HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

NEPALESE ARCHITECTURE
AR 552

YEAR: II, SEMESTER: II

LECTURE 8 : – TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE
 Temples in Earlier Periods :
In the history, we have reference of kirat and Lichchhavi period,
TEMPLES OF KIRATS : Dyochhe
•The Kirata towns had Dyochhen
• Devakula within the town and piths outside it.
• Rectangular in plan,
•Rectangular: no circumambulation.
Brick and wood
construction •Modeled after residential building,
(similar to basic Newar houses).
• Forecourt paving
with triangular bricks,
•Ground floor: entrance Dalan
L = 2W (parking of Khat), store and stairs.

•First floor: Hall and Agam (Bed

room).

•Second floor: Feast Hall (Living

room).

•Attic floor: Kitchen and Daily worship

room.
Temples of Lichchhavi :
AVARANA TEMPLES
• The main body, prasada of avarana shrines
are formed with single stone slab roof, four
corner stone pillars.
• Raised on vedibandha (plinth), usually of a
height half as much as the width of the
temple,
• Sanctum is Square in Plan about 1m long
along the sides provided with a rough-cut
stone slab roof with a small projection
• The projected portion of the slab is cut to a
straight slope
• 1 or 2 tiers of flat stone slabs on top of main
slab-Composition capped with bell shaped
tone. Small finial topping or Corbelled
Pyramidal roofing.
 • The stone posts (4’-0” to 4’-6”), of the avarana
temple are generally erected on a band of plinth
stone and has a rough cut slab.

• Just sufficient to cover Shiva Linga. Then after

lintel band and stone slab as roof was used .
• Early examples show columns simply dowelled
into a square stone plinth beam set cut out of two
or four pieces of stone.

• External circumambulatory.
• No portico or mandapa in front
• Later closed Sanctum with one, three
openings
TEMPLES OF LICHCHHAVI :
Mandapa, Shikhara, Tiered

Mandapa Temples:
• Square, open
• Single hipped roof
• Few two tiered roof
• Shorakhutte (16 pillars)

Source: S. R. Tiwari
Shikhara (Nagara)
Temples:
• Extensively carved stone
temple.
• Only one temple in
Pashupatinath ( Brahma
Temple) Complex at north west
corner
• Houses sivalinga
• Mukhamandapa 60cm deep
• Garvagriha capped with ornate
dome
• Alcoves on three sides
• Plinth of 240cm x 300 cm
• Small 120 cm square sanctum
cell, Temple height 360cm
Tiered Temples:
• The archaeological findings from Hadigaun and Deupatan give us critical
evidence to the Lichchhavi mandap temple had already developed
significantly towards the form of the tiered temples.
Nawagraha plan. Foundation of Satyanarayan
•Shows the division of Temple in Handigaun: Square form – brick work
sanctum floor into a nine-
pit configuration.
• It is an example of brick
and timber temple
•which is probably some form
of Tiered temple (Multiple
roof with sloping).
•CLOSED SANCTUM with
One, Three or Four
Doorways
•No Portico
• In Lichchhavi period timber as structure and brick as filler,
In Lele, these things can be seen in crude form, probably
based on timber prototype.
They used copper tiles or Jhingatis tile roof.
Jhingatis tiles probably nailed on the timber structure, tiles
found with holes.
In Malla period, timber became filler and brick as structure or
the supporting material.

A change in structure and material used.

 Temples of the Malla :
• Pashupatinath :
• Early temples had only two tier roof.
• It is mentioned that he gilding the roof, which showed the metal roof
already used in multi-tier.
Later Gunkamadev renovated it (12th centure)
– (Malla Period)
 Ananta Malla guilded the roof (1307 AD)
 Mahindra malla made Pashupati temple into three tiered 1572 ca .
Which stands on the single plinth. He also renovated Taleju of
Kathmandu into three tiered form. That is stands on the multiple
high plinths.
 Reduced to two tiers in later Malla period 1600s
 Last Reconstruction - 1702 AD/Bhupalendra Malla
• Changunarayan
• Last Reconstruction - 1694 AD/Bhupalendra Malla
TEMPLES OF MALLA: Cronological overview

• Pashupatinath: rebuilt in 879 AD, Gunkamadev renovated it

(12th century)
• In Malla Period Ananta Malla guilded the roof (1307 CE)
• Mahendra Malla made/rebuilt it three tiered (1572 CE)
• Reduced to two tiers in later Malla period in the 1600s
• Last Reconstruction -1702 CE by Bhupatendra Malla
• Changunarayan : Last Reconstruction -1694 AD/Bhupatendra
Malla
• Kasthamandap: built in 1146 CE
• Taleju temple Bhadgaon: residential courtyard format 1324 AD
• Kumbheswor Temple Patan:1390 CE (two tiered) : Jayasthiti
Malla
• SrinivasMalla (1670s) added three tiers, totalling 5 tiers
• Minnath Patan: (1450 CE) YakshyaMalla
• Yakshesor Mahadev: (1440 CE) Datatraya temple
TEMPLES OF MALLA: Cronological overview

• Tripurasundari Dyochhen, Bhaktapur: 1467 CE

• Taleju Kathmandu 1564 CE by Mahendra Malla
• CharnarayanPatan: 1566 CE
• NarasimhaTemple, Patan –1589 CE Shikharagranthakuta
• Degutale-1660 CE Pratap Malla
• Krishna Temple 1630 CE Siddhinarshima Malla
• Nyatapola Temple 1702 AD :Bhupatindra Malla :
 • Early Temple Typologies:
• Shiva / Vishnu – 2 Tiered
- 1 Tier
-3 Tiered brought by Mahindra Malla.
•God is sitting side of the square or in the centre of the square.

•When temple get two storied and complicated then two sets
of walls constructed.
•Two telescopic walls made in brick. The external walls being
replaced by set of four pillars or six pillars.

•In case of octagonal temple, pair of pillars in each side

constructed.
•When temple becomes grandeur in design, provides the
colonnade. Where columns are treated with artistic works.
•The multistoried temples have no floors as a useable space,
that called tiered ( one, two, three tiered).

• If there is usable spaces then it becomes storey.

• General temples were built in single tiered format.

• Shiva, Vishnu are in two tiered format (early temples).

• There are four tiered temples ( Harisiddhi & Nala Bhagwati).

• The five tiered temple is Nyatapola.

•Religious basis for doing the temple in this format is

Vastupurusha Mandala as a standard.
 Temple Styles :

Four stylistic groups :

 Tiered Style (Brick Group)
(Dyochhe Style)
 Shikhara Style (Stone Group)
 Gumbaja Style
Dome – Desikaida (in Rana Period)
 Ghantakar Style
Bell shaped
Tiered, Tallakar, Tale
(not Pagoda)
Dyochhe
Source: S. R. Tiwari
Source: S. R. Tiwari
Source: S. R. Tiwari
 Temple Types
• Tiered / Tallakar / Tale :
– Brick and Wood
– Square , Rectangular
– Plinth Low, Medium, High, Multiple plinth, over Terrace
• Dyochhe
– Brick and wood
– Rectangular
– Single Low plinth
• Shikhara Granthakuta
– Stone / Brick, Square, Low/Medium/High plinth, Multi-level
• Gumbaja
– Stone / Brick, Square, low and medium plinth
• Ghantakara
– Stone / Brick, Square, low plinth
The Nepalese Temple:

• Origins
– Kirat Devakula (mat and tech)
– Lichchhavi Prasada temples (garbagriha)
– Mandapa temples

• Three Basic Types

– The Square Degah/Devala
– The Dyochhen in Residential format
– The Rectangular Degah/Devala
• Dyochhen + Devala
Tiered Temple- Typology
• No. of Tiers : one, two, three, four, five …
– Upper roofs in reducing sizes
– Upper core walls in reducing sizes
• Plinth tiers: one, three, five, seven, nine
… high low
• Circumambulatory path
– Outside
– Outside + one additional inside
– Outside + one additional colonnaded outside
 Tiered Temple- Plan Typology
• SQUARE with Wall on One side

• SQUARE with Wall on Three

sides

• SQUARE CLOSED SINGLE

3
DOOR – External
1 5 Circumambulatory

• SQUARE CLOSED THREE

DOORS – External
Circumambulatory
2 4
• SQUARE CLOSED FOUR
DOORS – External
Circumambulatory
 6

•SQUARE CLOSED TWO CORE

WALLS – Internal Circumambulatory.

•SQUARE EXTERNAL COLLONADE

and CLOSED CORE WALL – External
Circumambulatory

7
Tiered Temples- Square Plans
Tiered Temples- Rectangular Plans
TIERED TEMPLES

Construction Design
•The shape, size and
location of the Cella
generally determine the
design of the
superstructure and the
type of Dega, as:
1.A square or rectangular
room with three open
sides – The idol of the god
to whom the temple is
dedicated, usually Ganesh,
is placed against the rear,
eg: Ganesh, Chalakhu tol,
Ktm
Construction
Design
• Ganesh, Chalakhu
tol, Ktm
2. square or rectangular room
with only one entrance – The
god stands against the rear wall
which in this case is usually
Narayan, eg: Narayan temple
Tripureshwor, Ktm
3. Square roof with four
doorways – The dega has
no particular orientation .
The image of the god,
usually a Shiva Linga is
centrally placed
4. A square room, open
on all four sides and
encircled by a second
wall, which has a wide
doorway on each of its
four sides - the deity,
generally shiva linga but
occasionally Narayan on
a Yoni, is centrally placed.
5. Similar to type 2.
with the addition of a
surrounding roofed
porticos – the god
stands against the rear
wall
6. A development of
type 4. where the
exterior wall is
replaced by
colonnade – the
deity, always a Shiva
is centrally placed
7. The floor plan usually rectangular.
The shrine with the idol of god is
placed always on the upper floor and
in place of cella there is a hall taking
the entire upper storey to form a
meeting room. These temples are
dedicated to Bhimsen and Bhairab and
tantric goddesses.

Rectangular shape does not used to

house major gods & goddess
Bhajans are also done at the temple.
8. The Cella of Dega is normally of
type 3. or 4. and the Dega’s mult-
tiered superstructure is set on a
three or four storey high palace or
above a two or three storey base
resembling the features of a
residential building .
In both the cases, the gods are
Agamdevtas or Kuldevtas