evolving from the basic
cube and hemisphere of the early phase into a more elaborate form w/ multiple chambers

tombs were set in a garden known as the char-bagh.

The tomb chamber houses the cenotaph below which is the grave.
Employing the double dome, the recessed archway, white marble and parks while stressing on
symmetry and detail was visible during the reign of Shah Jahan. 

Quranic verses were described on the walls of the buildings. However, the depiction of any living being
—an essential part of the pre-Islamic tradition of India—was forbidden under Islam.

Qutub Minar a prominent example of Islamic architecture in India.

6. Colonial Era (1857 —1947)

European colonialism bought with it a wide array of influences to further shape Indian architecture.

Imperial power was stressed by using grand bldgs. Local craftsmen incorporated new skills and added
them to their trade.

Colonial architecture became assimilated into India's diverse traditions. Other innovations made during
the European Industrial Revolution came with the British Raj to India.

The European involvement in India through the 1920s and the 1930s brought architect Le Corbusier and
the Art Deco movement to India. 

Fusion has been a consistent feature of modern Indian architecture—for example Indian elements
of chhajja (wide roof overhangs), jaali (circular stone apertures) and chhatri (free-standing pavilions)
were intermixed with European architecture during the construction of the Rastrapati bhavan.

This neoclassical project—which also contained a stupa like dome—was overseen by Sir Edwin Landseer
Lutyens and the Indian Institute of Architects (est. 1917).

Chandigarh Secretariat designed by Le Corbusier.

The North Block in New Delhi houses key government offices, built along with Lutyens' Delhi.INFLUENCE

7. Republic of India (1947—present)

Movement of population from rural areas to urban centres of industry, leading to price rise in property
in various cities of India. 

Indian buildings reflect India's culture and myths. 

Many modern architecture still note the position of traditional Vastu Shastra 

The ancient Indian architectural text of Vastu Shastra is widely used in modern Indian architecture for
planning houses, residential complexes, office, commercial, industrial and other building types.
The principles of Vastu Shastra regulate planning and design specifics from town planning to the
furniture layout of a room.

The stipulations are said to be governed by ancient empirical knowledge of the human body and its
relation to the earth and the cosmos. Following these stipulations, it is said, ensures overall human well-
being.

Hence, a client with a belief in Vastu Shastra will choose a plot of land and locate the functions and
elements of a building using the guidelines of this text.

Security is a main concern in government buildings. The architecture of these buildings lays emphasis
on security precautions.

One method of achieving that may be designing separate entrances for separate user groups.
The VIP entrances and exits can have required security arrangements for ensuring safety.

Concentricity has been employed in Indian architecture since millennia. The plan of early buildings
aligned them to a spiritual motif corresponding to cosmological imagination. The concentric feature of
Indian architecture is common to buildings of various regions and cultures within India—notable
examples being various Hindu temples, the Taj Mahal

B. RELIGION

INFLUENCE

Buddhist Religious Architecture

• Buddha born in 563BC

• Brahmanism was name given to early form of Hinduism

• Yet earliest surviving archi in the Indian subcontinent is Buddhist.

• Vedic sacrificial ritual, and even less so the mysticism of the Upanishadic sages did not lead to
the erection of durable monuments

1. Buddhist Religious Architecture

• Buddha born in 563BC

• Brahmanism was name given to early form of Hinduism

• Yet earliest surviving archi in the Indian subcontinent is Buddhist.

• Vedic sacrificial ritual, and even less so the mysticism of the Upanishadic sages did not lead to
the erection of durable monuments

Buddhist Religious Architecture

Mauryan ruler Ashoka (269-32BC) made Buddhism an official religion of his large, centralised empire and
gave the initial great impetus to Buddhist monumental architecture

After Buddha’s death, places of pilgrimage grew, initially around objects associated with the Buddha and
relics of him and his disciples.

Pilgrimage sites lay along trade routes, merchants playing impt part as pilgrims and patrons

Buddhist Religious Architecture

Same sites became centers of Buddhist monasticism

Some monastic centers became universities, the most famous is Nalanda, Bihar, which attracted
scholars all over Asia.

Nalanda survived until the 13th C

Buddhism was absorbed by Hinduism

3 types of structures are associated w/ the religious archi of early Buddhism:  stupas, viharas –

monasteries and temples (Chaitya grihas).

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

a. STUPA -- A stupa (from Sanskrit: m., स्तूप, stūpa, Pāli: थुप "thūpa", literally meaning "heap") is a

mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a
place of worship.

After "stupa," "chorten" is the most commonly encountered English term. The term "reliquary" is
sometimes used, after a Roman Catholic functional equivalent.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Regional names for stupa include:

Chaitya (Nepal)

Candi (Indonesia and Malaysia)

Chedi (Thailand [เจดีย]์ )

Chorten [Tibet, Ladakh (India) and Bhutan] མཆོད་རྟེན༏ (Wylie: mchod rten), "support for offering/worship")

Dagoba/Chaitiya (Sri Lanka)

Chedey (Cambodia)

Phrathat (Lanna)
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Stupa features

torana  -- gateway

anda -- hemispherical dome

vedica -- fence-like enclosure evolved from the vedic villages)

harmika -- a square platform with railings on top of the stupa

chattrayashti  -- the parasol or canopy

medhi -- platform

sopanas -- stairway

and a circumambulatory around the stupa. Railings around the platform and at ground level define an
upper and a lower passageay for the rite of circumambulation pradakshina

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Five purified elements -- Although not described in any Tibetan text on stupa symbolism, the stupa
may represent the five purified elements:

The square base represents earth

The hemispherical dome/vase represents water

The conical spire represents fire

The upper lotus parasol and the crescent moon represents air

The sun and the dissolving point represents the element of space

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

The Great Stupa in Sanchi,India is considered a cornerstone of Buddhist architecture 

Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, northeastern India is the oldest Stupa in existence.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Jetavanaramaya stupa is an example of brick-clad Buddhist architecture in Sri Lanka 

Ruwanwelisaya Chedi in the sacred city ofAnuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

The main stupa crowning Borobudur, the largest Buddhist structure in the world, Java, Indonesia.

Khmer style stupa within the Royal Palace

Different architectural features that comprise Shwedagon Pagoda and similar Mon-style stupas,
including a diamond bud, vane, umbrella/crown, banana bud, lotus petal designs, an inverted alms bowl,
a turban band, a bell and terraces.

Phra Sri Ratana Chedi within Wat Phra Kaeo

Abhayagiri Dagaba

Vatadage Temple, in Polonnaruwa, is a uniquely Sri Lankan circular shrine enclosing a small dagoba. The
vatadage has a three-tiered conical roof, spanning a height of 40–50 feet, without a center post, and
supported by pillars of diminishing height 

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

b. ROCK CUT TEMPLES (Chaitya griha) -

Chaitya -- aka cave shrines

Griha -- chamber

the practice of creating buildings & other physical structures by carving natural rock; the practice of
creating a structure by carving it out of solid natural rock.

Rock that is not part of the structure is removed until the only rock left are the architectural elements of
the excavated interior. Indian rock-cut architecture is mostly religious in nature.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

b. ROCK CUT TEMPLES

MONOLITHIC ARCHITECTURE -- Another term sometimes associated with rock-cut architecture

is monolithic architecture, what is rather applied to free-standing structures made of single piece of
material. Monolithic architecture often is rock cut architecture (e.g. Kailasanatha Temple) but monolithic
strictures might be also cast of artificial material like concrete.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

b. ROCK CUT TEMPLES

In modern texts on Indian architecture, the term chaitya-griha is often used to denote assembly or
prayer hall that houses a stupa.

Chaityas were commonly part of a monastic complex, the vihara

Caves that were enlarged or entirely man-made were felt to hold the same sanctity as natural caves. In
fact the sanctuary in all Indian religious structures retain the same cave-like feeling of sacredness, being
small and dark without natural light.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

b. ROCK CUT TEMPLES

The 3 main uses of rock-cut architecture:

temples (like those in India)

tombs (like those in Petra, Jordan) and

cave dwelling (like those in Cappadocia, Turkey).

An early group of caves at Kanheri Caves

The earliest instances of Indian rock-cut architecture, the Barabar caves date from about the 3rd to the
2nd century BCE. They were built by the Buddhist monks and consisted mostly of multi-storey buildings
carved into the mountain face to contain living and sleeping quarters, kitchens, and monastic spaces.

Badami cave temple

The Badami cave temples are composed of 4caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a
hill cliff in the late 6th to 7th centuries. 

The planning of four caves is simple.

The entrance is a verandah (mukha mandapa) with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of
these caves, leading to a columned 

mandapa – main hall (also maha mandapa) and then to the small

square shrine (sanctum sanctorum, garbhaghiha) cut deep into the cave. 

The temple caves represent different religious sects. Among them, two (cave 2 and 3) are dedicated to
god Vishnu, one to god Shiva (cave 1) and the fourth (cave 4) is a Jain temple. The first three are
devoted to the Vedic faith and the fourth cave is the only Jain temple at Badami.

Sanctum Sanctorum, Badami Cave Temple

Badami tank @ mouth of gorge

Vishnu image in cave No. 3

Jain image of Parshvanath, Cave No. 4

Oldest Rockcut cave of India -- Barabar Caves

Ajanta cave temples

An early group of caves at Kanheri Caves

Primitive beds in early viharas at Kanheri Caves

Rock cut stair leading to Kanheri

Worship hall (Chaitya) at Ajanta Caves

Varaha Cave Temple, 7th century

Pancha Rathas rock-cut temple, late 7th century

Ellora cave 16

Karli Cave. Hinayana temple. 2nd century A.D

c. VIHARAS

2. Hindu

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

JAIN TEMPLES - prasadas 

Early beginnings of Hindu temple architecture have been

Later, as more differentiation took place, the Dravidian/ Southern style and or the Indo-Aryan/
Northern/ Nagara style of temple architecture emerged as dominant modes

Buddhist elements and motifs have influenced temple architecture to a considerable extent.

HINDU/JAIN TEMPLES

Early temples were rock-cut, later structural temples evolved. The Kailasanatha temple at Ellora is a
good example of the former, excavated from top to bottom out of a massive rock face.

Dravidan style -- pyramidal composition

Nagara style -- stepped & slightly curved

Structural system was trabeated and with stone being the basic raw material for the Indian craftsman,
construction could be carried out with minimal or no mortar.

Decoration was fundamental to Indian architecture and is seen in the myriad details of figured sculpture
as well as in the architectural elements. The concept of fractals has been used to examine the form of
the Hindu temple, both in terms of its planning and external appearance.
HINDU/JAIN TEMPLES

The garba-griha (womb chamber) housES the deity of the temple and is provided with a
circumambulation passage around

There are also many subsidiary shrines within temple complexes, more particularly in the Dravidian
temple

As the Hindu temple is not meant for congregational worship, the garba-griha is small in scale when
compared to the whole temple complex.

However, it is articulated externally by the vimana or the sikhara. Pillared halls or mandapas are found
preceding the garba-griha.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

HINDU/JAIN TEMPLES

The garba-griha or the womb chamber forms the central focus housing the deity of the temple and is
provided with a circumambulation passage around. However, there are also many subsidiary shrines
within temple complexes, more particularly in the South Indian (the Dravidian style) temple. As the
Hindu temple is not meant for congregational worship, the garba-griha is small in scale when compared
to the whole temple complex. However, it is articulated externally by the vimana or the sikhara. Pillared
halls or mandapas are found preceding the garba-griha.

The spatial experience of a South Indian temple complex is considered particularly rich and meaningful.
In many of them, such as the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam, the concentric enclosures or
prakaras along with the series of gopurams or entrance gateways reducing in scale as they move
towards the garbha-griha set up a rhythm of solids and voids as well as providing a ritual and visual
axis.The principles of temple architecture were codified in treatises and canons such as Manasara,
Mayamatam, and Vaastu Shastra. These offered an ordering framework yet allowed a certain latitude
for contextual articulation.

Today most of the ancient Hindu architecture thrives in temples of south India and south-east Asia as
the subsequent forces of Islam transformed the cultural landscape of India more dominantly in the
north.

Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal

Mahadeva Temple at Itagi, Koppal district in Karnataka, also called Devalaya Chakravarti,1112 CE, an
example of dravida articulation with a nagara superstructure

Angkor Wat, a World Heritage Site and the world's largest religious building and is present
on Cambodia's national flag
Shiva temple, the main shrine of Prambanan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest Hindu
temple in Indonesia.

Cross section of Shiva Temple

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

India's temple architecture is developed from the sthapathis' and shilpis' creativity.

A small Hindu temple consists of an

inner sanctum

garbha griha or womb-chamber, where the image is housed often circunambulated

congregation hall

& sometimes antechamber and porch

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

The sanctum is crowned by a tower-like shikara

2 major types of temples existed, the northern or Nagara style and the southern or Dravida type of
temple.

The 2 major temple types are distinguishable by the shape and decoration of their shikharas: 

Nagara style: The tower/shikhar is beehive/curvilinear shaped.

Dravida style: The tower/shikhar consists of progressively smaller storeys of pavilions.

Dodda Basappa Temple at Dambal, Karnataka is a unique 24-pointed, uninterrupted stellate (star-

shaped), 7-tiered dravida plan, 12th century CE

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

The temple is a representation of the macrocosm (the universe) as well as the microcosm (the inner

space).

The plan of the temple is square. This plan is divided into 64 or 81 smaller square, where each of these
represent a specific divinity.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Parts of Temple:

Jagati -- is a term used refer to a raised surface, platform or terrace upon which the temple is placed.
Antarala -- is a small antichamber or foyer between the garbhagriha (shrine) and the mandapa, more
typical of north Indian temples.

Mandapa -- (also spelled mantapa or mandapam) refers to a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public

rituals.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

Parts of Temple:

Sreekovil or Garbhagriha the part in which the idol of the deity in a Hindu temple is installed

The area around garbhagriha is the Chuttapalam, which generally includes other deities and the main
boundary wall of the temple.

Typically there is also a Pradikshna area in the Sreekovil and one outside, where devotees can take
Pradakshinas.

Śikhara or Vimanam --  literally means "mountain peak", refer to the rising tower over the sanctum
sanctorum where the presiding deity is enshrined is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu
temples.

Gopuram -- elaborate gateway-towers of south Indian temples, not to be confused with Shikharas.

BADAMI CHALUKYA ARCHITECTURE

The Chalukya style originated during A.D. 450 in Aihole & perfected in Pattadakal & Badami.

The period of Badami Chalukyas was a glorious era in the history of Indian architecture. Between 500 &
757 AD, Badami Chalukyas established the foundations of cave temple architecture, on the banks of
the Malaprabha River.

The sites were built out of sandstone cut into enormous blocks from the outcrops in the chains of the
Kaladgi hills.

Bhutanatha temple complex at Badami, 7th century, with the open hall (11th century) extending to the
lake.

The Virupaksha temple (or Lokesvara temple) at Pattadakal, built by queen Lokamahadevi (queen of
Badami Chalukya King Vikramaditya II) around 740 CE., now a World Heritage Site.

Mallikarjuna temple complex at Aihole

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

GADAG ARCHITECTURE
The Gadag style of architecture is also called Western Chalukya architecture.The style flourished for 150
years (1050 to 1200 CE);

In this period, about 50 temples were built, the style is marked by ornate pillars with intricate sculpture.

This style originated during the period of the Kalyani Chalukyas (also known as Western
Chalukya) Someswara I.

Stepped floor planof Dattatreya Temple (one side of the shrine) with five projections at Chattarki in
Gulbarga district, 12th century CE

Shrine wall and superstructure in Kasivisvesvara temple at Lakkundi