Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c18.6

c18.6

The temples at Aihole consist of some seventy buildings, about thirty of which are contained inside a walled and bastioned enclosure, while the remainder, owing to want of space, are disposed within its vicinity. It is, in fact, a town of temples. Unlike the contemporary Gupta structures, which are distributed over a wide area, the Early Chalukyan group is confined to this one locality, so that it was a comparatively restricted movement, but one of great vigour and promise. At Aihole, for the space of two centuries, the art of temple building must have been conducted with fervour and energy, when it finally ceased, the centre of religious activity being transferred, in the middle of the seventh century, to the town of Pattadakal, some fifteen miles distant, where a later phase of the style ensued (Chapter XIV). As with the Gupta temples those at Aihole have flat or slightly sloping roofs, but the latter in some instances are surmounted by a small upper story or tower (*sikhara*), which appears to have been subsequently added. The chief difference between the two types lies in the treatment of the structure in front of the sanctuary, which, in the Dharwar group, even in the earliest examples, assumed the character of a pillared assembly hall, or *mandapa*. The addition of this feature to the Aihole structures implies a step forward in the development of the completed temple design. None the less, judging from the varied forms of these Dharwar buildings, it is clear that no definite decision had yet been reached as to the type of structure most suitable for Brahmanical worship. As will be seen, it seems as if both priests and builders were seeking for a formula which would fulfil the requirements of the creed.