Hinduism

Dravidian (South) and Nagara (North) Styles

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)

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

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

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.

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).

Vastu-purusa mandala

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.

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

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)

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

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

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

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

3.21 Rathas, Mamallapuram. Pallava period, mid-7th century

3.21 Rathas, Mamallapuram. Pallava period, mid-7th century

3.21 Dharmaraja Ratha

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

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

3.22 Kailasanath temple, Ellora, Rashtrakuta dynasty, c. 760-800

3.22 Kailasanath temple, Ellora, Rashtrakuta dynasty, c. 760-800

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)

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

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

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

3.35 Minaksi-Sundareshvara temple, Madurai, 17th century

3.35 Minaksi-Sundareshvara temple, Madurai, 17th century

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.

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

3.26-27 Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho, 1000 CE

3.28 Vishnu and Laksmi, Parsvanatha temple, c. 1000

Exterior Wall, Kandariya Mahadeva temple