Module 2A Handout_Indian (PDF)

UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES C.M. RECTO AVENUE, LAPASAN, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, 9000 MISAMIS ORIENTAL, PHILIPPINES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT MODULE 2: SOUTH A...

UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES C.M. RECTO AVENUE, LAPASAN, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, 9000 MISAMIS ORIENTAL, PHILIPPINES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT MODULE 2: SOUTH ASIAN ARCHITECTURE ARCH216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 PREPARED BY: AR. TRESAMAR JAMEN, UAP  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 MODULE 2: SOUTH ASIAN ARCHITECTURE I. INDIAN ARCHITECTURE INFLUENCES  Geographical Influences  Boundaries: Pakistan – Northwest Nepal, China, and Bhutan – North Myanmar (Burma) – East  Rivers: Indus and Ganges  Mountains: Himalayas and Mount Everest  Geological influences  Availability of Timber in Indus and Ganges Valleys  Availability of White Marble  Rock-cut temples  Climatic Influences  Climate varies widely  Wet in winter and dry in summer  North: Flat roofs and West: Steep roofs  Religious Influences  Hinduism  Main religion of India  Along with Judaism, the world’s oldest surviving religion  From indigenous Dravidians and Aryan invaders  Chief gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva  Belief in reincarnation, the soul comes back to life in a different body  Caste system: priests, warriors and nobles, farmers and traders, laborers and servants, untouchables  Buddhism  Many people disliked the way Hindu society divided people into castes  Gautama Siddhartha 563 – 483 BC, gave up his princely life to search for wisdom  After 6 years of wandering, he found enlightenment through a deep-thinking process called meditation  Overcome human weakness including greed and anger  Salvation or nirvana  Social Influences  Caste System  Oldest form of surviving social stratifications  System that divides people based on their karma (work) and dharma (duty)  Categories: Brahmins (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), Vaishyas (farmers, traders and merchants), Shudras (laborers) and Dalits (Outcasts, street sweepers, latrine cleaners)  Historical Influences  Third great civilization to emerge in a fertile river valley  Indus river 2500 BC, present-day Pakistan and Northwest India  Major cities were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa  Each city was ruled by priest-kings, citadels atop the city  1500 BC Aryans from the north moved into India  Set-up 16 separate kingdoms all over  Most powerful, the Magadha kingdom, conquered all other kingdoms  Established the Mauryan Empire in 300 BC under King Ashoka 1|PAGE  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER  CHARACTER: influenced mainly by religion  ELEMENTS: o Sikharas – peaks of the tower rising from the core (Hindu Temples) o Stupas – Shrine that represents the sacred Mount Meru with four ceremonial gates o Symbolic Layers – towers of Hindus; has own distinctive handwriting o Animal Statuary – fine sculptures and carvings of animals o Figurative Decorations – carvings of sacred image and figurines  BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES: o Rock-cut Architecture  Carving from a solid natural rock  Represents significant achievements and is religious in nature o Cave Architecture  Used by the Buddhist and Jain monks as place of worship and residence  Includes painting and sculptures o Buddhist Architecture  From the teachings of Gautama Buddha (means the awakened one)  Teachings  Negative state of mind – problems and sufferings  Positive state of mind – happiness and good fortune  Types of Structures  Viharas (monasteries)  Chaityas (shrines or prayer halls)  Stupas (relics/place of meditation)  Types of Stupas  Object  Relic  Commemorative  Symbolic  Votive o Hindu Architecture  During the reign of the Aryans, who were Hindus and believed in karma  Temple Architecture  Different shape of roofing structures.  Structural system: Post and Beam with massive blocks of stone  Intricate details of decorations  Laid according to the eight cardinal directions  Open, symmetrical with many variations on a square grid of padas  Hindu Temple Spire  Tower representing the mountain where the God lives  Called Shikhara in North India and Vimana in South India  Mountain Peak o Dravidian Architecture  A typical south Indian style temple that is usually made from stone  Shape may be rectangular, square, pyramid or octagonal  Has a step design (for deities)  Usually have:  Gopurams (large towers over entrances)  Vimana (tower over the sanctum for deities)  Large pillared halls and corridors 2|PAGE  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3  Styles:  Pallava Styles – poetry in stone  Chola Styles – pyramid towers are crowned with dome like roofs  Pandya Styles – gigantic towers and vimanas; pandya shrines are dwarf by the walls and gates  Vijayanagara Styles – combination of styles; unique contributions includes yali columns (pillars with charging horse), balustrades, manatapa (ornate pillared)  Chera Style – simplest one o Jainism Architecture  Founded by Vardamana or Mahavira (Great Hero)  An offshoot of Hindu and Buddhist architectural Styles  Temples were mainly carved out of rock faces and the use of bricks was almost negligible  Later year, build temple-cities on hills based on the concept of ‘mountain of immortality’  Elements: Numerous pillars; richly carved brackets; pointed dome roof; built on hills o Indo-Islamic Architecture  Mughal Empire; Influenced by Islamic art  A mix of Persian, Arabic, Central Asian and Ottoman Turkish styles  Forts and towns were built in similar symmetrical styles but blended with Indian Styles  Prominent example: Taj Mahal 3|PAGE  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 Figure 1 Map of India Figure 2 Barabar Caves (oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India) Figure 3 Indian Cave Architecture 4|PAGE  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 Figure 4 Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh (Great Stupa) Figure 5 Parts of a Stupa Figure 6 Chaityas 5|PAGE  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 Figure 7 Vihara Figure 8 Architecture of Hindu Temple (Nagara Style) Figure 9 Hindu Temple in India 6|PAGE  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 Figure 10 Dravidian Temple, South India Figure 11 Jain Architecture in India Figure 12 Indo-Islamic Architecture – Taj Mahal 7|PAGE  ARCH 216: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 Figure 13 North vs South Indian Architecture REFERENCES  Rivera, Eliezer (2016). Scribd. Asian Architecture. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/324788163/Asian-Architecture-1  BBC News (2019). What is India’s Caste System. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india- 35650616#:~:text=The%20caste%20system%20divides%20Hindus,Kshatriyas%2C%20Vaishyas%20and%20the%20Sh udras.&text=The%20main%20castes%20were%20further,the%20Dalits%20or%20the%20untouchables.  Schwartzberg, Joseph (2020). Britannica. India. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/India  Ephrem N. (2016). Slideshare. Indian Architecture. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/Bekark/history-of- indian-architecture  All photos credits to their respective owners 8|PAGE