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Evolution of languages,
literature and architecture - Part 2
7.0 ANCIENT INDIAN SECULAR LITERATURE
7.1 Kavya literature
Though the two great Ithihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata) are undoubtedly the precursors of Sanskrit Kavya literature, thair origin can be traced to the Vedic hymns. Patanjali mentions three akhyayikiis: Vasavadatta, Sumanottara and Bhaimarathi. There is reference also to two other works, the Kamsavadha and the Balibandha, probably dramatic compositions. Unfortunately, we have no definite knowledge of the growth and development of Kavya in the period between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD; none of the extant Kavyas may be assigned to this period. But a strong school of lyric poetry seemed to have existed about the early centuries of the Christian era and probably still earlier.
The name of Kalidasa, the most celebrated Indian poet (who is believed to have flourished in the reign of Chandragupta II, but whose best works were written perhaps during the reign of Kumaragupta I) stands high in the realm of Sanskrit lyrics. His Meghaduta is the finest work in this genre. The Ghatakarpam-Kavya written by Ghatakarpara (who was supposed to be one of the navaratnas in the court of Chandragupta II), is another lyric poem of repute. Bhartruhari, assigned to the 7th century AD, has to his credit the three Shataks, viz., the Sringarashatak, the Nitishatak and the Vairagy-ashatak. The Amarushatak is also a very popular lyric poem written by Amaru, verses from which have been frequently quoted in contemporary and later works on Sanskrit poetics.
The advocates of the theory of renaissance of Sanskrit literature sought to prove that Brahmanic culture passed through its dark age at the time when India was continuously facing foreign invasions; and that the earliest revival of this culture is to be found in the so-called golden age of the Guptas. Recent research has, however, rejected both the theory of renaissance and the concept of golden age. Inscriptions of the early centuries of the Christian era unmistakably show that the study and development of Sanskrit Kavya was never hampered. For example, the Girnar inscription of Rudradaman (AD 150) is written in prose of the full-fledged Kavya style, in conformity with the rules of grammar.
7.2 Court epics
Asvaghosha, the most outstanding Buddhist writer in Sanskrit, adorned the court of Kanishka. He wrote, apart from the Buddhacharita, another epic named Saundarananda. After Asvaghosha, the most celebrated Indian poet is Kalidasa. His Kumarasambhava is an epic in seventeen cantos, of which only the first eight are believed to be genuine. Its theme is the marriage of Lord Siva and Uma and the birth of Karttikeya. The Raghuvamsha, another epic of Kalidasa, has nineteen cantos based on the history of kings of the Ikshvakus.
Bharavi, who is generally associated with the Pallavas of Kanchi and whose name is mentioned along with Kalidasa in the famous Aihole inscription (AD 634) of Pulakesin II, wrote the epic Kiratarjuniya in eighteen cantos. Based on the Mahabharata, the poem describes how Arjuna obtained the Pasupata weapon from Siva. Bhatti, who belonged to the late 6th and early 7th century AD and was patronised by Sridharasena of Valabhi, composed the Bhattikavya or Ravanavadha, comprising of twenty-two cantos, with the sole object of illustrating the rules and principles of grammar and rhetoric. The poem depicts the life history of Rama, from his birth up to the time of Ravana's death. Kumaradasa's Janakiharana (6th century AD) and Magha's Sisupalavadha (8th century AD) were the other prominent Sanskrit epics.
7.3 Drama
The roots of Sanskrit drama can undeniably be traced back to Bharata's Natya Sastra, the earliest known book on Sanskrit dramaturgy. But the most outstanding early Sanskrit dramatist is Bhasa, whose thirteen dramas have now been discovered. Though scholars widely differ on the authenticity and authorship of the plays ascribed to him, Bhasa is mentioned by Kalidasa, Bana, Rajasekhara and other later writers, with great respect. His plays are taken from the two great epics and various popular tales. The plays based on the Ramayana are Pratima and Abhisheka, while Madhyamavyayoga, Dutaghatotkacha, and Karnabhara are based on the Mahabharata. But it is Svapnavasavadatta which is undoubtedly the best of Bhasa's dramas.
Though the date of the famous ten-act play Mrichchhakatika, ascribed to Sudraka, is still disputed, it was definitely written after Bhasa's Charudatta (3rd century AD). Kalidasa mentions the names of Bhasa, Saumilla and Kaviputra, but he does not say a word about Sudraka. The name of king Sudraka is, hewever, found in Kalhana's Rajatarangini, Somadeva's Kathasaritsigam and Skanda Purana. Kalidasa's Malavikagnimitra, Vikramorvashiyam and Abhigyanashakuntalam have earned him recognition as the greatest of Indian dramatists. Particularly, his Abhigyanashakuntalam, the most mature product of his genius, has gained world-wide recognition.
Three dramas are attributed to Harsha, whose Ratnavali is a masterpiece. Priyadarsika and Nagananda are his other creations. Bhavabhuti, considered next only to Kalidasa, is mentioned by Kalhana as a poet in the court of king Yasovarman of Kanyakubja (AD 736). The dramas Mahaviracharita, Malatimadhava and Uttararamacharita are ascribed to Bhavabhuti.
7.4 Prose literature
The earliest specimens of Indian prose-writing are found in the Krishna Yajur Veda. The prose portions of the Mahabharata, the Vayu and Bhagavata Puranas, and the medical compilations of Charaka are worth mentioning. The writings of Sabarasvamin and Vatsyayana are good specimens of Sanskrit prose. The extant prose literature may be divided into two classes, romance and fable. The prose-romances are of two main types, viz. Akhyayika and Katha. Dashkumaracharit of Dandin (7th century AD) was a work of the Akhyayika type. Subandhu (early 7th century AD) wrote Vasavadatta. Banabhatta is undoubtedly the greatest of Indian prose-writers; he wrote Harshacharita (Harsha's biography) and Kadambari (love-story of Chandrapida and Kadambari in their several births).
The short stories belong to three different categories: popular tales, beast-fables and fairy-tales. The best collection of popular tales was the Brihatkatha, a Prakrit work of great importance, now lost to us. Fortunately, however, the story of the lost work has survived in some of the early medieval works like Budhasvamin's Slokasamgraha (8th-9th century AD), Kshemendra's Brihatkathamanjari (AD 1037) and Somadeva's Kathasaritsagara (AD 1063-68). The Panchatantra attributed to Vishnusharman is an important work on beast-fable.
8.0 TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
The origin of Indian temple goes back to the pre-Christian era, and its evolution into a monument of great architectural merit is marked by conscious efforts on the part of several ruling dynasties from the 4th to 17th centuries, making it an institution of enduring importance, in the social, economic and political integration of the subcontinent. There are several regional variations in the process of its development as a symbol of Indian culture. Its historical past, therefore, makes a fascinating study. As a centre of worship, the temple is mainly a creation as well as a medium of the Puranic tradition. Hindu myths, legends and beliefs are compiled in texts, collectively called the Puranas; the Hindu pantheon of gods originated from the texts of two Brahmanical sects, the Vaishnava and the Shaiva, which with other minor religious systems, are part of the Puranic tradition, under what is now known as Hinduism.
But the term Hinduism itself, is a more recent (early Medieval) nomenclature, given to a collection of heterogeneous traditions and plurality of beliefs and worship with a long history of development from the Vedic sacrificial religion. The temple, in more than one sense, represents the multiple facets and complex processes of this development through its architecture, sculpture, iconography, rituals and institutional organisation.
8.1 Origin of Indian temples
The important question here is who or what has contributed in the evolution of the Indian temple? Is it a single tradition or is it an amalgam of various traditions? It is believed by some that the temple form is derived from the Vedic altar, the earliest known sacred structure (vedi), which had the square as its essential form. However, many other origins are assigned to it by others with equal, if not greater, validity. Although from the Vedic altar to the Puranic temple, square remains the essential form, the temple seems to have no direct origin in any single tradition. When the Vedic religion of sacrifice (yajna) gave place to the Puranic cults dominated by bhakti (devotion) and worship of personal deities like Vishnu and Shiva, the temple became the focus of every sphere of human activity. The temple, unlike the Vedic altar, does not accomplish its purpose by being built; instead, it must be seen (darshan). Art increases its importance and it becomes a holy site (tirtha). The purpose of visiting a temple was and still is to have a darshan of the temple, and to worship the divinity. Offerings and gifts (daan) have replaced the sacrificial tradition of old. Apart from the square Vedic altar, other non-Vedic, non-metaphysical and more historical beginnings are assigned to the temple. For example, the present-day flat-roofed shrine is commonly seen as an offshoot from an aboriginal prototype, the stone dolmen or a sepulchral (funeral) structure which first appeared in the megalithic age in the centuries immediately before and after the beginning of the Christian era.
The stone dolmen was a small chamber formed by one large slab of stone, supported by three upright slabs set on their edges, with one side open to serve as an entrance. It could well have been the forerunner of the early central Indian Gond temples and the flat-roofed central Indian and south Indian temples, like the timeless varieties of village and wayside shrines with their cubical walls covered by a flat roof, which can be seen even today. Another significant derivation of the temple was from the tabernacle of the forest (made of bamboo or branches of large palm leaves only) in which a divine presence was known to dwell. The tabernacle, seen as an altar, enclosed the sacred space by the high shape of four curved branches, with their ends gathered to a point in gradual reduction of the three dimensional form in one direction or in an ascent. This is still a familiar form in village huts. This form gave way to the curvilinear sikhara (superstructure) of the north Indian temple, ascending in diminishing units towards a finial, marked by the kalash, a vase or pitcher.
8.2 Early temple styles
The practice of erecting sanctuaries for the images of gods probably goes back to the second century BC. Several deva-grihas (houses of gods) of pre-Christian centuries have been found in dilapidated condition. Seemingly built in perishable materials, these sanctuaries provided little scope for the application of the principles of architecture as an art. The Gupta period witnessed the beginning of the practice of building with lasting materials, especially in dressed stone and brick. Liberated from the limitations innate to wood or bamboo constructions and cave excavations, Indian builders handled their material, especially stone, very dexterously and efficiently.
The Gupta period marks the beginning of structural temple architecture. As evidenced from the extant monuments, there was experimentation in a number of forms and designs, out of which two significant temple styles evolved, one in the North and the other in ihe South. The following well defined types may be identified:
- Flat-roofed, square temple with a shallow pillared porch in front;
- Flat-roofed, square temple with a covered ambulatory around the sanctum and preceded by a pillared porch, sometimes with a second storey above;
- Square temple with a low and squat sikhara (tower) above;
- Rectangular temple with an apsidal back and a barrel-vaulted roof above; and
- Circular temple with shallow rectangular projections at the four cardinal faces.
The fifth and the last type is represented by a lone monument known as Maniyar Matha (shrine of Mani Naga) at Rajgir, Bihar, which is now in a dilapidated condition. The fourth type is represented by a temple at Ter (Sholapur district) and the Kapoteshvara temple at Cezarla (Krishna district), both belonging to the 4th or 5th century AD. The Durga temple at Aihole, seemingly allied to the fourth in design, has, however, a flat roof with asikharaover the sanctum-evidently an attempt to adapt and remodel an old and established form to new needs. Neither the fourth nor the fifth type seems to have had any marked effect on subsequent developments.
The first three types are seen as the precursors of later Indian temple styles.
The first type is seen in temple No. XVII at Sanchi, Kankali Devi temple at Tigawa and Vishnu and Varaha temples at Eran, all in Madhya Pradesh. Each comprises a simple square sanctum cellar, with an open pillared porch in front. The nucleus of a temple, namely a cubical cella (garbha-griha) with a single entrance and a porch (mandapa), appears for the first time as an integrated composition in this type of temples.
The second type is seen in the Parvati temple at Nachna Kuthara, the Siva temple at Bhumara (both in Madhya Pradesh) and the Lad Khan at Aihole. Each comprises a flat-roofed square sanctum cella inside a similarly roofed bigger square hall. The bigger hall, with a covered ambulatory (pradakshina) around the inner sanctum, is preceded by a slightly smaller rectangular porch of the open type in front. In both the Parvati temple at Nachna Kuthara and the Lad Khan at Aihole there is an upper storey (vimana) above the inner chamber.
The third type is illustrated by the Dasavatara temple at Deogarh (Jhansi district) and the brick temple at Bhitargaon (Kanpur district). Each has a square sanctum cella supported on a high basement and covered by a squat sikhara. It is similar to the first two types in terms of simplicity of design, yet, certain significant developments may be identified. A high platform as the base and a tower as the superstructure of the sanctum enhance the elevation. Instead of plain bare walls, the Dasavatara temple, built of stone, has on each of its three faces, a sculpture between two pilasters. This arrangement, besides setting forward the walls on three sides to balance the projection of the door frame in front, introduces a decorative scheme of great significance for the future. In the Bhitargaon temple, this effect is further emphasised by a regular counterbalance projection in the middle of each side, which results in a cruciform ground-plan.
8.3 Emergence of later temple styles
The major temple styles listed and described in the Vastu Shastra texts are the nagara, dravida and vesara, (Karnataka Dravida),of which the prime position is assigned to the nagara of north India as the leading style. Next in importance is the dravida of south India. The vesara (Besar) is the mixed style of the Deccan and was still in an experimental stage when the 10th-11lh century texts were composed and when temple architecture was at its climax. The Deccan was the main zone of the evolution of the vesara form with variations based on sub-regions and their dynastic preferences. The classification of the three styles shows that they are generally named after the various regional schools and classified according to their superstructures.
Every temple of North India, irrespective of its situation and date, reveals characteristic features in planning and elevation. The North Indian temple is a square one with a number of graduated projections (rathakas) in the middle of each face, which gives it a cruciform shape in the exterior. In elevation it exhibits a tower (shikhar), gradually inclining inwards and capped by a spheroid slab with ribs round the edge (amalaka). The cruciform ground-plan and the curvilinear tower may, hence, be regarded as the salient features of a Nagara temple. In these respects, the archetypes of the Nagara temple may be seen in the third {sikhara) type of Gupta temples, in which these features supposedly occur more or less in a rudimentary stage. A temple of South India has the sanctum situated invariably within an ambulatory hall and a pyramidal tower formed by an accumulation of storey after storey in receding dimensions.
These are to be regarded as the distinctive characteristics of a Dravida temple. The second type of Gupta storeyed temple, showing the beginnings of such a ground-plan and elevation, may be identified as its precursor.
Nagara Style:Initially, the temple originated as a flat-roofed square structure in the form of a cell (shrine), with a pillared porch in front. Variants of the flat-roofed structure persisted under the post-Gupta dynasties of north and central India, and the nagara style emerged with the evolution of a sikhara or superstructure over the square shrine. The subsequent development of the nagara style can be traced through regional schools, of which the major ones were those of Orissa (ancient Kalinga), central India (ancient Jejakabhukti-Mahoba), Rajasthan (the home of the Rajput dynasties) and Gujarat (ancient Gurjaradesa). These represent significant stylistic and aesthetic developments and variations in the vertical ascent and horizontal elaboration of the temple structure. In Uttar Pradesh (and its hill states), Bihar, Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, temples of the northern style were erected without architectural and stylistically significant differences. Kashmir developed a distinct class of temples, away from the main nagara style.
Dravida Style: The nucleus of the Dravida temple is the storeyed form of the Gupta temple, and the rock-cut rathas of Mahabalipuram (7th century AD) supply an interesting stage in the evolution of the Dravida style. Each of the rathas, except the Draupadi, exhibits a storeyed elevation of the roof, each storey terminating in a convex rolled cornice, ornamented with chaitya window arches. The walls of the ground storey are broken up by pilasters and sculptured niches, while the upper storeys are surrounded by small pavilions. In these rathas, one may recognise the origin of the twin fundamental features of the Dravida temple, viz., the vimana (representing the sanctum with its tall pyramidal tower) and the gopuram (the immense pile of the gateway leading to the temple enclosure).
With its beginnings in the Pallava rock-cut rathas in the first half of the 7th century AD, the Dravida style passes through a long process of evolution and elaboration under different dynasties of the South. The style flourished for nearly a thousand years and, confined within a comparatively small area, remained more or less compact and unilateral. The rock-cut method of the initial phase was replaced by the structural one during the reign of Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimha. The Shore temple at Mahabalipuram, possibly the first structural temple to be built in the South, consists of two shrines, symmetrically joined to each other. An organic and unified conception of a temple scheme, in which all the trappings of the Dravida style are clearly expressed and harmoniously adjusted to one another, first comes into view in the celebrated Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram, also built by Rajasimha. With all the appurtenances, like the walled court, the gopuram, the pillared mandapa and the vimana, all complete and in their forms and positions, the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram may be described as one of the key monuments of the early Dravida style. A more developed sense of composition is clearly evident in the Vaikunta Perumal temple at Kancbipuram, built by Nandivarman II. Architectural activity in the South continued in the later phase of the Pallava rule. The rich heritage of the Pallava tradition passed on to the Cholas, under whom the Dravida style enters yet another brilliant and distinctive phase.
Vesara Style: The Vesara style is also known as the Chalukyan or Deccan style. Its beginnings may be traced back to the days of the early Chalukyan kings in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At Aihole and Pattadakal and other places, Dravida and Nagara temples were being erected side by side. This co-existence afforded an opportunity for a certain admixture of the ideas of the two, leading to the emergence under the later Chalukyan rulers, of a mixed or hybrid style. In this development, it is the Dravida, rather than the Nagara conception that played a comparatively more important role. The Chalukyan temple, like the Dravida, consists of two main features, the vimana and the mandapa, joined by an antarala, with occasionally, an additional open mandapa in front. In course of time, there is a marked tendency to compress the heights of the storeyed stages of the vimana. At the same time, ornamental niche motivs, repeated one above the other simulate the vertical bands of the northern spire. Here is an evident inspiration from the Nagara sikhara.
The Chalukyan temp!e presents an essential divergence from the Dravida in not having its sanctum cella enclosed within a covered ambulatory. In the treatment of the exterior walls, there seems to have been a blending, again, of Nagara and Dravida ideas. The walls are broken up by ralha offsets in the characteristic Nagara fashion, further spaced at regular intervals by pilasters in accordance with the usual Dravida mode. The recesses thus formed, are usually filled up by niches with superstructures of the Nagara or of the Dravida style, thus producing a refrain of great artistic beauty. Some of the Chalukyan and most of the Hoysala temples are distinguished for their multiple-shrined compositions in which two, three or four shrines are arranged around the common mandapa hall. Apart from architectural treatment, the Chalukyan temple, or its descendant, the Hoysala, is also characterised by an exuberant plastic ornament covering all its external surfaces which seem to have a richly fretted appearance from the base to the top. In the interior, the pillars and door-frames, as well as ceilings, are likewise exuberantly treated. Considered as a whole, the Chalukyan temple, together with its offshoot, the Hoysaia, represents one of the most ornate and florid expressions of Indian architecture.
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