Architecture and Temple Construction

By N. SRINIVASA RAO

(Artist, Berhampur)

The principles of Architecture seem to have been derived from the erect posture of man who maintains symmetry, and balances as he moves his limbs. It expresses the organic conditions and rhythms of his body that underlie his physical poise and movements. For Architecture has been defined as the functional organisation of enclosed space, vertically and horizontally. Wood, stone, brick, steel or cement is the appropriate medium for the recording of immortality of existence, of life and death, of power, achievement and enjoyment.

Architecture, as it deals with the raw materials and elemental forces of nature on a big scale, expresses stability and endurance through geometrical patterns which appeal to the imagination of the beholder. All great Architecture reveals the human values of a people in a particular age. One eminent critic says, “It is of the earthy, cognate in its constitution with the structure of the Universe, and at the same time it is transcendental revealing more than any other art the equilibrium of human interests and values, the structure of the human soul. More than any other art, Architecture, which is an extension and reinforcement of the repose and tension of the frail human body, enters into, shapes and moulds the human soul in its poise and rest, excitement and flight.”

The subordination of Painting and Sculpture to Architecture, to the contemplative spirit of man, was established in the Buddhist and Jain temples of Ajanta, Ellora, Bagh and other cave temples which were suited to solitary meditation and devotional gatherings. In the same manner the builders of the Gothic Cathedrals in France filled the walls, pillars and railings with Biblical stories. The best Architecture of the world has been influenced by religion. Buddhism through its conception of the oneness of all sentient life and the worship of varied Buddhas, of infinite compassion, charity and self-sacrifice, left an indelible impression on the development of ethical values of humanity. Hinduism, through its dominant conception of the oneness of cosmic spirit in all forms and manifestations, has taught the integration of living beings with nature.

In ancient days our great Yogis meditated in forests and lived in caves and hence the cave Architecture seems to have preceded the temple construction. The Indian temple was built in accordance with aspirations of common people, with stalls, markets and assembly halls ranged in its quadrangle.

Dr. Radha Kamal Mukerjee in his “Social Function of Art” traces the origin of temple construction to the original shape of a hut, resting on a central pole, and surrounded by a circular wall with an inverted pot preventing the water from trickling down the centre during the rainy season. He says: “The temple rises skyward like the thatched conical hut of the Indian peasant, but since the temple is the abode of God it is capped by the fruit amalaka, or the inverted petals of the lotus flower, or the inverted water-jar (containing the nectar of spiritual wisdom). The loftiest temple, with its shoulder-like pinnacles spread out, looks like God himself wearing on his head a gorgeous head-dress (makuta) or like the sacred mountain of India, Meru, Mandara or Kailash, the abode of Siva. No doubt this architectural form symbolises one of India’s profound spiritual convictions.”

The Indian temple Architecture incarnates the human spirit by its stress on verticals, alternating light and shade in the arrangement of pyramidal towers that taper off into the spire and then into the trident or disc. The trident is the symbol of Siva’s power as the disc is that of Vishnu, and, like the cross of European Churches, calls people from a distance to prayer. The design of the spire is the distinctive excellence of Indian temple Architecture. In the North Indian temple construction the refinement and beauty are derived from the repetition of miniature turrets rhythmically rising tier upon tier on the sides of the principal temple. In Orissan temples the verticals are pronounced, rising almost parallel to one another, but soon incline inwards producing a magnificent shoulder on which rests the amalakasila having the nectar pot or trident. The entire composition of towers that rise by the side of towers, gradually increasing in height, leads the Indian mind to the emptiness of the sky, symbolised by Vishnu who pervades the sky and universe with blue colour. From a distance the temple looks like a Jata-Makuta on the head of Siva or like Mount Mandara, used as an instrument for churning the ocean. It is noteworthy that the image of Vishnu who is a God pervading the universe stands absolutely erect and immutable as a pillar, in the shrine. One the other hand, the temple of Siva who is God pervading the self is often built like a pyramidal tower with the solitary cell of yogic meditation. Here also the temple rises tier upon tier until the last is crowned by a dome or cupola representing the sky, or umbrella denoting the sovereignty of the Universe. Inside the shrine the God is seated in his profound meditation or there is a formless symbol, the Linga. Vishnu is the God representing the mind in activity that upholds the Universe; Siva is the God representing the mind in repose that withdraws itself from, or destroys, the Universe. A profound metaphysical conception of the principles of cosmic evolution and involution has thus differentiated the images in the temples of India along with their architectural construction.

Indian temples have successive additions of enclosures, chambers and apartments grouped round the original shrine. Dr. Radha Kamal Mukerjee observes: “It is the mystery of God’s presence and the cults and observances of worship that have governed the arrangement of the Sanctum Sanctorum or shrine cell within the actual temple containing the image of God or his symbol. The considerable height of the pyramidal roof of the shrine cell and its small floor space contribute to envelop the God and pilgrim alike within the mystery, darkness and silence that are stressed by the incense smoke and flickering lamps with their trembling shadows. Indian temple architecture has not freed itself from the earlier rock-cut caves in the treatment of the interior that is kept dim or intensely dark for shutting out distractions for the contemplative mind and maintaining an atmosphere of religious solemnity. The porch or ‘Mandapa’ always covers and precedes the door leading to the shrine cell. This is lighted, spacious and full of pilgrim visitors. Then the space shrinks, the corridor leading to the inner court is narrow, cramped and dark, permitting the mind to concentrate towards the God. Mere closing of space and light and the distribution of shadows are not enough for the Indian architect, for often be makes the pilgrim suddenly climb up or descend by steep stairs to the enclosed space in front of the ‘Sanctum’. Both the body and mind are thus pitched up to an intense thrill of excitement in the vestibule leading to the shrine cell. Thus far can the uninitiated proceed. As one tarries here and looks up and around, he comes across a most mysterious and intricate architecture, a bewildering assemblage of pillars and some of the most magnificent and majestic images of gods and goddesses ever sculptured by man, who suddenly leap from walls and pillars to life and suddenly beckon to him in the presence of dim and fluttering lights. Such is the profusion of sculpture and ornamentation that stir the spiritual emotions in the sacred doorway in front of the God in the ‘Sanctum’. The psychological effect of the half shadow and half darkness in the day, and the full illumination of lamps in the night, in the dim gallery of the Gods is profound. Here artistic ingenuity is in unison with religious imagination.”

In front of the assembly hall or ‘Mandapa’ there are spacious halls where pilgrims gather for religious discussions and worship. In some temples there are separate halls for dance, religious discourses and for offerings.

To thousands of pilgrims the Indian temple offers spacious pools, wells and bathing places, kitchens and regular markets catering to the physical requirements of life. The entire city assembles in the temple on a festive day, wakes up the deity with morning music, bathes and feeds him and takes him out in a procession with priests, dancing girls, and temple servants blowing trumpets. The city is the temple and the temple is the city in Southern India. The plan of the temple is reproduced in the city and vice versa as in Srirangam, near Trichinopoly. Within the enclosure of a great temple there are subsidiary shrines and halls that are symmetrically grouped around the central shrine. It is thus that different religious concepts leave their indelible impression on the architectural composition of the temple and city.

Thus the architecture of India has been entirely influenced by the Indian conception of self, universe and deity.

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