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Indian Architecture

The document provides details about the ancient Harappan civilization site of Mohenjo-Daro. It describes how the city was well-planned and organized with structures like houses connected to underground sewer systems. Mohenjo-Daro is estimated to have housed 35,000 residents divided between the citadel and lower city areas. The city had public wells and baths suggesting a high level of social organization. Architecture from the early historic and medieval periods in India is also summarized, highlighting the development of rock-cut caves, temples, and distinctive north and south Indian temple styles.

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42 views13 pages

Indian Architecture

The document provides details about the ancient Harappan civilization site of Mohenjo-Daro. It describes how the city was well-planned and organized with structures like houses connected to underground sewer systems. Mohenjo-Daro is estimated to have housed 35,000 residents divided between the citadel and lower city areas. The city had public wells and baths suggesting a high level of social organization. Architecture from the early historic and medieval periods in India is also summarized, highlighting the development of rock-cut caves, temples, and distinctive north and south Indian temple styles.

Uploaded by

balqis bade
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION MOHENJO-DARO

• The structure of houses has one or more toilets connected to a centralized system
• Underground sewer pipes are said to be planed and organized
• It was organized structure
• Also it had well which named public well
MOHENJO-DARO

• Mohenjo-daro had no circuit of city walls, but was otherwise well fortified, with
guard
• towers to the west of the main settlement, and defensive fortifications to the south.
• Mohenjo-darowas successively destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times. Each time,
• the new cities were built directly on top of the old ones. Flooding by the Indus is
• thought to have been the cause of destruction.
MOHENJO-DARO

• Mohenjo-daro could have housed around 35,000 residents. The city is divided into two parts,
the so
• called Citadel and the Lower City. The Citadel – a mud-brick mound around 12 metres (39 ft)
high – is
• known to have supported public baths, a large residential structure designed to house 5,000
citizens,
• and two large assembly halls. These Ancient drains are in a side street in the city of Mohenjo
Daro.
• The drain in the center street is joined with smaller drains from each house.
MOHENJO-DARO

• • Has a planned layout based on a street grid of rectilinear buildings


• • Also the city divided into two parts the so called citadel and the lower city
• • The city had central marketplace with a large central well
• • Individual household or group of households obtained their
• • public buildings and facilities, suggests a high level of social organization. At its
peak of development,
MOHENJO-DARO
THE INDUS MOTIFS

• Traditional designed indian textiles boast of motifs representive of indian culture


• They use to make motifs flowers, fruits, birds or animals
• Here are some of the popular motifs
• Peacock motifs, parrot motif, goose or hansa motif, lotus motif, mango motif and etc.
• "India is one of the regions in the world where Stone Age paintings have survived in
• great numbers and in astonishingly well-reserved state," writes Erwin Neumayer,
• author of Prehistoric Rock Art of India
THE INDUS MOTIFS

• Animal motifs of tiger, buffalo, elephant, rhinoceros, bison, goat, unicorn, ibex,
humped bull, crocodile and so on were used. A most typical seal of Harappan
civilization is square shaped with a set of symbols along the top, an animal in the
centre, and one or more symbols at the bottom.
EARLY HISTORIC
PERIOD

 The Mauryan period is considered as the beginning of


the classical period of Indian architecture.

 In the Mauryan period (322-182 BC) especially under


Ashoka architecture saw a great advancement. Mauryan
art and architecture depicted the influence of Persians and
Greeks.
 During the reign of Ashoka many monolithic stone pillars
were erected on which teachings of ‘Dhamma’ were
inscribed. The highly polished pillars with animal figures
adorning the top (capitals) are unique and remarkable.
The lion capital of the Sarnath pillar has been accepted
as the
emblem of the Indian Republic. Each pillar weighs about
5 0 tonnes and is about 5 0 ft high.
 Some of architecture remarks in the early historic Murya Empire & King
period are followings:- Ashoka
CONT
…

 Cave Architecture:-
 The development of cave architecture is another unique
feature and marks an important phase in the history of Indian
architecture.
 More than thousand caves have been excavated
between second century BC and tenth century AD.
 Famous among these were Ajanta and Ellora caves of
Maharashtra, and Udaygiri cave of Orissa. These caves hold
Buddhist viharas.

Ajanta
CONT
…

 Rock-cut temples:-
 Temples were hewn out of huge rocks. The earliest rock-cut
temples were excavated in western Deccan in the early years
of the Christian era.
 The chaitya at Karle with fine high halls and polished
decorative wall is a remarkable example of rock-cut
architecture.
 The Kailash temple at Ellora built by the Rashtrakutas and the
ratha temples of Mahabalipuram built by the Pallavas are
other examples of rock-cut temples.
 Most probably the stability and permanence of rocks attracted
the patrons of art and builders who decorated these temples
with beautiful sculptures.

Chaitya
CONT
…

 Free-standing temples:-
 The temple building activities that began during the Gupta
rule continued to flourish in later periods.
 In southern India the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas, Hoyshalas and
later the rulers of the Vijaynagar kingdom were great builders
of temples. The Pallava rulers built the shore temple at
Mahabalipuram.
 Pallavas also built other structural temples like Kailashnath
temple and Vaikuntha Perumal temples at Kanchipuram.
 The Cholas built many temples most famous being
the Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore.

Temple Built byPallava


MEDIEVAL PERIOD ARCHITECTURE

 Great stone temples were built in India in the medieval


period, especially from the 9th to 11th centuries. An
extremely large number of these temples have survived
in almost every part of India, particularly in the south.
 Hindu temples were designed in two main styles: one
found generally in northern India and the other in southern
India. In each of these styles, the temple includes a small
square sanctuary (the garbhagriha) and one or more
pillared porches or halls (mandapas). Rising above the
sanctuary is a tower or spire.
 In the north Indian style, the tower or spire above
the sanctuary is known as the shikhara. It is the most
distinctive part of the temple.
Shikhara
Cont…

 In temples of the south Indian style, the tower above


the sanctuary is of the kutina type.
 This type of tower consists of stepped stories that form a
pyramid shape. Each story has a paraphet (a low wall)
composed of miniature shrines strung together. The
outside walls of the temple are divided by pilasters
(shallow rectangular columns that project slightly beyond
the wall). These walls have niche that house sculpture. In
south Indian temples, entrance gateways called gopuras
give access to the temple enclosures.

Kutina

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