Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c46.27

c46.27

With the advent of the Singasari rule and the second phase in East-Java which began towards the end of the thirteenth century, temple building appears to have been revived, as the leading example, dedicated to Shiva amply proves. This Singasari temple consists of a central shrine surmounted by a tall tower and having a supplementary shrine to a smaller scale projecting from each of its four sides. Another temple is the Kidal, erected in 1250, and from the style of these, together with a third example, the Jago (1268), some of the trends of the art may be surmised. The general tendency of these structures shows a definite departure from type, so that in no manner do they resemble the parent art in India. Neither is there any likeness to the stupa or the Buddhist temple of Jago, nor to the Indo-Aryan style in the Hindu temples of Singasari or Kidal. All of them are more or less of a self-originated order, having only a remote connection with the style of the previous period in Mid-Java. It is true there is the pronounced and expanded base on which rises the cubical body of the cella, and above this a massive and heavily projected cornice supporting a tall pyramidal tower. But a striking and invariable feature is a boldly executed makara-head above each opening, while large circular medallions, a favourite decorative device with the Indonesians, were frequently distributed over the wall surfaces.