Architecture of India  
North Indian Style Evolves – 2
The North Indian or Indo-Aryan Style (A.D. 800 onwards)

More orthodox than this are the other temples in Gwalior Fort, namely the Sas-Bahu group.  This consists of two temples, one much smaller than the other, but with the same architectural style.  The larger temple is but a portion of the original conception, as only the main hall remains, the shikhara that was about 150 feet in height, having disappeared. 

Examples at Bhubhaneswar

The state of Kalinga (modern Orissa) was becoming, in mediaeval times, one of the richest havens of temple building activity.  History tells us that Kalinga was ruled by a succession of kings who sought temporal freedom by building whole cities of temples.  These cities are marked by their lack of secular buildings, and as was common throughout India, are more known for their temple architecture than any city or town planning.  Over a period of seven hundred years, the city of Bhubhaneswar itself had more than seven thousand temples. 

The seventh-century Vaital Deul at Bhubhaneswar is in fact a later version of the Teli-ka-Mandir described above, as it too is roofed by a barrel vault.  However, the Orissan craftsmen went further – as they capped the vault by three kalasa finials. 

The incongruity of the barrel vault as a finial for the temple, however, soon asserted itself, and the Orissan craftsmen reverted to the familiar shikhara, albeit with a change in profile.  Ignoring the elliptic curve of the Gupta temples, the Orissan shikhara was endowed with a more ‘shoulder like’ profile, or spire.  Simple shrines consisting of a small ‘Sri Mandir’, or ‘deul’ as the main cella is called, crowned by the shikhara, are grouped all over Orissa. 

The need was soon felt for attaching a mandapa or covered hall to single room shrines where worshippers could congregate.  In the 8^th century temple of Parasurameshwar, the earliest known example of such a modification was found.

Rarely did the Orissan architect get  a chance to visualize his temple as a single entity.  This is the reason why Orissan temples seem incomplete, not realizing their full potential.  For such crystallization, we must look to the temple of Khajuraho, in our next article.     

–  Ashish Nangia
March 15, 2001

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