In Indian architecture , gavaksha or chandrashala ( kudu in Tamil, also nāsī) are the terms most often used to describe the motif centred on an ogee , circular or horseshoe arch that decorates many examples of Indian rock-cut architecture and later Indian structural temples and other buildings. In its original form, the arch is shaped like the cross-section of a barrel vault . It is called a chaitya arch when used on the facade of a chaitya hall, around the single large window. In later forms it develops well beyond this type, and becomes a very flexible unit, "the most common motif of Hindu temple architecture". Gavākṣha (or gavaksa ) is a Sanskrit word which means "bull's or cow's eye". In Hindu temples, their role is envisioned as symbolically radiating the light and splendour of the central icon in its sanctum. Alternatively, they are described as providing a window for the deity to gaze out into the world.
39-676: Bhima Ratha is a monument in the Pancha Rathas complex at Mahabalipuram , on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal , in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu , India . It is an example of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture . Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I (630–680 AD; also called Mamalla, or "great warrior") of
78-413: A barrel-vaulted roof and ornate columns. It is the third ratha after Draupadi and Arjuna Rathas, carved over an extended long pink granite rock out crop that gradually rises from the north to south. It is cut out over a base plan of 42 by 24 feet (12.8 m × 7.3 m), and rising to a height of 25 feet (7.6 m) over two floors. The ground floor has remained incomplete. The unfinished features of
117-502: A circular or semi-circular medallion, which may contain a sculpture of a figure or head. An early stage is shown in the entrance to Cave 9 at the Ajanta Caves , where the chaitya arch window frame is repeated several times as a decorative motif. Here, and in many similar early examples, the interior of the arch in the motif contains low relief lattice imitating receding roof timbers ( purlins ). The arched gable -end form seen at
156-511: A decorative motif (e.g. Cave 9, Ajanta , Pandavleni Caves cave 18, over doorway). Often the areas around these window or gable motifs have bands of latticework , apparently representing lattice railings, similar to those shown edging the balconies and loggias of the fort-palace in the relief of Kusinagara in the War over the Buddha's Relics , South Gate, Stupa no. 1, Sanchi . This is especially
195-401: A pillared open veranda, a column with a Pallava seated lion, and "horseshoe-arch dormer like projections" called kudus . These decorations are carved on the external faces of the ratha, above the cornices which also forms the dividing line between the ground floor and the first floor of the structure. Oblong-shaped shrines are carved at the cornices linked with a passage. The small shrines have
234-609: A slight incline. Though sometimes mistakenly referred to as temples , the structures were never consecrated because they were never completed following the death of Narasimhavarman I. The structures are named after the Pancha Pandavas and their common wife Draupadi , of epic Mahabharata fame. In order of their size, they include the Dharmaraja Ratha , Bhima Ratha , Arjuna Ratha , Nakula Sahadeva Ratha , and Draupadi Ratha . The monoliths are named after
273-545: A slight slope. Each has a different layout, such as square, rectangular, or apsidal plans. The largest measures 42 by 35 feet (13 m × 11 m), and the tallest is 40 feet (12 m) high. The Pancha rathas represent the diversity of Dravidian architecture of the time and it is likely that their original design traces back to wood constructions of temple chariots and were scale models or templates for much bigger temples built subsequently in Tamil Nadu. Most of
312-411: A wagon-type roof supported on lion mounted pillars. The ends of the gables have fine decorative motifs, with a miniature model of a square at the centre. The niches seen are carved with regular spacing and are supported on two pilasters. Nasikas are mentioned in inscriptions inside the temple. Pancha Rathas Pancha Rathas (also known as Five Rathas or Pandava Rathas or Ainthinai kovil)
351-408: Is a head inside each arch. Early examples include Ellora Caves 10, Ajanta Caves 9 and 19 and Varaha Cave Temple at Mamallapuram . By around 650, the time of the last rock-cut chaitya hall, Cave 10 at Ellora , the window on the facade has developed considerably. The main window is smaller, and now bears no relation to the roof inside (which still has the traditional ribs). It has only two of
390-605: Is a monument complex at Mahabalipuram , on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal , in the Chengalpattu district of the state of Tamil Nadu , India . Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture . The complex was initially thought to have carved during the reign of King Narasimhavarman I (630–668 CE). However, historians such as Nagaswamy attributed all of monuments in Mahabalipuram to Narasimhavarman II (c. 690–725 CE) with
429-424: Is approximately 35 miles (56 km) south of Chennai (previously known as Madras), the capital city, while Chengalpattu is about 20 miles (32 km) distant. The structures are part of the nine monolithic rock cut structures seen here. Each of the five rathas is a monolith , carved whole from a rock outcropping of pink granite. They are carved over a common mounted plinth which is north–south oriented with
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#1732783311366468-628: Is approximately 35 miles (56 km) south of Chennai (previously known as Madras), the capital city, while Chengalpattu is about 20 miles (32 km) distant. Like the other four Pancha Rathas, this stone edifice is a replica of a wooden version which preceded it. The monument is incomplete. All the Pancha Rathas are aligned in a north–south direction and share a common plinth. They have no precedent in Indian architecture in stone and have proved to be "templates" for building larger temples in
507-487: Is at the entrance to the non-Buddhist Lomas Rishi Cave , one of the man-made Barabar Caves in Bihar . The "chaitya arch" around the large window above the entrance frequently appears repeated as a small motif in decoration, and evolved versions continue into Hindu decoration, long after actual chaityas had ceased to be built. In these cases it can become an elaborate cartouche -like frame, spreading rather wide, around
546-454: Is built with a square layout. Its composition has been accentuated with carvings of Hindu gods Harihara , Brahma , Skanda , Ardhanarishvara and King Narasimhavarman I. One of the distinctive carvings seen on the eastern face of the ratha is of Indra (a demi-god of rain and thunderstorms), seated on his mount Airavata (meaning: "a White Elephant"). There is also an independent monolithic stone sculpture of Nandi , adjoining this ratha in
585-450: Is fixed in the open space, next to this ratha. The Draupadi Ratha , which is the last in the line, is a square structure, which resembles a village hut with thatch roof. The fresco inside this shrine is of mother goddess Durga . Gavaksha Like the whole of the classic chaitya, the form originated in the shape of the wooden thatched roofs of buildings, none of which have survived; the earliest version replicating such roofs in stone
624-647: The Lomas Rishi Cave and other sites appears as a feature of both sacred and secular buildings represented in reliefs from early Buddhist sites in India, and was evidently widely used for roofs made from plant materials in ancient Indian architecture. Simple versions of similar structures remain in use today by the Toda people of the Nilgiri Hills . The rock-cut Lomas Rishi Cave was excavated during
663-593: The Pallava Kingdom . The entire complex is under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. It is built in a form which resembles a folk-house with sloping roofs with its sides forming a curved gablelike arch over a rectangular room with a veranda. It is likely, due to
702-822: The 7th and 8th century temples at Pattadakal in Karnataka . Gop Temple in Gujarat , probably from the 6th century, is the largest and finest of a group of early temples in a distinct local style. The bare castle-like appearance of the central square tower today probably does not reflect the original design, as the upper parts of the structure around it are missing. Above the plain walls the sloping top includes three large gavakshas on each face, two below and one above, which are unusual in actually being open, rather than in shallow relief , like almost all later gavakshas. Originally statues stood behind them, of which very little now remains. Gavakshas are prominent in some temples of
741-617: The 8th century group on the Dieng plateau in central Java , among the earliest monumental Hindu temples in modern Indonesia . Adam Hardy distinguishes between the gavaksha, which he largely restricts to the Nagara architecture of the north, and its cousin in the Dravidian architecture of the south, the nāsī ("kudu" in Tamil). He allows an early period of "gradual differentiation" as
780-716: The Buddhist Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya , and the Hindu Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh . Also in the 7th century, the sukanasa developed. This is a very large developed gavaksha motif fixed on the outside of the temple tower over its entrance, normally standing vertical, although the tower slopes inwards. By the end of the 7th century, and perhaps earlier, the entire faces of large shikhara towers or other surfaces could be taken up by grids of interlocking gavaksha motifs, often called "gavaksha mesh" or honeycomb. Early examples include
819-577: The Buddhist shikhara tower at the Mahabodhi Temple , Bodh Gaya , where the motifs cover most of the surface but do not actually interlock. This is of the 6th century at the latest, but perhaps restoring a design of as early as the 2nd or 3rd century. Cave 15 at Ellora , complete by 730 if not before, and perhaps begun as a Buddhist excavation, may be one of the earliest examples of the full style. The motif spread to South India, for example
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#1732783311366858-539: The Pandavas – Arjuna , Bhima , Yudhishthira ("Dharmaraja"), Nakula and Sahadeva – and Draupadi . These names are considered to be a misrepresentation as the structures have no link to the iconic characters of the Mahabharata epic. They have no religious significance either, as they remained unfinished and unconsecrated; the uncut rock parts at the base and top of the rathas are still visible. The ASI confirmed
897-528: The South Indian tradition of Dravidian temple architecture. Though cut out of monolithic rocks, they are carved in the form of structural temples in regular building form and hence termed as "quasimonolithic temple form". Similar to the Arjuna and Dharmaraja Rathas , the stone temple is a replica of an earlier wooden version which preceded it. Bhima Ratha is an ektala or single tiered oblong temple, with
936-462: The advanced design of the Mamallapuram shrines, that temple building had previously undergone a substantial process of development, and that the shrines mark a rapid transition from the earlier wooden temples to later structural monuments in stone it is carved out of a single, long stone of granite. Though sometimes mistakenly referred to as a temple , the structure was not consecrated because it
975-491: The appearance of a set of shallow pilasters. The niches created in the walls are of rectangular shape and have carved sculptures of gods, demi-gods and the kings. The skirting around the images are of wild aquatic animals with "foliated tails and open jaws." The wall pilasters have curved brackets, and columns on the porch provide support to an overhanging eave; arch windows occasionally carved with images are located above them. The mouldings culminate in parapets. The carvings above
1014-432: The arch bears no great relationship to the space it leads into. The immediately neighbouring cave in the same rock face has a plain undecorated recess at the entrance, which originally may have held a porch of similar design in plant materials. Early rock-cut chaitya halls use the same ogee shape for the main window needed to illuminate the interior, and often also have small relief window motifs as decoration. In these
1053-464: The case at the Bedse Caves , in an early example of what James Fergusson noted in the nineteenth century: "Everywhere ... in India architectural decoration is made up of small models of large buildings". At the entrance to Cave 19 at Ajanta, four horizontal zones of the decoration use repeated "chaitya arch" motifs on an otherwise plain band (two on the projecting porch, and two above). There
1092-516: The discovery of new inscriptions. The complex is under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in 1984 as Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram . Each of the five monuments in the Pancha Rathas complex resembles a chariot ( ratha ), and each is carved over a single, long stone or monolith, of granite which slopes in north–south direction with
1131-503: The eave overhangs are decorated roof forms in miniature size, which are seen in rows all round each of the structure. The rathas have been preserved well on account of the sturdiness of their material, granite, and in spite of constant salty winds from the Bay of Bengal and catastrophic tsunamis in the 13th century AD and in 2004. The architectural elegance of the Dharmaraja Ratha is its pyramidal structure which rises in three steps. It
1170-482: The inside of the arch has a series of square-ended projections representing the joists , and inside that a curving lattice in low relief that represents the receding roof timbers of the inside of a notional building. At the bottom, a small area, more or less semi-circular, represents the far wall of the structure, and may be plain (e.g. Bhaja Caves over side galleries), show a different lattice pattern (e.g. Bhaja Caves main front), Pandavleni Caves cave 18, above), or
1209-417: The lower floor gives a picture of what was planned to be built, namely a circumambulatory passage supported on pillars mounted with lion posts as the base. The oblong scheme of the layout is conjectured as a plan that was intended to house an Anantashayana Vishnu (reclining image of god Vishnu ). The ratha is reminiscent of Buddhist cave architecture, such as Sala- Shikhara . Archaeologist, however, are of
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1248-632: The open space. The next in order is the Arjuna Ratha , which is well decorated with an elegant façade and is akin to the Dharmaraja Ratha. Next in line is the Bhima Ratha built to a rectangular plan and with lion mounted columned (four columns) galleries on both long sides. The Nakula Sahadeva Ratha is the next in line. It is built to a simple plan with no embellishing carvings in its apses. A stone monolithic sculpture of an elephant
1287-486: The opinion that the stupa suggests a shikhara (temple tower) style; there are twelve such styles depicted in all the rathas experimented by sculptors during the Pallvava period. It is also mentioned that it has palace architectural style considering its barrel vaulting and long columned porch. The roof section resembles a thatched roof with its sides forming a curved gablelike arch over a rectangular room. The Bhima Ratha has
1326-524: The rathas are stated to be modelled on the Buddhist Viharas and Chaityas. The structural design and elevation are with towers or domes with single (ekathala) to triple (trithala) towers, which present a unique exhibition of South Indian Dravidian architecture. The chiseling done by the stone sculptors are occasional along joints between the stones. The walls are arranged and sequentially partitioned. The projections and recesses in these walls give
1365-524: The reign of Ashoka in the Maurya Empire in the 3rd century BC, for the Ajivikas , a non-Buddhist religious and philosophical group of the period. A band below the arch contains a lattice in relief, presumably representing the ceiling of a thatched roof. Below that is a curved relief of a line of elephants. The entrance leads into the side of the hall, so unlike most later window frame examples,
1404-423: The traditional projections imitating purlin beam-ends, and a wide decorative frame that spreads over several times the width of the actual window opening. Two doors to the sides have pediments with "split and superimposed" blind gavakshas, also with wide frames. This was to be the style of gavaksha that had already been widely adopted for the decoration of Hindu and Jain temples, and is seen in simplified form in
1443-631: The unfinished nature of the structures and suggested that they instead be referred to as vimanas . However, the Pandava names have become permanent. According to a plaque displayed at the site by the ASI, the Pallava dynasty had planned the structures as models of chariots in rock based on prototypes of ancient rathas built in wood. The Pancha Rathas were carved during the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. Work on these five rathas
1482-569: Was discontinued following the death of Narasimha Varman in 668 AD. The purpose of their construction is not known as the structures were not completed. Part of the collection within the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram , they were classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The site is located at Mahabalipuram (previously known as Mammallapuram), on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in Kancheepuram district. It
1521-409: Was not completed following the death of Narasimhavarman I. The structure is named after one of the Pancha Pandavas , of epic Mahabharata fame, though the nomenclature is not supported by its iconography. It is dedicated to Vishnu . The monument is located at Mahabalipuram (previously known as Mammallapuram) on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal of Indian Ocean in Kancheepuram district. It
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