Temples

In the classification of architecture, the temple falls into the devotional class, that is, a building constructed as a place of worship. The ancient Indians, Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks, and Romans all built beautiful temples, which are marked by their own individual characteristics. Temples in some form must have originated as soon as image worship came into vogue, for a temple is the “house of God.” In ancient Indian literature, temples are referred to asDevalaya or Devakala,meaning the house of gods. The earliest temples, therefore, were modeled after residential buildings.

The Brahmanical conception of a temple, however, is somewhat abstruse. It envisages the temple as the visible outer body of the invisible deity, a visible image of which is installed in it as a symbol of the invisible spirit that pervades all nature, that is, God himself, thus enhancing the status of the temple from the seat of the divine to the divine itself. Since the temple is considered the outer body of the deity, its various parts are given names that correspond to parts of the human body and are likewise decorated with architectural designs. For example, the outer face of a temple with a lavish display of ornamentation is the visible representation of the deity itself.

At the height of its architectural development, the Indian temple was the spiritual centre from which religious and social life was regulated. In addition, there is ample evidence of secular art in the temple architecture. The art on the temple walls and the terracotta panels witness the contemporary socioeconomic conditions of the people, thus supplying material for social history too. The Aryan, popularly known as the north Indian and Dravida, or the south Indian, are the two basic schools of Indian temple architecture accepted since the Vedic times. A temple is indicated as a Prasad in the north Indian and as a Vimana or Harmya in the south Indian school. Mandir, the most [Page 2174]commonly used word nowadays, meaning a house made of stones, is altogether absent in the earliest known texts and inscriptions. Modern Indian writers recognize three styles of temple architecture: the Dravida, theNagra, and the Vesara.The Indo-Aryan had no temples. The first small Brahmanic shrines made their appearance in the Gupta period (AD 350–650). Foundations of a single Vishnu temple (Hindu) of the second century BC, however, have been found at Besnagar in Madhya Pradesh. Gupta temples were simple and small with a small cella and carved doorways. South India is the true cradle of Hindu temple architecture. The Hindu temples vary regionally but generally consist of a towering shrine, central cella, and a columned hall surrounded by an elaborate wall. The Buddhists built cave temples, of which Ajanta is one of the most exclusive. There are more than 1,200 rock cut Buddhist temples in different parts of India. The medieval Jain temples are amazingly beautiful, built on remote and secluded mountain-tops and made of white marble, shining against the blue sky; the most remarkable ones are found at Girnar, Palithana, and Mt. Abu.

Source: © iStockphoto/Karen Grieve.

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