The magnificient Elephanta Caves

One thousand and five hundred years ago when craftsmen began cutting rocks and sculpting them into magnificent statues of Gods, little did they realize that in the second millennium the Elephanta Caves would not just be a major tourist attraction but would also be a World Heritage Site. The world's oldest island caves are now getting a new lease on life. The India National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has teamed up with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to spruce up the caves and protect them from further decay and degeneration.

Elephanta Caves date back to the sixth century AD and boast of some of India's most magnificent rock-cut sculptures of Lord Shiva. Situated 11 kilometers from Mumbai’s Gateway of India, these caves are reached by small boats. Once on the island, visitors have to climb over 1,000 stone steps to get to the caves.

The caves were originally built during the reign of the Rashtraputa kings. They contain huge images of Brahma, Parvati, Natraja and Shiva. The best and most famous of these is 'Maheshmurti' - a three headed bust of Shiva which is about six metres high.

The great elephant structure in black stone, which gave the island its name, was removed in 1864 by the British to take it to England. However, it was later returned to India and now stands at the Victoria Gardens, a park with a small zoo in Mumbai. On top of the caves are two huge canons installed by the British to protect the Bombay harbor.

There are nine carvings in the main cave that depict the life of Lord Shiva in different manifestations -the dancer (Natraja), Shiva killing a demon Andhaka, marriage of Shiva and Parvati, Shiva's descent to the Ganges, Shiva as Ardhnarinateshwar, Shiva as Maheshmurti, Shiva lifting Mount Kailash, Goddess Parvati on Mount Kailash and Shiva as an ascetic.

Back in the mid-80s a team of leading international archaeologists, conservators and historians visited the site and forwarded a proposal to UNESCO to grant heritage status to the caves. The proposal was accepted in 1987 and Elephanta Caves were declared a World Heritage Site.

The deepest step well in the world

Chand Baori is a famous stepwell situated in the village Abhaneri near Jaipur in Indian state of Rajasthan. This step well is located opposite Harshat Mata Temple and is one of the deepest and largest step wells in India. It was built in 9th century and has 3500 narrow steps and 13 stories and is 100 feet deep. It is a fine example of the architectural excellence prevalent in the past.

Lotus Temple, New Delhi

On the difference between the ideals of “architecture” and mere “construction”, the renowned 20^th century architect Le Corbusier wrote: “You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is architecture”.

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In Hawaii, a 1,600-ton temple is built by hand

Rising on a 358-acre monastery on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is an architectural feat rare in today’s world: a 3.2-million-pound stone structure built entirely by hand.

Arguably the most elaborate Hindu temple in the United States, the $8 million white granite San Marga Iraivan Temple, designed by V. Ganapati Sthapati for the Saiva Siddhanta Church, is intended to last 1,000 years. Construction began in 2001 and is scheduled to be finished in 2012.

Hundreds of temples serve the 2.2 million Hindus living in the United States, but the Iraivan (meaning "He who is worshipped") Temple is the only one known to be built without modern equipment. Since 1990, 75 sculptors have been working in Bangalore, India, to create the building’s intricately carved stone blocks, which are then shipped to the Kauai monastery 8,000 miles away.

Once they arrive, the blocks—some weighing as much as 4,000 pounds—are physically shoved into place by nine local stonemasons who work full-time on the project. Six Saivite monks also are helping build the structure. "We have the last team capable of building this way," says Paramacharya Palaniswami, a Hindu monk who has lived at the monastery since its founding in 1970.

When completed, the building will measure 71 feet wide by 179 feet deep, and will stand 35 feet from its base to its gold-leafed capstone. The 4-foot thick foundation was formed by a single pour of crack-free, 7000 psi fly-ash concrete and required 108 cement trucks. It was the first, non-laboratory single pour performed since Roman times, according to the foundation's designer Kumar Mehta, a materials scientist at UC Berkeley.

Palaniswami says the temple is the fulfillment of his guru's vision. The monastery’s founder, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyasami, whom the monks call “Gurudeva,” reported seeing the Hindu god Siva walking on the grounds in February 1975. "He took it as a sign,” says Palaniswami, “that Siva wanted to live here." Gurudeva, who died in 2001, outlined three parameters for the temple: that it last 1,000 years, follow traditional design according to the Saiva Agamas (popular Hindu scriptures), and be built without machinery.

Palaniswami says many Hindus in India are happy to see their traditional building heritage take root in the West. "In the West, we build fast and cheap. We don't tend to look upon our architecture as holy," he says. "This is a holy place. We're building a home for Siva."

(Via Architectural Record)

South Indian temple architecture

The south Indian style of temple architecture is very distinct from that of the rest of India. It is convenient to resolve the types of architecture into four periods corresponding to the principal kingdoms which ruled in southern India down the centuries.

Pallava (AD 600-900)

The greatest accomplishments of Pallava architecture are the rock- cut of temples at Mahabalipuram. The Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram is a fully realized temple complex with a towered sanctuary and mandapa (columned hall preceding the sanctuary).

Chola (900-1150)

Chola architecture achieved its peak at Thanjavur, the capital established by the Chola ruler Rajaraja I. The sanctuaries have rising pyramid towers crowned with dome-like roofs. Sculptures and paintings adorn the walls. Bronze sculptures of this era are the finest in southern India. These are delicately modeled, especially those depicting the Lord Shiva in his many aspects.

Hoysala (1100-1350)

Temples erected during the Hoysala kings have complicated plans with numerous angled projections. Carved surfaces are executed with remarkable precision, usually in chlorite. The columns are lathe-turned or are multi-faceted. Temples from the Hoysala period can still be seen at Belur, Halebid and Sringeri. After the reign of the Hoysalas, architectural traditions were interrupted by Muslim raids at the end of the 13th century. Monumental temple building resumed later under the Vijayanagara empire.

Vijayanagara (1350-1565)

By the 16th century almost all of southern India was part of the Vijayanagara empire. The characteristic feature of this period is the development of the temple complex: concentric series of rectangular enclosure walls with the gopuras (towered gateways) in the middle of each side. Of the numerous Vijayanagara complexes in southern India, the most magnificent are those at Kanchipuram, Thiruvannamalai and Vellore.

During this time, Kerala on the western coast developed a distinct style of architecture. Because of the heavy rainfall, the temples here were roofed with sloping tiers of metal or Terra cotta tiles. The Vadakkunatha temple at Trichur dates from the 12th century. Later temples are found at Chengannur, Kaviyum and Vaikom.

(Via Manas)

The Hoysaleswara Temple

During a drive of four hours from Bangalore, India's hub of information technology, one seems to slip gently back in time. The landscape gradually changes as we move through groves of coconut and banana trees. Past rocky outcrops scattered with temples, and with the coffee-growing hills of Chikmanglur on the horizon, one reaches Halebid — the site of the ancient city of Dwarasamudra, the 12th- and 13th-century capital of the Hoysala empire. Repeated invasions have left few traces of the once flourishing city, now known as Halebeedu or "the ruined city." One survivor is the Hoysaleswara Temple, built in the mid-12th century. It is set among ancient trees and verdant lawns and gleams like a gem in the afternoon light.

The temple has a high, wide, star-shaped plinth, and a wall treatment of strong horizontal bands of sculpture. It keeps the structure firmly grounded, seeming to defy long-gone invaders and the elements, even though the "shikhara," or superstructure, has been lost. Inside, the temple consists of a pillared hall with two twin sanctuaries. Both are faced by open pavilions, each housing a majestic polished stone Nandi bull. The interior of the temple is softly illuminated by daylight filtering through perforated screens on the eastern walls. The hall has highly polished, lathe-turned stone pillars, with capitals supporting brackets intricately carved with figures from Hindu mythology.

On the outside, continuous horizontal bands of ornamental borders, moldings, and canopied statues run around the temple walls, in accordance with the tenets of the "Vastu Shastra." Scenes from religious epics, legends, and the Hindu pantheon are recorded in detailed, high-relief carvings. For over a century, according to legend, generations of sculptors expressed their ingenuity, skills, and religious consciousness. Every panel has a story to tell in colorful detail.

(via Architecture Week.)