College of Environmental Design
Department of Architecture, UC Berkeley
Architecture Slide Library
Architecture 170 - Fall 1996 - Dell Upton - October 10
I. Architecture and Place. The importance of the natural and mythological landscapes in Indian religious architecture.
II. Architecture from the Earth. Hinduism as another form of the Vedic traditions. The Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu/Krishna, Shiva. Rock-cut Hindu temples: Shiva Temple, Elephanta Island, Bombay harbor, mid 6c ce. (Elephanta: Shiva Temple; Shiva Temple plan). Note: plan, imagery. Kailasha (or Kailasanath) Temple, Ellora, India, second half 8c ce, a monolithic temple dedicated to Shiva.
III. The Hindu Temple.
[1]Design. Religious architecture as a theoretical architecture, controlled by shilpashastras (sculptural manuals) and vastushastras (architectural manuals). The vastu-purusha mandala as an organizing principle. Lingaraja Temple, ca. 1100 ce, an north-Indian-type temple located at Bhubaneswar, Orissa, sacred city dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva. Note: mandapa/porch, garbha-griha/sanctuary (also called deul), shikhara/spire (with rathas/ribs), jagamohana/hall. Imagery of Mount Meru. Southern temples. Ex.: Shore Temple, Mamallapuram, first half 8c ce. Note: bhumis/repeated layers of vimana/spire.
[2] Use. The rituals of the Hindu temple: Ïto take darshan.Ó
IV. A Buddhist Stupa-Mountain. The spread of Indian ideas by trade and proselyting to Southeast Asia and the Islands. The Shailandra dynasty of Malaysia, Java, Bali. Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, ca. 760-830 ce. Note: terraces, stupas, sculptural program, mixture of political and religious themes. (Borobudur: Plan and section). Borobudur as stupa, mountain, and mandala. (Prototypical Mandala).
V. Churning the Sea of Milk. Indian contact in Indochina lays foundation of Cambodian civilization in early ce. Foundation of the Khmer kingdom centered on Angkor, Cambodia, 8c ce. Angkor, the capital of Yasovarman I and Suryavarman II. Note barays/reservoirs. Angkor Wat, built for Suryavarman II, 1133-ca. 1150 ce, a Hindu monument. Note: barays, shrine towers, ÏlibrariesÓ, terraces, arcades, cosmological significance, sculptural program, nagas, mandala plan. (Angkor Wat: Main Sanctuary; Ground plan). Jayavarman VIIÌs Angkor Thom, late 12c, early 13c ce, a Buddhist monument. The Churning of the Sea of Milk.