Par

ihasPur
a

Theci tyofPar i
hasPur ai ssituatedont heKar ewasofDi v
arandPar aspor aatadi stance
of14mi l
es( 22kms)f rom Sr i
nageront heBar amul l
ar oad.Theywer echosenbyKi ng
Lalitaditya(724- 761)fort heer ectionofanewcapi talcit
y,andi tiscer t
aint hat ,givena
suf f
icientsuppl yofdr i
nkingwat er,thehi ghanddr yPl ateausofPar ihasapur ahav eev ery
adv antage ov ert he low,swampySr inagaras a bui l
ding si te.Lalitaditya and hi s
mi nisters seem t o hav ev ied wi th each ot heri n embel li
shing t he new ci tywi th
magni fi
centedi fi
ceswhi chwer ei ntendedt obewor thyalikeoft heking'sgl or yandt he
mi nisters'affluence.ThePl ateaui sst uddedwi thheapsofr uinsofwhi chaf ew hav e
beenex cavated.Amongt heset hemosti mpor tantar et hreeBuddhi stst ructures,a
stupaamonast ery,andachai tya.Thei rcommonf eat ur
esar et heenor moussi zeoft he
blocksofl i
mest oneusedi nt heirconst r uct
ion,t hesmoot hnessoft heirdr essi ng,and
thef inenessoft heirj
oints.Thei mmensepi l
eatt henor th-easterncor neroft hePl ateau
i
st heSt upaofChankuna,t hePr i
meMi nisterofLal it
adi t
ya.I tssuper structur ehas
ent i
rely disappear ed,l eaving behi nd a huge mass ofscor ched boul ders whi ch
compl etelycov ert hetopoft hebase.Ther ei sal argemassi vebl ockint hemi ddl eof
thisdebr is,whi chhasaci r
cularhol ei nthemi ddle,5'deep.

Thel argesquarestr
ucturetothesouthoft hest upai
stherajav
ihara,orr oyalmonastery
.
Af li
ghtofst epsintheeastwal lgiv
esaccesst ooneofitscellswhi chser v
edasa
verandah.The monast eryis a quadrangle oft wenty
-si
x cell
s encl osi
ng a squar e
courtyardwhichwasor igi
nall
ypav edwi t
hst onef l
ags,someofwhi char eex tant
.In
fr
ontoft hecell
swasabr oadverandah,whi chwaspr obablycov er
ed,t her oofbeing
suppor tedbyacol onnadewhi chr analongt heedgeoft heplinth.A f l
ightofst eps
correspondingtotheonement ionedabov eleadsdownt othecourtyard.

Thebui l
dingnexttoitontheSouthernsidei stheChaity
abuiltbyLalitadat
iya.I
tstands
onadoubl ebaseoft heusualtype.Af l
ightofst epsont heeastsi deleadstot he
entrance,whichmustor i
ginal
l
yhav ebeencov er
edbyal argetref
oil
-arch,fragmentsof
whichar eIyingaboutt hesit
e.Thisbuildingpossessessomeoft hemostmassi ve
blocksofst onet hathaveeverbeenusedi nKashmi r
itemples,andwhi chcompar e
favourablywitht
hoseusedi nanci
entEgypti
anbui ldi
ngs.

Mar
tandt
empl
e

ThetempleofMartandwasbui ltbyKarkotarulerLalit
adat i
yaMukt apidya,issit
uat edat
adistanceof5milesfrom t
het ownofAnant nag, ataplacenowcal l
edKher i
balMat tan
Beingont hetopofaI of
typlateau,atwhosef eetstretcht hebroadv erdantpl ainsof
Kashmi ri
nter
sect
ed byanet wor kofriver
s,l akes,ar id canal
s,thicklydot ted wi th
cl
ustersofbusyvill
agesnestli
ngl i
kebeehiv
esi ncloselypl ant
edgr ovesoft rees,and
encir
cledbysnow-
cladmount ai
nr ampart
s-thet empleoft heSun, asMar tandor iginall
y
was,commandsasuper bv i
ew,suchastheeyerarel
yl i
ghtsupon.I
tist
hisbeautyof
sit
uati
onthatcont
ri
butessol ar
gel
ytothesenseofgr andeurwit
hwhichthesightof
theserui
nsal
waysinspi
reseventhemostuni
maginati
vevisi
tor
s.

TheTempleisdedicatedt otheGodMar t
andaal
socal l
edt hel ordBhaskara(theSun
God)andisthe2ndl argestSunTempleaft
ert
heKonar k(Orissa).Thetemplecont ai
ns
acourt
yar
dof220f eetl ongand142feetboar
dandt hemai nt empleli
esint hemi ddl
e
with84pi
ll
arsmainlyinfluencedbyt
heGreekart
.Themai nt empleis63f eetlong,36
feetwi
deontheeasternendand27f eetonthewesternendwhi chisal
sot heent r
ance
ofthet
emple.

Thet emplecont ains3chamber sv iz;Ardhamandapa,Antr

alaandGharabgraha(main
temple).Amongt hepictur
esont hewal l
soft hemiddl
etempleisri
verGodess(Ganga)
standing on herv ehi
cle cr
ocodil
e and a female att
endenton herrightholds an
umber al
laoverherhand.Onopposi t
esi deoftheAnt r
alaisanotherriv
erGodess
(Yammuna)wi t
hherv ehi
cleTor
toise.

Thecour ty
ardoft hetempl ewasexcav atedr ecent l
y,andav astquant i
tyofdebr isand
stoneswasr emov ed.Amongot hermov ableant i
quitieswhi cht heexcav ati
onsy i
elded,
themostnot ewor thyareanumberofl argeear thenj ar swhichwer efoundembeddedi n
theflooroft hecour tyard.Remov aloft heaccumul ateddebr isofcent uri
esf rom the
baseoft hetempl ehasal sobr oughtt oli
ghtav eryimpor t
antf act-v i
z.,thatpreviousto
theconst r
uctionoft hepr esentt emplet her eexi stedanot hert empleofsomewhat
smallerdimensi onsatt hi
ssite.Whent henewt empl ewasbui l
t,theoldert emplebase
wasnotdemol ished,butwasenv el
opedbyanewbaseofl ar
gerdi mensi ons, asisborne
outbyt heexistenceofbot hbases, sidebysi de, onewi thi
ntheot her,ont heeastsi deof
thetemple.Theol dertempl ewaspr obablyt
heonebui ltonthissi t
ebyRanadi tya.

Awant
ipor
atempl
es

TownofAwanti
puraislocat
edont hebanksofther
iverJhel
um,
ahi
stori
cal
lyi
mportant
town 28Km away from Srinagerin Pul
wama distri
ct.I
twas founded by King
Avant
ivar
man,f
ounderofUtpalaDynast
y(855-
883A.
D) .

Thear chi
tect
uraltrendsoft heKarkot
aperiodreachedal ogi
calcul
minat
ioninthenext
generati
onundert heUt pal
as.Thet wotemplesofAv ant
isvaminandAvantesv
ara,r
uins
ofwhi charest i
l
lex t
ant,adornedthecit
yofAv ant
ipur
abui l
tonacommandi ngsite
overl
ookingabendi ntheri
verJhelum.

Boththesetemplesarenow shapel
essmassofr uins,butthegatewaysofbot hare
standi
ngandt hecol
onnadeoft hesmall
ert
emple,whi chhadbeencompl et
elyburi
ed
underground,hasbeenex cavat
ed.Thesty
lecorrespondswi ththatoftheMartand
quadrangl
e,butthesemi-att
achedpil
lar
softhear chedr ecessesareenri
chedwith
el
abor
ate carvi
ng ofv er
yv ar
ied char
act
er,whi
l
ethe l
arge det
ached col
umns ar
e
somewhatlesselegant
lyproporti
oned.

Templ e ofAvanti
svamin:Av ant
ivar
man (855-833)founderofUt pal
a Dy
nastyof
Kashmir.Hewasf amouslyknownt obethepat
ronofar tandarchit
ectur
e.Helai
dt he
foundati
onofthecityAvant
ipora(Awanti
por
a),hereheal soer
ectedt womagnif
ici
ent
templesonededicat
edtoLor dVishnucal
l
edAvantisv
ami nandtheothertoLordShiva
whichisknownasAv ant
esvara.

Avanti
svami nt emple was construct
ed bef ore his successi
on tot he thr
one and
Avanti
savarat emplewasbui ltaft
erobt ai
ningsov er
eignty.I
nthemedi ev
alti
mes,the
temple witnessed invasi
on and destructi
on.Fi nal
ly,itwas r educed t oruins.An
excavati
onwascar r
iedouti ntheear l
yt wentiethcenturywhichr ev eal
edanent ir
e
quadrangleoft het
empl edownt othefl
ooroft hecourtyardandtheext entbasementof
thecentr
al shr
inealongwithremainsoft hesub-shri
nes.

Theor igi
nalcompl exofat empl einthemi ddleconsi stsofaspaci ousobl ongcour ty
ar d,
sur r
oundedbyf oursmal lshr i
nesatt hef ourcorner s.Apillared, opensi dedmandapai s
seeni nf r
ontoft hest aircaseoft hemai nshr i
necont ainingwi thinGar udadv aj
a.The
templ eisef fecti
velydi str
ibut edwi thex cell
entcar vingsandscul ptur
eswhi char ean
exempl aryexampl eofar chitectureandar t
.Itissaidt hatAv antisv ami ntempl ehasgone
almost20f tdeepundert heear t
handt hatonlyt heapexi sv isible.Av anti
svami nisa
smal ltemplededi cat edt oLor dVishnu.Theor igi
nalgr andeuroft hetempl ehasbeen
l
ostandal lthatcanbeseeni sther emai nsoft hear chitect ur alfr
agment sont he
Srinagar-
Jammur oad.Av ant i
svami ntempl ewasbui ltont hebankofJhel um river.
Av anti
svami nisawel l-
preser vedt emple.Theedi f
icei scompr isedofacol lonadedki nd
ofencl osingapav edcour tyard.Themai nshr i
nei sbuiltonadoubl ebasewi t
hf our
smal lshrinesatf ourcor ners.Thebasesar ei ntactbutt hesanct um hasal most
disappeared.

Templ eofAv antesvara:Thev il

l
ageofAwant i
porasi tuatedatadi st
anceof28km f r
om
Srinagaron t he Anant nag road,representst he t own ofAv anti
pura,founded by
Avant i
varman,whor eignedf r
om 855t o883A. D.I t
schi efint er
estcentresint wo
magni fi
centtempl eswi thwhichitsfounderembel l
ishedi t
.Thet empl e,
whichhasbeen
sadlymut il
ated,i
ssituat edinacourtyardenclosedbyamassi vest onewall,t
hewestern
faceofwhi chi sador nedext ernal
lywi t
har ow off l
utedcol umns,butwi thoutany
recessesbehi nd.Thegat ewayisint hemi ddleoft hiswal l
,andi sdivi
dedi nt
ot wo
chamber sbyacr osswal l
.It
swal l
sarenotdecor atedwi thfi
gurescul ptur
e.Theniches
andt hepanel sarequitepl ai
n.

Thebaseonwhichtheshr
ineint
hecentr
eoft
hecourty
ardstandsi
s57.4feetsquar
e
and10feethi
gh.Toeachofit
scorner
swasat
tachedaplat
for
m about16f
eetsquare,
whichmustori
ginall
yhav esuppor
tedasmallsubsidi
aryshrine.I
thasastaironeachof
i
tsfoursi
des.Thest air
shav eawidthof28.5feetandar esupport
edonei thersi
deby
f
lankwall
s17.5f eetinlengt
h.Thesanctum hasbeenr educedtoa“ conf
usedmassof
r
uins.
”

Theplat
formsseem tohav eorigi
nall
ybeenattachedtothepli
nthofthetempleatone
poi
ntonly,
butaft
erwardstheywer ecompletel
yjoinedwit
hitbymeansofaconnect i
ng
wall
buil
tofarchi
tect
ural
fragment swhichhadfall
enfrom t
hetemple.Thi
sarr
angement
canbestbeseenatthesouth-easter
ncornerofthebase.

Thesoleext
eri
ordecorati
onofthetempl ebase,theonl
ypartoft
hebuil
dingthatexi
sts,
i
saser i
esofprojecti
ngfacet
s,thelar
gerofwhi chwereori
ginal
l
ysurmountedbypl ai
n
rect
angul
arcapi
tals.I
nthetworearcornersofthecourt
yar
daretwosubsidi
aryshri
nes.

Pay
ert
empl
e

PayarShivaTempleisaHi
nduTemplededicat
edtoLor
dShiv
alocatedinPayarvi
ll
age
nearPulwamadi st
ri
cti
ntheUnionTerr
it
oryofJammuandKashmi r.Thetemplehas
beenclassi
fiedasaMonumentofNat
ionalI
mport
ancebyt
heArchaeologi
calSur
veyof
I
ndia(ASI).

Thetempl
ewasidentif
iedinNarendrasv
aintemple,bui
l
tbyNarendr
adi
tya(5thcent
ury
)
byGener
alCunni
ngham wasincorrect
.Thetempleisbeli
evedt
obebuil
tin11thcentur
y
CEbasedonit
sarchi
tectur
alst
yle.

Thetemplei s8sqf eetint

ernal
lyandabout21f eett
alli
ncl
udingthebase.Thet empleis
openonal lsidesbutisreachedonlybyafli
ghtofstepsont heeasternsi
de.Ithousesa
Shiv
aLi ngai ni t
ssanct um.Itconsistsofadoubl epyramidalr oofwit
ht riangul
ar
pedimentsonal lt
hef oursi
desenclosi
ngatrefoilar
ch.Theothersculpt
edrel
iefsont he
ext
eriori
nclude,geese,bull
sanddecorati
vebands.

Lakuli
sacanbeseeni ntheeasterntr
efoi
lni
chesix-
armedNatar
ajacar
ryi
ngtr
ident&
Khatanga,dancingtothetuneofmaledrummerandf emal
efl
uteplay
ercanbeseenin
thewest er
ntref
oilni
che,t
hreeheadedLordShi
vaaccompani
edbyAghoraandUmacan
beseeni nthenorther
ntrefoi
lnicheandGajaSamhar aMoor
thycanbeseeni nthe
southerntref
oil
niche.