Introductory

The main function of the science of architecture is to provide norms for the buildings. The two broad classes of buildings, residential and religious—Manavāvāsa and Devāvāsa according to the genius of this work have already been indicated The religious buildings in India centre round a shrine or a temple or a chapel, or a monastery or a pavilion or a shed or the like—the chief among which is the Hindu Temple—the place of worship. Many broad classifications of architecture have been advanced by scholars but in India the devotional architecture had been the most favourite architectural activity where the Indian genius of the architectural skill and craftsmanship culminated into the profoundest of expression both from the point of view of art and culture as well The pre-eminence given to devotional architecture in India is characteristic of Indian culture.

After all, according to Lethaby, (cf. Architecture page 7 H.U.L): “Architecture is the matrix of civilization”.

The finest trait of human civilisation has been the manifestation of the artistic evolution in its different climes and times Sri P. Brown is very apt in his remarks—

“In each of the major historical developments of architecture, there is one basic principle underlying in its conception, and one which is supremely distinctive With the Greeks this was refined perfection; Roman buildings are remarkable for their scientific construction; French Gothic reveals a condition of passionate energy, while Italians Renaissance reflects the scholarship of its time. In the same way the outstanding quality of the architecture of India is its spiritual content. It is evident that the fundamental purpose of the building art was to represent in concrete form the prevailing religious consciousness of the people. It is mind, materialised in terms of rock, bricks or stone”—(Indian Architecture p. 1).

Again in the words of Dr. Goomarswamy—vide Mr. Smith ‘A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylone’: (page 5):

“All that India can offer to the world proceeds from her philosophy—a mental concentration (Yoga) on the part of the artist and the enactment of a certain amount of ritual being postulated as the source of spirituality of Indian Art”.

Temples and Tīrthas are indispensable companions in the life journey of the mass of humanity (though originally only for those who were uninitiated to the highest knowledge—the transcendental knowledge, the Ajñyas, but later on no such distinction persisted) in India. The institution of pilgrimage to the sacred places of worship, the temple and tīrthas, was an outcome of the reoriented Hindu Dharma of the Purāṇas and Āgamas to which I have drawn attention several times.

Dr. Kramrisch (vide H. T. p. 6) is simply relating the truth:

“Temples are built where Tīrthas are; their towering shapes to the last point of their height teem with forms which have the urge and fullness of Indian nature; step by step, level by level they lead the eye and mind of the devotee from this world to the world above. The temples rise from a broad base: differently built according to specific types, they have their variation in time and place and their shapes were elaborated in many a school. As they are today in Southern India, their high super-structures ascend in pyramidal form, while in Northern India they fling their curvilinear faces towards a meeting point above the sanctuary.”

From the point of view of architecture, the temple architecture, does not offer us a fascinating story like the one we had in a previous part of this Study (cf. Part III—the Origin of the First House on Earth). Temple architecture in India is symbolic of the spiritual outlook of its people. It is the principal, visible and material record of the invisible and spiritual evolution of our civilisation. It is a concrete manifestation, not only of the aspirations of the people, but also a way of life. It was equally true of those who built it—the long line of the Sthapatis and Sthāpakas. To every one it was a religious dedication to evolve out a spiritual way of life. Numerous noble monuments of this class of devotional architecture are a testimony of our rich architectural heritage, the parallel of which can not be found in other countries.

The temple-architecture as portrayed in the pages of this most celebrated work represents the high strides, the temple architecture had made by the eleventh century in India. The very developed denotation and connotation of the word Prāsāda, the Hindu temple, its various origins from the different ancient institutions of worship and sacrifice; its manifold styles representing the local and regional centres of art and their exuberance of building activities, together with the temple types having so many ramifications betokening the high water mark, of the evolution of the temple architecture together with its planning and the accessory buildings—Maṇḍapas, Jagatīs, Prākāras etc. etc.—all these will be dealt with as side aids in our evaluation of the temple architecture by the time of Raja Bhoja. Needless to be specific about the contents of the chapters forming this Part. This only a broad indication.