DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0599
INDIA
Fig. 113. Plan of a Chalukyan
Temple. (Fergusson)
4*3
roofs, so rich and complex, culminate in the lofty tower over the
shrine. The tower itself has become complex by the addition of
smaller towerlike members which encircle the base, fill the angles,
and with their varying height carry the eye upward rhythmically.
In the second class of Hindu temple, the southern, the shrine
is enclosed in an immense walled quadrangle (Fig. ixi) and sur-
rounded by minor temples, bathing pools, halls, and cloisters,
so that frequently the shrine itself appears small and out of
proportion, especially beside the great towering gateways, called
gopurams, by which one enters the enclosure. The shrine differs
from the northern type in that its tower is built up by horizontal
stories and surmounted either by a barrel roof or by a small stupa-
like dome, as we see in a temple
at Tanjore (Pl. 159 c) which is
splendidly designed though pro-
fusely ornamented.
Elaborate decoration showing
exuberance and no restraint
characterizes the southern tem-
ples. On the great gateways mon-
sters, many-armed gods, animals,
floral and geometric ornament,
all crowded together, overload
the architecture to its very
summit.
The third type of Hindu tem-
ple is like the northern in plan
except that it has become star-
shaped (Fig. 12.3), so that it pre-
sents a varied and picturesque outline from whatever point it
is viewed. Like the southern temple, however, it is built hori-
zontally and roofed with low towers. The decoration is very
profuse, as at Halebid (Pl. 160 a), where the horizontal zones
are deeply undercut and carved with elephants, grotesques,
mounted horsemen, gods, and human figures, worked in relief
so high that they are almost in the round. Occasionally a band
of floral or geometric ornament adds variety.
When the Mohammedans had established their empire in
India, their wealthy rulers, the great Mughals, or Moguls,
erected magnificent tombs and mosques, palaces and audience
halls. These Moslems had brought with them certain traditions
from the West, such as that of the dome over the tomb, the great
pointed arch, the minaret, and other features of the typical
Fig. 113. Plan of a Chalukyan
Temple. (Fergusson)
4*3
roofs, so rich and complex, culminate in the lofty tower over the
shrine. The tower itself has become complex by the addition of
smaller towerlike members which encircle the base, fill the angles,
and with their varying height carry the eye upward rhythmically.
In the second class of Hindu temple, the southern, the shrine
is enclosed in an immense walled quadrangle (Fig. ixi) and sur-
rounded by minor temples, bathing pools, halls, and cloisters,
so that frequently the shrine itself appears small and out of
proportion, especially beside the great towering gateways, called
gopurams, by which one enters the enclosure. The shrine differs
from the northern type in that its tower is built up by horizontal
stories and surmounted either by a barrel roof or by a small stupa-
like dome, as we see in a temple
at Tanjore (Pl. 159 c) which is
splendidly designed though pro-
fusely ornamented.
Elaborate decoration showing
exuberance and no restraint
characterizes the southern tem-
ples. On the great gateways mon-
sters, many-armed gods, animals,
floral and geometric ornament,
all crowded together, overload
the architecture to its very
summit.
The third type of Hindu tem-
ple is like the northern in plan
except that it has become star-
shaped (Fig. 12.3), so that it pre-
sents a varied and picturesque outline from whatever point it
is viewed. Like the southern temple, however, it is built hori-
zontally and roofed with low towers. The decoration is very
profuse, as at Halebid (Pl. 160 a), where the horizontal zones
are deeply undercut and carved with elephants, grotesques,
mounted horsemen, gods, and human figures, worked in relief
so high that they are almost in the round. Occasionally a band
of floral or geometric ornament adds variety.
When the Mohammedans had established their empire in
India, their wealthy rulers, the great Mughals, or Moguls,
erected magnificent tombs and mosques, palaces and audience
halls. These Moslems had brought with them certain traditions
from the West, such as that of the dome over the tomb, the great
pointed arch, the minaret, and other features of the typical