2. Temple Style of Orissa (Odisha)

2. Temple Style of Orissa:—With the growth and development of Brahminical religions in Odisha, the structural shrines grew throughout the land. Though differing in dimensions and details, they possess common features and thus we may agree with Fergusson that Orissan temples form"one of the most compact and homogeneous architectural groups in India. Orissa has a rich and unique heritage of art tradition beginning from the sophisticated ornate temple architecture and sculpture to folk art in different forms. The study of architectural tradition in Orissa is a fascinating subject in view of the fact that the monuments associated with it have survived to a greater extent through the ravages of time. The temples of Odisha survived near about one thousand and four hundred years through the vicissitudes of time affording a varied and interesting study to the students of History and Temple Art in particular. A survey of the extant temples of Orissa reveals that there was brisk architectural activity from about the 6th, 7th centuries AD. By the 11th century AD, the Orissan temple style became complete and established its distinct features, which were to shape the pattern for later temple building activities. The Style reached its climax about the middle of the thirteenth century AD. It is also difficult to trace it's origin whether the temples that were erected in Orissa followed an independent pattern from the very beginning or were related to the Gupta type of temples. Though we cannot be certain about the origin of Orissan temple architecture, in course of its evolution, it developed certain individual features of its own. Because of these distinctive features, Orissan temples form a class by themselves and the many manifestations of this school of temple architecture in Odisha can conveniently be labelled as Kalinga Style after the territory where the temples are found. An inscription on the capital of a pillar in the Mukha mandapa of the Amrtesvara temple at Holala (Bellary district of Karnataka State) mentions the Kalinga type (along with the Nagara, Dravida and Vesara) as one of the four categories of temples in India. 8 Most of the scholars have accepted the temples of Odisha as a sub-class in the category of Indo-Aryan Nagara Style of temples. According to Manasara "the Northern or Indo-Aryan Style of architecture covers the whole area occupied by the Aryans usually designated as "Hindustana", the north of Tapti and Mahanadi rivers". ⁹ R.C.Majumdar has also referred that the 26

region from the Orissan coast on the east to Kasmir on the west, the whole of North India was studded with temples of Indo-Aryan Style .10 Most of the Orissan temples were built from the 6th century AD to the 16th century AD when Orissa was successively ruled by five principal dynasties; they are viz Sailodbhavas of Kangoda mandala, Bhaumakaras of Tosali/Utkala, Somavamsi, Gangas and Gajapatis. Thus, Orissan temples one of the most distinct variations of the Nagara Style of temple construction, is particularly rewarding in those sense that there exists a continuous series of monuments spanning nearly a thousand years of architectural activity. There are several terms used for the temple in Odisha. Among the popular words used are viz; devayatana, mandira, prasada, devalaya, bhavanam, devagrha, vasa, devakula, dhama etc." On the basis of Vastusastra, it is found that prasada is the most common word used to indicate a temple in North Indian context. But in Orissa, the nomenclature mandira, which is widely prevalent nowa-days, was altogether absent during the ancient period. 12 The builders of temples in Odisha, however, had several canonical texts to guide them in the planning and execution of a temple. Some of these texts, which have come to limelight are viz,Bhubanapradipa, Bhubanapravesa, Silpapothi,Silpasastra,Mayamata, Aparajita prccha, Upanisada, Silpa Ratnakosa, Silpa Sarini, Baya Cakada, Silpa Prakasa, Padma Kesara, Abhilasitartha Cintamani, Samarangana Sutradhara, Deula Mapagunagara, Vastuvidya etc. indicating the standard achieved by the ancestors of builders in the field of temple architecture of Orissa." The practice of building houses for gods and goddesses is very old in Odisha. According to Hatigumpha Inscription, Mahamegha Vahana Kharavela repaired Savadevayatanas i.e. all devayatanas or "house of god". 14 This postulates the existence of several Brahminical shrines long before Kharavela's accession to the throne in the 1st century BC. Those shrines decayed and thus required renovation, which was promptly attended to by Kharavela, a ruler of very liberal outlook. In very early period, such a shrine might have been made of wood, thatch and bamboo, but in later phase it soon became a sanctum of stone. It is most unfortunate that all the earlier temples are perishable by nature. Being the products of the tentative efforts of the craftsmen, those temples did not possess the inherent strength to resist the fury of nature. This experience must have led the 27

craftsmen to invent the technique of imparting stability to the temples under all circumstances in later period. It was a practice in the past to reconstruct the ruined and dilapidated monuments of religious importance. Evidences show that some of the important temples were constructed on the sites of the older shrines. According to a tradition, Yayati Kesari reconstructed the temple of Lord Jagannatha of Puri by pulling down the old and dilapidated one. The temple built by Yayati also decayed and its construction work was initiated by Ananta Varman Chodaganga Deva, the founder of Ganga rule in Utkala territory. He undertook the construction work of the present great temple, which was neglected by earlier kings. 15 The earlier temples were probably flat roofed square structure. At this stage nothing can be said about their decorative programmes. In the North India Indo-Aryan Style of temples, the superstructure of the frontal hall (mandapa) prepare and defer the climax of the spire surmounting the sanctum (main temple) but in Orissan temples the frontal hall (jagamohana) is subordinate to the main temple.