Temple Architecture of Eastern India

Book excerpt: This book is a systematic overview of the temple architecturebuilt in eastern India between the ninth and sixteenth centuries.Spanning eight hundred years, it defines the tradition of TempleArchitecture of eastern India and examines the traits of continuityand of disruption in the tradition.In the absence of many extant examples of temples in the regionduring this whole period, the study uses the architectural fragmentsand votive shrines housed in various archives and museumsof the world. The study locates and identifies more than fortytemples of the period up to 1500 CE, and goes on to documentand analyse them in order to develop an understanding of a regionaltype of nagara temple. The study identified the presence ofall three modes called latina, phamsana and valabhi of the northIndian nagara tradition of temple architecture.Another significant feature of the study is the analysis of there-use of earlier Hindu-Buddhist architectural fragments in laterIslamic structures in order to develop an understanding of theearlier architecture and to show how the re-use of such fragmentsinfluenced the architecture of the Sultanate period in a major way,forming the basis of an architectural vocabulary.In the concluding part, the origin and development of the Mughalperiod temples characterized by the chala, bangla and ratna typesis explained, while emphasizing the continuities and elements ofdisruptions that had taken place since the beginning of the ninthcentury.The foreword of the book is written by Dr. George Michell whohave earlier edited two best known books on the architecture ofthe region: Brick Temples of Bengal (From the Archives of DavidMcCutchion) PUP, Princeton, New Jersey, 1983 and IslamicHeritage of Bengal UNESCO publications, Paris, 1984.