Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c20.13

c20.13

As the temple building began to take form, it becomes evident that it obtained some of its architectural character from the older productions of the Buddhists. Such borrowings are readily indentified in the decorative treatment, as for instance the introduction of the chaitya arch (*kudu*), now reduced to a mere ornamental motif, and other similar elements, but the Brahmanical temple builders also brought not only ornamental forms but some portions of the Buddhist architecture itself into their Hindu conceptions. Of the two types of Buddhist monument, the chaitya hall supplied little inspiration, it was too distinctive in its formation and purpose to be readily adapted to other needs, although its unmistakable vaulted roof occasionally survives in the Hindu temple, as for instance in the Teli ka Mandir (eleventh century) at Gwalior, and the singularly interesting Vaital Deul (c. 900 A.D.), at Bhubaneswar both examples of the northern style. In the south, Hindu shrines having the "chaitya" roof with its apsidal end are not so rare, so much so that this form has been given the name of the "elephant back," or *Gajaprishthakriti*, and is illustrated in the Chola temples of Somangalam, Manimangalam (eleventh century), Tennen, and Magaralu, besides others at Chezarla and Tiruparuttikundram already mentioned. These Dravidian examples were probably based on the rock-cut model of the Sahadeva ratha at Mamallapuram. On the other hand from the other Buddhist type, the vihara or monastery, the Hindu craftsmen seem to have appropriated certain architectural forms of which they made considerable use in their temple design, particularly in the buildings of the Dravidian style. Attributions from Buddhist sources show themselves most plainly in the pyramidal character of the earlier sikhara, doubtlessly suggested by the diminishing stories of the monastery, which was composed of ranges of cells or chapels, one above another around a square court. In the temple these cells were conventionalized and converted into ornamental turrets arranged in tiers, while from the central court may have been derived the pillared hall or mandapa. (Plate CLI).