Vijayanagara School of architecture

 Vijayanagara Architecture:

 Vijayanagara empire rose to power during 14th century and was the only Hindu kingdom in peninsular south India after the fall of great dynasties of south like Cholas, Pandyas, Hoysalas and Kakatiyas. Having stemmed from a multicultural region that had seen the rise and fall of many dynasties and home to so many different architectural styles, it was only natural that the Vijayanagara architecture combined the best of features of the above mentioned dynasties and further enhanced them to what historian Percy Brown terms as ‘supremely passionate flowering of Dravidian style’. Many magnificent temples adorn their once stellar but now ruined capital Vijayanagara (today’s Hampi) in Bellary district of Karanataka. More such temples are seen in the subsequent capitals of the kingdom at Penukonda, Chandragiri, Vellore and other places in the southern peninsula. As is amply clear from the architectural masterpieces of Vijayanagara dynasty that more places of worship were constructed during this period than during the rule of any previous dynasty in south India.


General Architectural Features of Vijayanagara architecture

  1. General Architectural Features of Vijayanagara architecture
  2. Construction of temple complexes instead of stand-alone temples.
  3.  Major temples often had long bazar streets along the main approach road and also a pushkarni (stepped well) close by for the fetching water for various uses in temple activities. 
  4. Addition of a kalyana mandapa to the newly built as well as existing temple complexes. Kalyana mandapas were vast halls with flat roofs and supported by a number of pillars. These halls were primarily used during annual festivities of marriage between the God and his consort.
  5. Presence of a separate Devi/Amman shrine - usually to the north-west of the garbhagriha of the main temple.
  6. Architectural hallmark of the Vijayanagara period is the various types of pillars used in their constructions. They used pillars such as double pillars, composite pillars, round pillars etc. most famous of these pillars being the musical pillars present in the temples of Hampi. The lathe pillars of the Hoysala dynasty were further improved upon
  7. Pushpapotika- the inverted lotus flower bud shaped pillar brackets are seen. 
  8. Enhanced features on yali sculptures- mostly elephant faced and lion bodied mythical animals. A feature picked up from the Pallava dynasty which was not seen much during the Chola period (except for a few temples like Airavateswara at Darasuram) made a comeback in the Vijayanagara period temples but in a much more intricate and delicate avatar where riders are often shown controlling the rampant Yali standing over elephants/makara
  9. Introduction of horse pillars.
  10. Pillars with miniature shrines on them.
  11. Monolithic stone chains hanging from the ceiling. These fascinating stone rings can move freely even though the entire chain is made of a single stone.
  12. The Pallava and Chola style shikhara (the capstone above vimana) was replaced by wagon vauled shikharas above the vimana.
  13. Sculptured narrative panel of stories from Hindu mythology are seen on the temples’ external walls as well as pillars. Lord Hanuman is one of the most favorite subjects due to the belief that Hampi is the location of ancient Kishkindha kingdom of the monkeys (Vanaras) as mentioned in Hindu epic- Ramayana.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mauryan Society and Culture

 In the Mauryan period, the social organization based on Varna and Ashrama w hich had begun in the Vedic age, reached a definite stage. In this period the Brahmanas regained their lost position i n the society. Megathese divides the Mauryan society into seven divisions - philosophers, farmers, herdsman, artisans, soldiers, magistrate and councillors. They have been interpreted as castes because no one was allowed to marry outside his own division or change his profession. The philosophers consisted of Brahmanas and Shramanas . The Shramanas included ascetics, monks and the followers of various sects. T he philosophers did not pay tax. T he farmers included the land owners , the Shudra cultivators and the labourers working on the land. The herdsmen were probably the pastoralists who comprised a significant section in the Mauryan population. The status of the artisans depended on his particular craft. For instance, metal workers were given a higher status than the weavers and potte...
Read more

Discuss major causes for raise New Religious Movements in 6th century ?

 The primary cause for the rise of Jainism and Buddhism was the religious unrest in India in the 6th Century BCE. Several social, economic, religious factors were also responsible for the emergence of heterodox religions like Buddhism and Jainism, In the Post-Vedic period the society was divided into four varnas viz, Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. The Brahmanas who occupied the top most place in the society became the custodians of religion and learning. The Kshatriyas reacted very sharply against the ritualistic domination and the enviable social status enjoyed by the Brahmanas. Gautama, the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and Vardhamana Mahavira, the promoter of Jainism were Kshatriyas. Both of them questioned the authority of the Brahmanas. In the Bramanical society, the Vaisyas were ranked third. During this period, due to the emergence of agrarian economy, expansion of trade and commerce, and finally the formation of guilds made the Vaisya community economically po...
Read more

Impact of Central Asian Conquests

 The coming of the foreigners established intimate contacts between central Asia and India. The turn of the millennium had been a period of central Asian intervention in the history of Northern India that took the form of conquest, migrations and commerce. · The second Greek conquest of India of Demetrius, Eucratides and Menander penetrated deep into the Indian Territory with the obvious purpose of setting up an empire. India and China were brought closer through the interlinking Oases and through Kushana territory bordering both The Sakas and the Kushanas strengthened the idea of the Divine origin of kingship. The Indo Greek kings and the Kushanas took exalted titles ‘Rajadhiraja’ (king of kings), ‘Daivaputra’ (son of heaven), Soter (Savior) and Kaisara (caesor). The Kushanas introduced the Satrap system of Government where as the Greeks followed the practice of military Governship. The Sakas and Kushanas added new ingredients to Indian culture and enriched it immensely. They...
Read more