Andhra Cave Temples
Andhra Cave Temples
Andhra Cave Temples
6& ceo
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BBVULEDD Y
of HistOffy
Univeisiif
WPATI - 17
1988
: 1988
: 1000
: fib.
Price : Rs.
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11.26-10.
ro
. 24201.
S^Oo-godflbo
Contents
(Foreword)
( Acknowledgement)
(Preface)
&& (List of mips, figures, plans)
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(References)
Foreword
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Preface
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List of Illustrations
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DISTRIBUTOR OF
TEMPLE -BUILDING EFFORTS
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Gautama, theBuddha and universal divine immanence which causes and orders the
phenomenal world, which is the substratum faith of Hinduism, and these together unfold
a complementary but evocative
psyche of the Indian mind in its relationship with the
material world around and the paradise dwelt in beyond, by Gods in their empyrian. The
organisation of Buddhist art by influential tradesmen and that of Hindu art by roya|
dynasties of kings is a dichotomy of Indian art spectrum but was drawing from the same
aesthetic ideafs ami the craft poof. The same craftsmen in medieval times placed their
genius add ingenuity at the hands of even Islamic rulers to enrich magnificent edifices to
own religious presentations, tt only shows how the mind and hand of the artist
suit their
"The study of Indian religious art is attractive because one is at ease at once
with its many splendoured formulations; one finds its study a stint in liberal education
of the arts, crafts and thought of the land; and one stimulated by
is its naturally exultant
stature and stamina, tts majestic layout, wrth a little
understanding, can yet be facile;
its formal elaboration, with a modicum of analysis, can still be rational. It is indeed an
exercise in exactitude, in symmetry, in organised and disciplined exhuberance."
elegance
{K. V, Seundara Rajan : Invitation to Indian Architecture, New
1984, Delhi, Arnold
Heinemann Publishers, pp. 27, 13).
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K. V. fc. tftfoff Before brick couldbe replaced
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in favour of rock-cut architec-
entiHy by stone, the vogue had changed again transiently
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were constantly subjected to influence of architectural and art impulses from the centre of
early art endeavour and were thus, to a certain extent, amalgams in structural mode. The
elegance of the nagara sikhara profile and its typical wall decorative motifs as from
:
Central India, the stamina of the Dedfeam, clarify* of* {(found plan and sumptuous yet suave
figure sculpture as from Aitoli, the almost effimrnate grace of the Orissan art and archi-
teetwaf trends* the prodigious industry and craft superiority of the later Chalukyan
temples of the Deccan and Karnataka, majestic stature and solid strength of the
the
southern Dravidian temple forms and profiles, all seeped into the Andhra mould, and
enlarged mass appeat'and enriched the artistic vision. The innate acumen of the Andhra
its
craftsmen who had had all tinbrokien tradition of art endeavour right from the time of the
Imperial Satavahaeas,and whose Canvas had an enviable with of geographical horizan
enveloping the western and the eastern seas, and the Ganga and the Pennar plains,
responded to their adventitious central location for receivingand harmonising these
traditions of their near and distant neighbours. In sum, the sweeping panorama of the
Andhra Pradesh from the early historic upto early medieval times
architectural creations of
was composite to a large extent and electric to the core. The fertile plains of the
Godavari and the Krishna had this spirit of assimilation operating in spheres religious as
"
well as temporal (K. V. Soundara Rajan).
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long curved teeth in the mouth protruding out from the upper lip. He be represented
will
with strange ornaments like garlands of snakes and skulls and even in the head-dress skulls
will be shown. There are as many ars sixty four types of Bhairava Murtis, most of them
having. ghastly appearance^** :*,.-,,
Siva temples outside the main^hrfne but
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an important deity with village communities for whom small shrines are dedicated in
the localities where they live/' ....
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also a combination image of Siva and Vishnu, as described in the Vamana Purana. As in
case of Ardhanareesvaramurthi, the two halves have characteristics of Vishnu and Siva.
Usually the image has four arms caFrytng Chakra on one side and Mazhu on the other side.
The lower arms ate in abhaya and varada poses. The famous temple at Saakaranarayana-
koil is dedicated to this form of Siva and so also that at Harihar in Mysore".
23
(12,
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24
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In brief ttie essential
significance of Siva's dance is threefold.
Firstly, H is the image of Mis rhytlmic activity as the source of all movement
withrn the cosmds which is represented by the ecH^lins &foh or Prabhavali.
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-Secondly, the purpose of His dance is to release the countless stekifs of men
from the snare of illusion Maya.
brief the dance that Siva makes is believed to symbolise* the action of cosmic
energy in creating,
preserving ami destroying the visible universe.
"
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feminine features and blissful softness which is enhanced by the pearls and flowers in the
hair and the lotus bud in the hand, tfcbfi tfpo o*A &$$&&
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denoting the object of worship, whether it be the linga form of Siva, or a sculptured stele
bearing the image of other God inserted into the socket. In Bhairavakonda, the socket is
cut in a sunken recess on the wall over the pedestal to take in the linga, or image ---- the .
cave-temples of the Eastern Chalukyas . . . practically all the cave-temples are Saiva, or are
dedicated to other deities of the Saiva pantheon. The only exception is the aberrent
Undavalli cave-temples which is dedicated to Vishnu. The Nandi in Saiva cave-temples
is rock-cut as in the Pandyan examples farther south. In point of time the Akkanna-
32
Madanna. . . cave at Vijayawada in its present form comes first. It Is ascribable to the
the lower cave-tempfe at Vijayawada, the Undavatii and other caves in a series (p. 81). ..
ending with the Bhairavakonda group (are) datable to the middle of the eighth century.
The lost if not of direct Eastern Chalukyan vintage, can at best be of Telugu-Choda
-
authorship. ..."
The... dancing Siva and Harihara... The eight ca ve- tempi es. .. Tne first four
shrine excavations. and. . The second group,
. .
having an outeivmandapa with. . . pillars
. . .
and. . .
fully formed kopota with Kudus (are) as in the Mamall-style cave-temples. . The ,
pillars are. . .in. ., Chatukyan pattern as found in the cave-temples on the banks of
Krishna. ..some. . .are. . .in the Mamal la-style. . . Shrineentrances are plain. . . These mixed
characters and other features as also the presence of relief sculptures of Brahma and
Vishnu Mandapa, provision for a linga in the shrine, and the presence of other
in the
sculptures like Chendesa and Ganesa, and the rock-cut Nandi, would indicate their non-
Pallava origin and their date as being the middle of the eighth century.
the south. .. excavated many cave shrines which seem to represent an innovation...
Mahandra proudly described his cave-temples as composed without bricks, mortar, metal
r ftmi>er (anishtakem asiidham alauham nirmapitam) in the Mandagapattu inscription."
Apain Sarasvati says:
''
The pafiavas inherited the less severe repertory of elegant and
attenuated forms of the later phase of Vengi style which fingered till the fourth century,
and possibly even later. But . . the pallava sculptors could not ignore entirely the rock-
cut idiom of tha (
physiognomical form, bea the impress of the contemporary Deccanese tradition. The
contribution of the Vengi scfeoal, however, principally determined the character of the
" '"
Pallava style.
*
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REFERENCES
4. Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society. Hyderabad, 1 985, Vol. XXXVitl,
Part 111.
K, V. Sotmdara Rajan, Ttm Art of South Indim, TamUnrtu & Kwaia, OelH
1. 1978.
25. Jouveau -
Dubreuil, Dravidian Aj^chitectura. 3
BT ^
28.
29.
30
31
32.
r, .
*
^
4
* '
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33.
34.
35.
36
37.
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