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Home > Reference Home > Reference > > History of India > India > History of South India > India > Pallava Dynasty > Dynasty > Architecture Under Pallava Dynasty
Architecture Under Pallava Dynasty Architecture Architecture under Pallava dynasty mirrors the Dravidian style and consists of rock cut and structural temples.
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Architecture unde un derr Pal alla lava va dynasty is signicant ecause it demonstrates the later
development of the Dravidian style of architecture. "he architecture of the Pallavas is classied into t#o periods. "he earliest architecture of the Pallavas are the rock cut temples #hich dates ack to $%!&$'!A.D under the reign of the (amalla rulers and the architecture of the structural temples dates ack to $'!& '!!A.D and these )ourished under the Ra*asimha +mpire. "he temples #ere mostly dedicated to ,ord Shiva. "he rock cut temples of Mahabalipura m are the most magnicent features of Pallava architecture. It #as uilt under the patronage of king Narasimh avarman I of the (amalla period and thus
it is also referred to as (amallapuram. "he rst phase of the Pallava architecture is in)uenced y the -uddhist monasteries and chaitya halls. "he principal architectural monuments of this period consist of some temples that are free standing sculptural replicas of contemporary structural temples or raths carved from the granolithic outcrops on the shore. "hese monuments are of the great importance for the later development of Dravidian architecture ecause they reveal the dependence of the later Hindu style on pre& eisting types of -uddhist architecture. +specially revealing for this latter aspect of the
style is the Dharmara*a rath #hich has a s/uare ground&storey #ith open verandahs that forms the ase of the terraced pyramidal sikhara aove. It has een rightly suggested that this typical Dravidian form is an adaptation of a -uddhist vihara0 in #hich successive storeys #ere added for the accommodation of the monks. "he terminal memer of the structure is a ulous sikhara0 #hich is repeated in smaller scale on each of the lo#er levels of the terraced superstructure. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this and the other raths at Mahabalipu ram lies in the open verandahs on the ground& storey. "he pillars are of a distinctive Pallava type
#ith the shafts of the columns supported y the odies of seated lions. "he Sahadeva1s rath0 #hich is classied as the 2esara temple0 represents a di3erent type of architecture. "he uilding is of a longitudinal type #ith a arrel roof. "his mausoleum0 terminating in the semi&dome of an apse and #ith the chaitya motif at its opposite end0 is very clearly a survival of the -uddhist chaitya&hall that had persisted in such structural temples as the 4upta eample at 5he6arla and to a modied etent in the Durga temple at Aihole. "he Bhima 1s rath has a simple arrel roof #ith cross section and a chaitya arch on either side. It is cro#ned y a ro# of stupikas.
Another distinguishing feature of the Pallava style of architecture is perceived in the 4avaksha motif of chaitya arches framing usts of deities that cro#n the entalature. "his architectural feature is typical of the Dravidian style. 7ne of the raths of (ahaalipuram consists of a one&storey s/uare cell surmounted y an overhanging0 curvilinear roof0 suggestive in its shape of the modern -engali huts. "his feature is an imitation of a prototype constructed of amoo and thatch. "he resemlance to the sikhara suggests that this most characteristicall y Dravidian element may also have had its origin in the
form of a amoo hut. "he plastic emellishment of the raths consists of images of Hindu deities set in position on the eterior of the shrine0 and also of panels eemplifying legends of Hindu mythology ornamenting the interior of the sanctuaries. "he gures appear to e a development from the style of the ,ater Andhra Period. "he architecture retains the etremely rened attenuation of the forms at Amaravati0 and is animated y the same feeling for movement and emotionally communicative poses and gesticulation. A ne# standard of proportion is prominent in the heart& shaped faces #ith high
cheekones and the almost tuular overstatement of the thinness of the arms and legs. In the reliefs decorating the raths the forms are not so completely disengaged from the ackground as in the Andhra Period0 ut seem to e emerging from the medium of the stone. "he greatest architectural achievement of the Pallava artisans is the carving of an enormous granite oulder on the seashore #ith a representation of the Descent of the 4anges from the Himalayas. "he scores of gures of men and animals0 including those of the family of elephants0 are represented in life si6e. "he su*ect of the relief is that of all creatures
great and small0 the 4ods in the skies0 the holy men on the anks of the life giving )ood0 the nagas in its #aves0 and the memers of the animal kingdom0 one and all giving thanks to ord his !hiva for astounding gift to the Indian #orld. "he ssure in the centre of the giant oulder #as at one time an actual channel for #ater0 simulating the Descent of the 4anges from a asin at the top of a rock. In the relief at (ahaalipuram the shapes of the 4ods moving like clouds across the top of the #ork of art0 have the graceful0 disemodied sophistication of the art of Amaravati. "his gigantic0 densely populated composition
)o#s unrestrained over the entire availale surface of the oulder from #hich it is carved. "he hallmark of Pallava architecture is also #itnessed in the free& standing group of a monkey family in front of the tank elo# the great relief of the Descent of the 4anges. "he understanding of the essential nature of the animals and the plastic realisation of their necessary form could arely e improved upon. "his piece of architecture is the very personication of the principle mentioned in relation to the Indian canons of painting. "he shapes0 although only partially adumrated0 connote the nished form and proclaim
the nature of the glyptic material from #hich they are he#n. In the panel of a cave in (ahaalipuram there is a relief #hich illustrates Durga ghting the demon u3alo0 (ahisha. "his episode is adapted from the Puranic legends. 4oddess Durga is seated on a lion in this marvelous eample of the Pallava style at its nest. She is eight&armed0 and holds the #eapons such as the o#0 discus0 and trident lent her y ,ord Shiva and ord "ishnu for the epic struggle. Her ornaments include a lofty head&dress0 necklaces0 *e#eled elt8 and her arms are covered #ith racelets. "his gure0 like all Pallava architecture0 elongs to the
earliest and at the same time classic phase of Dravidian art. "he #hole conception is invested #ith a peculiarly dynamic /uality that is al#ays characteristic of Dravidian Hindu art. After the death of the Pallava monarch 9arasimha in $:; A.D. there #as an end to the construction of raths and other sculptural #ork of (ahaalipuram. His successor#a$as imha #as dedicated in the creation of structural uildings. "he Pallava architecture eperiences the transition from rock&cut architecture to stone temples. "he Shore temple is an eample of the later period of Pallava architecture. "he gural canon in
the !hore Temple of Mahabalipura m varies to a certain etent from the earlier architecture. "he gure of the triumphant goddess of the Shore temple has a militant vigor conveyed y the moving pretense and the deployment of the arms in a kind of aureole. "his is comined #ith a proposition of asolute serenity and feminine softness0 as is entirely appropriate to the notion of the divinity. "he temple #as planned in such a #ay that the door of the sanctuary opened to the east0 in order to catch the rst rays of the rising sun. "his in itself resulted in a rather unusual arrangement0 since it re/uired the placing of the mandapa and the temple court at the
rear or #est end of the main sanctuary. "he terraced spires cro#ning oth shrine and porch very visily reveal an epansion from the form of the Dharmara*a rath. In the Shore "emple0 ho#ever0 the dependence on the vihara type is less marked0 o#ing to the prominence on the height and slender&ness of the to#er0 like an attenuated version of the Dharmara*a rath. Actually0 the characteristic Dravidian form of a terraced architecture #ith the shape of the terminal stupika echoed in lesser replicas on the successive terraces still prevails0 ut these recessions are so ordered as to emphasise the verticality of the structure as a #hole. Such distinguishing
elements of the Pallava style as the pilasters #ith the etensive lions continue in the decoration of the portico of this structural monument. "he
supplementary shrines around the ase of the central spire that rhythmically reiterate the form of the terminal stupika. "his shape is repeated once more in the ro# of cupolas cro#ning the ramparts of the patio. "he gate#ays of the enclosure0 surmounted y hull&shaped memers of the vesara type repeating the form of -hima=s rath at (amallapuram0 suggest the form of the temple to#ers of the last phase of Hindu architecture at (adura. As in the Shore "emple0 pillars rising from rampant leonine forms are employed throughout. "he architecture of the Pallava dynasty #as note#orthy ecause of it
follo#ed the idiom of Dravidian art and sculpture. "he magnicent architecture of (ahaalipuram and
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