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TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE
AR 302 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE, ART AND CULTURE II
AR. SOMI SAREEN
LECTURE: 20.11.2020
Ar. Hena Tiwari/GCAD,Sonipat
When did Hindu Temple architecture
came into being????
With the advancement of Gupta empire under the reign of
Chandragupt Hinduism flourished as a religion.
By 4th century AD Gupta’s has conquered North India and gave
rise to Hindu
Temple Architecture.
This period is called as the golden period of TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE

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ESSENCE OF HINDU TEMPLE
A Hindu Temple is a place for the God

to reside i.e. the believe is that God actually dwell, live, eat,

sleep at that place.

It is the house of the God.

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There were three kinds of the temples on the basis of access and
the circumambulatory path built in it.
Sandhara: These types of the temples have a square sanctum enclosed
by a gallery of pillars meant for Pradakshina. Thus, the Sandhara
temples have a Pradakshinapatha.
Nirandhara: This type of temples do NOT
have Pradakshinapathas
Sarvatobhadra: These types of the temples have four functional doors
on cardinal direction and also a Pradakshinapatha with a row of 12
pillars around the santum sanctorum. These types of temples could be
accessed from all sides.
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 BASIC ELEMENTS OF A HINDU TEMPLE
PLAN

Garbhagriha Steps
Front Porch

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Garbhagriha:
 Inner chamber which has deity.

 In many temples visitors cannot entre

garbhagriha only priest is allowed.

Mandappa:
 Main temple hall for large gatherings

 Also called as ‘nata-mandira’ or dancing halls where devdasis

performed.
 Decorated with paintings of Gods & Goddess.

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 FRONT PORCH:
 Area with metallic bell.

 Devotees ring the bell at the time they entre or leave the temple to
tell about their arrival or departure.

 It is called as ‘Ardhamandapa’

Walkways:
 Place for parikrama.

 It is around the wall of inner chamber.

 Parikrama is the mark of respect which one shows to God or

Goddess
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Reservoir:
A reservoir of fresh water is built around temples.
It is used for scared bathing and religious purposes.

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BASIC ELEMENTS OF A HINDU TEMPLE IN ELEVATION

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Kalasha
Kalasha as per Puranas is one of the fourteen precious gems that came out of the
milky ocean when it was churned (Samudra Manthan).
Some temples have stone block as Kalasha.
The significance of the shape of the Kalasha is that it symbolizes the potentialities
of life.
The bud which is the topmost portion signifies new life and growth

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Amalaka
 A amalaka is a stone disc with rounded edges.

 It is found at the top of some Hindu temple .

 It is the kingdom of heaven.

 Above the amalaka is the kalasha . Sometimes there hangs the flags of the temple.

Shikhara:
 The tower of the dome is called Shikhara which represents the mythological Mount Meru.

 It is also called as Vimana in South India.

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 URSHRINGAS
 An Urushringa is a subsidiary tower pasted against the main tower (shikhara) in
the Hindu temple architecture.

 The urushringa is lower and narrower than the shikhara.

 It strengthens the feeling of height given by the temple.

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 ‘Antarala’ meaning the vestibule or the intermediate

chamber. It unites the main sanctuary and the pillared hall of the temple.

 Jagati or ‘Pitha’ , the plinth or the platform of the temple.

 ‘Toranas’, the typical gateway of the temple mostly found in north Indian temple

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 HINDU TEMPLE DESIGN

 Hindu temples follow a geometrical design called as Vastu

Purush Mandala in which Vastu means: dwelling structure

 Purusha means universal essence and Mandala means

Centre.
 The hindu temple has a square consist of grid called

PADAS

 A PADA is the seat of devotee or a hermit.

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  Aspect of creative
energy.
It is in Centre
called as
Garbhgriya

Aspect of God and

Goddess
Place for
parikrama
 Aspect of human
life
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Aspect of Asura
and
Devil
In large temple complexes outer 3 padas are carved, painted and have
images to inspire the devotees.

Pillars, wall and ceilings typically have highly ornate paintings and images of four

main pursuits of life :- kama, artha, dharma and moksha.

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TYPES OF HINDU TEMPLES :

 Northern Hindu style or Indo- Aryan style (A.D 600 to the

present day)

South Hindu style or Dravidian style (A.D 625 – 1750 to the

present day)

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 NORTHERN HINDU STYLE OR INDO – ARYAN STYLE -
 This style had spread over at least three – fourth part of northern India.

 It has SQUARE TEMPLES

 Centre has cruciform (christian cross) shape with a number of re-entrant

angle on each side.
 Elevation has shikhars.

 BEST EXAMPLE: Kandariya Mahadev Temple.

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KALINGA STYLE ARCHITECTURE
 Flourished in eastern state of Orissa.

Majorly 3 types of temples

Pidha Deula
Rekha Deula Dedicated to Vishnu, Shiv and Surya
Dedicated to Chamunda and Durga
Khakhara Deula
Deula means temple in oriya

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KANDARIYA MAHADEV TEMPLE.

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The temple measures about 30 meters in length and 20 m width.

The temple shikhara rises 35.3 meters in length.

From the east side it looks like a huge mountain of stone with a dark cave-like opening set high

above the ground.

The name Kandarya Mahadev refers also to Shiva, the ascetic who dwells in a mountain cave,

lost in meditation.

The Plan of the Mahadev Temple is similar to the lakshman and Vishvanath Temples with all the

rooms aligned east to west on a central axis.

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WESTERN
GROUP
of temples

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Plan of Kandariya Mahadeva temple

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In profile the pyramidal porch, mandap roofs and conical shikhara

looks like a range of mountain straining upwards till it meets the sky, or shiva.

The shikhara of the kandariya Mahadev Temples is broad at the base and in graceful curve grow

narrower as it reaches the pinnacle

The adhisthana or base of the temple is three meters high and made up of a series of
architectural moldings.
The nine niches around the temple contain images of Ganesh, the seven mother goddesses or
sapta Matrikas.

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On the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple in Khajuraho there are 84
urushringas around the shikhara.
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The main temple tower with 84 mini spires

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On the projections of the walls are the figures of the deities;

principally of Shiva attired as a bridegroom.

The porch has an exceptionally beautiful entrance toran.

A large temple like the Kandariya Mahadev is estimated to have over 870 large sculptures

on its exterior and interior walls, each one about meter high.

The doorway of the sanctum is profusely decorated with narrow panels of images.

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The central lintel carries the seated figure of Shiva holding a trident and snake, Vishnu is
seated to his left and Brahma to the right.

 Within the dark, unadorned garbha griha or womb chapber

stands the creative symbol of Shiva, the linga.

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LINGARAJA TEMPLE

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INTRODUCTION

 LOCATION: Bhubaneshwar, Orissa

 BUILT BY: Jajati Keshari
 BUILT IN: 11th century
 DEDICATED TO: Harihar (a form of Shiva & Vishnu)
 ARCHITECTURE STYLE: Kalinga Architecture
 MATERIAL USED : Laterite stone
 TOTAL AREA: 1049.66 sq m

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 HISTORY
 Lingaraj temple is dedicated to lord shiva, who is considered as the destroyer as per the
hindu thoughts
 Lingaraj temple is believed to be the oldest and largest temple of
bhubaneshwar , it is more than 1100 years old,.
 The temple of lingaraja is highly revered by the followers of hinduism. The term 'lingaraj'
suggests 'the king of lingas', where 'linga' is the phallic form of lord shiva.
 In the 11th century, when the king shifted his capital from jaipur
to bhubaneshwar, he started the construction of lingaraj temple.
 The assembly hall (jagamohana), sanctum and temple tower were
built during the eleventh century, while the hall of offering
(bhoga-mandapa) was built during the twelfth century.
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ARCHITECTURE

 One of the finest examples of purely hindu temple in india".

 The lingaraja temple faces east and is built of sandstone and

laterite.
 The main entrance is located in the east, while there are small entrances in the north
and south.
 The temple has four components
namely, garbhagriha, jagamohana (assembly
hall), natamandira (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings).

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Ar. Hena Tiwari/GCAD,Sonipat
 The door in the gate of the entrance porch is made of

sandalwood.

 One can enter the temple complex through 'simha dwara' (the lion's

gate), where lions flank both the sides, crushing elephants under their

feet.

 The exterior walls of the hall has decorative sculptures of men

and beast

 The tower walls are sculpted with female figures in different

poses.

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 The bhogamandapa (hall of offering)
measures 42 ft X 42 ft from the inside,
56.25 ft * 56.25 ft from the outside and has four doors in each of
the sides.
 The natamandira (festival hall) measures 38 ft X 38 ft from the
inside, 50 ft * 50 ft from the outside, has one main entrance and
two side entrances. The side walls of the hall has decorative
sculptures displaying women and couples.

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 ,

 The jagamohana, (assembly hall) from the inside measures 35 ft *30 ft

55 ft *50 ft from the outside, entrances from south and north and has a 98 ft tall
roof.
 The tower is 180 ft high and the complex has 150 smaller shrines.

 The hall of offering and assembly hall both has a pyramidal roof. It bears an
inverted bell and a kalasa in the top.

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SURYA TEMPLE AT MODHERA (1026 AD).

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 It can be considered as the earliest and most splendid Hindu

temple of its period. The temple faces east so that the light of the

rising sun penetrates to the shrine of the sun god in its

farthest

end.

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The temple is constructed out of golden brown sandstone.

The major parts of the temple are:

a) The beautiful tank (Kunda) with interesting pattern of steps

b) The stairway from Kunda leads to a high platform (Kharashila) and

the main entrance gate (Keerthi Torana)

c) The Keerthi Torana leads to open pillared hall (Sabhamantapa)

d) The Sabhamantapa further leads to a twin pillared Subhamantapa (entrance porch), which further

leads to a closed hall (Gudhamantapa) with two balconies

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Guda Mandapa ( Main hall)
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 The broad terrace is constructed out of solid bricks with

stone facing for the exterior.

 The moulding over the exterior relieves the intricate richness to the multiple steps of

the tank.

 The Keerthi Torana with its richly carved columns and archway acts as a perfect

entrance to the whole temple complex.

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