Temple Architecture and Sculpture
The basic form of the Hindu temples
The basic form of the Hindu temple comprises the following:
i.
A cave-like sanctum (garbhagriha literally ‘womb-house’), which, in the early
temples, was a small cubicle with a single entrance and grew into a larger chamber in
time.The garbhagriha is made to house the main icon which is itself the focus of
much ritual attention.
ii. The entrance to the temple which may be a portico or colonnaded hall that
incorporates space for a large number of worshippers and is known as a mandapa.
iii. From the fifth century CE onwards, freestanding temples tend to have a mountain
like spire, which can take the shape of a curving shikhar in North India and a
pyramidal tower, called a vimana, in South India.
iv. The vahan, i.e., the mount or vehicle of the temple’s main deity along with a
standard pillar or dhvaj is placed axially before the sanctum.
Two broad orders of temples in the country are known— Nagara in the north and
Dravida in the south.
At times, the Vesar style of temples as an independent style created through the selective
mixing of the Nagara and Dravida orders is mentioned by some scholars.
Sculpture, Iconography and Ornamentation
The study of images of deities falls within a branch of art history called
‘iconography’, which consists of identification of images based on certain symbols
and mythologies associated with them.
Every region and period produced its own distinct style of images with its regional
variations in iconography.
The temple is covered with elaborate sculpture and ornament that form a
fundamental part of its conception.
The placement of an image in a temple is carefully planned: for instance, river
goddesses (Ganga and Yamuna) are usually found at the entrance of a garbhagriha in
a Nagara temple.
Dvarapalas (doorkeepers) are usually found on the gateways or gopurams of
Dravida temples.
The basic form of the Hindu temples
The basic form of the Hindu temple comprises the following:
i.
A cave-like sanctum (garbhagriha literally ‘womb-house’), which, in the early
temples, was a small cubicle with a single entrance and grew into a larger chamber in
time.The garbhagriha is made to house the main icon which is itself the focus of
much ritual attention.
ii. The entrance to the temple which may be a portico or colonnaded hall that
incorporates space for a large number of worshippers and is known as a mandapa.
iii. From the fifth century CE onwards, freestanding temples tend to have a mountain
like spire, which can take the shape of a curving shikhar in North India and a
pyramidal tower, called a vimana, in South India.
iv. The vahan, i.e., the mount or vehicle of the temple’s main deity along with a
standard pillar or dhvaj is placed axially before the sanctum.
Two broad orders of temples in the country are known— Nagara in the north and
Dravida in the south.
At times, the Vesar style of temples as an independent style created through the selective
mixing of the Nagara and Dravida orders is mentioned by some scholars.
Sculpture, Iconography and Ornamentation
The study of images of deities falls within a branch of art history called
‘iconography’, which consists of identification of images based on certain symbols
and mythologies associated with them.
Every region and period produced its own distinct style of images with its regional
variations in iconography.
The temple is covered with elaborate sculpture and ornament that form a
fundamental part of its conception.
The placement of an image in a temple is carefully planned: for instance, river
goddesses (Ganga and Yamuna) are usually found at the entrance of a garbhagriha in
a Nagara temple.
Dvarapalas (doorkeepers) are usually found on the gateways or gopurams of
Dravida temples.
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