ARCHITEC

T UofRI EN D I A
H I S T O R Y O F A R C H IT E C T U R E 3

Prepared by:

Archt. Clarissa L. Avendao

UST College of Architecture
1st Sem AY 2008-2009

The greater Indus region was home to the largest of the four
ancient urban civilizations

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/in.htm

Located in the Northern Hemisphere

Worlds 7th largest country
World's 2nd largest population

INDIA

 Ancient
shaped

diamond

Once
included
Pakistan
and
Bangladesh

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/india/

GEOGRAPHY

Bounded along its

coastline:
S
Indian
Ocean
W
Arabian
Bounded by:
Sea
W Pakistan
E Bay
of Bengal
NE China,
Nepal,
Bhutan
E Bangladesh,
Burma
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/india/

GEOGRAPHY

S Sri Lanka

Well defined geographical

regions:
Mountain zone of the
Himalayas,
Indo-Gangetic
plain
(formed by the basins
of three great rivers
Indus, Ganges and
Brahmaputra),
Southern peninsula of
the Deccan Plateau.

http://www.geographia.com/india/

GEOGRAPHY

Main River Systems:

Himalayan rivers
Ganges
and
Brahmaputra that are
snow-fed
Peninsular rivers Godavari, Krishna and
Mahanadi
Coastal rivers

GEOGRAPHY

Fine red and cream

sandstone in Agra used
mainly as facing for rubble
walling

Stone of carpentry works

using white marble of
Rajasthan in the north

GEOLOGY

Granite of Deccan and

volcanic
potstone
(soapstone - metamorphic
rock of talc schist)
of
Halebid,
center
and
southern part

Soapstone sculpture
Hoysala Temple, Belur, India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potstone

GEOLOGY

Lack of building stone and the availability of timber

along the Indus and Ganges valley

Timber:
Teakwood - Burma
Softwood deodar - Northern mountain ranges

Shisham (Indian Rosewood)

the river valleys of the north

- hardwood found in

Bricks and Terra Cotta - Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and

Punjab

GEOLOGY

 Horizontal rock strata

which
rise
in
perpendicular cliffs made
possible the rock cut
sanctuaries of Karli,
Ajanta and Elephanta in
the
Western
Ghats
(mountain ranges)

Ajanta Caves, 2nd c.

http://www.edina.k12.mn.us/cornelia/classrooms/5th/T
homasgard/Bobby/index.html

GEOLOGY

Rhats (rock-cut temples)

were hewn out of
amygdaloidal
trap
formation
in
Mamallapuram
and
Ellora

Climate depends not only on the time of year, but also the
location:
Northern India, especially in the Himalayas, has
seasonal temperatures with cool winters.
Most of southern India, particularly inland, is hot and
dry. Temperatures can reach as high as 48 degrees
Celsius.
Monsoons during June through September produce
severe storms with rain.
The western and northeastern coasts hit by monsoons
get considerable rain.

CLIMATE

Religion plays an important role in the everyday life than

in the West
Very basis of social structure

Bound up with human behavior and conduct of

public affairs.

1. Vedism and Brahmanism

2. Hinduism
3. Buddhism
4. Jainism

RELIGION

VEDISM AND BRAHMANISM

Polytheistic religion brought around 1500 B.C.E. by
invading Aryan tribes who gradually conquered the earlier
Indus Civilization (already in its decline).
The Veda (knowledge)

- scripture with a collection of

hymns composed between 1500 and 900 B.C.E.

Life and earth-affirming, positive faith appropriate to battleloving tribes whose chieftains and gods/goddesses and
heroes resemble divinities and characters.

RELIGION

VEDISM AND BRAHMANISM

Central object was sacrifice - consisted of a libation of
soma (liquor made of vegetable matter).
Worship of trees, stones and water
Out of Vedism developed the philosophical concepts of
atman and Brahman. Service replaced sacrifice.

Vedism stressed hope for an afterlife in heaven and lacked

the concepts of karma and reincarnation which would
come to dominate Hinduism.

RELIGION

HINDUISM
Evolved from the Vedic religion.
Emphasizes the necessity of escaping from material life
and of extinguishing desire.
Ritualistic and includes extreme self denial and self
punishment.

Belief in the transmigration of souls (reincarnation), where

when a person dies, his soul enters the body of a newborn
child or even the body of an animal.

RELIGION

HINDUISM
85 percent of the population is
classified as Hindu.
Cows are considered sacred as
are rivers.

They are vegetarians, lest by

eating meat they become
cannibals.

RELIGION

HINDUISM
Caste system originated from the Aryans in order to
maintain the purity of their blood and to maintain white
supremacy.

http://www.indhistory.com/india-caste-system.html

RELIGION/SOCIAL

http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring98/india.htm

CASTE
SYSTEM

RELIGION/SOCIAL

CASTE
SYSTEM
Untouchables - "outcastes," without a varn.a
Gandhi's Harijans ("children of
("downtrodden") - preferred names

God")

or

Dalits

Traditional professions:
1. Dealing with the bodies of dead animals (sacred cattle that
wander Indian villages) or unclaimed dead humans,
2. Tanning leather, from such dead animals, and manufacturing
leather goods,
3. Cleaning up the human and animal waste.

RELIGION/SOCIAL

HINDUISM
Brahma is the chief
god, the omnipresent
one who is father of the
Brahman Trinity.

Has four heads, three

of which (representing
their Trinity) can be
seen from any point of
view
http://www.friesian.com/gods.htm

RELIGION

BUDDHISM
Religion and philosophy
founded in NE India in the
5th c. BCE based on the
teachings of Siddhartha
Gautama,
called
the
Buddha
(Enlightened
One).
To escape from suffering and the cycle of rebirth and the
attainment of nirvana, and emphasizes meditation and
observance of moral precepts.

One of major religions in the world.

RELIGION

Flicker

BUDDHISM
Buddha's teachings were transmitted orally by his
disciples; during his lifetime he established the Buddhist
monastic order (sangha).
He adopted some ideas from the Hinduism of his time,
notably the doctrine of karma, but also rejected many of its
doctrines and all of its gods.

Main teachings are summarized in the Four Noble Truths, of

which the fourth is the Eightfold Path.

RELIGION

BUDDHISM
Buddhism's two major branches, Mahayana and
Theravada, have each developed distinctive practices
Emperor Ashoka 3rd and most powerful Mauryan emperor,
who created the first pan-Indian empire. (273 - 232 BCE)
promoted Buddhism during the 3rd c. BCE, but it declined
in succeeding centuries and was nearly extinct by the 13th
c.

RELIGION

BUDDHISM
Spread south and
flourished in Sri
Lanka and S.E.
Asia, as well as
moving
through
Central Asia and
Tibet to China,
Korea, and Japan.

http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/resources/Spread.html

RELIGION

BUDDHISM
Buddhist religious buildings became concentrated in
monasteries and in shrines where relics of those whom
had achieved salvation (nirvana) were deposited.
These shrines took the form of Stupas or domical
mounds which, grouped with their rails, gateways,
processional paths, and crowning umbrella came to be
regarded as symbols of the universe.
The monasteries became places of
pilgrimage and dissemination of learning.

RELIGION

international

JAINISM
Established in the 6th c. BCE by
Vardhamana, who was called Mahavira

the Great Hero or Jina, the Victorious

One.
Jainism's core belief is ahimsa, or noninjury to all living things.
Founded as a reaction against the Vedic religion, which
required animal sacrifices.
Dont believe in a creator god, though there are a number
of lesser deities for various aspects of life.
Sacred text - Agamas

RELIGION

JAINISM
Eternal and hold that it was revealed in stages by a
number of Conquerors, of whom Mahavira was the 24th.
Living as an ascetic, Mahavira preached the need for
rigorous penance and self-denial as the means of
perfecting human nature, escaping the cycle of rebirth,
and attaining moksha, or liberation.
View karma as an invisible material substance that
interferes with liberation and can only be dissolved
through asceticism.

RELIGION

JAINISM
The ultimate goal of Jain is salvation through successive
rebirths, the ideal being rigid asceticism and the
avoidance of injury to every living creature.
Jains are known for their charitable works, including
building shelters for animals.
Jain preaches universal tolerance.

RELIGION

JAINISM
Two groups of Jains:
Digambaras (literally "sky clad" or
naked) their monks carry
asceticism to the point of rejecting
even clothing (even when they
appear in public).
Shvetambaras (literally "white clad")
- their monks wear simple white
robes. The laity are permitted to wear
clothes of any color.
http://www.philadelphiaproject.co.za/jainism.htm

RELIGION

JAINISM
Jains are recommended to pass through four stages during
their lifetime:
1. Brahmacharya-ashrama: the life of a student

2. Gruhasth-ashrama: family life

3. Vanaprasth-ashrama: family and social services
4. Sanyast-ashrama: life as a monk; a period of
renunciation

RELIGION

JAINISM
The universe exists as a series of layers, both heavens and
hells. It had no beginning and will have no ending. It consists
of:
1. The supreme abode: located at the top of the
universe and is where Siddha, the liberated souls
live.

2. The upper world: 30 heavens where celestial

beings live.
3. Middle world: earth and the rest of the universe.
4. Nether world: 7 hells with various levels of misery
and punishments

RELIGION

JAINISM
The universe exists as a series of layers, both heavens and
hells. It had no beginning and will have no ending. It consists
of:
5. The Nigoda, or base: where the lowest forms of life
reside
6. Universe space: layers of clouds which surround
the upper world
7. Space beyond: an infinite volume without soul,
matter, time, medium of motion or medium of rest.

RELIGION

JAINISM

Jain temples differ little in essentials

from Hindu temples, but are
distinguished by the extraordinary
richness and complexity of their
sculptural ornament.

RELIGION

HISTORY

HISTORY

I. INDUS VALLEY Civilization

(around 2500 BC)
Civilization began to develop
around the Indus River in
what is now Pakistan and
western India.
Two principal cities planned
systematically:
1. Harappa, Punjab elevated
citadel (urban center)

2. Mohenjo-Daro, Sindh town proper consisting of

houses and market palaces

HISTORY

I. Indus Valley Civilization (around 2500 BC)

Writing and counting, built drainage systems that ran into
brick-lined sewers and dug canals to irrigate their farms
were developed systems
Civilization developed by the Dravidians equaled and
possibly surpassed in splendor the civilizations of ancient
Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Civilization is founded upon three basic concepts: the
sacred, universal and ritualistic

HISTORY

I. Indus Valley Civilization (around 2500 BC)

The Harappans used the same size bricks and
standardized weights as were used in other Indus cities
such as Mohenjo Daro and Dholavira.
These cities were well planned with wide streets, public
and private wells, drains, bathing platforms and reservoirs.
One of its most well-known structures is the Great Bath of
Mohenjo Daro.
There were other highly developed cultures in adjacent
regions of Baluchistan, Central Asia and peninsular India.

Material culture and the skeletons from the Harappa

cemetery and other sites testify to a continual intermingling
of communities from both the west and the east.

Reconstruction of Gateway at Harappa

MOHENJO DARO
Mound of the Dead
Ancient Indus Valley Civilization city
flourished between 2600 and 1900 BCE.
One of the first world
Lies in Pakistan's Sindh province

Discovered in the 1920s

Probably the best known Indus site

that

Bison Seal, Mohenjodaro

Mohenjo Daro Citadel Mound, Sindh

Mohenjo Daro, Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan

Indus culture gradually spread

from west to east, with sites
towards central and southern
India
flourishing
after
HARAPPA and MOHENJO
DARO had declined.

The drying up of the ancient

Saraswati or Ghaggar-Hakra
River, east of and parallel to the
Indus, may also have affected
the civilization. There are
numerous Indus sites along that
river bed.

DHOLAVIRA
Located on Khadir Beyt, an
island in the Great Rann of
Kutch in Gujarat State, India.
Excavated since 1990.
As large as Harappa and
Mohenjo Daro, it has some of
the best preserved stone
architecture.
Appears to have had several
large reservoirs, and an
elaborate system of drains to
collect water from the city walls
and house tops to fill these
water tanks.

LOTHAL

An artistic conception of ancient Lothal

Archaeological Survey of India

On the top of the

Gulf of Khambat
in Gujarat, India,
near
the
Sabarmati River
and the Arabian
Sea. It is the
most extensively
researched
Harappan coastal
site.

A bead factory and Persian Gulf seal have been found here suggesting
that like many sites on the Gulf of Khambat, it was deeply into trading.

RAKHIGARHI

Recently discovered city in Haryana, India.

Partial excavations have revealed that it is as large as

Harappa, Mohenjo Daro and Ganweriwala.

GANWERIWALA

Located in Punjab, Pakistan near the Indian border.

Discovered by Sir Aurel Stein and surveyed by Dr. M. R.

Mughal in the 1970s.

Over 80 hectares and is almost as large as Mohenjo Daro.

Near a dry bed of the former Ghaggar or Sarasvati River, and

has not been excavated, yet.

Equidistant between Harappa and Mohenjo Daro

May have been a fifth major urban center.

Smaller Settlements
Other important indus sites flourished for various periods between
3500 and 1700 BCE. Some must have been lost or destroyed by
shifting river paths. Others are probably buried under modern
towns.

1. Gola Dhoro

Also known as Bagasara) is a site in Gujarat, India,

excavated from 1996 to 2004

2. Daimabad

In Maharashtra near Bombay. Discovered in 1958, it is a

controversial site.

Smaller Settlements
3.

Sutkagen Dor

in Baluchistan is the westernmost known Harappan site

located on the Pakistani border with Iran.

Thought to have once been on a navigable inlet of the

Arabian Sea.

Usual citadel and town are present, as well as defensive

walls 30 feet wide.

Would have been on the trade route from Lothal in Gujarat to

Mesopotamia and was probably heavily involved in the
fishing trade similar to that which exists today in the coast
along Baluchistan.

End of Part 1

ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA