Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c25.2

c25.2

THE impulse and achievement which culminated in the grand temples of Tanjore and Gangaikondacholapuram early in the eleventh century were not maintained, for less than a century later the Chola power diminished, after which the building art in the Tamil country ceased for a time to hold the high position it had previously attained. The Cholas were succeeded by the Pandyas, who, although they encouraged to a certain degree the visual arts, do not appear to have been a notable building dynasty. During the period of over two centuries that the Pandyas dominated the south of India, the Dravidian style continued to develop, but few outstanding architectural contributions were made to this southern movement, and no pronounced attempts to continue the magnificent tradition which they had inherited from their predecessors have been recorded. Moreover, as far as the temple structure was concerned, new tendencies were in the course of formation, which although they affected but little the architectural style, influenced to a considerable extent that type of edifice it had become the custom to erect. Up to this point it had been the practice of the builders to apply their finest craftsmanship to the body of the temple itself, and specifically to its most sacred part, the *vimana*, which they made the most resplendent feature of the temples of the Cholas. With the advent of the Pandyas this usage ceased, and instead of the sanctuary continuing to be the central architectural production, the builders' skill was diverted in order to give prominence to some of the supplementary or outlying portions of the temple scheme.