Agama text, Shilpa Shastra and various scripts
The term Agama literally means "that which has come down" or tradition or hierarchy. The Agama texts describe cosmology, epistemology, meditation and practices, temple architecture, etc. The Agama literature also describes the Shilpa Shastra, which covers architecture and iconography. The Shilpa Shastra talks about the quality requirements of the place where a temple is to be built; the kind of image to be installed; the building materials; dimensions and proportions; lightning and air circulation; etc in detail.
According to Shilpa Shastra, A temple must be built for the icon instead of preparing an icon for the temple. Temple is just an outgrowth of the icon - the expanded image of the icon. The principal elements that are involved are the Sthala (temple site), Teertha (Temple Tank); and Murti (The idol). A temple can be associated with a tree called Sthala-Vriksham.
Temples are classified into three basic structures: Nagara, Dravida and Vesara. The basic difference between these structures is the shape of the plan i.e., square, octagon and apse or circle in shape respectively. These three styles are not associated with three different regions but are associated with three different schools of temple architecture. These three schools have given rise to forty-five basic varieties of temples.
The texts of Gupta Period such as Arthashastra and Matsya Purana also included chapters on architecture. These architecture principles are widely recognized by the term Vastu-Shastra. Whatever created on this planet and even the planet itself is Vastu.
Manasara is also a comprehensive text on architecture and iconography which represents the universality of Vastu tradition and includes the iconography of Jain and Buddhist images.
The Mayamata too occupies a text of Southern India which is regarded as a part of Shaiva literature; and, it might belong to the Chola period when temple architecture reached its peak. It is the best-known work on Vastu. The work is coherent and well structured. It defines Vastu as the arrangement of space, anywhere, wherein the immortals and mortals live.
The earliest temples in North and Central India which have survived the vagaries of time belong to the Gupta period, 320-650 A. D.; such as the temples at Sanchi, Tigawa (near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh), Bhumara (in Madhya Pradesh), Nachna (Rajasthan) and Deogarh (near Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh). They consist of a square, dark sanctum with a small, pillared porch in front; both covered with flat roofs.
The brick temple at Bhitargaon; and the Vishnu temple at Deogarh, built entirely of stone, both, have a square sanctum; but, instead of a flat roof, there is a pyramidal superstructure (Sikhara).
The rock-cut temple and monastery tradition also continued in this period, notably in Western India, where the excavations – especially at Ajanta acquired extreme richness and magnificence.
The school of architecture in South India seems to have evolved from the earliest Buddhist shrines which were both rock-cut and structural. The later rock-cut temples which belong to 5th or 6th century A.D. were mostly Brahmanical or Jain, patronized by three great ruling dynasties of the South, namely the Pallavas of Kanchi in the East; the Chalukyas of Badami; and the Rastrakutas of Malkhed – all of whom made great contributions to the development of South Indian temple architecture. The Kailasanatha temple at Ellora also belongs to this period.
Sources and references:
Devalaya Vastu and Google Images
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