Portal:Architecture of India
Portal maintenance status: (November 2018)
|
Introduction
The architecture of India is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Indian architecture progressed with time and assimilated the many influences that came as a result of India's global discourse with other regions of the world throughout its millennia-old past. The architectural methods practiced in India are a result of examination and implementation of its established building traditions and outside cultural interactions.
Though old, this Eastern tradition has also incorporated modern values as India became a modern nation-state. The economic reforms of 1991 further bolstered the urban architecture of India as the country became more integrated with the world's economy. Traditional Vastu Shastra remains influential in India's architecture during the contemporary era.
Selected general articles
Sangameshvara temple, Pattadakal built in 725 CE
The Badami Chalukya architecture was a temple building idiom that evolved in the 5th – 8th centuries in the Malaprabha river basin, in present-day Bagalkot district of Karnataka state, under the Chalukya dynasty. This style is sometimes called the Vesara style and Chalukya style, a term that also includes the much later Western Chalukya architecture of the 11th and 12th centuries. Early Chalukya architecture, used by George Michell and others, equates to Badami Chalukya. The earliest Badami Chalukya temples date back to around 450 A.D. in Aihole when the Badami Chalukyas were vassals of the Kadambas of Banavasi. According to historian K.V. Sounder Rajan, the Badami Chalukyas contribution to temple building matched their valor and their achievements in battle.
About 450 CE, the Early Chalukya style originated in Aihole and was perfected in Badami and Pattadakal.
The unknown architects and artists experimented with different styles, blended the Nagara and Dravidian styles. Read more...
Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneswar
Sekhari or Shekhari is a type of northern Indian shikhara (tower or spire on top of a shrine) which comprises a central Latina spire with urushringa half spires added on all sides. It is a one of two sub-types of Shikhara ,other being Bhumija. Read more...- The architecture of Mumbai blends Gothic, Victorian, Art Deco, Indo-Saracenic and contemporary architectural styles. Many buildings, structures and historical monuments remain from the colonial era. Mumbai, after Miami, has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world. Read more...
Profile of a Hoysala temple at Somanathapura
Hoysala architecture is the building style developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries, in the region known today as Karnataka, a state of India. Hoysala influence was at its peak in the 13th century, when it dominated the Southern Deccan Plateau region. Large and small temples built during this era remain as examples of the Hoysala architectural style, including the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. Other examples of Hoysala craftsmanship are the temples at Belavadi, Amruthapura, Hosaholalu, Mosale, Arasikere, Basaralu, Kikkeri and Nuggehalli. Study of the Hoysala architectural style has revealed a negligible Indo-Aryan influence while the impact of Southern Indian style is more distinct.
Temples built prior to Hoysala independence in the mid-12th century reflect significant Western Chalukya influences, while later temples retain some features salient to Western Chalukya architecture but have additional inventive decoration and ornamentation, features unique to Hoysala artisans. Some three hundred temples are known to survive in present-day Karnataka state and many more are mentioned in inscriptions, though only about seventy have been documented. The greatest concentration of these are in the Malnad (hill) districts, the native home of the Hoysala kings. Read more...
The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influences from different parts of the world. Bengali architecture includes ancient urban architecture, religious architecture, rural vernacular architecture, colonial townhouses and country houses, and modern urban styles. The bungalow style is a notable architectural export of Bengal. The corner towers of Bengali religious buildings were replicated in medieval Southeast Asia. Bengali curved roofs were copied by the Mughals in North India.
Bengal is not rich in good stone for building, and traditional Bengali architecture mostly uses brick and wood, often reflecting the styles of the wood, bamboo and thatch styles of local vernacular architecture for houses. Decorative carved or moulded plaques of terracotta (the same material as the brick) are a special feature. Read more...- Maharashtra, India is famous for its caves and rock cut architecture. It is said that the varieties found in Maharashtra are wider than the caves and rock-cut architecture found in the rock cut areas of Egypt, Assyria, Persia and Greece. The Buddhist monks first started these caves in the 2nd century BC, in search of serene and peaceful environment for meditation, and they found these caves on the hillsides.
Hindu cave temples at Ellora and Ajanta contain fine artistic design elements and India's oldest wall paintings can be seen here. Maharashtra's famous rock-cut caves have several distinct artistic elements though sculptures of the time are regarded to modern viewers as stiff and not dynamic. The Buddhist caves, particularly the older ones, are either temples (Chaityas) or monasteries (Viharas). Read more...
Mughal architecture is the type of Indo-Islamic architecture developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed the styles of earlier Muslim dynasties in India as an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture. Mughal buildings have a uniform pattern of structure and character, including large bulbous domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways and delicate ornamentation. Examples of the style can be found in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The Mughal dynasty was established after the victory of Babur at Panipat in 1526. During his five-year reign, Babur took considerable interest in erecting buildings, though few have survived. His grandson Akbar built widely, and the style developed vigorously during his reign. Among his accomplishments were Agra Fort, the fort-city of Fatehpur Sikri, and the Buland Darwaza. Akbar's son Jahangir commissioned the Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir. Read more...
Dzong architecture is a distinctive type of fortress (Wylie: rdzong, IPA: [tzɦoŋ˩˨]) architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of courtyards, temples, administrative offices, and monks' accommodation. Read more...
Latina or Rekha Prasad is the most common type of northern Indian shikhara (tower or spire on top of a shrine), whose form is a single slightly curved tower with four sides of equal length, thus square in plan. The sides may be broken by slight projections running up the tower, called rathas, and there is often considerable decoration, especially at the corners, where some division into horizontal "storeys" may be seen. The tower is traditionally built by superimposing horizontal slabs of stone. The two variant and more elaborate types of northern Indian towers are the Sekhari and the Bhumija, both based on the Latina plan. Read more...- Dravidian style temples are characterized by Yali pillars
Dravidian architecture is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent or South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It consists primarily of Hindu temples where the dominating feature is the high gopura or gatehouse; large temples have several. Mentioned as one of three styles of temple building in the ancient book Vastu shastra, the majority of the existing structures are located in the Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Various kingdoms and empires such as the Cholas, the Chera, the Kakatiyas, the Pandyas, the Pallavas, the Gangas, the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas, the Hoysalas, and Vijayanagara Empire among others have made substantial contribution to the evolution of Dravidian architecture. This style of architecture can also be found in parts of North India (Teli ka Mandir Gwalior, Bhitargaon Baitala Deula, Bhubaneshwar), Northeastern and central Sri Lanka. Read more...
Kerala architecture is a kind of architectural style that is mostly found in Indian state of Kerala. Kerala's style of architecture is unique in India, in its striking contrast to Dravidian architecture which is normally practiced in other parts of South India. The architecture of Kerala has been influenced by Dravidian and Indian Vedic architectural science (Vastu Shastra) over two millennia. The Tantrasamuchaya, Thachu-Shastra, Manushyalaya-Chandrika and Silparatna are important architectural sciences, which have had a strong impact in Kerala Architecture style. The Manushyalaya-Chandrika, a work devoted to domestic architecture is one such science which has its strong roots in Kerala.
The architectural style has evolved from Kerala’s peculiar climate and long history of influences of its major maritime trading partners like Chinese, Arabs and Europeans. Read more...
A Jain temple is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism, Derasar is a word used for a Jain temple in Gujarat and southern Rajasthan. Basadi is a Jain shrine or temple in Karnataka The word is generally used in South India. Its historical use in North India is preserved in the names of the Vimala Vasahi and Luna Vasahi temples of Mount Abu. The Sanskrit word is vasati, it implies an institution including residences of scholars attached to the shrine. Read more...
Māru-Gurjara architecture (Rajasthani architecture) originated in the sixth century in and around areas of the state of Rajasthan in India during Gurjara Pratihara Empire. Read more...- Harappan architecture is the architecture of the Harappans, an ancient people who lived in the Indus Valley from about 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. The Harappans were advanced for their time, especially in architecture. Read more...
- The antiquity of Architecture of Karnataka (Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪ) can be traced to its southern Neolithic and early Iron Age, Having witnessed the architectural ideological and utilitarian transformation from shelter- ritual- religion. Here the nomenclature ‘Architecture’ is as old as c.2000 B.C.E. The upper or late Neolithic people in order to make their shelters, they constructed huts made of wattle and doab, that were buttressed by stone boulders, presumably having conical roof resting on the bamboo or wooden posts into red murram or paved granite chips as revealed in archaeological excavations in sites like Brhamagiri (Chitradurga district), Sanganakallu, Tekkalakota (Bellary district), Piklihal (Raichur district). Megaliths are the dominant archaeological evidence of the early Iron Age (c. 1500 B.C.E- 100 C.E unsettled date). There are more than 2000 early Iron Age burial sites on record, who laid the foundation for a high non perishable architecture in the form of various distinct architectural styles of stone built burials, which are ritualistic in its character. The active religious architecture is evident 345 with that of the Kadamba Dynasty. Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India originally known as the State of Mysore. Over the centuries, architectural monuments within the region displayed a diversity of influences, often relaying much about the artistic trends of the rulers of twelve different dynasties. Its architecture ranges dramatically from majestic monolith, such as the Gomateshwara, to Hindu and Jain places of worship, ruins of ancient cities, mausoleums and palaces of different architectural hue. Mysore Kingdom (Wodeyar) rule has also given an architectural master structure in the St. Philomena's Church at Mysore (extolled by the King as a structure of divine compassion and the eager gratitude of men) which was completed in 1956, in addition to many Dravidian style architectural temples. Two of the monuments (Pattadakal and Hampi) are listed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of 22 cultural monuments in India. Styles of Indo-Saracenic, Renaissance, Corinthian, Hindu, Indo-Greek and Indo-British style palaces were built in Mysore, the city of palaces. Sikh architecture at Bidar (1512) and also in Bangalore in 1956 can also be cited as having an impact on the architectural composition of the state.
Apart from the ancient traditional Buddhist Viharas which existed in India since ancient times, since the Independence of India in 1947, Karnataka has experienced some marked architectural changes, notably by the influx of Tibetan refugees which arrived in the state between 1963 and 1997, bringing with them the traditional Tibetan art and architectural styles, reflected in the Buddhist monastery at Bylakuppe for instance. Vidhana Soudha (built in Bangalore in 1953) and the tallest temple at Murudeshwar are witnesses to the Neo–Dravidian architectural influences which have evolved since independence. The chronology of the architecture of Karnataka is elaborated in the right-hand box. Read more...
The Kaḷinga architectural style is a style of Hindu architecture which flourished in the ancient Kalinga region or present eastern Indian state of Odisha, West Bengal and northeastern Andhra Pradesh. The style consists of three distinct types of temples: Rekha Deula, Pidha Deula and Khakhara Deula. The former two are associated with Vishnu, Surya and Shiva temples while the third is mainly with Chamunda and Durga temples. The Rekha Deula and Khakhara Deula houses the sanctum sanctorum while the Pidha Deula constitutes outer dancing and offering halls.
In Kalinga, the ancient land of Sakta cult, divine iconography existed since the mythological era. Present day research implies that idols (deities) were placed under auspicious Trees in the ancient days. And maybe today a Temple in general carries various minute details and the overall shape of some heritage tree. The various aspects of a typical Kalinga Temple include Architectural stipulations, Iconography, historical connotations and honoring the traditions, customs and associated legends. Read more...
The Architecture of Uttar Pradesh is renowned for its variety of various religious monuments. Read more...
The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influences from different parts of the world. Bengali architecture includes ancient urban architecture, religious architecture, rural vernacular architecture, colonial townhouses and country houses, and modern urban styles. The bungalow style is a notable architectural export of Bengal. The corner towers of Bengali religious buildings were replicated in medieval Southeast Asia. Bengali curved roofs were copied by the Mughals in North India.
Bengal is not rich in good stone for building, and traditional Bengali architecture mostly uses brick and wood, often reflecting the styles of the wood, bamboo and thatch styles of local vernacular architecture for houses. Decorative carved or moulded plaques of terracotta (the same material as the brick) are a special feature. Read more...
The Sharqi rulers of Jaunpur were known for their patronage of learning and architecture. Jaunpur was known as the Shiraz of India during this period. Most notable examples of Sharqi style of architecture in Jaunpur are the Atala Masjid, the Lal Darwaja Masjid and the Jama Masjid. Though, the foundation of the Atala Masjid was laid by Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1376, it was completed only during the rule of Ibrahim Shah in 1408. Another mosque, the Jhanjhiri Masjid was also built by Ibrahim Shah in 1430. The Lal Darwaja Masjid (1450) was built during the reign of the next ruler Mahmud Shah. The Jama Masjid was built in 1470, during the rule of the last ruler Hussain Shah. Read more...
The Kaḷinga architectural style is a style of Hindu architecture which flourished in the ancient Kalinga region or present eastern Indian state of Odisha, West Bengal and northeastern Andhra Pradesh. The style consists of three distinct types of temples: Rekha Deula, Pidha Deula and Khakhara Deula. The former two are associated with Vishnu, Surya and Shiva temples while the third is mainly with Chamunda and Durga temples. The Rekha Deula and Khakhara Deula houses the sanctum sanctorum while the Pidha Deula constitutes outer dancing and offering halls.
In Kalinga, the ancient land of Sakta cult, divine iconography existed since the mythological era. Present day research implies that idols (deities) were placed under auspicious Trees in the ancient days. And maybe today a Temple in general carries various minute details and the overall shape of some heritage tree. The various aspects of a typical Kalinga Temple include Architectural stipulations, Iconography, historical connotations and honoring the traditions, customs and associated legends. Read more...
Indian rock-cut architecture is more various and found in greater abundance than any other form of rock-cut architecture around the world. Rock-cut architecture is the practice of creating a structure by carving it out of solid natural rock. Rock that is not part of the structure is removed until the only rock left is the architectural elements of the excavated interior. Indian rock-cut architecture is mostly religious in nature.
There are more than 1,500 known rock cut structures in India. Many of these structures contain artwork of global importance, and most are adorned with exquisite stone carvings. These ancient and medieval structures represent significant achievements of structural engineering and craftsmanship. Read more...- Bhubaneswar is the capital city of Odisha, India. It was the ancient capital of the Kalinga Empire and the architectural legacy of the period is its greatest attraction. There are many sites in the city that testify the importance of the region during the 7th to 11th century A.D when the Kalinga kings ruled Odisha and the regions beyond it. The Ananta Vasudeva Temple and Vindusagar tank in the only temple of Lord Vishnu in the city of Shiva. The temples in Bhubaneswar are thus regarded as having been built from the 8th to 12th century of saivite influence.
The Jain and Buddhist shrines give a clear picture about the settlements around Bhubaneswar in the first two centuries B.C, and one of the most complete edicts of the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, dating between 272-236 B.C, remains carved in rock just 5 miles to the southwest of the modern city. Read more...
A rare example of bhumija spire in Southern India-Sadashiva Temple (1249 CE) built by Hoysala Empire at Nuggehalli, Karnataka
Bhumija is a variety of northern Indian Shikhara (tower or spire on top of a shrine) that is particularly popular in temples of western India, northern Deccan and the Malwa regions in India. It comprises a central Latina projection, tapering towards the top on all four faces. The quadrants so formed are decorated with miniature spires, in horizontal and vertical rows, all the way to the top. Read more...- Hindu architecture is a traditional Hindu system of temple architecture, monasteries, mausoleums and other architectural religious buildings of Hinduism. The science of Hindu architecture (principles and standards, where and how temples should be built, design rules) in India is described in Hindu texts — Vastu shastra (Manasara etc), and Shilpa Shastras deal with forming statues, icons, stone murals, painting and others. Due to Islamic conquests in the Middle Ages, many ancient Hindu buildings were destroyed. Read more...
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an earlier Muslim presence in Sindh in modern Pakistan, its main history begins when Muhammad of Ghor made Delhi a Muslim capital in 1193. Both the Delhi Sultans and the Mughal dynasty that succeeded them came from Central Asia via Afghanistan, and were used to a Central Asian style of Islamic architecture that largely derived from Iran.
The types and forms of large buildings required by Muslim elites, with mosques and tombs much the most common, were very different from those previously built in India. The exteriors of both were very often topped by large domes, and made extensive use of arches. Both of these features were hardly used in Hindu temple architecture and other native Indian styles. Both types of building essentially consisted of a single large space under a high dome, and completely avoided the figurative sculpture so important to Hindu temples. Read more...
Sikh Architecture is a style of architecture that is characterized with values of progressiveness, exquisite intricacy, austere beauty and logical flowing lines. Due to its progressive style, it is constantly evolving into many newly developing branches with new contemporary styles. Although Sikh architecture was initially developed within Sikhism its style has been used in many non-religious buildings due to its beauty. 300 years ago, Sikh architecture was distinguished for its many curves and straight lines; Shri Keshgarh Sahib and the Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) are prime examples.
Further examples of Sikh architecture can be found in the countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Turkey — these examples are mostly memorials of the places the Sikh Gurus visited. Modern examples can be found worldwide; in the Americas, Oceania Europe and Asia. Read more...
Core area of Western Chalukya architectural activity in modern Karnataka state, India
Western Chalukya architecture (Kannada: ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪ), also known as Kalyani Chalukya or Later Chalukya architecture, is the distinctive style of ornamented architecture that evolved during the rule of the Western Chalukya Empire in the Tungabhadra region of modern central Karnataka, India, during the 11th and 12th centuries. Western Chalukyan political influence was at its peak in the Deccan Plateau during this period. The centre of cultural and temple-building activity lay in the Tungabhadra region, where large medieval workshops built numerous monuments. These monuments, regional variants of pre-existing dravida (South Indian) temples, form a climax to the wider regional temple architecture tradition called Vesara or Karnata dravida. Temples of all sizes built by the Chalukyan architects during this era remain today as examples of the architectural style.
Most notable of the many buildings dating from this period are the Mahadeva Temple at Itagi in the Koppal district, the Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi in the Gadag district, the Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatti in the Bellary district and the Kallesvara Temple at Bagali in the Davangere district. Other monuments notable for their craftsmanship include the Kaitabheshvara Temple in Kubatur and Kedareshvara Temple in Balligavi, both in the Shimoga district, the Siddhesvara Temple at Haveri in the Haveri district, the Amrtesvara Temple at Annigeri in the Dharwad district, the Sarasvati Temple in Gadag, and the Dodda Basappa Temple at Dambal, both in the Gadag district. Read more...
The Ripon Building, Chennai, an example of the Indo-Saracenic architectural style found in the city.
Chennai architecture is a confluence of many architectural styles. From ancient Dravidian temples built by the Pallavas, to the Indo-Saracenic style (pioneered in Madras) of the colonial era, to 20th-century steel and chrome of skyscrapers. Chennai has a colonial core in the port area, surrounded by progressively newer areas as one travels away from the port, punctuated with old temples, churches and mosques.
As of 2014, Chennai city, within its corporation limits covering 426 sq km, has about 625,000 buildings, of which about 35,000 are multi-storied (with four and more floors). Of these, nearly 19,000 are designated as commercial ones. Read more...- Virupaksha temple, Raya Gopura (main tower over entrance gate) at Hampi, Karnataka
Vijayanagara architecture (Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಗರ ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪ) of 1336–1565CE was a notable building idiom that developed during the rule of the imperial Hindu Vijayanagar Empire. The empire ruled South India, from their regal capital at Vijayanagara, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in modern Karnataka, India. The empire built temples, monuments, palaces and other structures across South India, with a largest concentration in its capital. The monuments in and around Hampi, in the Vijayanagara principality, are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In addition to building new temples, the empire added new structures and made modifications to hundreds of temples across South India. Some structures at Vijayanagara are from the pre-Vijayanagara period. The Mahakuta hill temples are from the Western Chalukya era. The region around Hampi had been a popular place of worship for centuries before the Vijayanagara period with earliest records dating from 689 CE when it was known as Pampa Tirtha after the local river God Pampa. Read more...
Need help?
Do you have a question about Architecture of India that you can't find the answer to?
Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
Selected images
A Gupta period tetrastyle prostyle Buddhist temple of Classical appearance at Sanchi (Temple 17) (5th century CE).
An aerial view of the Meenakshi Temple from the top of the southern gopuram, looking north. The temple was rebuilt by the Vijayanagar Empire and an example of Dravidian architecture.
Mauryan polished stone pillar from Pataliputra.
Qutub Minar at Delhi is the best example of Early Indo-Islamic Architecture
The Pataliputra capital, discovered at the Bulandi Bagh site of Pataliputra, c. 4th-3rd BCE.
Jivakarama vihara monastery. Oblong communal hall (remains), 6th century BCE.
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, the first fully developed Mughal imperial tomb, 1569-70
Ruins of pillared hall at the Kumrahar site at Pataliputra.
Ashoka pillar at Vaishali, 250 BCE.
Kailasa temple, Ellora, the largest rock-cut Hindu temple.
The Taj Mahal, the most famous building of Mughal architecture and possibly of Indian architecture as a whole.
Capital of the Sarnath pillar of Ashoka. 250 BCE.
Ashoka's Mahabodhi Temple and Diamond throne in Bodh Gaya, built circa 250 BCE. The inscription between the Chaitya arches reads: "Bhagavato Sakamunino/ bodho" ie "The building round the Bodhi tree of the Holy Sakamuni (Shakyamuni)". Bharhut frieze (circa 100 BCE).
Stupas at Piprahwa are some of the earliest surviving stupas.
Subcategories
- Select [►] to view subcategories
Topics
| Types | |
|---|---|
| By state | |
| By city | |
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
Wikibooks
Books
Commons
Media
Wikinews
News
Wikiquote
Quotations
Wikisource
Texts
Wikiversity
Learning resources
Wiktionary
Definitions
Wikidata
Database
- What are portals?
- List of portals
