Indian Temple Architecture

Presented by :
Ar.Shruti
 A notable feature of these temples is the
wider intercolumnina5on of the pillars in the
middle than on the sides. As suggested by
the at roof, square or rectangular form the
plain treatment of the walls and modestness
of size, these temples must obviously have
been derived from rock-cut proto-types of
which early Gupta examples occur at Udaigiri
near Sanchi.
History of India
 History of India

Indus valley Buddhist Hindu Islamic Mughal

influence temples influence empire
civilizations
Temple Architecture*
 Gupta Period (320 AD
480
After the decline of Mauryans, AD)
Gupta rulers rose to power
The Gupta period in Indian history is known as the
Golden Age of India.
Era of the most advanced civilization, flush with wealth,
higher education, trade with foreign countries, and an
overall happy life.
Religious tolerance and freedom of worship
Period of Hindu renaissance.

Emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism, but Gupta rulers

showed a preference for Hindu religion
Music, architecture, sculptures and painting were at its
best.
Various copper statues images of Buddha reflect the
craftsmanship of the Gupta period.
After the death of the last Gupta ruler in 570 AD, the
Gupta empire declined and broke off.
 Extensive Trade 4c

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 1000 diseases
classified
500 healing
plants identified
Gupta
Printed Achievements
medicinal guides Kalidasa

Plastic Literature
Surgery Medicine

Inoculations
C-sections Gupta
Solar
performed India
Calendar

Astronomy
Decimal Mathematics
System
The earth
PI = 3.1416 is round
Concept
of Zero
 Principal architectural features of a temple

SHIKHARA

MANDAPA

VIMANA garbha-griha
Mini Shikhara repeating themselves

Dravida (south)
2 types make up the Indian
temple 'orders

Sculpture on a mass scale Indo-Aryan (north)

Little structural inventiveness or technical ingenuity

Structure to stand-piling of massive blocks one on

top of the other ensured stability without using
mortar

Fine appreciation of mass & value &

effects of shadow to a marked degree
Makeshift battlements around their cities, towns-the temples

Reduced in appearance to a fortress

Raise the gates of the fortress to the level of architecture

Gopurams-entrance gateways of the temple cities of the south

 Gopurams
Towering, massive &
impressive

Importance of the temple

within the city precincts
without in altering the
form of the temple

Natural population increase

Rectangle dynamic form
Erect yet another wall around
the existing one

City grew much like the annular

rings of a tree

Buddhist origin Great temple of Srirangam at

Tiruchirapalli
Gopuram
Buddhist and Hindu Temples during the
Mauryan and Gupta Periods
Hindu Temples
During the Mauryan period,
temples were small, stone
structures with one or two
rooms and flat roofs.
During the Gupta period, the
temples were more complex,
with huge towers and intricate
carvings.
Buddhist Temples
Some Buddhists carved entire
temples out of mountainsides.
The temples at Ajanta and
Ellora are two of the most
famous of this type of
Buddhist temple.
Another type of Buddhist
temple was the stupa.