Ancient Indian architecture

{{Short description|Architecture of India from the Bronze Age to the 9th century CE}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=270|caption_align=center | align = right | direction =horizon | header=Ancient Indian architecture | image1 = Karla caves Chaitya.jpg | caption1 = The Great [[Chaitya]] in the Buddhist [[Karla Caves]], [[Maharashtra, India]], c. 120 CE | image2 = Ellora_Cave_16_si0308.jpg | caption2 = Rock-cut [[Hindu temple]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/243/|title=Ellora Caves|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=2019-02-28}}</ref> }} Ancient [[Indian architecture]] ranges from the [[Indian Bronze Age]] to around 800 CE. By this endpoint, [[Buddhism in India]] had greatly declined, and [[Hinduism]] was predominant, and religious and secular building styles had taken on forms, with great regional variation, which they largely retain even after some forceful changes brought about by the arrival of first Islam, and then Europeans.

Much early Indian architecture was in wood, which has almost always decayed or burnt, or brick, which has often been taken away for re-use. The large amount of [[Indian rock-cut architecture]], essentially beginning around 250 BCE, is therefore especially important, as much of it clearly adapts forms from contemporary constructed buildings of which no examples remain. There are also a number of important sites where the floor-plan has survived to be excavated, but the upper parts of structures have vanished.

In the [[Bronze Age]], the first cities emerged in the [[Indus Valley Civilization]]. The urbanization in the Gangetic plains began as early as 1200 BC with the emergence of fortified cities and appearance of [[Northern Black Polished Ware]].<ref name="Science">{{cite journal|date=6 June 2008|title=Indus Collapse: The End or the Beginning of an Asian Culture?|journal=Science Magazine|volume=320|pages=1282–1283}}</ref>{{refn|Most sites of the [[Painted Grey Ware]] culture in the Ghaggar-Hakra and Upper Ganges Plain were small farming villages. However, "several dozen" PGW sites eventually emerged as relatively large settlements that can be characterized as towns, the largest of which were fortified by ditches or moats and embankments made of piled earth with wooden palisades, albeit smaller and simpler than the elaborately fortified large cities which grew after 600&nbsp; BCE in the more fully urban [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] culture.<ref>James Heitzman, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RdcnAgh_StUC ''The City in South Asia''] (Routledge, 2008), pp. 12–13</ref>|group=lower-alpha}}<ref name="Spodek">{{cite book|title=Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times|last=Shaffer|first=Jim|year=1993|editor=[[Howard Spodek|Spodek, Howard]]|chapter=Reurbanization: The eastern Punjab and beyond|editor2=Srinivasan, Doris M.|language=en}}</ref> The Mahajanapada period was characterized by Indian coins and use of stone in the Indian architecture. The [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan period]] is considered as the beginning of the classical period of Indian architecture. Nagara and Dravidian architectural styles developed in the early medieval period with the rise of Hindu revivalism and predominant role of [[Hindu temple architecture]] in the Indian Subcontinent.

== Prehistoric ==

=== Baghor Paleolithic shrine === {{main|Baghor stone}}

A strongly probable shrine from Upper Paleolithic period dated (9000–8000 BCE) dedicated to worshipping of Goddess ([[Shaktism|Shakti]]) made of stone has been discovered at Baghor in the [[Sidhi district]] in the Indian state of [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kenoyer|first1=J.M|last2=Clark|first2=J.D|last3=Pal|first3=J.N|last4=Sharma|first4=G.R|date=1983|title=An upper Paleolithic shrine in India?|url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Kenoyer1983_An%20Upper%20Palaeolithic%20Shrine%20in%20India.pdf|journal=Antiquity|volume=LVII|issue=220 |pages=88–94|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00055253 |s2cid=163969200 }}</ref>

== Bronze Age period == {{Multiple image | align = | direction = | total_width = 400 | image1 = Dholavira Layout.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Layout of [[Dholavira]] | image2 = Kalibangan.jpg | caption2 = Fortification of [[Kalibangan]] with square bastions and fort walls surrounding the city | header = Planning of Indus Valley civilization cities }}

=== Period (5th–2nd Millennium BCE) ===

====Early Harappan phase==== Although the urban phase of [[Harappa]] has been dated back to 2600 BCE, excavation at [[Kalibangan]] from the early or proto-Harappan period already shows an urban development with fortification, grid layout of the city and drain system. The settlement consisted of a fortified city mostly made of mud-brick architecture but characterized by an appearance of fired bricks around 3000 BCE which was used to line the drains of the city. Planned settlements from an early Harappan era with structures parallel to the streets which run perpendicular to each other with public drainage system has been uncovered at the site of Rakhigarhi, one of the biggest urbanized areas of the Indus Valley Civilization dating back to 4000–3200 BCE. Even earlier phase dated 4400–4200 BCE has marked the appearance of wedge-shaped mud bricks with rectangular houses.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nath|first=Amarendra|url=https://www.academia.edu/24830219|title=Excavation at Rakhigarhi [1997-98], [1999-2000]|publisher=Archaeological survey of India|pages=129|language=en}}</ref>

====English Bond and building material==== While in contemporary [[Bronze Age]] cultures outside India sun-dried mud bricks were the dominant building material, the Indus Valley Civilization preferred to use fired "terracotta" brick instead. A prominent feature of Harappan architecture was also the first use anywhere in the world of [[English Bond|English bond]] in building with bricks. This type of bonding utilized alternate headers and stretchers which is a stronger method of construction. Clay was usually used as cementing material but where better strength was needed, such as for the drains, lime and [[gypsum]] mortar was preferred instead. In architecture such as the [[Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro|Great Bath]], [[bitumen]] was used for waterproofing. The bricks were produced in a standardized ratio of 4:2:1, found throughout the Indus Valley civilization.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uRMGDmdE9FkC&q=english+bond+indus+valley+civilization&pg=PA139|title=Prehistory and Harappan Civilization|last=Pruthi|first=Raj|date=2004|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=9788176485814|language=en}}</ref>

====Larger buildings==== The excavation at [[Banawali]] in present-day Haryana has also yielded an Apsidal plan which has been interpreted as a temple.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Danino|first=Michel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8yc7-OirxKEC&q=banawali+temple&pg=PA196|title=The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvatī|date=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306864-8|language=en}}</ref>

At Dholavira, possible funerary architecture was found surrounding a dried up lake and consists of [[tumulus|tumuli]], sometimes resembling hemispherical domes, constructed using mud bricks or stone slabs.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">

File:DHOLAVIRA SITE (36).jpg|Dholavira ruins File:DHOLAVIRA SITE (24).jpg|Stepped reservoir File:Dholavira-1.jpg|North Gate File:The drainage system at Lothal 2.JPG|Drainage system from [[Lothal]] File:Dock at lothal.JPG|The dock, with a canal opening to allow water to flow into the river, thereby maintaining a stable water level, [[Lothal]] File:Lothal - bathroom structure.jpg|Bathroom structure from Lothal File:Lothal - Gujarat, India (5933608331).jpg|Archaeological feature, Lothal </gallery>

==== Domestic architecture ==== The domestic houses were made of bricks and usually flat roofed, the wooden doors were provided with hangings and a lock at the bottom. The houses were single or double storied. The windows were provided with lattice shutters for airflow and privacy and ledge to stop rainwater from entering the house. The houses were usually provided with bathing platform which were connected to the public drain through in house drain. Latrines were generally simple commode had a small drain leading outside to a second sump pot. The latrines and bathing platforms were located in a room attached to the outer wall. Kitchen were open air situated in a courtyard as well as closed rooms, hearths oval, circular and rectangular in shape were also used in the house, keyhole ovens with central pillars were used for roasting meat or baking breads.<ref>{{Cite web|title=7 Kenoyer 2015 Indus civilization.pdf: ANTHRO100: General Anthropology (002)|url=https://canvas.wisc.edu/courses/48978/files/2427913?module_item_id=697603|access-date=2020-08-22|website=canvas.wisc.edu}}</ref>

===Late Harappan period=== After the collapse of the mature Harappan urban period, some cities still remained urban and inhabited.

=== Non-Harappan architecture === [[Balathal]] defense architecture, stone and mud brick residential structures of [[Ahar–Banas culture|Ahar Banas]],<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2003|editor-last=Menon|editor-first=Kasturi Gupta|title=Excavation at Balathal|journal=Indian Archaeology: A Review|pages=145–153}}</ref> defensive wall is characterised by mud based core having stone revetments with rectangular bastion dated c. 2400–1800 BCE, [[Sanghol]] and [[Rupnagar|Rupar]] of [[Bara culture]] are some of the non Harappan chalcolithic urban developments that took place in India as well.

==Second Urbanization period (1025 BCE – 320 BCE)== With the appearance of towns in the middle Gangetic basin in the sixth century BCE, a second urbanization began in India.

Archaeological excavations at [[Kosambi|Kausambi]] have revealed fortifications from the end of second millennium BC.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Fortified Cities of Ancient India: A Comparative Study|last=Schlingloff|first=Dieter|publisher=Anthem Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1783083497|language=en|pages=67 According to GR Sharma's monograph, rampart was built and provided with brick revetment between 1025 and 955 BC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Indian archaeology a review: 1957-58|last=Sharma|first=G. R|publisher=Archaeological survey of India|pages=47-48 In the Earliest Period, I, the defenses consisted of a mud wall with a burnt brick revetment on the exterior, the latter being available to a height of 42 ft. 5 in. and comprising one hundred and fifty-four courses of bricks (pl. LX). The first thirty courses from the bottom showed a batter of about 15 deg from the vertical and the upper courses 40 deg, the bricks being laid throughout in the English bond. Up to the first thirty courses, the revetment was also covered by a 2- to 1/2-in. thick mud plaster. At a height of about 6 ft. from the bottom, there were a number of holes, perhaps weep-holes, situated 6 ft. apart from each other. On the bases of the associated pottery, coins and terracottas the beginnings of the different periods of the defenses maybe dated as follows; Period I, 700 B.C, Period II, 500 B.C; Period III, 300 B.C, Period IV, 50 B.C; and Period V, A. D. 150}}</ref>

A stone palace predating the [[Mauryan]] period has been discovered from the ruins of Kausambi. The dressed stones of the palace were set in fine lime and coated with a thick layer of plaster, the entire architecture resembled a fortress with its own walls and towers. The palace had few rooms, each room was provided with three shelves and a central hall with steps leading to the tower. The architecture was constructed in three phases and is dated from 8th century BCE to 2nd century BCE. Discovery of this stone palace discredits the theory of foreign influence behind the rise of Indian stone architecture during [[Ashoka]]n or [[Maurya Empire|mauryan]] period.

A technique of architecture applied here was using dressed stones as facing for a wall made of rubble core, this represents the apogee of Indian architecture in this ancient period.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Indian Archaeology: A Review 1960-61|last=A.|first=Ghosh|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India|year=1961|location=New Delhi|pages=33–35}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JU2sCQAAQBAJ&q=kausambi+stone+palace&pg=PA21|title=Cities in South Asia|last1=Bates|first1=Crispin|last2=Mio|first2=Minoru|date=2015-05-22|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317565130|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Indian Archaeology: A Review 1961-62|last=A.|first=Ghosh|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India|year=1964|location=New Delhi|pages=50–52|language=en}}</ref> <gallery widths="200" heights="150" mode="packed" caption="Kausambi palace architecture technique applied in later periods">

File:General View of Shingardar Stupa - From Eastern Side.JPG|Dressed stone masonry on rubble wall technique applied to Shingardar Stupa, [[Swat District|Swat]], [[Gandhara]], 1st-2nd century CE File:Alai Minar, Qutb complex.jpg|Unfinished Alai Minar's rubble core; the unfinished tower lacks sandstone facing. File:Qutub Minar danibaba4.jpg|Stone facing of Qutub Minar on its rubble core </gallery>

===Ghositarama monastery=== [[File:Ghoshitaram_monastery_in_Kosambi.jpg|alt=|thumb|Ghoshitaram monastery in Kosambi dating back to 6th-century BCE]] Ghoshitaram monastery in [[Kosambi]] dating back to 6th-century BCE. Buddhist scripture attributes this very old monastic site to the time of the Buddha which has been backed by archaeology, founded by a banker named Ghosita.

===Mahajanapadas=== {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = Conjectural_reconstruction_of_the_main_gate_of_Kusinagara_circa_500_BCE_adapted_from_a_relief_at_Sanchi.jpg | width1 = 200 | caption1 = Conjectural reconstruction of the main gate of [[Kushinagar]] c. 500 BCE adapted from a relief at Sanchi | image2 = City of Kushinagar in the 5th century BCE according to a 1st century BCE frieze in Sanchi Stupa 1 Southern Gate.jpg | width2 = 210 | caption2 = City of Kushinagar in the 5th century BCE according to a 1st-century BCE frieze in Sanchi Stupa 1 Southern Gate | caption_align = center }} From the time of the [[Mahajanapadas]] (600 BCE–320 BCE), walled and moated cities with large gates and multi-storied buildings which consistently used arched windows and doors and made intense use of wooden architecture, are important features of the architecture during this period.<ref name="Chandra2">Chandra (2008)</ref> The reliefs of [[Sanchi]], dated to the 1st centuries BCE–CE, show cities such as [[Kushinagar]] or [[Rajagriha]] as splendid walled cities during the time of the [[Buddha]] (6th century BCE). Archaeologically, this period corresponds in part to the [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] culture.<ref>J.M. Kenoyer (2006), "Cultures and Societies of the Indus Tradition. In Historical Roots" in ''the Making of ‘the Aryan’'', R. Thapar (ed.), pp. 21–49. New Delhi, National Book Trust.</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">

Rajgir_-_002_Old_City_Walls_(9242554013).jpg|[[Rajgir]], old city walls 6th century BCE Jetavana_of_Sravasti_Sanchi_Stupa_1_Northern_Gateway.jpg|[[Jetavana]] of [[Sravasti]], [[Sanchi]] Stupa 1, Northern Gateway </gallery> Various types of individual housing of the time of the [[Buddha]] (c. 563/480 or c. 483/400 BCE), resembling huts with [[chaitya]]-decorated doors, are also described in the reliefs of [[Sanchi]]. Although the reliefs of Sanchi are dated to the 1st centuries BCE–CE, portraying scene taking place during the time of the Buddha, four centuries before, they are considered an important indication of building traditions in these early times.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.54756#page/n21/mode/2up/search/sanchi|title=Indian Architecture (Buddhist And Hindu)|last1=Brown|first1=Percy|date=1959|pages=3–5}}</ref>

====Religious architecture==== {{further|Buddhist architecture}}

====Buddhist caves==== During the time of the [[Buddha]] (c. 563/480 or c. 483/400 BCE), Buddhist monks were also in the habit of using natural caves, such as the [[Saptaparni Cave]], southwest from [[Rajgir]], [[Bihar]].<ref name="Gwynne2017">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sU8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA51|title=World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction|author=Paul Gwynne|date=30 May 2017|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1-118-97228-1|pages=51–52|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.174994|title=The Buddha and His Religion|author=Jules Barthélemy Saint-Hilaire|publisher=Trübner|year=1914|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.174994/page/n367 376]–377}}</ref> Many believe it to be the site in which Buddha spent some time before his death,<ref>[http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/1Digha-Nikaya/Digha2/16-mahaparinibbana-e2.html Digha Nikaya 16], Maha-Parinibbana Sutta, Last Days of the Buddha, Buddhist Publication Society</ref> and where the [[first Buddhist council]] was held after the [[Buddha]] died ([[paranirvana]]).<ref name="Gwynne2017" /><ref name="Jain1991p66">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-TxcO9dfrcC&pg=PA66|title=Lord Mahāvīra and His Times|author=Kailash Chand Jain|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1991|isbn=978-81-208-0805-8|page=66|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Chakrabartia|first=Dilip K|date=1976|title=Rājagriha: An early historic site in East India|journal=World Archaeology|volume=7|issue=3|pages=261–268|doi=10.1080/00438243.1976.9979639}}</ref> The Buddha himself had also used the [[Indrasala Cave]] for meditation, starting a tradition of using caves, natural or man-made, as religious retreats, that would last for over a millennium.<ref name="BA972">Buddhist Architecture, Lee Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, pp. 97–99</ref>

====Monasteries==== [[File:Jivakarama_oblong_communal_hall.jpg|left|thumb|[[Jivakarama vihara]] monastery. Oblong communal hall (remains), 6th century BCE]] The first monasteries, such as the [[Jivakarama vihara]] and [[Ghositarama]] monastery in [[Rajgir]] and [[Kosambi|Kausambi]] respectively, were built from the time of the Buddha, in the 6th or 5th centuries BCE.<ref name="BA48">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jb364g4BvoC&pg=PA48|title=Buddhist Architecture|last1=Le|first1=Huu Phuoc|date=2010|publisher=Grafikol|isbn=9780984404308|pages=48–49|language=en}}</ref><ref name="PM178">"The rubble-built building complex of Jivakamravana at Rajgir probably represents one of the earliest monasteries of India dating from the Buddha's time." in {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nN1tAAAAMAAJ|title=Researches in Indian archaeology, art, architecture, culture and religion: Vijayakanta Mishra commemoration volume|last1=Mishra|first1=Phanikanta|last2=Mishra|first2=Vijayakanta|date=1995|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan|isbn=9788185067803|page=178|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NTbbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT48|title=The East: Buddhists, Hindus and the Sons of Heaven|last1=Tadgell|first1=Christopher|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136753831|page=498|language=en}}</ref> The initial Jivakarama monastery was formed of two long parallel and oblong halls, large dormitories where the monks could eat and sleep, in conformity with the original regulations of the [[samgha]], without any private cells.<ref name="BA48" /> Other halls were then constructed, mostly long, oblong building as well, which remind of the construction of several of the [[Barabar caves]].<ref name="BA48" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Cqgb9pL3L4C&pg=PA162|title=Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, Upto 8th Century A.D.|last1=Handa|first1=O. C.|last2=Hāṇḍā|first2=Omacanda|date=1994|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=9788185182995|page=162|language=en}}</ref>

====Stupas==== [[File:Kapilavastu Stupas-Original-00020.jpg|right|thumb|Stupas at [[Piprahwa]] are some of the earliest surviving stupas.]] Religious buildings in the form of the Buddhist [[stupa]], a dome-shaped monument, started to be used in India as commemorative monuments associated with storing sacred relics of the Buddha.<ref name="Ency2">Encyclopædia Britannica (2008), ''Pagoda''.</ref>

==Classical period (320 BCE – 550 CE)==

===Monumental stone architecture=== {{further|Pataliputra|Pillars of Ashoka|Mauryan polish}} [[File:Pataliputra_capital,_Bihar_Museum,_Patna,_3rd_century_BCE.jpg|right|thumb|200x200px|The [[Pataliputra capital]], discovered at the [[Bulandi Bagh]] site of Pataliputra, c. 4th–3rd BCE]] The next wave of building, appears with the start of the [[Classical India|Classical period]] (320 BCE–550 CE) and the rise of the [[Mauryan Empire]]. The capital city of [[Pataliputra]] was an urban marvel described by the Greek ambassador [[Megasthenes]]. Remains of monumental stone architecture can be seen through numerous artifacts recovered from Pataliputra, such as the [[Pataliputra capital]]. This cross-fertilization between different art streams converging on the subcontinent produced new forms that, while retaining the essence of the past, succeeded in integrating selected elements of the new influences.

[[File:Ashoka_pillar_at_Vaishali,_Bihar,_India.jpg|left|thumb|200x200px|[[Pillars of Ashoka|Ashoka pillar]] at [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]], 250 BCE]] The Indian emperor [[Ashoka]] (rule: 273–232 BCE) established the [[Pillars of Ashoka]] throughout his realm, generally next to Buddhist stupas. According to Buddhist tradition, Ashoka recovered the relics of the Buddha from the earlier stupas (except from the [[Ramagrama stupa]]), and erected 84.000 stupas to distribute the relics across India. In effect, many stupas are thought to date originally from the time of Ashoka, such as [[Sanchi]] or [[Kesaria stupa|Kesariya]], where he also erected pillars with his inscriptions, and possibly [[Bharhut]], [[Amaravathi Mahachaitya|Amaravati]] or [[Dharmarajika Stupa|Dharmarajika]] in [[Gandhara]].<ref name="BAStupa2">Buddhist Architecture, Lee Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, pp. 140–174</ref>

Ashoka also built the initial [[Mahabodhi Temple]] in [[Bodh Gaya]] around the [[Bodhi tree]], including masterpieces such as the [[Diamond throne]] ("Vajrasana"). He is also said to have established a chain of hospitals throughout the Mauryan Empire by 230 BCE.<ref name="P&S">Piercey & Scarborough (2008)</ref> One of the [[edicts of Ashoka]] reads: "Everywhere King Piyadasi (Ashoka) erected two kinds of hospitals, hospitals for people and hospitals for animals. Where there were no healing herbs for people and animals, he ordered that they be bought and planted."<ref name="finger12">See Stanley Finger (2001), ''Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function'', Oxford University Press, p. 12, {{ISBN|0-19-514694-8}}.</ref> Indian art and culture has absorbed extraneous impacts by varying degrees and is much richer for this exposure.

Fortified cities with stūpas, ''[[vihara]]s'', and temples were constructed during the [[Maurya Empire]] (c. 321–185 BCE).<ref name="Chandra2">Chandra (2008)</ref> Architectural creations of the Mauryan period, such as the city of Pataliputra, the Pillars of Ashoka, are outstanding in their achievements, and often compare favourably with the rest of the world at that time. Commenting on Mauryan sculpture, [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]] once wrote about the "extraordinary precision and accuracy which characterizes all Mauryan works, and which has never, we venture to say, been surpassed even by the finest workmanship on Athenian buildings".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8XXGhAL1WKcC&pg=PA165 The Early History of India by Vincent A. Smith]</ref><ref>Annual report 1906–07 [https://archive.org/stream/in.gov.ignca.55105/55105#page/n147/mode/2up] p. 89</ref> <gallery widths="180" heights="200" class="center"> File:Mauryan Hall pillar.jpg|Mauryan polished stone pillar from [[Pataliputra]] File:Sarnath capital.jpg|[[Lion Capital of Ashoka]] from [[Sarnath]], 250 BCE. File:Plinth of Nandan garh Stupa Champaran.jpg|alt=Cruciform star-shaped stupa Lauriya Nandangarh – 4th-3rd century BC stage 1 cruciform, 1 BC stage 3 colossal stupa|Cruciform star-shaped stupa [[Lauria Nandangarh|Lauriya Nandangarh]] – 4th–3rd century BC stage 1 cruciform, 1 BC stage 3 colossal stupa<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sen|first=Joyanto|title=THE COLOSSAL STŪPA AT NANDANGARH, ITS RECONSTRUCTION AND SIGNIFICANCE|url=https://www.academia.edu/24506699|language=en}}</ref> File:Kumhrar Maurya level ASIEC 1912-1913.jpg|Plan of the 80-columns pillared hall File:Soghaura inscription.jpg| Soghaura copper plate 3rd century BCE </gallery> {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = Lomas_Rishi_entrance.jpg | width1 = 199 | caption1 = The famous carved door of [[Lomas Rishi cave|Lomas Rishi]], one of the [[Barabar Caves]], dated to approximately 250 BCE, displaying the first known [[Maurya]] [[relief]]s | image2 = Sudama cave mirror-polished walls.jpg | width2 = 190 | caption2 = The quasi-perfect walls of the [[Barabar Caves]] were dug into the hard rock and polished to a mirror effect c. 250 BCE, date of the inscriptions of [[Ashoka]].<ref name = "NL">Ashoka in Ancient India by Nayanjot Lahiri [https://books.google.com/books?id=bJ_XCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA231 {{p.|231}}]</ref> | caption_align = center }} {{Multiple image | align = | direction = | total_width = | image1 = IA Sita Marhi cave.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Gothic vault plan of [[Sitamarhi Cave]] 3rd century BCE | image2 = Lomas Rishi cave.jpg | caption2 = Barrel apsidal vault plan of [[Lomas Rishi Cave]], 3rd century BCE }}

===Rock-cut caves=== {{Main|Indian rock-cut architecture}} Around the same time [[Indian rock-cut architecture|rock-cut architecture]] began to develop, starting with the already highly sophisticated and state-sponsored [[Barabar caves]] in [[Bihar]], personally dedicated by [[Ashoka]] c. 250 BCE.<ref name="Chandra2" /> These artificial caves exhibit an amazing level of technical proficiency, the extremely hard [[granite]] rock being cut in geometrical fashion and polished to a mirror-like finish.<ref name="BA972"/>

Probably owing to the 2nd century BCE fall of the [[Mauryan Empire]] and the subsequent persecutions of Buddhism under [[Pushyamitra Sunga]], it is thought that many Buddhists relocated to the [[Deccan]] under the protection of the [[Andhra dynasty]], thus shifting the cave-building effort to western India: an enormous effort at creating religious caves (usually Buddhist or Jain) continued there until the 2nd century CE, culminating with the [[Karla Caves]] or the [[Pandavleni Caves]].<ref name="BA972" />

<gallery widths="180" heights="200" class="center"> File:Siddhachal - Rishabhanatha.jpg|{{convert|58.4|ft}} [[Rishabhanatha]], [[Gopachal rock cut Jain monuments|Gopachal rock cut monuments]] File:Udaygiri Stone Caves.JPG|[[Jain]] cave monastery in [[Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves]] (2nd century BCE) File:Chitharal jain temple1.jpg|[[Chitharal Jain Monuments]], 1st century BCE File:010 Cave 3, Exterior (33156264563).jpg|Gautamiputra vihara at [[Pandavleni Caves]], built in the 2nd century CE by the [[Satavahana dynasty]] File:Cave 26, Ajanta.jpg|The [[Ajanta Caves]] are 30 [[Rock cut architecture|rock-cut]] Buddhist cave monument built under the Vakatakas, c. 5th century CE. </gallery>

===Decorated stupas=== {{further|Stupa}} Stupas were soon to be richly decorated with sculptural reliefs, following the first attempts at [[Sanchi Stupa No.2]] (125 BCE). Full-fledged sculptural decorations and scenes of the life of the Buddha would soon follow at [[Bharhut]] (115 BCE), [[Bodh Gaya]] (60 BCE), [[Mathura]] (125–60 BCE), again at [[Sanchi]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/524/|title=Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> for the elevation of the [[torana]]s (1st century BCE/CE) and then [[Amaravathi Mahachaitya|Amaravati]] (1st–2nd century CE).<ref name="BA149">Buddhist Architecture, Lee Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, pp. 149- –150</ref> <gallery widths="200" heights="200" class="center"> File:Sanchi Stupa number 2 KSP 3660.jpg|[[Sanchi Stupa No.2]], the earliest known stupa with important displays of decorative reliefs, c. 125 BCE<ref name="Bell 15">Didactic Narration: Jataka Iconography in Dunhuang with a Catalogue of Jataka Representations in China, Alexander Peter Bell, LIT Verlag Münster, 2000 [https://books.google.com/books?id=77hHrXX4COgC&pg=PA15 p. 15ff]</ref> File:East Gateway and Railings Bharhut Stupa.jpg|East Gateway and Railings of [[Bharhut]] [[Stupa]]. Sculptured railings: 115 BCE, [[torana]]s: 75 BCE.<ref name="BA149" /> File:Sanchi1 N-MP-220.jpg|The Great Stupa at [[Sanchi]].<ref name="Alī Jāvīd p.50">World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India, Volume 1 p. 50 by Alī Jāvīd, Tabassum Javeed, Algora Publishing, New York [https://books.google.com/books?id=fg-lGID3WpQC&pg=PA50]</ref> Decorated [[torana]]s built from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE.<ref name="BA149" /> File:Amaravati Stupa relief at Museum.jpg|Slab of [[Amaravati Marbles]], depicting of the Great [[Amaravati Stupa]], with a Buddha statue at the entrance, [[Amaravathi, Guntur district|Amaravathi]], [[Andhra Pradesh, India]] File:Dhamekh Stupa close-up, Sarnath.jpg|Geometrical decorations, Dhamekh Stupa, 500 CE </gallery>

===Stand-alone temples=== {{Multiple image | align = | direction = | total_width = | image1 = | alt1 = | caption1 = Domed temple from Sannati, 1st–2nd century CE | image2 = A Vihara of Buddhism in Swat KPK Pakistan.jpg | caption2 = Gumbatona Vihara, Gandhara, 1st-2nd century CE | header = Domed Buddhist temple, 1st-2nd century CE }}

Temples—built on elliptical, circular, quadrilateral, or apsidal plans—were initially constructed using brick and timber.<ref name="Chandra2" /> Some temples of timber with [[wattle-and-daub]] may have preceded them, but none remain to this day.<ref name="BA233">Le Huu Phuoc, 2009, pp. 233–237</ref>

====Circular dome temples==== Some of the earliest free-standing temples may have been of a circular type, as the [[Bairat Temple]] in [[Bairat]], [[Rajasthan]], formed of a central [[stupa]] surrounded by a circular colonnade and an enclosing wall.<ref name="BA233" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nakamura |first1=Yuuka |title=DEVELOPMENT TYPES OF BUDDHIST TEMPLES: CENTRAL ASIA AND XINJIANG UIGHUR |journal=Archi-Cultural Interactions Through the Silk Road |date=2016 |url=https://www.mukogawa-u.ac.jp/~iasu2016/pdf/iaSU2016_proceedings_107.pdf}}</ref> It was built during the time of Ashoka, and near it were found two of Ashoka's [[Minor Rock Edicts]].<ref name="BA233" /> [[Ashoka]] also built the [[Mahabodhi Temple]] in [[Bodh Gaya]] c. 250 BCE, also a circular structure, in order to protect the [[Bodhi Tree]] under which the [[Buddha]] had found enlightenment.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4"> File:Remnants of Stupa.jpg|Remains of the circular [[Bairat Temple]], c. 250 BCE. A stupa was located in the center. File:Bharhut circular Temple.jpg|Relief of a circular temple, [[Bharhut]], c. 100 BCE File:Tulja_Lena_Chaitya_cave_plan_and_elevation.jpg|Chaitya Cave plan and elevation, Tulja Lena, 50 BCE File:Shiva temple with trident standard Audumbara State Punjab 1st century BCE.jpg|[[Hindu temple]] dedicated to [[Shiva]] depicted in a coin from the 1st century BCE File:Andhra pradesh, santuario a più piani, da ghantasala, 90-110 ca..JPG|Relief of a multi-storied temple, 2nd century CE, [[Ghantasala, Krishna district|Ghantasala]] Stupa<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hardy|first1=Adam|title=Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation : the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries|date=1995|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=9788170173120|page=39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aU0hCAS2-08C&pg=PA41|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Le|first1=Huu Phuoc|title=Buddhist Architecture|date=2010|publisher=Grafikol|isbn=9780984404308|page=238|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jb364g4BvoC&pg=PA238|language=en}}</ref> File:Karttikeya shrine with anteloppe in a coin of Yaudheyas Punjab 2nd century CE.jpg|Karttikeya Shrine with antelope in a coin of [[Yaudheya]], [[Haryana]], 2nd century CE </gallery>

====Apsidal temples==== Another early free-standing temple in India, this time [[apsidal]] in shape, appears to be [[c:category:Sanchi Temple 40|Temple 40]] at [[Sanchi]], which is also dated to the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="BA147">Buddhist Architecture, Lee Huu Phuoc, Grafikol 2009, p. 147</ref> It was an [[apsidal]] temple built of timber on top of a high rectangular stone platform, 26.52x14x3.35 metres, with two flights of stairs to the east and the west. A freestanding apsidal temple remains to this day, although in a modified form, in the [[Trivikrama Temple]] in [[Ter, Maharashtra]].<ref name="BA">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jb364g4BvoC&pg=PA237|title=Buddhist Architecture|last1=Le|first1=Huu Phuoc|date=2010|publisher=Grafikol|isbn=9780984404308|page=237|language=en}}</ref> <gallery widths="180" heights="200" class="center">

File:IA Temple 40 Sanchi.jpg|Illustration of Temple 40 at [[Sanchi]], dated to the 3rd century BCE<ref name="BA147" /> File:Trivikram Temple Ter 1.jpg|[[Trivikrama Temple]] at [[Ter, Maharashtra|Ter]]: an early Buddhist apsidal temple, in front of which was later added a Hindu square [[mandapa]] File:Amvar Chejerla Kapoteswara temple in guntur district.jpg|[[Chejerla, Guntur district|Chejarla]] apsidal temple, also later converted to Hinduism </gallery>

====Truncated pyramidal temples==== {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = Kumrahar Mahabodhi plaque.jpg | width1 = | caption1 = The Mahabodhi Temple in 150–200 CE | image2 = Mahabodhitemple.jpg | width2 = | caption2 = The [[Mahabodhi Temple]]: a stepped pyramid with round stupa on top<ref name=BA238/> | direction = | width = | total_width = 300 | caption_align = center }} The [[Mahabodhi Temple]] in [[Bodh Gaya]] is one of the earliest examples of Truncated Pyramidal temples with niches containing Buddha images.<ref name="BA238">Le Huu Phuoc, Buddhist Architecture, pp. 238–248</ref> The structure is crowned by the shape of an hemispherical stupa topped by [[finial]]s, forming a logical elongation of the temple.<ref name="BA238" />

This truncated pyramid design also marked the evolution from the [[aniconic]] stupa dedicated to the cult of relics, to the [[icon]]ic temple with multiple images of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas.<ref name="BA238" /> This design was very influential in the development of later [[Hindu temple]]s.<ref>Le Huu Phuoc, ''Buddhist Architecture'', p. 234</ref>

====Square prostyle temples==== [[File:Sanchi temple 17.jpg|thumb|A [[Gupta period]] [[tetrastyle]] [[prostyle]] Buddhist temple of [[Classical architecture|Classical]] appearance at [[Sanchi]] (Temple 17) (5th century CE)<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=CyLiDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT283 2500 Years of Buddhism by P.V. Bapat, p. 283]</ref>]]

The [[Gupta Empire]] later also built Buddhist stand-alone [[temples]] (following the great cave temples of [[Indian rock-cut architecture]]), such as Temple 17 at [[Sanchi]], dating to the early Gupta period (5th century CE). It consists of a flat roofed square sanctum with a portico and four pillars. From an architectural perspective, this is a [[tetrastyle]] [[prostyle]] temple of [[Classical architecture|Classical]] appearance.<ref name="books.google.com" /> [[Pataini temple]] located near [[Unchehara]], constructed during the reign of Gupta Empire, also features flat roofed square sanctum.<ref>{{cite book | last=Cunningham | first=Alexander | author-link=Alexander Cunningham | title=Report of a Tour in the Central Provinces in 1873-74 and 1874-75 | volume=9 | series=Archaeological Survey of India | publisher=Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing | year=1879 | url={{Google books|X88OAAAAQAAJ|page=31|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} | page=31 }}</ref>

===Palatial architecture=== [[File:Mahabodhi_Palace_scene.jpg|thumb|An Indian palace depiction in Mahabodhi railing, showing vaulted underground chambers called ''suranga'', as described by [[Kautiliya]] in [[Arthashastra]]; Shunga period, 2nd–1st BCE]] Archaeological excavation conducted by [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI) at [[Kosambi|Kausambi]] revealed a palace with its foundations going back to 8th century BCE until 2nd century CE; and built-in six phases. The last phase dated to 1st – 2nd century CE, featured an extensive structure which was divided into three blocks and enclosed two galleries. There was a central hall in the central block and presumably used as an audience hall surrounded by rooms which served as a residential place for the ruler. The entire structure was constructed using bricks and stones and two layers of lime were plastered on it. The palace had a vast network of underground chambers also called [[Suranga]] by Kautilya in his Arthashastra,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Age Of The Nandas And Mauryas|last=Shastri|first=K.A|pages=339}}</ref> and the superstructure and the galleries were made on the principle of [[true arch]]. The four-centered pointed arch was used to span narrow passageways and segmental arch for wider areas. The superstructure of the central and eastern block was examined to have formed part of a dome that adorned the building. The entire galleries and superstructure were found collapsed under 5&nbsp;cm thick layer of ash which indicates destruction of the palace through conflagration.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Indian Archaeology: A review 1961-62|last=Gosh|first=A.|publisher=Archaeological survey of India|year=1964|location=New Delhi|pages=50–52}}</ref>

Rulers would often use their palaces to symbolize their majesty and greatness. Aligning with the belief at the time the monarch had the divine right to rule. This idea is captured in the expression "the king becomes not only exempt from punishment but also the lord of the law" <ref>{{Cite book|title=Ancient India|last=Majumdar|first=RC.|year=1977|location=New Delhi|pages=75–76–52}}</ref>

A palace architecture has also been uncovered at [[Nagarjunakonda]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gBSWyLTSzkC&q=nagarjunakonda+palace&pg=PA18|title=Nagarjunakonda A Cultural Study|last=Murthy|first=K. Krishna|date=1977|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|language=en}}</ref>

===Shikhara=== The early evidence of [[Shikhara]] type domical crowing structure has been noted in the palatial architecture of Kausambi dated to 1st-2nd century CE. The central hall was thought to be topped by a dome but analysis of the bricks indicate Shikara type structure was used instead. Evidence also indicates Shikhara was also used in crowing architecture such as [[Bhitargaon|Bhitargaon temple]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.61876|title=Kusana studies|last=Sharma|first=G. R.|date=1977}}</ref>

===Theater and stadium=== [[Satavahana dynasty|Satavahanas]] constructed a stadium and a theater at [[Nagarjunakonda]] in the 2nd century AD. The theater has a small quadrangular open area enclosed on all four sides by stepped stands which are made of bricks and cladded with limestone.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyxOHOCVcVkC&q=Nagarjunakonda+AMPHITHEATRE&pg=PA237|title=History of Indian Theatre|last=Varadpande|first=Manohar Laxman|date=1987|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=9788170172215|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYuJWxLv-U0C&pg=PA91|title=Ancient Indian And Indo-Greek Theatre|last=Varadpande|first=M. L.|date=1981|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=9788170171478|language=en}}</ref>

An oblong-shaped stadium dating form the same era consisted of an arena which was enclosed on all four sides by flight of steps, with each step measuring two feet wide, and a pavilion which was situated on the west end. At the top of the arena, there was an eleven feet wide platform. The area of arena was 309 X 259 feet and 15 feet deep. The entire construction was done using burnt brick. {{Multiple image | align = | direction = | total_width = 400 | image1 = Entrance to the Badami Fort.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Entrance to the Badami Fort | image2 = Badami Northern Fort Entrance.jpg | caption2 = Entrance to the Badami Northern Fort }}

===Fortification=== [[File:Nalraja fort chilapata.jpg|thumb|Nalrajar fortification wall, 5th century CE]] Nalrajar Garh fortification wall ruins dating back to 5th-century CE. are probably the only standing fortification ruins from [[Gupta Empire|Gupta period]] which are located in a dense jungle in North Bengal near Indo-Bhutan border. A prominent feature of its fortification walls are two parabolic arches.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Indian archaeology: A review 1966-67|last=M. N|first=Deshpande|publisher=Archaeological survey of India|year=1975|location=Calcutta|pages=45–46}}</ref> Many fortified cities like Nalrajar Garh, [[Bhitagarh]] had risen in [[Dooars|Northeastern India]] owing to trade activities with southeastern China.

[[Badami]] or Pulakeshi fort from [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukya]] era date back to the 6th century CE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/143024/11/11_chapter%204-1.pdf|title=EARLY FORTIFICATION: AIHOLE, BADAMI, PATTADAKAL, MAHAKUTA AND ALAMPUR}}</ref>

===End of the Classical period=== This period ends with the destructive invasions of the [[Alchon Huns]] in the 6th century CE. During the rule of the Hunnic king [[Mihirakula]], over a thousand Buddhist monasteries throughout Gandhara are said to have been destroyed.<ref name="kurt">{{cite book|title=Handbuch der Orientalistik|last1=Behrendt|first1=Kurt A.|date=2004|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004135956}}</ref> The Chinese pilgrim [[Xuanzang]], writing in 630 CE, explained that Mihirakula ordered the destruction of [[Buddhism]] and the expulsion of monks.<ref name="Neelis">Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks by Jason Neelis [https://books.google.com/books?id=GB-JV2eOr2UC&pg=PA168 p. 168]</ref> He reported that Buddhism had drastically declined, and that most of the monasteries were deserted and left in ruins.<ref>The Spread of Buddhism by Ann Heirman, Stephan Peter Bumbacher [https://books.google.com/books?id=NuOvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 p. 60 sq]</ref>

==Early Middle Ages (550–1200 CE)== {{main|Hindu architecture|Hindu temple architecture}} [[File:Navghan_Kuvo(well)-1.jpg|thumb|248x248px|[[Navghan Kuvo]], Gujarat, 11th century CE.]] Hindu temple architecture in the Indian subcontinent continued to develop in North India and South India. Nagara style developed in North India where a Hindu temple incorporated Shikhara as its predominant architectural element whereas in southern India Vimana was used instead. The Hindu temple architecture was characterized by the use of stone as the dominant building material compared to the earlier period in which the burnt bricks were used instead.

Regional styles include [[Architecture of Karnataka]], [[Kalinga architecture]], [[Dravidian architecture]], [[Western Chalukya architecture]], and [[Badami Chalukya Architecture]].

<gallery widths="180" heights="200" class="center">

File:Shore temple, mahabalipuram.jpg|The rock-cut [[Shore Temple]] of the [[Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram|temples in Mahabalipuram]], 700–728 CE<ref name="Centre">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/239/|title=Group of Monuments at Pattadakal|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> File:Nalanda University India ruins.jpg|The ruins of [[Nalanda|Nalanda Mahavihara]] at [[Nalanda]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1502/|title=Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}</ref> File:Khajuraho - Kandariya Mahadeo Temple.jpg|The [[Kandariya Mahadeva Temple]] at the [[Khajuraho|Khajuraho Temple Complex]] in the [[Sikhara|shikhara]] style architecture, a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] File:Teli ka mandir fort Gwalior - panoramio - Gyanendrasinghchauha… (1).jpg|[[Teli ka Mandir]] is an 8th/9th century Hindu Temple built by the Pratihara emperor [[Mihira Bhoja]].<ref name="Bajpai2006">{{cite book|author=K. D. Bajpai|title=History of Gopāchala|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3KcwLKuRnYC&pg=PA31|year=2006|publisher=Bharatiya Jnanpith|isbn=978-81-263-1155-2|page=31}}</ref> File:Galaganatha Temple, Pattadakal, Karnataka.jpg|Galaganatha Temple at [[Pattadakal|Pattadakal complex]] is an example of [[Badami Chalukya architecture]].<ref name="Centre"/> File:Martand Sun Temple Central shrine (6133772365).jpg|[[Martand Sun Temple]] Central shrine, dedicated to the deity [[Surya]] File:PURI JAGANATHA TEMPLE, PURI, ORISSA, INDIA, ASIA.jpg|[[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannath Temple]] at [[Puri]], one of [[Char Dham]]: the four main spiritual centers of Hinduism File:Big Temple-Temple.jpg|The granite [[Gopuram|tower]] of [[Brihadeeswarar Temple]] in [[Thanjavur]] was completed in 1010 CE by [[Raja Raja Chola I]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/250/|title=Great Living Chola Temples|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}</ref> File:Rani ki vav1.jpg|[[Rani ki vav]] is a [[stepwell]], built by the [[Chaulukya dynasty]], located in [[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]]. File:Deogarh, UP. Jain temple complex.jpg|Wall of [[Jain temple, Deogarh|Jain Temple complex]] at [[Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh|Deogarh]] File:Moat in Daulatabad Fort.JPG|Devagiri fort, built by [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Yadava dynasty]] in the 12th century; according to [[Ibn Battuta|Ibn Batutta]], it was the most impregnable fort he had ever seen. File:Bairisal Borj (Jaisalmer Fort), Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India (2012).jpg|Jaisalmer [[Chhatri]], 12th century CE File:Oriental memoirs - selected and abridged from a series of familiar letters written during seventeen years residence in India - including observations on parts of Africa and South America, and a (14781483241).jpg|Hira Gate at Dabhoi Fort, 12th century CE File:Sahasralinga Talav1.jpg|[[Sahastralinga Talav|Sahasralinga Talav]] is a medieval artificial water tank commissioned during [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]] (Solanki) rule </gallery> [[File:Pattakadal.jpg|thumb|800px|center|View of the main group at [[Pattadakal]], a complex of 7th and 8th century CE, [[Hindu]] and [[Jain]] temples in northern [[Karnataka]]]]

===Ancient Indian arches=== Indian architecture has utilized mix of false and true arches in its architecture.

====Corbel arches==== Corbel arches in India date from [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] which used corbel arch to construct drains and have been evidenced at Mohenjo daro, Harappa, and Dholavira.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hdeSBQAAQBAJ&q=corbel+arch+mohenjo+daro&pg=PA28|title=Across the Pacific: From Ancient Asia to Precolombian America|last=Lemoy|first=Christian|date=2011|publisher=Christian Lemoy|isbn=9781599425825|language=en}}</ref>

The oldest arches surviving in Indian architecture are the [[gavaksha]] or "[[chaitya]] arches" found in ancient rock-cut architecture, and agreed to be copied from versions in wood which have all perished. These often terminate a whole ceiling with a semi-circular top; wooden roofs made in this way can be seen in carved depictions of cities and palaces. A number of small early constructed temples have such roofs, using [[corbel]]led construction, as well as an [[Apse|apsidal]] plan; the [[Trivikrama Temple]] at [[Ter, Maharashtra]] is an example. The arch shape survived into constructed Indian architecture, not as an opening in a wall but as a [[blind niche]] projection from a wall, that bears only its own weight. In this form, it became a very common and important decorative motif on Hindu temples.<ref>Rowland, 44-45, 64-65, 113, 218-219; Harle, 48, 175</ref>

====Arch==== The 19th-century archaeologist [[Alexander Cunningham]], head of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]], at first believed that – due to the total absence of arches in Hindu temples – they were alien to Indian architecture, but several pre-Islamic examples bear testimony to their existence, as explained by him in the following manner:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mahâbodhi, or the great Buddhist temple under the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya|last=Cunningham|first=Alexander|publisher=W. H. Allen|year=1892|location=London|pages=85}}</ref>

Archaeological evidences indicate that wedge-shaped bricks and construction of wells in the Indus valley civilization, and although no true arches have been discovered as of yet, these bricks would have been suitable in the construction of true arches.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SzS6CwAAQBAJ&q=indus+valley+civilization+wells+true+arch&pg=PA58|title=The Indus: Lost Civilizations|last=Robinson|first=Andrew|date=2015-11-15|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=9781780235417|language=en}}</ref> The earliest arch appeared in South Asia as a barrel vault in the Late Harappan [[Cemetery H culture]] dated 1900 BC-1300 BC which formed the roof of the metal working furnace, the discovery was made by [[Madho Sarup Vats|Vats]] in 1940 during excavation at [[Harappa]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tripathi|first=Vibha|date=27 February 2018|title=METALS AND METALLURGY IN THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION|url=https://insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol53_3_2018__Art04.pdf|journal=Indian Journal of History of Science|pages=279–295}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kenoyer|first1=J.M|title=Summaries of Five Seasons of Research at Harappa (District Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan) 1986-1990|last2=Dales|first2=G. F.|publisher=Prehistory Press|pages=185–262|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kenoyer|first1=J.M.|url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Kenoyer1999_Metal%20Technologies%20of%20the%20Indus%20Valley%20Tradition.pdf|title=Metal Technologies of the Indus Valley Tradition in Pakistan and Western India|last2=Miller|first2=Heather M..L.|pages=124}}</ref> True arch in India dates from [[Nanda Empire|pre Mauryan Nanda]] period from 5th century BC. Arch fragment discovered by archaeologist [[K. P. Jayaswal]] from an arch with [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]] inscribed on it,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.20579|title=Proceedinds And Transactions Of The Second Oriental Conference (1923)|date=1923|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.20579/page/n219 86]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Calcutta Review Vol.10, No.1-3(april-june)1924|year=1924|pages=140}}</ref> or 1st - 2nd century CE when it first appeared in [[Kosambi|Kausambi]] palace architecture from [[Kushan Empire|Kushana]] period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dubey|first=Lal Mani|title=Some Observations on the Vesara School of Hindu Architecture|date=1978|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=39|pages=1000–1006|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44139449}}</ref> <gallery mode="packed" caption="Variety of Arches in Pre Islamic periods"> File:Bilot Fort Temple - Stone work 2.jpg|[[Multifoil arch]], [[Kafir Kot|Kafirkot temple]], [[Punjab, Pakistan]], 7th–9th century CE File:Kumrahar Mahabodhi plaque.jpg|[[Parabolic arch]], [[Mahabodhi Temple]], 1st–2nd century CE File:KITLV 88083 - Unknown - Mahabodhi stupa in the temple complex at the Buddhagaya Lilajan River in British India - 1897.tif|[[Ogive|Pointed arch]] [[Mahabodhi Temple|Mahabodhi temple]], 6th–7th century CE, Late-Gupta period File:Gupt kalin mandir bhitargaon.jpg|Semicircular arch, [[Bhitargaon temple]], 4th–5th century CE (heavily reconstructed) File:AMB Temples, three temples inside fort small temple inside.jpg|[[Multifoil arch]] at [[Amb Temples|Amb]], 7th–9th century CE, [[Hindu Shahi]]s File:Gwalior, Teli-ka-Mandir 1 (1999).jpg|[[Teli ka Mandir]] gate with particular Rajput style arch, 8th century CE File:Gate of Teki Mandir, Gwalior Fort.jpg|Teli ka Mandir gate with multifoil arch, 8th century CE </gallery>

===Fortification=== Evidence indicates that the construction of fortification walls at Delhi applied nearly the same principle at [[Red Fort]] and [[Agra Fort]] as was the tradition during pre-Islamic Rajput periods. Excavation of Lal Kot beneath the [[Purana Qila]] revealed ruins which was constructed using similar method as in the post-Islamic and [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Periods]]. <br /> <gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="200" caption="Fortification of pre-Islamic Lal Kot and Agra Fort of Mughal era">

File:Agra-Fort-10-Mauern-2018-gje.jpg|[[Agra Fort]] used the same technique for fortification walls. </gallery>

==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{Architecture of India}}

[[Category:Architecture in India| ]] [[Category:Indian inventions]]