Introduction to Indian Architecture. Bindia Thapar

      Site plan of Mohenjodaro, showing the grid-iron pattern of its layout. The main streets of the city, nearly 10 meters wide, intersect one another at right angles, dividing the city into rectangular blocks.

      All the architectural evidence points to the Indus valley civilisation having been a conservative but sophisticated and homogeneous society with a centralised system of governance. It had a thriving economy based on agriculture and internal as well as external trade.

      Decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation

      The civilisation went into sudden decline in the 2nd millennium BC. The causes for the decline remain a mystery, although various hypotheses have been forwarded by historians and archaeologists alike. Flooding of the Indus valley and climatic changes drastically affecting agricultural output are among the many reasons given. A more widely accepted one is that diverse tribes originating from Central Asia began to enter India around this time, through mountain passes in the northwestern Himalayas via Persia (Iran). These tribes, called the Indo-Aryans, had origins in common with other fair-skinned tribes inhabiting Europe. They were a nomadic people dependent on cattle, and they worshipped a wide range of natural phenomena, including the sun, the wind and fire. The Indo-Aryans subjugated the native inhabitants and gradually settled into agrarian communities, accepting and assimilating some of the practices of the natives, especially those of worship.

      A toy cart made of terracotta, excavated from Harappa. Objects such as this have been used by archaeologists as evidence to prove that the streets were wide enough for vehicular traffic.

      The Vaastu Shastra

      By about 1100 BC, the lndo-Aryans had settled in India. The Aryan traditions were enshrined in a series of compositions called the Vedas, which were transmitted orally for over a millennium. Nothing survives of the architecture of the Vedic age before the 3rd century BC. However, evidence of architectural activity is available from literary sources of the period.

      The Aryan Tradition of Worship

      The Rig Veda, the earliest of the Aryan Vedas, is a collection of hymns glorifying the power of the sacrificial ritual. The Hindu pantheon of gods was first written about here. Mount Meru, later called Mount Kailasha, was the abode in the mountains where the gods dwelt, ruled over by Varuna, guardian of the cosmic order. Surya was the sun god, Agni the god of fire, Indra the god of war, Yama the god of death and Soma the god of vitality. The original religion as expressed in the Vedas was Brahmanism, but it evolved to what we know as Hinduism today, which has been practiced, in more or less the same form, for over 3,000 years.

      A representation of the Vaastu Purusha Mandala showing the seated form of Brahma or the Creator within a square. The concept of the mandala (cosmic diagram) is universal and can be applied equally to a temple, house, city, or indeed the entire universe. The center of the mandala is the point of convergence of all energies. In temples, this corresponds to the position of the sanctum sanctorum, while in a residence, it is the central open courtyard.

      Each god was associated with a symbol, and these symbols form an important part of Hinduism's religious and architectural iconography. The process of worship was expressed architecturally by the chaitya, or the sacred place or object of worship, and the sacrificial altar or veyaddi, where ritualistic offerings of flowers and food were made.

      From the literary sources of the period, ranging from the Vedas and the Upanishads to the two great epic poems of the age, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, we know that the Aryans cremated the dead, and that all buildings were built according to certain basic principles of Brahmanism, governed by the Vaastu Shastra and, most importantly, of perishable materials, which is why no evidence remains of these buildings. The literature speaks of the use of materials like timber, bamboo and thatch. Brick and mud were also used, but the thatch hut seems to have been the predominant architectural typology of the Vedic age.

      The early Vedic temple is likely to have been a thatched or wooden structure in which the altar was placed. The concept of sacrifice and worship of fire defined the altar, which was considered to be the microcosm of the sacred space.

      The Vaastu Shastra

      The power of sacrifice, its architectural expression and design of the sacred space, were strictly codified in the Vaastu Shastra, or the treatise on the science of building and orientation. It is based on the fundamental premise that on earth or soil is a living organism out of which other living creatures and organic forms emerge. Vaastu means "dwelling place," or indeed any planned building, and shastra means "science" or "knowledge." The Vaastu Shastra is a highly complex set of rules and regulations that fonnu-late a system of orientation, site planning, plans and proportions of buildings, the iconography to be used and the links between these physical elements and metaphysical rhythms, establishing the harmony between natural and supernatural forces. The actual plan of the building was based on the Vaastu Purusha Mandala. Purusha means "man," personified as the Creator, later known as Brahma, and mandala means "cosmic diagram."

      Early rock-cut shrine at Gwalior Fort.

      The Vaastu Purusha Mandala

      The Vaastu Purusha Mandala shows the position of Brahma or the Creator within a square. According to Vedic cosmology, the circle represents the earth, chaos and irrational nature, while the square represents the heavens, order and rational thought. Each side of the square can be further divided into as many as 32 units. The subdivisions indicate the four cardinal directions, the position of the eight planets, the seasons of the year and the direction of the sun. The diagonals of the square divide the mandala into triangles, and within the basic square more circles can be inscribed. The center of the mandala, which represents harmony and equilibrium, is indicated by the Purusha's navel, and each part of his body within the mandala represents a part of the building to be designed. Elaborate mathematical formulae govern the square, circle and triangle and their subdivisions, as well as their correlation and symbolism in depicting the universe.

      Sculpture of the snake spirit (naga) often worshipped under the peepal (Ficus religiosa) tree.

      The paramasayika mandala (above), with 9 x 9 units of squares, and (below) the manduka mandala, with 8 x 8 units of squares.

      Sacred Buddhist Spaces

      The philosophical questions posed in the Upanishads on the relationship between the individual and the Universe, made them the basis for several heterodox religions which deviated from the Vedic roots of Hinduism. These included Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha Gautama, prince of Magadha, in the 6th century BC. By the 3rd century AD, Buddhism had become a major religion of India.

      Detail from a gateway, now in the Mathura Museum.

      Stone cutting was brought to India in the 3rd century BC, and Buddhist architecture was the first to use stone as a building material.

      Buddhist religious architecture, which flourished under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka, reflects the concept of meditation and worship, integral to the religion's rituals of prayer. It can be classified into three main types, based on the three cornerstones of Buddhism: first, the Buddha, an object of veneration, architecturally expressed in the stupa; second, the Dharma or religion, based on worship, which found expression in chaitya halls or sanctuaries; and third, the Sangha or community of monks, whose monasteries were called vihara.

      The Stupa

      The word stupa derives