A study of development of the Hindu temple provides an insight into the development of temple architecture in India. Ancient Hindu temples of brick and wood going back to the earliest period of the Indian history and mentioned in early literary works, have been destroyed by the ravages of time.However out of what exists,which are stone structures of the last 1500 years,can be studied the history of temple architecture. Temple art the various parts of the country was influenced by local and historical factors,and the Hindu temple has been purely Indian in character, developing its own specialized idiom.Except for a short Grecian influence in the 4th century B.C.,it has not absorbed any out side influences.The Hindu temple is not for the spiritually advanced or for the intellectual capable of a metaphysical approach to religion.It is for the majority,the populace for whom a physical symbol,a diety as a manifestation of god,is necessary for worship.
The temple became the means to induct and teach moral and spiritual values of the culture by translating stories from ancient epics into carvings.Parable and the stories of destruction of evil by good,of darkenss and despair by knowledge became the subject of carved panels on temple walls and the paintings on temple ceilings. Sculpture and painting became the main means of spiritual education and for conveying the ideas and value systems of the culture to the masses.It is not laid down as a religious percept that a Hindu visit a temple on any particular day or at regular intervals.Inspite of this the Hindu temple became, through the ages, the epicenter the community.Temple towns(which exist in South India to this day) became the socio-economic entity around which all life revolved.Temple architecture developed into a synthesis of architecture, sculpture and painting, with symbolism playing an important part.The upward movement of the spire,for example,was indicative of the soul’s aspirations to reach divinity.the concept of self negation in worship, giving all importance to the deity only, was shown by the anonymity of the builder and the architect.Only in the rare instances was either the name of the king or architect chiselled on the temple walls.
Nowhere in the world has sculpture developed to the extent that it has in India.It is truly India’s greatest achievement in the field of artistic expression. Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism with their rich tapestry of literature and their freedom of religious expressions permitted the growth of several schools of sculpture each as dynamic and vivid as the other.Images are free standing out in the open, placed inside shrines, or were part of the architecture.A pillar for example was not only an architectural support but was often sculpted to embellish the building. Sculpture became a part on the architecture.Wall and ceiling paintings similarly served the same purpose and ancient Indian literature abounds with stories on miniature and wall paintings.The best known paintings are at Ajanta as mentioned earlier.These are literally a visual presentation of the birth and growth of Buddhism and the life of king and commoner,from the 2nd century B.C. onwards.There is a continuous tradition of mural paintings on temple walls and ceilings all over south India,all serving the same purpose as sculptures.
