Stages of Gupta temple architecture
Topic: Early Indian Art and Architecture: Stupas, Rock-cut Caves, Temples · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Historians group the growth of Gupta-period temples into five stages. The grouping shows how a simple shrine slowly became a full temple:
- Flat-roofed square shrine with a small porch on short pillars.
- A covered ambulatory (roofed walking passage) around the shrine, sometimes with an upper storey.
- A low square shikhara (tower) over the shrine.
- A rectangular shrine.
- A circular shrine with shallow projections.
Example
- Stage one: Sanchi Temple 17 and Tigawa (Madhya Pradesh).
- Stage two: Nachna Parvati temple.
- Stage three: Dashavatara temple at Deogarh in stone and Bhitargaon in brick, both c. 5th century CE, in Uttar Pradesh.
- Stage five: Maniyar Math at Rajgir (Bihar).
Don't confuse with
- Rock-cut temples such as Kailashnatha at Ellora (8th century): carved down from a single rock, not built up from blocks. They are outside this grouping.
Related concepts
- Gupta art
- Sarnath school of art
- Mudras
- Abhaya mudra
- Bhumisparsha mudra
- Dharmachakra mudra
- Dhyana mudra
- Varada mudra
- Vitarka mudra
- Anjali mudra