Indian Architecture Quiz

Indian Architecture

• The Indus Region was home to one of the four ancient urban civilizations
• The Indian Peninsula and portions of Asian mainland are referred to as Bharat, including Pakistan and Bangladesh
• Bharat is derived from King Bharat and Varsa, which means a division of the earth or a continent.

Materials Used In Ancient India

• Sandstone: used in steps, facing work, columns, flooring, walls, road metal, ornamental carving, etc.
• Marble: Makrana marble is a type of white marble popular for sculpture and building decor used in the Taj Mahal
• Granite: Found in the Deccan Plateau
• Soapstone: Volcanic potstone, also known as soapstone, is a metamorphic rock of talc schist found in Halebid, central, and southern parts
• Timber: Used along the Indus and Ganges valleys due to the lack of building stone. Examples of timber used include:
  • Teakwood: Burma
  • Softwood deodar: Northern mountain ranges
  • Shisham (Indian Rosewood): Hardwood found in the river valleys of the north
• Bricks & Terra Cotta: Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab

Religion

• Secularism: The Constitution of India declares it as a secular state with no state religion
• Hinduism: Polytheistic religion brought around 1500 BCE by invading Aryan tribes.
  • The Vedic tribe is connected to the name Bharat.
  • Veda (knowledge) is the scripture of the religion
  • Vedism - polytheistic sacrificial religion involving the worship of numerous male divinities.
  • Brahmanism - complex sacrificial religion that emerged in post-Vedic India under the influence of the dominant Brahman priesthood.
  • The supreme god of Brahmanism is Brahma.
  • Hinduism is derived from the Indus river and is referred to as Santana Dharma.
  • Sanskrit is the sacred language.
  • Dharma: Moral order, duty, and right action.
  • Reincarnation: Rebirth, kharma: misfortunes are the result of misdeeds in a previous life, ahimsa: non-violence and respect for all living things
  • Saktas: one of the most debased Hindu sects with erotic and sensual imagery.
    • Durga: portrayed as a beautiful woman with a gentle face, rides a lion with 10 arms holding weapons to vanquish the demons who threaten the dharma.
    • Kali: portrayed as dripping with blood, carrying a sword and a severed head, and wearing a girdle of severed hands and a necklace of skulls symbolizing her aspect as the destroyer of evil.
  • Caste System (VARNA): Social group based on occupation
    • Kshatriyas: Kings and Warriors
    • Brahmins: Priests
    • Vaisyas: Merchants and Farmers
    • Sudras: Workers
    • Untouchables: Outcasts
• Jainism: established in the 6th century BCE by Vardhamana, called Mahavira "the Great Hero" or Jina (Victorious One)
• Buddhism: Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) in the 6th century BCE, but declined in succeeding centuries and was nearly extinct by the 13th century.
• Sikhism: Emphasis on the equality of all humans and rejects discrimination.
  • Sikh males adopt the surname "Singh", meaning a lion, and women use the surname "Kaur" meaning princess.
  • The Sikh place of worship is called Gurdwara.
  • The Nishan Sahib, a saffron-colored triangular flag bearing the khanda, is the symbol of the Sikh faith.
• Islamic: The majority Muslim districts in these areas were awarded to Pakistan and the majority non-Muslim to India.

Mount Meru – Sacred Mountain

• Mount Meru is considered to be the center of the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual universes
• Known as the "middle of the earth", connecting Heaven and Earth.

Architectural Character

• Monolithic, monumental, free-standing construction, and rock-cut buildings.  - Laid down by Brahmanism (Barabar) and by Jainism (Udayagiri and Khandagiri)  - Buddhist - magnificent development and artistic character.

Gupta Dynasty

• Largest political and military empire in India
• Ruled most of northern India and eastern Pakistan, parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan
• Golden Age: Education, inventions and discoveries, culture, art, architecture, music, and literature.

Temples

• Mandir: Hindu or Jain temple
• Devalaya: Temple (going to the gods)
• Prasada: Hindu religious offering
• The Hindu Temple is meant to encourage reflection, facilitate the purification of one's mind, and trigger the process of inner realization

Design Principles of Temples

• They follow a set of principles of design and construction for art and architecture based on their scriptures
• Metaphysical plan of a building that incorporates the course of the heavenly bodies and supernatural forces
• Symbol of the purusha or primordial man
• Mandala: A plan or chart which symbolically represents the cosmos, an expression of sacred geometry.

Dholavira

• Located in Kutch District, Gujarat State, India
• UNESCO WHS (2021)
• Made almost entirely of stone (Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are made of brick)
• Flanked by two storm water channels: Mansar (north) and Manhar (south)
• Three divisions:
  • Citadel/Acropolis
  • Middle town
  • Lower town

Mauryan Dynasty

• First Indian Empire founded by Chandragupta
• Ashoka (273-232 B.C.) was the greatest Mauryan king and spread Buddhism throughout India
• India became a great centre of learning with universities at Nalanda and Takshasila attracting scholars from China and Southeast Asia

Buddhist Art And Architecture

• Designed for congregational use
• Monumental and sophisticated
• Symbolic forms:
  • Lotus: Divinity and Man's salvation
  • Wheel: Cycle of life, death, and rebirth, teaching of Buddha
  • Four animals: 4 quarters of the compass
  • Lion: Sakyamuni Buddha known as the Lion of the Sakya Clan
  • Elephant, Horse, etc.
  • Tree: Enlightenment

Rock-Cut Sanctuaries/Cave Temples

• Emperor Ashoka initiated the first rock-cut technique
  • Easier to excavate a rocky mountain than pile up stone
• The Barabar and Nagarjuni caves were hewn out of granite rock
• Rock-cut sanctuaries of Karli, Ajanta, and Elephanta in the Western Ghats
• Rhats (rock-cut temples) in Mamallapuram and Ellora
• Consist of:
  • Chaityagrihas/ Chaitya: Place of worship, assembly halls.
    • Parts include:
      • Ornamental façade, with a small rectangular door
      • Central vaulted hall with an apsidal end divided by 2 colonnades into a nave and 2 side aisles
      • Rock-cut stupa at the rear end of the hall for circumambulation (pradakshina patha)
  • Vihara - Monasteries for monks

Stupa Parts

• Chatra: parasol umbrella protecting from harmful forces and symbolizing high rank.
• Harmika: Square pedestal on top of the hemisphere known as the "dwelling place of the Gods"
• Anda: Hemispheric cupola/ mound, known also as egg, womb, or the fertile earth. Contains the seed or the relic.
• Medhi: Upper passageway/ terrace; raised 4.87 m. from the ground.
• Vedika: Railing around the Harmika and Medhi.
• Sopana: Staircase.
• Torana: Ceremonial / ornamental gateways.
  • Pradakshina-patha: Circumambulation around the stupa to pay homage to the Buddha.

Test your knowledge about Indian architecture, focusing on the ancient urban civilizations of the Indus Region and the materials used in construction. Explore the significance of sandstone, marble, granite, and timber in India's architectural heritage.