History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c31: Structural Principles In Temple Architecture

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c31

Language: English

v1.c31.s1 References — 8 parts

Structural Principles In Temple Architecture

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A connected history of temple architecture in India commences from the Gupta period (c. 4th-6th centuries A.D.) when temples of brick or dressed stone started being constructed on the logical principles of structural architecture. The early Gupta shrines were flat-roofed structures comprising a square sanctum and a small pillared porch. An elaboration of the plan by addition of maṇḍapa(s) and covered ambulatory and of the elevation by addition of śikharas (spires) over the sanctum and the maṇḍapas was effected gradually. As the centuries rolled by, the temple developed complex forms both horizontally and vertically together with regional accents which manifested themselves quite early but matured slowly and became quite distinctive by the 10th century A.D. As India has a rich wealth of good building stones and a network of rivers to facilitate their easy transport from the quarries, the stone temples far exceeded those of bricks. We shall, therefore, talk here mainly of stone temples which best represent the flowers of evolved temple architecture.

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As a rule, the Hindu temple pertains to the trabeate order which is based on the principle of compression, with its superstructure raised on the system of post-and-beam. The seemingly domical or arch-like ceilings are all false and feigned and are devised on the method of corbelling (kadālikakaraṇa) or interlocking of courses, plain or carved.

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Normally a well-settled, firm and hard site was selected for the temple construction after carefully examining its geological composition and physical configuration by putting the ground to several tests for its stability, compactness and proper slope. A rocky and elevated site always received the first preference since it did not need any deep foundation.

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But if a temple had to be constructed in the plains, a foundation equal in depth to the height of the adhiṣṭhāna (base) had to be dug which normally varied from 6 to 8 ft. A foundation pit, coextensive with the dimensions of the temple, was dug and filled with bricks, earth and sand and packed tight by being stamped down by the trampling of elephants and heavy logs of wood. The horizontality of the foundation bed was maintained by measuring water level and after compacted bed reached a reasonable height the initial mouldings of *upapīṭha* and *pīṭha* resting on one to three plain slab-courses were constructed. Usually the *upapīṭha* was concealed under the ground and only the *pīṭha* was fully or partly visible above the ground and this supported the main mouldings of the base proper (*vedibandha* or *adhiṣṭhāna*).

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The canonically prescribed structural parts with fixed proportions of the basal architectural members and their constituents have a spread out group of mouldings which grip the ground or the platform terrace and provide a firm base for the superstructure including the wall and the spire. The wall upto the waist rises almost vertically while the supervening *śikhara* shows a pyramidal or conical outline gradually diminishing to a point constituting the finial. Thus the temple structure has a built-in stability with a sprawling, broad base, a vertical wall and a superstructure tapering to a point.

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The ancient architect, who was also a trained engineer besides being a good painter, sculptor and expert in the religious lore and various branches of the *Śilpaśāstra*, supervised and guided all the operations connected with the temple construction from the quarrying of stones of the right texture, shade and consistency through their sculpting and carving and setting in proper positions. The quarried stone blocks were rough-dressed at the mines and transported to the temple site where they were initially sorted out in two broad divisions: 1) those meant for the core or hearting which required simple dressing, and 2) those intended to be used as face-stones, which had to be fine-dressed, carved and suitably finished to specifications and placed in separate groups for each structural member and its constituents.

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After the foundation was laid to the required depth taking into account the nature of the subsoil and the ground as well as the total load and dimensions of the proposed edifice, the structural frame was built with hearting stones. These were simple dressed blocks, laid dry, one upon or against the other in staggered courses after breaking the joints, so that their rough surfaces coming in mutual contact interlocked and held together without the risk of sliding. These courses were compacted largely by their weight and balance and were often also jointed by stone-pins or iron-dowels.

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The sculptures in the round, generally meant to be enshrined in the temple, were fewer and presented no problem. Those that were carved in relief, whether low, medium or high, were more numerous and had to be sculpted together with their back-slab and were required to conform strictly to size and dimensions to fit into the marked slot or position in the niche or the wall or any other part of the temple structure.

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The face-stones, whether decorated or plain, were fitted in plumb and the gaps, if any, between them and the heartings were tightly filled in by stone blocks or chips of suitable size. The face-stones were usually coursed and care was taken to break the joints with the underlying as well as the overlying courses. Further, the facing courses were bound together by the scarf or other carpentry joints to ensure stability.

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It was certainly easier and more expedient to prepare sculptures or carvings on the ground and then fix them up to the structure. But sometimes problem arose when a sculptured wall juxtaposed or met the surface of another sculptured or carved member. In such cases coordination at the junction became often difficult and one or the other had to be partly concealed or sacrificed, as seen sometimes at the junction of the sculptured wall and the projecting kakṣāsana of the exterior on temples such as Khajuraho.

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Each compartment of the interior of a medieval temple had its own ceiling supported on beams and architraves resting on walls, pillars or pilasters. While the minor compartments had usually flat (samatala) ceiling, usually relieved by lotus design, the ornate ones are normally of two types - 1) the lantern type made of diminishing intersecting squares, and 2) the cusped and coffered type with a number of sub-types.

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The simpler cusps resemble ribbed tiles while the ornate ones resemble floriated shells with serrated petals often terminating in adoring figures of nāgas. The larger ceiling of the main maṇḍapa is carried on a square framework of architraves supported on four central pillars, each with an attic (ucchālaka) section. The square ceiling is first turned octagonal by cutting the corners and finally made circular. The circular ceiling consists of a number of concentric courses (nābhicchanda-vitāna) with the outer rings of simple cusps and the inner ones of coffered cusps. The smaller ornate ceilings over other compartments have many varieties and forms, circular, elliptical and square, with five to nine or even more such concentric units of simple and coffered cusps, often with a central pendant of staminal tube (padmakesara) which may resemble that of the hibiscus flower or a simple pinecone or even a grand chandelier as in the famous Jain temples on Mt.Abu. These ceilings, built by the devices of corbelling and interlocking of courses reveal remarkable ingenuity and artistry on the part of the architect.

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The brackets and struts, adorned by three-dimensional figures of vyālas (leogryphs), śālabhañjikās (tree and woman motif) and surasundarīs (nymphs) in the interior, constitute an attractive feature of the ornate temples like those at Khajuraho by their sensuous modelling and exquisite finish. But they share no load at all and are merely ornamental being fixed by the device of mortice-and-tenon to either the pillar brackets, generally decorated with atlantid figures, or to the corners of the ceilings.

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A special feature of the developed medieval style is its tall śikhara clustered by numerous aṅga-śikharas which emphasize its vertical accent. The problem of erecting a tall and massive śikhara without adding much to the load was cleverly solved by the Khajuraho architect by building a series of hollow chambers of diminishing width above the sanctum. For this, recourse was taken to putting up in the interior walls of gradually narrowing width over offsets and strengthening the walls of the resultant hollow chambers by erecting tie-beams at intervals, as seen in the published sections of the temples. While the pyramidal (phāṃsanā) roof of each maṇḍapa has normally one such hollow chamber, the tall Nāgara śikhara over the sanctum indeed had to have a series of them. A similar device is followed in other regions.

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Each constituent of the plan and the elevation had a certain set measure and proportion to all other parts of the temple structure, fixed by canon or traditional practice. The earliest surviving Śilpaśāstra which provides such prescriptions is the Bṛhat Saṃhitā of Varāhamihira of the early 6th century AD. According to this text the height of a temple should be double its width and the portion upto the kaṭi (waist) should be 1/3 of the total height. The internal width of the sanctum should be 1/2 of its external width. The width of the doorway should be a quarter of that of the sanctum while its height should be twice its own width.

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The height of the main image or liṅga under worship should be less than that of the doorway by 1/8. The ratio between the image and the pedestal should be 2/3: 1/3. Most of these measurements and ratios tally with the Gupta temple at Deogarh (Distt. Lalitpur) of early 6th century and the Muṇḍeśvarī temple (Distt. Rohtas in Bihar), dated A.D. 636. The exact correspondence between the canonical prescription and the architectural practice is aptly illustrated by the Muṇḍeśvarī temple whose octagonal sanctum measures just 40 ft. externally and 20 ft. internally in the prescribed ratio of 2:1. Similar is the Paraśurāmeśvara temple of 7th century at Bhubaneswar whose sanctum is 18 ft. externally and 9 ft. internally. Further, the proportion of the height and width of the doorway in relation to the sanctum has almost faithfully adhered to the canonical regulation through all ages.

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For medieval temples of North India two standard Śilpa texts are the Samarāṅgaṇa-Sūtradhāra, an early 11th century work from Malwa, and the Aparājitapṛccha, a late 12th century work from Western Rajasthan-Gujarat. Of the two texts, both of encyclopaedic character with similar contents, the latter is more practical and informative and is still made use of by the Somapuras, the traditional architects of Gujarat. The Aparājita provides detailed instructions of the minutest parts of the temple structure with their relative ratios, of which a few may be cited here as samples. It lays down that the jagaṭī (platform terrace) should be broader than the main temple structure by at least 1/3 and its height is to bear the following ratio :

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While these prescriptions are applicable to structures upto 40 ft. high, no standing temple is available with a platform terrace taller than 12 ft. At Khajuraho the height of platform terrace generally ranges between 10 and 12 ft. for temples as high as 60 to 100 ft.

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The Aparājita's regulation for the relative heights of pīṭha (socle) and the prāsāda (entire edifice), however, are more realistic. The approved ratio of pīṭha and the edifice are briefly indicated as follows :

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Though the pīṭha is said to be an optional member, it is mostly present on medieval temples of all schools in Central India, Rajasthan and Gujarat from early 11th century onwards. The three essential mouldings of the pīṭha, viz.

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Fig.1. Bādāmi. Malegitti Śivālaya, Elevation. (Early Cālukya style, A.D. 655-860).

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F. 10 0 10 20

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Fig.2. Bādāmi, Malegitti Śivālaya, Section.

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Fig.3. Koḍumbāḷūr. Mūvar Kovil, Section & Elevation. (Dravidian style, AD 880-900)

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Fig.4. Khajurāho. Viśvanātha temple (AD 1002).

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VIŚVANĀTHA TEMPLE

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METRES

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FEET

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13½ × 10½

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SECTION

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Fig.5. Khajurāho. Viśvanātha temple, Section. (Candelā style, AD 1001)

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PLAN AT BB

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PLAN AT AA

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Fig.6. Khajurāho. Viśvanātha temple, Plan.

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BALUSTRADE (KAKSHASANA)

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PODIUM (VEDIBANDHA)

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BASEMENT

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SOCLE (PITHA)

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PLINTH (BHITTA)

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Fig.7. Khajurāho. Viśvanātha temple, māṇḍovara.

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Fig.8. Khajurāho. Citragupta temple, maṇḍapa ceiling (c. AD 1025)

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Fig.9. Khajurāho. Kaṇḍariyā Mahādeva temple, śikhara (c. AD 1040).

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Fig. 10. Khajuraho. Vāmana temple, Samvaraṇā roof on mandapa (c. AD 1060).

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Fig. 11. Khajurāho, Vāmana temple, Samvaraṇa roof on maṇḍapa, plan (c. AD 1060).

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Fig. 12. Pitha mouldings, Early 11th century, Courtesy: M.A. Dhaky

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[Figure: khuracchādya antarapatra kapotālī sirahpaṭṭī bharaṇī grāsapaṭṭī udgama jaṅghā mañcikā kapotālī antarapatra kalaśa kumbhaka khuraka]

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Fig. 13. Maṇḍovara of Solanki temple. (Early 11th century, Courtesy: M.A. Dhaky)

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PARAPET WALL AND PILLAR FROM THE TEMPLE OF NĪLAKAṆṬHEŚVARA VIRTA

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FROM THE RĀṆĪ VĀV.

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Fig. 14A. Socle, Kakṣāsana & pillar of Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, Virta. (Solanki style, 11th century)

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Fig. 14B. Pillar of Rāṇī Vav, Patan. (Solanki style, 11th century)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 FEET.

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*Fig. 15. Maṇḍapa ceiling of Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva temple, Sunak.* *(Solankī style, 11th century)*

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jaḍyakumbha(inverted cyma recta), karṇikā (knife-edge astragal), and grāsapaṭṭi (chain of kirttimukhas) are present in all schools. On ornate temples of the Solanki style of Gujarat these are surmounted by friezes of elephants (gajathara), and humans (narathara); sometimes intervened by a frieze of horses (aśvathara).

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The Solanki temples also display a fixed set of mouldings and ornaments including the vedibandha and the main row of sculptures on the jaṅghā (wall) reaching upto the level of the chādya (awning) above which rises the śikhara.

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According to Aparājita the śikhara should be 2 to 2 1/2 times higher than the maṇḍovara which includes the entire lower part of the temple upto the chadya (awning).

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The curvature of śikhara is devised in Aparājita by two methods, viz. Candrakalā rekhā and Udayakalā rekhā. According to Candrakalā method the rekhā (profile of the śikhara) has 16 khaṇḍas. Each khaṇḍa is horizontally divided into 16 kalās and vertically into 16 chāras; the number of resultant rekhās thus total 16 x 16 = 256 varieties with a name for each. The Udayakalā system produces 435 varieties of rekhās by an alternate reckoning. That these variations are not exaggerated is proved by the divergent śikhara profiles in different regions of India and also by sample tests undertaken of the profiles of a number of temples in the same region. It will indeed be readily seen that the śikhara of a developed Orissan temple is distinguished by an almost straight profile terminating in a sudden parabolic curve at the top.

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Some medieval temples of Western India had a complex type of śikhara, clustered by a number of aṅgaśikharas (subsidiary spires) whose minimum number was four and which increased by a successive addition of four numbers. The Samarāṅgaṇa-sūtradhāra and the Aparājita describe a variety of Meru edifice with a hundred subsidiary spires while the former text discusses a variety with as many as 256 subsidiary spires.

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Theoretically this number could go upto 1008, though actual example is available with just 84 subsidiary spires at the grandest temple at Khajuraho viz. the Kandariyā Mahādeva temple.

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As regards the śukanāsa (antefix of the śikhara fronton) crowning the roof of the kapilī (vestibule between the sanctum and the maṇḍapa) the Aparājita enjoins that it is not to exceed in height the bell-member crowning the maṇḍapa roof. If the height of śikhara be 21 parts, that of śukanasa varies between 9 and 13 parts. Again the prescribed ratio of width between the sanctum and the kapilī (vestibule) should be 1:1/2 or 1:1/3.

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The Kṣīrārṇava, a Śilpa-text from Gujarat of the 15th century provides seven variations between 1:1 to 1:2 1/2 for the relative width of sanctum to maṇḍapa. The Aparājita enjoins 27 types of maṇḍapas with pillars ranging between 12 to 64 through successive addition of two pillars, while another classification has 16 types of maṇḍapas by varying arrangement of bays. The same text also lays down 12 forms of a porch variety called trika (porch sandwiched between sanctum and maṇḍapa) and at least 5 types of festive or dance halls anciently known as sabhamaṇḍapa or raṅgamaṇḍapa. As regards the relative width of the mukhamaṇḍapa (porch) and the maṇḍapa, the earlier ratio was 1:2 and the later one after the 11th century was generally 1:3.

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The medieval temples of Western India had a special type of maṇḍapa roof called samvaraṇā which consisted of an orderly arrangement of diagonal rooflets crowned by cupolas consisting of bell members meeting a large crowning bell-shaped cupola.

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The simplest had five cupolas including the crowning one, the second one nine and so on; with the addition of four cupolas in each successive variety 25 types were produced, the largest adorned with 101 cupolas. Such roofs also spread to Malwa and other parts of Central India including Khajuraho and Gwalior.

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As regards pillar, the South Indian text Mayamata lays down that its diameter may be 1/8 to 1/10 of its height but for a ground floor pillar of a 12 storey high edifice the diameter should be 1/6 of the height. A pillar may be square, circular, hexagonal, octagonal or sixteen-sided in section or a mixture of the above with various types of capital, abacus and bracket conforming to specified ratios. On some North Indian sites like Khajuraho the central pillars of a maṇḍapa also had attic sections. Most pillars in North India had a broad base adorned with mouldings similar to vedibandha or adhiṣṭhāna. As a rule the pillars of Solankī and Paramāra styles had mixed square, octagonal and circular sections, all laden with zones of figural and decorative ornaments representing gods, nymphs, demigods, kirtimukhas, etc. The ornamentation is also carried on the capital and bracket that support the beam, architrave and ceiling.

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The developed Candela temples at Khajuraho, like those of other medieval Indian styles, had fixed and almost uniform elevational proportions. Thus, each temple was erected on an elevated platform (10 to 12 ft.) which was almost equal in height to the adhiṣṭhāna comprising upapīṭha (an optional member), pīṭha and vedibandha.

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Again the jaṅghā (wall) upto the waist level approximated in proportion to the adhiṣṭhāna. The main śikhara (height 60 to 100 ft. above the platform terrace) was 2 to 3 times the height of the maṇḍovara, comprising adhiṣṭhāna and jaṅghā. The sanctum (8 to 11 ft. square), which was practically cubical, was three times the width of its doorway, while the height of the doorway was twice its own width. Each part of the edifice and its sub-part down to the minutest moulding had certain set measures and proportions which were fixed either canonically or traditionally. It will thus be seen that the Indian architect had a clear concept of well-tested, standard ratios and proportions and he built his grand edifice confidently, conforming to these.

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c31: Structural Principles In Temple Architecture

Contents

Structural Principles In Temple Architecture

References

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