Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Features of the Nagara Temple Architecture
Mains level: Temple Architecture of India
The grand temple at Rama Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya will follow the Nagara style of temple architecture.
Note the various features of the Nagara and Vesara style of temple architecture from your basic references.
What is Nagara style of temple architecture?
The basic form of a Hindu temple contains the following architectural elements:
- Garbhagriha – the small room where the principal deity/deities of the temple reside
- Mandapa – the portico or hall at the entrance of the temple generally designed to house a large number of people
- Shikhara – the mountain like spire which can have different shapes from pyramidal to curvilinear
- Vahana – the mount of the main deity placed generally in line of sight from Garbhagriha
- In this style, the temple is generally constructed on an upraised platform called Jagati.
- Mandapas are present in front of the These are adorned with the Shikhara, the tallest one being above the Garbhagriha.
- The shikhara over the mandapas in the pictures of the Ayodhya Ram temple can be seen having a square base, and a rectilinear outline.
- This is called the phamsana-style shikhara. Note that the mandapa shikhara right at the entrance has an octagonal base.
Similar to Khajuraho Temple
- There are different types of Shikhara found in Indian temples.
- A comparison with Khajuraho Vishwanath temple, also built in Nagara style, shows the similarity between the two.
- Note that the main shikhara of the two are remarkably similar.
- They rise upward in a curved pyramidal fashion, ending in a horizontal fluted disc called an Amalaka topped with a Kalasha. This is called the Latina-style shikhara.
Note: This newscard is an excerpt from an original article published in Swarajya Magazine.
Back2Basics: The Ramjanmabhoomi Case
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