ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE

  

                      

                                THE SHORT ON ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE

 

                   INDIAN ARCHITECTURE IS AS OLD AS THE HISTORY OF THE CIVILIZATION. THE EARLIEST REMAINS F RECOGZABLE BUILDING ACTIVITY IN THE INDIA DATES BACK TO THE INDUS VALLEY CITIES. AMONG INDIA'S ANCIENT ARCHITECTURAL REMAINS, THE MOST CHARACTERISTIC ARE THE TEMPLES, CHAITYAS, VIHARAS, STUPAS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS STRUCTRES. IN ANCIENT INDIA, TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE OF HIGH STANDARD DEVELOPED IN ALMOST ALL RELIGIONS. THE DISTINCT ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS WAS A RESULT OF GEOGRAPHICAL, CLIMATE, ETHNIC, RACIAL, HISTORICAL AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITIES.

                 THE ROCK-CUT STRUCTURES PRESENT THE MOST SPECTACULAR PIECE OF ANCIENT INDIA ARE SPECIMEN. MOST OF THE ROCT-CUT STRUCTURES WERE RELATED TO VARIOUS RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. IN THE BEGINNING, REMARKABLE BUDDHIST AND JAIN MONUMENTS WERE PRODUCED IN AREAS SUCH AS BIHAR IN THE EAST AND MAHARASTRA IN THE WEST. CHAITYAS AND VIHARAS ARE THOSE ROCK-CUT STRUCTURES THAT WERE HEWN OUT FOR BUDDHIST AND JAIN MONKS. CHAITYAS WERE PLACE OF WORSHIP WHEREAS VIHARAS WERE RESIDENCE OF MONKS. THE RATHAS AT MAHABALIPURAM ARE YET ANOTHER GREAT SPECIMEN OF ROCK-CUT ARCHITECTURE IN ANCIENT INDIA.

              EXPLAIN THE SALIENT FEATURES OF ANCIENT RELIGIOUS                                                    MONUMENTS ARCHITECTURE

                                             RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS 

                           STUPAS : THE PRACTICE OF PRESERVING THE REMAINS OF AN IMPORTANT PERSONALITY UNDER A HEAP OF ACCUMULATED EARTH HAD BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR LONG. BHUDDHISTS ADOPTED THIS PRACTICE AND THE STRUCTURE BUILT OVER SUCH A SITE WAS KNOWN AS STUPA. ACCORDING TO BUDDHIST SOURCES THE REMAINS OF BUDDHA'S BODY WERE DIVIDED INTO EIGHT PARTS AND PLACED UNDER THE STUPAS. THESE, DURING THE TIME OF ASHOKA, WERE DUG OUT AND REDISTRIBUTED WHICH LED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF OTHER STUPAS, THE SACRED , THE SACRED PLACES OF BUDDHISM. THE WORSHIP OF STUPAS LED TO THEIR ORNAMENTATION AND A SPECIFIC TYPE OF ARCHETECTURE DEVELOPED FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTION.

                      THE STUPAS HAS THE SHAPE OF A BOWL TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. AT THE TOP, WHICH WAS A BIT FLAT, USED TO BE ITS HARMIKA. I.E, THE ABODE OF THE GODS. IT WAS HERE THAT THE URNS CONTAINING THE REMAINS OF BUDDHA OR A GREAT PERSONALITY CONNECTED WITH THE RELIGION WAS PLACED IN A GOLD OR SILVER CASKET. A WOODEN ROD WAS PLACED IN ITS MIDDLE AND BOTTOM OF THE ROD WAS FIXED ON THE TOP OF THE STUPA. ON THE TOP OF THIS ROD WERE PLACED THREE SMALL UMBRELLA-TYPE DISCS SYMBOLIZING RESPECT, VENERATION AND MAGNANIMITY. THE MAIN STUPAS IN INDIA ARE LOCATED AT BODHGAYA, SANCHI, BHARHUT, AMRAVATI AND NAGAJUNKONDA.

                  ROCK CUT ARCHETECTURE : BOTH THE BUDDHISTS AND JAIN BUILT CHAITYAS AND VIHARAS AS PLACES OF WORSHIP. A CHAITYA IS A SHRINE CELL WITH A VOTIVE STUPA PLACED IN THE CENTER. THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHAITYAS ARE AS FOLLOWS :

                    * THEY HAVE A LONG RECTANGULAR HALL ENDING IN A SEMI-CIRCLE                             AT THE REAR END.

                    * THIS LONG HALL IS INTERNALLY DIVIDED INTO A NAVE, AND APSE AND                         TWO SIDE AISLES.

                    * THE AISLES ARE SEPERATED FROM THE NAVE BY TWO ROWS OF                                       PILLARS.

                    * THE PILLARS COME AROUND THE VOTIVE STUPA PLACED IN THE                                     CENTER OF THE APSIDAL PART OF THE NAVE.

                    * THE HALL HAS A BARREL-VALUTED CEILING.

                    * THE DOORWAY IS USUALLY PLACED FACING THE VOTIVE STUPA.

                    * THE FACADE HAS A HORSE-SHOE SHAPED WINDOW CALLED THE                                     CHAITYA WINDOW.

              VIHARAS WERE PRIMARILY CUT OUT OF ROCKS FOR THE RESIDENCE OF MONKS. THE GENERAL FEATURES OF VIHARAS ARE:

  

                    👀 THEY HAVEA SQUARE OR OBLONG HALL IN THE CENTER.

                    👀 THIS IS PRECEDED IN FRONT BY A PILLARED VERANDA.

                    👀 THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF SMALL SQUARE CELLS.

                    👀 THE CELLS AND HALLS ARE USUALLY PROVIDED WITH RAISED                                         BEACHES FOR THE USE OF MONKS.

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                       THE EARLIEST OF THE VIHARAS OF WESTERN INDIA ARE LOCATED AT SUCH SITES AS BHAJA, BEDSA, AJANTA, PITAKHORA, NASIK AND KARLE.

                      TEMPLES : THE EARLIEST FREE STANDING RELIGIOUS BUILDING OF WHICH TRACES REMAIN IS A SMALL ROUND HALL, PROBABLY CONTAINING A BUDDHIST STUPA, AT BAIRAT NEAR JAIPUR. THERE ARE NO REMAINS OF FREE-STANDING HINDU TEMPLES ERECTED BEFORE THE GUPTA PERIOD, THOUGH BY THIS TIME THEY MUST LONG HAVE BEEN BUIL IN WOOD, CRY AND BRICK. ALL THE GUPAT TEMPLES WERE SMALL AND MOST HAD FLAT ROOFS. THEIR MASONRY WAS HELD TOGETHER WITHOUT MORTAR AND WAS FAR LARGER AND THICKER THANWAS NECESSARY FOR THE COMPARATIVELY SMALL BUILDINGS. THE PORTAL VERANDA WAS CONTINUED ALL ROUND THE BUILDING, MAKING A COVERED WALK.

              THE STANDARD TYPE OF HINDU TEMPLE, WHICH HAS PERSISTED FROM THE 6TH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT DAY, WAS NOT FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS. THE HEART OF THE TEMPLE WAS A SMALL DARK SHRINE-ROOM (GARBHA GRIHA), CONTAINING THE CHIEF ICON. THIS OPENED INTO A HALL FOR THE WORSHIPPERS (MANDAPA), ORIGINALLY A SEPARATE BUILDING, BUT USUALLY JOINED TO THE SHRINEROOM BY A VESTIBULE. THE HALL WAS APPROACHED BY A PORCH. THE SHRINE ROOM WAS GENERALLY SURMOUNTED BY A TOWER WHILE SMALLER TOWERS ROSE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE BUILDING. THE WHOLE WAS SET IN A RECTANGULAR COURTYARD (WHICH MIGHT CONTAIN LESSER SHRINES) AND WAS OFTEN PLACED ON A RAISED PLATFORM.

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