The Nagara Temple Style: West and East India

The art, architectural and sculpture remains that have survived, majority of them (Ancient and Medieval India) are associated with a religion. Most of these are associated with a temple. Various religious structures that have been erected are often dedicated to a local cult or forest deities.

The Nagara Temple Style: West and East India

West India

• The temples are located in Rajasthan and Gujarat in the northwestern part of India
• Sometimes these temples look similar to the ones located in western India i.e., Madhya Pradesh
• Some of the temples include Sun Temple and Shamlaji Temple
• The temples in ancient times were carved in different styles like Nagara style, Ahom style, and many more
• There are a variety of stones differing in colour and types that are used to build these temples
• Some of them are- Sandstone: The most used stone, Grey to black basalt: Which was used to build a sculpture in temples during the tenth to the twelfth century, and Soft white marble: Which was used to construct Jain temples on Mount Abu during the tenth to the twelfth century
• The same stone was also used in constructing a temple located at Ranakpur in the fifteenth century

Important Sites

• Shamlaji in Gujarat

• Shamlaji temple depicts artistic traditions of Gujarat in post Gupta style
• Shamlaji temple is located in Aravalli district of Gujarat
• Shamlaji is famous for sculptures made of grey schist stone
• The Shamlaji temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and there are many other Hindu temples located nearby

• The Sun temple at Modhera

• • The Sun temple located at Modhera was built in the early eleventh century by Raja Bhimdev I of the Solanki Dynasty in 1026
  • There is a rectangular-shaped massive tank with many steps right in front of the Sun temple
  • Very few water bodies existed near a sacred place, but from the early eleventh-century, water bodies became a part of many temples, one of which is the Sun Temple
  • The rectangular water pond situated in the Sun Temple is around 100 sq metres and is said to be one of the largest temple tanks in India
  • There are around 108 miniature shrines carved between the steps of the rectangular pond built in the Sun temple
  • During the older times, there was a fashion of building an open assembly hall in western and central Indian temples
  • The same was found in the Sun temple too
  • One ornamental arch-Torana led to Sabha mandapa (the assembly hall) and was open from all sides
• The carving and sculpture observed in the Sun Temple clearly highlight the influence of wood carving traditions in Gujarat, whereas the walls of central small shrines contradict and are devoid of carvings

East India

• Eastern India consists of northeast, Bengal, and Odisha
• Distinct types of temples will be observed in each of these three areas
• Until the 7th century, the main medium of construction for moulding plaques was terracotta
• It depicted the Buddhist and the Hindu deities in Bengal

Assam

• The Gupta style of architecture continued until the 10th century
• An old door frame from Da-Parbatia near Tezpur was sculpted in the sixth century
• Some sculptures from Rangagora Tea Estate near Tinsukia in Assam were also built in Gupta-style architecture
• A distinct regional style, one of which is the Ahom style, was developed in Assam between the 12th to 14th centuries
• Ahom style came with the migration of Tais having a mixture of Upper Burma with the dominant Pala style of Bengal
• Ahom style is found in and around Guwahati
• Prominent examples of the Ahom style are Kamakhya Temple: It was built in the 17th century and is also called Shakti Peeth dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya

Bengal

• Between the 9th and 11th centuries, the Pala style of the sculptures was prominent in Bengal (including Bangladesh) and Bihar
• The Pala style is named after the Sena kings and was founded during the mid-11th to the mid-13th centuries
• The temples in this region are known to express the local Vanga style while the Palas are celebrated as patrons of many Buddhist monastic sites
• Siddheshvara Mahadeva temple: Located in Barakar, Burdwan District, this is a Pala-style temple that was built in the ninth century
• A tall curving shikhara crowned by a large amalaka is seen here
• Some of the contemporary temples of Odisha are similar to Siddheshvara Mahadeva temple

• Temples at Telkupi in Purulia District: There are various temples in Nagara style found in this district and were sculptured from the ninth to the twelfth century

• The well-known sub-types of Nagara-style temples that are prevalent in entire North India can be seen in this district

• For sculpting Nagara-style temples, black to grey basalt and chlorite stone pillars and arched niches were used which influenced the earlier Bengal sultanate buildings at Gaur and Pandua
• Bangla roof: It is a local vernacular building tradition dated mostly to the seventeenth century and influenced the style of temples
• The shape of the Bengali hut is curved or the bamboo roof is sloped
• Locations: Vishnupur, Bankura, Burdwan and Birbhum
• Later Influence: This was later adopted in Mughal buildings

Conclusion

Most of the art and architectural remains that survive from ancient and medieval India are religious in nature. But, it does not mean that during that time people did not have art in their homes. Generally,  domestic dwellings and the things were made from materials like wood and clay which may have perished, or were made of metal (like iron, bronze, silver and even gold) which was melted down and reused from time to time. Also, religious shrines at that time were made for many local cults in villages and forest areas and may have vanished.