NORTH INDIAN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE

style of architecture produced throughout northern India and as far south as Bijapur district, characterized by its distinctive sikhara, a superstructure, tower, or spire. The style is sometimes referred to as Nagara, a type of temple mentioned in the Silpa-sastras (traditional canons of architecture), but exact correlation of the Silpa-sastra terms with extant architecture has not yet been established. The typical Hindu temple in northern India, on plan, consists of a small square-shaped sanctuary (called the garbhagrha, or womb-room) housing the main image, preceded by one or more adjoining pillared mandapas (porches or halls), which are connected to the sanctum by an open or closed vestibule (antarala). The entrance doorway of the sanctum is usually richly decorated with figures of river goddesses and bands of floral, figural, and geometric ornamentation. An ambulatory is sometimes provided around the sanctum. Above the main sanctuary rises a spire (sikhara), which is usually curvilinear in outline, and smaller rectilinear sikharas of the phamsana type frequently top the mandapas as well. The whole may be raised on a terrace (jagati) with attendant shrines at the corners. If a temple is dedicated to the god Siva, the figure of the bull Nandi, the god's mount, invariably faces the sanctum, and, if dedicated to the god Vishnu, standards (dhvaja-stambha) may be set up in front of the temple. The centre of each side of the square sanctum is subjected to a gradated series of projections, creating a characteristic cruciform plan. The exterior walls are usually decorated with sculptures of mythological and semidivine figures, with the main images of the deities placed in niches carved on the main projections. The interior is also frequently richly carved, particularly the coffered ceilings, which are supported by pillars of varying design. That the prototype of the North Indian temple already existed in the 6th century can be seen in surviving temples such as the temple at Deogarh, Bihar state, which has a small stunted sikhara over the sanctuary. The style fully emerged in the 8th century and developed distinct regional variations in Orissa, central India, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. A classification of North Indian temples is generally made on the basis of sikhara types, such as the rectilinear phamsana and the curvilinear latina, with its two variations, the sekhari and the bhumija (see sikhara). One typical form of the North Indian style is seen in the early temples at Orissa, such as the graceful 8th-century Parasuramesvara Temple at Bhubaneswar, a city that was a great centre of temple-building activity. From the 10th century a characteristic Oriya style developed that exhibited a greater elevation of the wall and a more elaborate spire. The Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar, of the 11th century, is an example of the Oriya style in its fullest development. The Sun Temple at Konarak, the sanctum of which is badly damaged, is the largest and perhaps the most famous Oriya temple. A development from the simpler to a more elevated and elaborate style is evident in central India, except that the sekhari type of superstructure, with multiple tenets, is more favoured from the 10th century onward. Interiors and pillars are more richly carved than in Orissa. The Central Indian style in its most developed form appears at Khajuraho, as seen in the Kandarya Mahadeva Temple (c. 11th century). There, an overall effect of harmony and majesty is maintained despite the exuberance of sculpture on the outer walls; the rich profusion of miniature shrines on the sekhari spire reinforces the ascending movement considerably. Large numbers of temples are preserved in Gujarat, but most of them have been badly damaged. The early 11th-century Sun Temple at Modhera is one of the finest.