Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c32.18

c32.18

During the latter half of the thirteenth century, and also extending into the early fourteenth century a considerable number of temples were built, which are referred to all over the Deccan as in the Hemadpanti style, their production being ascribed to a great patron of temple architecture of the name of Hemadpant ¹ This semi-legendary personage has been identified as most probably a famous prime minister of Ramchandradeva, the last of the Devagiri rajas, who ascended the throne in A.D. 1272 A high and influential official, Hemadpant had a passion for temple building, and appears to have been responsible for the erection of many religious edifices within this region. The temples designated as Hemadpanti are distinguished by their heavy proportions and bald and uninteresting architectural treatment, and, what is particularly noticeable, the scarcity of figure sculpture on their exteriors. Common though the temples of this type are in the Deccan, they are uninspiring conceptions, apparently illustrating the building art of these parts when the real spirit had gone out of it, under the ominous shadow of the impending Islamic domination.