The culture and architecture of India has been formed for many thousands of years, taking into account the traditions of many nationalities (more than 200) and a wide variety of styles. The Hindu temple has a history of more than four thousand years, but still its construction is carried out according to certain architectural canons, known since ancient times.
Ancient temples
In ancient India, architectural structures were built both religious and secular. Most often, wood and clay were used for construction, because they have not survived to our time. They began to build from stone only in the first centuries of our era. During construction, everything was strictly done according to ritual Hindu texts. To answer the question: how the architectural forms of the Hindu temple developed over the millennia and acquired the form that has survived to this day, one should understand the types of temples.
Hindu temple architecture has two varieties:
- Dravilian style (Dravida), which belongs to the high pyramidal towers, decorated with carvedcolumns with images of kings, gods, warriors (style of the southern regions of India). The tiers in the pyramid usually decrease in diameter upwards, and at the top there is a dome (shikhara). Such temples are lower in height. These include Katarmala Temple and Baijnath.
- Nagara style (common in the northern regions of the country) - with beehive-shaped towers (shikhara), composed of several layers of architectural elements, the completion of which looks like a "drum". The style originates from the 5th century AD. The layout of the temple is based on a square, but the decorative elements inside break up the space and give the impression of roundness. In later buildings, the central part (mandapa) is surrounded by small temples, and the whole structure becomes visually similar to a fountain.
There is also the Visara style, which combines some elements of these two styles.
The biggest difference in these types of temples is the size of the gates: in the northern temples they were made very small, and in the south they built huge beautifully decorated gates (Gopuram), opening the entrance to the courtyard of the Indian temple. Often such gates were decorated with sculptures and painted.
How ancient architects built
A Hindu temple in India was built from material that was selected depending on local building possibilities. For example, the temples of the Hoysala period in the 12th and 13th centuries - with many sanctuaries and decorative elements - were built from ductile soapstone. Due to the plasticity of such a stone, ancient sculptorsthere were great opportunities in creating magnificent decorative ornaments of temples.
Conversely, in the area of Mamalapuram, where the temple was built from granite, it was impossible to make good detail on the surface of the walls. Temples built of brick also differ in their stylistic features.
The Hindu temple was conceived and built as the dwelling of God, all proportions and reliefs were always made according to the canons. Particularly interesting is the way in which the architectural forms of the Hindu temple reproduce the basic principles of the science of Vastu Shastra, the science of architectural design and construction of temples. The principles of this science were developed by the legendary architect Vishvakarman, who is now called the divine artisan.
Varieties of ancient temples
The most ancient temples in terms of architecture can be divided into three groups:
- Single-storey small in the shape of a circle or square without a superstructure.
- Temples, similar to caves, usually one-story buildings with a curved apse.
- Tall buildings (6-12 floors) built in the form of a world mountain, decorated with a shikhara superstructure.
The plan of a Hindu temple is often presented in the form of a mandala (a geometric diagram with potential but hidden possibilities). The movement of the believer in the temple should be directed from the outer part to the inner, to the center. Moreover, the believer does not go straight, but in a roundabout way, through "certain gates, passages", and on the way he must discard everything unnecessary in order to come tobasics of existence.
Interior layout of the temple
Hindu temple from 6th century CE e., has a plan subordinate to the canon, which regulates all interior decoration and religious rituals.
The central place in the temple belongs to the altar with a shrine (garbha graha), over which a tower (shikhara) was built. Next to the altar is the assembly hall, followed by the anti-hall and the entrance with a portico.
An important part of the temple is the Garbhagriha sanctuary, which is a square, the entrance to which is represented by a narrow and low single passage, there are no doors and windows in this room (and it is very dark). Deity is depicted in the center. Around it is a circular passage, along which believers perform parikrama.
The passage connects the sanctuary with the great hall (Mukhamandapa). There is also a narrow passage Antarala (manhole). The mandapa is used for religious ceremonies, so the building was sometimes built quite large to accommodate all the faithful.
In front of the entrance to the temple, there is usually an animal (a sculpture or a flag with an image), to which this temple is dedicated. It can be a bull (Shiva temple), a lion (Mother Goddess temple), a man with a bird's head (in Vishnu temples). The temple, most often, was surrounded by a low wall. Shrines of deities can be located inside the fence.
Hindu religion
Hinduism is a very ancient national religion that combines the traditions and philosophical schools of India. According to this religion, the world (samsara) is a series of rebirths, consisting of the ordinary and everyday, and beyond itoutside is the reality where the Absolute rules.
Any person in Hinduism is trying, as it were, to break out of the world and unite with the Absolute, and the only way to achieve this is self-denial and asceticism. Karma is the actions in the previous rebirth (both good and bad), and the division into castes also corresponds to a certain karma.
Of the many Indian gods, three main ones gradually came to the main place:
- God Brahma, who created and rules the world;
- God Vishnu, who helps people in various disasters;
- the formidable god Shiva, the bearer of creative and destructive cosmic energy.
Temples carved into caves
The Hindu temple, carved entirely from natural rock, is an example of the highest craftsmanship and variety of artistic and architectural techniques. The art of carved architecture arose in connection with the geological features of the terrain. The most striking representative of the monolithic temple is the Kailasanatha temple in Ellora, which is dedicated to Shiva. All parts of the temple were cut down in the thickness of the rocks in a few years. The process of carving the temple was supposedly carried out from top to bottom.
This temple and the nearby 34 monasteries are called the Caves of Ellora, these structures are 2 km long. All monasteries and the temple are carved into bas alt rocks. The temple is a prominent representative of the Dravidian style. The proportions of the building and the carved stone sculptures that adorn the temple are an example of the highest skill of the ancients.sculptors and artisans.
Inside the temple there is a courtyard, on the sides of which there are 3-storey arcades with columns. The arcades are carved with sculptured panels of huge Hindu deities. Previously, there were also bridges made of stone connecting the galleries between the center, but under the influence of gravity they fell.
Inside the temple there are two buildings: the temple of the bull Nandi Mandapa and the main temple of Shiva (both 7 m high), the lower part of which is decorated with stone carvings, and at the base there are elephants supporting both buildings.
Stone sculptures and bas-reliefs
The role of the sculptural decoration of a Hindu temple (depicting the animal world and the ordinary life of ordinary people, scenes of mythological legends, religious symbols and gods) is to remind the viewer and believers of the true purpose of their life and existence.
The outer decor of the temple reflects its connection with the outside world, and the inner one indicates a connection with the divine world. If you look at the decorative elements from top to bottom, then this is read as the indulgence of the divine towards people, and in the direction from the base to the top - the ascent of the human spirit to the divine heights.
All sculptural decorations are a significant cultural and religious achievement and heritage of Ancient India.
Buddhist temples
Buddhism has spread throughout the world over the past millennium, but this religious trend originated in India. Buddhisttemples are built in such a way as to embody the “Three Treasures” at once (Buddha himself, his teachings and the Buddhist community).
Buddhist temple - a building that is a place of pilgrimage and habitation of monks, which is completely protected from any external influences (sounds, smells, sights, etc.). Its entire territory is completely closed behind powerful walls and gates.
The central part of the temple is the "golden hall" (kondo), where there is a statue or image of the Buddha. There is also a pagoda where the remains of the earthly body of the Buddha are kept, usually consisting of 3-5 tiers with the main pillar in the center (for the remains under it or above). The monumental buildings of Buddhist temples are decorated with a large number of arches, columns, reliefs - all this is dedicated to the Buddha.
The most popular Buddhist temples in India are located in the state of Maharashtra:
- Ajanta (cave complex of monasteries).
- Ellora, where Buddhist, Hindu temples side by side (out of 34 caves: 17 are Hindu, 12 are Buddhist).
- Mahabodhi (where, according to legend, the reincarnation of Gautam Sidharth into Buddha took place) and others.
Buddhist stupas are very popular in India - structures that are a monument to some cult event of Buddhism, in which the remains of prominent people are kept. According to legend, stupa bring harmony and prosperity to the world, influence the field of the Universe.
The largest Hindu temple in India
This is the Akshardham temple in Delhi, which is a grandiose complex dedicated to Hindu culture and spirituality. Thisthe modern temple was built of pink stone in 2005 according to the ancient canons. 7,000 artisans and craftsmen took part in its construction.
The temple is crowned with 9 domes (height 42 m), it is decorated with columns (234 in total), which depict figures from Indian mythology, and around the perimeter there are 148 stone elephants, as well as other animals, birds and human figures. Its huge size allowed it to be included in the Guinness Book of Records.
