Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s8: Kashmir
Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s8
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- English
Kashmir
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The earliest religious beliefs of Kashmir appear to have been the worship of Nāgas or serpent deities. The Nāga divinities were accepted by the Buddhists and worked into the mythology of the Māhayāna school. Until the sixth century this was probably the predominant religion of the country. Mihirkula, a white Hun who was a Śaiva, acquired the sovereignty about A.D. 530, and ‘was a bitter prosecutor of the Buddhists, at the same time fostering the Brahmanical cult.’
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When Hiuen Tsiang visited the country in the seventh century, Buddhism seems to have considerably revived. The kings of the Karkota and Utpala dynasties were tolerant and built Buddhist *vihāras* as well as Hindu temples. By the fourteenth century the Hindu rulers had become weak and effete, and a military adventurer from the south murdered Kota Rani, the widow of the last sovereign, A.D. 1339, and usurped the legal power as Sha Mir. As thus Muhammadanism rose in power, the old temples were either destroyed or were neglected and fell to ruin, as in northern India. There is thus no Buddhist *vihāra* in Kashmir and the few Hindu temples are in ruins.
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The temples of Kashmir ‘form a complete and homogeneous group,’ as declared by Cunningham, Fergusson, and others,³ ‘extending through about five centuries (A.D. 600 to 1100), singularly uniform in their development and very local, being unlike any other style known in India.’ This statement, however, does not mean that there is any structure in Kashmir whose origin cannot be traced to Hindu architecture or to the monuments of Brahmanical, Buddhist, or Jain faith. In fact Fergusson himself has admitted that ‘in Kashmir we have a Buddhist period, developing by the eighth century into an original quasi-classical style that lasted till it, in its turn, was supplanted by that of the Muslim in the fifteenth century.’¹ Further, in describing the peculiarities of the Kashmir style, he takes the model of a small temple and says that ‘such miniature temples are common in India and are copies of their larger prototypes ’² Like this model instance, Kashmir temples are generally surmounted by roofs varying from two to four. ‘All these roofs are relieved by dormer windows, of a pattern very similar to those found in mediaeval buildings in Europe, and the same steep, sloping lines are used also to cover doorways and porches, these being virtually a section of the main roof itself. The pillars which support the porticoes are by far the most striking peculiarity of this style, their shafts being so distinctly like those of the Grecian Doric, and unlike anything of the class found in other parts of India. Generally they are from three to four diameters in height, diminishing slightly towards the capital, and adorned with sixteen flutes, rather shallower than those of the Grecian order. Both the bases and capitals are, however, far more complicated than in the Grecian examples, though similar features are noticeable in Rome and Paestum.’³ Another peculiarity is the trefoiled arch,⁴ which is also noticed in Ajanta caves. Regarding this and other peculiarities Fergusson concludes by saying that, ‘as in Kashmir and everywhere else in India, architectural decoration is made up of small model of large buildings applied as decorative features wherever required, it is by no means improbable that the trefoiled façade may have been adopted in Kashmir as currently as the simple horse-shoe form was throughout the Buddhist buildings of India proper.’⁵
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³ Cunningham, *Aryan Order of Architecture*, *J. A. S. B.*, Vol. XVII, Part II, pp. 241-327. Fergusson, *ibid*, Vol. II, pp. 251-252. Cole, *Illustrations of the Ancient Buildings in Kashmir*, *etc.* 1869.
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¹ Fergusson, *ibid*, p. 274.
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² *Ibid*, p. 255, wood-cut no. 141.
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³ For example, see *ibid*, Vol. II, wood-cut no. 142, 143.
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⁴ *Ibid*, wood-cut no. 144.
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⁵ *Ibid*, Vol. II, pp. 257, 258, 259.
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The most typical and finest example is the temple of Martanda⁶ situated about five miles east of Islamabad, the old capital of Kashmir.
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⁶ *Ibid*, Vol. II, wood-cut no. 146, 147.
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[Figure: PLAN—MĀRTĀNDA TEMPLE. SCALE 50 FT.=1 INCH.]
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[Figure: PLAN OF RUINED VIHARA AT RAWAK (ANCEINT KHOTAN VOL, II PL.XL) ENCLOSURE WALL ALROUND UNDER SAND SCALE OF 0 5 0 10 20 30 FEET SCULPTURE.]
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PLAN OF THE RUINED VIHĀRA AT RAWAK
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It is called the architectural lion of Kashmir. It is, however, in a ruined condition and small in size, being 60 feet long by 60 feet wide and 60 feet high. The courtyard is more remarkable than the temple itself, its internal dimensions being 220 feet by 142 feet. On each face is a central cell, larger and higher than the colonnade in which it is placed. As stated in the *Rājataraṅgiṇī*, it was built by Lalitāditya-Muktāpīḍa who ruled about A.D. 725 to 760. Other important temples are those of Avantipur, half way between Srinagar and Islamabad, all erected by Avantivarman of the Utpala dynasty from A.D. 855 to 883. These are richer in detail than the Martanda temple. The temples at Pandrethan and at Payer are other remarkable examples, but without much difference.¹
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¹ See *ibid*, pp. 268, 269, photo no. 152, 153.
Linked texts (1)
- Rājataraṅgiṇī — Kalhaṇa, Sanskrit