Agama and Temple architecture

The Agama
literature
includes the Shilpa- Shastra, which covers architecture and iconography. The aspects of
temple construction are dealt in Devalaya Vastu; and Prathima deals with the iconography.
Sometimes, the term Shipa is also used to denote the art of sculpting; but here Shipa refers to
the practice of the technique, while Shastra refers to its principles.

The worship dealt with the Agama necessarily involves worship -worthy images. The rituals
and sequences elaborated in the Agama texts are in the context of such worship- worthy
image, which necessarily has to be contained in a shrine. The basic idea is that a temple must
be built for the icon, and not an icon got ready for the temples, for a temple is only an
outgrowth of the icon, an expanded image of the icon. And an icon is meaningful only in the
context of a shrine that is worthy to house it. That is how the Agama literature makes its
presence felt in the Shilpa-Sastra, Architecture. The icon and its form; the temple and its
structure; and the rituals and their details, thus get interrelated.Further, the Indian temples
should be viewed in the general framework of temple culture, which include not only religious
and philosophical aspects but social, aesthetic and economic aspects also.

Elaborate rules are laid out in the Agamas for Silpa , describing the quality requirements of the
places where temples are to be built, the kind of images to be installed, the materials from
which they are to be made, their dimensions, proportions, air circulation, lighting in the temple
complex etc. The Manasara and Silpasara are some of the works dealing with these rules. The

rituals followed in worship services each day at the temple also follow rules laid out in the
Agamas.
Ads by RemarkitAd Options
Ads by Media ViewAd Options

While describing the essential requirements for a place of pilgrimage,Shipa Shatras of the
Agamas elaborate on the requirements of the temple site; building materials; dimensions,
directions and orientations of the temple structures; the image and its specifications. The
principal elements that are involved are Sthala (temple site); Teertha (Temple tank)
and Murthy (the idol). A temple could also be associated with a tree, called the Sthala
Vriksham.

***
The Gupta Age marked the advent of a vibrant period of building and sculpting activities. The
texts of this period such as the Arthashastra of Kautilya and Matsya Purana included chapters
on the architecture of the way of summary. By the end of the period, the art and craft
flourished; and branched into different schools of architectural thought; but all based on
common underlying principles. These principles are now part of Vastushastra, the science of
architectural design and construction. . It is explained that the term Vastu is derived from Vasu
meaning the Earth principle (prithvi). This planet is Vastu and whatever that is created is Vastu
and all objects of earth are Vastu.

During the medieval period, vast body of Sanskrit references, independent architectural
manuals were written, without reservation, and scattered across the country. Apparently, some
attempts were made to classify and evaluate their contents in a systematic way. Of the many
such attempts that tried to bring about order and coherance in the various theories and
principles of temple construction, the most well known compilations are Manasara and
Mayamata. They are the standard texts on Vastu Shastra, and they codify the theoretical
aspects of all types of constructions; but specifically of temple construction. These texts deal
with the whole range of architectural science including topics such as soil testing techniques,
orientation, measures and proportion, divination, astrology and ceremonies associated with
theconstruction of buildings.

Ads by RemarkitAd Options

Ads by Media ViewAd Options

Manasara is a comprehensive treaty on architecture and iconography. It represents the

universality of Vastu tradition and includes the iconography of Jain and Buddhist images. The
work is treated as a source book and consulted by all.

The Mayamata too occupies an important position. It is a general treatise on Vastu shastra;
and is a text of Southern India. It is regarded a part of Shaiva literature and might belong to the
Chola period when temple architecture reached its peak. It is the best known work on Vastu.
The work is coherent and well structured. It defines Vastu as the arrangement of space,
anywhere, wherein immortals and mortals live.

These subjects are intertwined with Astrology. The Vastu Texts believe that Vigraha (icon or
image of the deity) is closely related to Graha (planets).The term Graha literally means that
which attracts or receives; and Vigraha is that which transmits. It is believed that the idols
receive power from the planets; and transmit the power so received. It not merely is a
symbolism but also one that provides a logic for placement of various deities in their
respective quarters and directions.
Ads by RemarkitAd Options
Ads by Media ViewAd Options

The texts that are collectively called Vastu Shastra have their origin in the Sutras, Puranas and
Agamas; besides the Tantric literature and the Brhat Samhita. The Vastu texts classify the
temple into three basic structures: Nagara, Dravida and Vesara. They employ, respectively, the
square, octagon and the apse or circle in their plan. These three styles do not pertain strictly
to three different regions but are three schools of temple architecture. The vesara, for
instance, which prevailed mostly in western Deccan and south Karnataka, was a derivation
from the apsidal chapels of the early Buddhist period which the Brahmanical faith adopted and
vastly improved.

These three schools have given rise to about forty-five basic varieties of temples types. They
too have their many variations ; and thus the styles of temple architecture in India are quite
diverse and virtually unlimited .

Among the many traditions inherited (parampara) in India, the tradition of Vishwakarma is
unique. The mode of transmission of knowledge of this community is both oral and practical;
and its theories construct a holistic universe of thought and understanding. The rigor and
discipline required to create objects that defy time and persist beyond generations of artists,
has imbued this tradition with tremendous sense of purpose, and zeal to maintain the purity
and sensitivity of its traditions; and to carry it forward . This has enabled them to protect the
purity of the art and skills without falling prey to the market and its dynamics.

****
It is virtually impossible to state when the custom of building stylized temples took hold in our
country.
The Rig Veda is centered on home and worship at home.There is not much emphasis on
temple worship. The term employed in Grihya sutras(Ashvalayana -1.12.1; and parashara
-3.11.10) to denote a temple was Chaithya , which literally means, piling up ; as piling up of the
fire alter , agni_chiti from bricks (as in agni-chayana).This perhaps suggests that chaitya
implied piling up bricks to form a shrine. This is consistent with the view that the earliest
temples were relatively simple piled brick structures.
The use of the term Chaithya to denote a place of worship appears to have been in vogue for
quite a long period after the Vedic age . In Mahabharata, the Rishi Lomaharsha mentions to
Yudhistira that the tirtha on the Archika hill is a place where there are chaithyas for the 33
gods (MBh 3.125).He also advises Pandavas to visit the Chaithyas on the banks of the
Narmada (MBh 3.121).
Mahabharata often refers to Chaithyas as being close to Yupas (chaithyupa nikata bhumi);
Yupa being the spot where a major yajna was performed. It is possible that small shrines were
erected on the Yupa site to commemorate the Yajna.
Ramayana too mentions that Meghanada, the son of Ravana, tried to perform a Yajna in a
temple located in the Nikhumba grove.
Zarathustra demands from Ahur Mazda Tell me,] can I uproot the idol from this assembly that
set up by the angras and the karpanas? At another time, the Emperor Xerxes, a follower of
Zarathustra declares I destroyed this temple of daevas.
The Buddhist and Jain texts mention of a certain chaithya of Devi Shasti, consort of Kumara,
at Vishala. Jain texts, in particular, mention the chaithyas of Skanda in Savasthi; of Shulapani
(Rudra) and of Yakshini Purnabhadra.
Therefore by about six hundred BC, the chiathyas were quite common. They were perhaps
small -sized constructions (usually of brick) surrounded by groves of ashvattha or audumbara
trees.

The Maurya period described in the Artha-shastra, had chaithyas for a number of Devis and
Devas, such as Indra, kumara, Rudra, and Aparajita etc. A description of the chaitya of
goddess kaumari suggests that it had multiple Avaranas, one enclosing the other and the
outer Avarana having a circular arch. By the time of the Mauryas, the chaithyas appeared to
have steadily gained importance, and become an integral aspect of city life. However, there is
nothing to suggest that they were large structures like the classical Hindu temples that were to
follow later.
By about first century BC , the Buddhist places of congregation either as caves carved into
rocks or as free standing structures , came to be known as Chaithya_grihas. These were
patterned after the shrines of Vishnu, with the form of the fire altar being placed on the raised
platform in the apse of the chaithya hall. The term chaithya later came to increasingly
associated with the Buddhist stupas or places of worship.
It was perhaps during the period of the Imperial Guptas that a Hindu temple came to be
regularly addressed as Devalaya, the abode of Gods. The oldest of the surviving structural
shrines date back to the third or even fourth century A.D .They are made of bricks.
Some of the them might perhaps been temporary structures, erected on occasions of
community-worship. The canonical concept of pavilion (mantapa) suggests that they might
have been pavilions to accommodate those who gathered to participate in the worship ritual. It
is only later that structures tended to be permanent bigger.
The earliest temples in north and central India which have survived the vagaries of time belong
to the Gupta period, 320-650 A. D. ; such as the temples at Sanchi, Tigawa (near Jabalpur in
Madhya Pradesh), Bhumara (in Madhya Pradesh), Nachna (Rajasthan) and Deogarh (near
Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh).They consist of a square, dark sanctum with a small, pillared porch in
front, both covered with flat roofs. The brick temple at Bhitargaon ; and the Vishnu temple at
Deogarh, built entirely of stone , both , have a square sanctum, but instead of a flat roof there
is a pyramidal superstructure (sikhara).

Ads by RemarkitAd Options

Ads by Media ViewAd Options

The rock-cut temple and monastery tradition also continued in this period, notably in western
India, where the excavationsespecially at Ajanta acquire extreme richness and
magnificence.

The temple groups at Aihole and Pattadakal in North Karnataka date back to about 5 th century,
and seem to represent early attempts to experiment with several styles and to evolve an
acceptable and a standard regional format.Here, temples of the northern and the southern
styles are found next to each other. Besides, Badami, the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who
ruled much of Karnataka in the 6th to 8th centuries, is known for its ancient cave temples
carved out of the sandstone hills above it.

The school of architecture in South India seems to have evolved from the earliest Buddhist
shrines which were both rock-cut and structural. The later rock-cut temples which belong to
5th or 6th century A.D. were mostly Brahmanical or Jain, patronized by three great ruling
dynasties of the south, namely the Pallavas of Kanchi in the east, the Calukyas of Badami in
the 8th century A.D, the Rastrakutas of Malkhed came to power and they made great
contributions to the development of south Indian temple architecture. The Kailasanatha temple
at Ellora belongs to this period.

Ads by RemarkitAd Options

Ads by Media ViewAd Options

The next thousand years (from600 to 1600 A.D.) witnessed a phenomenal growth in temple
architecture. The first in the series of Southern or Dravidian architecture was initiated by the
Pallavas (600-900A.D.) The rock-cut temples at Mahabalipuram (of the ratha type) and the
structural temples like the shore temple at Mahabalipuram and the Kailasanatha and Vaikuntha
Perumal temples in Kancheepuram (700-800 A.D.) are the best representations of the Pallava
style. The Kailasanatha (dating a little later than the Shore Temple), with its stately
superstructure and subsidiary shrines attached to the walls is a great contraction. Another
splendid temple at Kanchipuram is the Vaikuntha Perumal (mid-8th century), which has an
interesting arrangement of three sanctums, one above the other, encased within the body of
the superstructure. The Talapurisvara temple at Panamalai is another excellent example. The
Pallavas laid the foundations of the Dravidian school which blossomed during the Cholas, the
Pandyas, the Vijayanagar kings and the Nayaks.

Most important of a large number of unpretentious and beautiful shrines that dot the Tamil
countryside are the Vijayalaya Colisvara temple at Narttamalai (mid-9th century), with its
circular sanctum, spherical cupola, and massive, plain walls; the twin shrines called
Agastyisvara and Colisvara, at Kilaiyur (late 9th century); and the splendid group of two
temples (originally three) known as the Muvarkovil, at Kodumbalur (c. 875).

The Vijayalaya Colisvara temple, with its first and second thala (base) of the vimanam square
in shape, the third in circular (vasara) and the griva and Sikhira also in circular shape; is a
forerunner of the magnificent temple at Gangaikondacholapuram built by Rajendra Chola. The
vimana is a fine mixture of Nagara and Vesara styles.

These simple beginnings led rapidly (in about a century) to grandeur and style. The temples,
now built of stone, were huge, more complex and ornate with sculptures. Dravidian
architecture reached its glory during the Chola period (900-1200 A.D.). Among the most
magnificent of the Chola temples is the Brhadishvara temple at Tanjore with its 66 metre high
vimana, the tallest of its kind. The later Pandyans who succeeded the Cholas improved on the
Cholas by introducing elaborate ornamentation and huge sculptural images, many-pillared
halls, new annexes to the shrine and towers (gopurams) on the gateways. The mighty temple
complexes of Madurai and Srirangam set a pattern for the Vijayanagar builders (1350-1565
A.D.) who followed the Dravidian tradition. The Pampapati Virupaksha and Vitthala temples in
Hampi are standing examples of this period. The Nayaks of Madurai who succeeded the
Vijayanagar kings (1600-1750 A.D.) made the Dravidian temple complex even more elaborate
by making the gopurams very tall and ornate and adding pillared corridors within the temple
long compound.

The Hoysalas (1100-1300A.D.) who ruled the Kannada country improved on the Chalukyan
style by building extremely ornate, finely chiseled, intricately sculptured temples mounted on
star shaped pedestals. The Hoysala temples are noted for the delicately carved sculptures in
the walls, depressed ceilings, lathe-turned pillars in a variety of fanciful shapes ; and fully
sculptured vimanas. The exterior is almost totally covered with sculpture, the walls decorated
with several bands of ornamental motifs and a narrative relief.Among the more famous of
these temples, which are classified under the Vesara style, arethe twin Hoysalesvara temple at
Halebid, the Chenna Kesava temple at Belur (1117), the Amrtesvara temple at Amritpur (1196),
and the Kesava (trikuta) temple at Somnathpur (1268),

In the north, the major developments in Hindu temple architecture were in Orissa (750-1250
A.D.) and Central India (950-1050 A.D.) as also Rajasthan (10 th and 11th Century A.D.) and
Gujarat (11th-13thCentury A.D.). The temples of Lingaraja (Bhubaneswar), Jagannatha (Puri) and
Surya (Konarak) represent the Kalinga-nagara style. The greatest centre of this school is the
ancient city of Bhubaneswar, which has almost 100 examples of the style, both great and
small, ranging from the 7th to the 13th century. The most magnificent structure, however, is
the great Lingaraja temple (11th century), an achievement of Kalinga architecture in full flower.

The most famous of all Kalinga temples, however, is the colossal building at Konarak, built by
the Chandellas, dedicated to Surya, the sun god. The temple and its accompanying hall are
conceived in the form of a great chariot drawn by horses.

The Surya temple at Modhera (Gujarat) and other temple at Mt. Abu built by the Solankis have
their own distinct features in Central Indian architecture. Bengal with its temples built in bricks
and terracotta tiles and Kerala with its temples having unique roof structure suited to the
heavy rainfall of the region developed their own special styles.

Hindu temples were built outside India too. The earliest of such temples are found in Java; for
instance the Shiva temples at Dieng and Idong Songo built by the kings of Sailendra dynasty
( 6th -9th century). The group of temples of Lara Jonggrang at Paranbanam (9th to 10th century) is
a magnificent example of Hindu temple architecture. Other major temples are: the temple
complex at Panataran (Java) built by the kings of Majapahit dynasty (14century); the rock-cut
temple facades at Tampaksiring of Bali (11th century); the Mother temple at Beshakh of Bali
(14th century); the Chen La temples at Sambor Prei Kuk in Cambodia (7 th 6th century); the
temples of Banteay Srei at Angkor (10th century) and the celebrated Angkor Vat temple complex
(12th century) built by Surya Varman II.

Sources:
Pictures from Internet
Devalaya Vastu
By Prof. SKR Rao

Encyclopedia Britannica
http://www.britannica.com/dday/print?articleId=109585&fullArticle=true&tocId=65333
Next
Temple and Township
Vastu Purusha Mandala
Temple Layout
Parts of the Temple
Iconography
Norms and Measurements