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Indian Architecture

that form of the building art existing in, and to a certain extent peculiar to, India.

No remains exist earlier than the 3d century B. C., when the Emperor Asoka made Buddhism the religion of India.

After that period there arose (1) Buddhist architecture, followed by (2) the Jaina Architecture. Of styles more distinctively Hindu there were fourviz., (3) the Southern, (4) the Northern, and (5) the Modern Hindu; and (6) the Cashmirian. Temples, etc., of the Southern Hindu style exist within the area formed by a line drawn E. and W. from Madras to Mangalore, constituting a triangle, having each side 400 miles. The chief race is the Tamul. The temples are divided into a square Viman (the temple proper), with a pyramidal roof of one or more stories, mantapas (porches), gopuras (gate pyramids), and choultries (pillared halls). The most splendid example is the temple at Tanjore, its base being a square of 82 feet. The finest temples are in Orissa, especially Bobaneswar, built about A. D. 657. They have a curved spire, sometimes surrounded by other spires. The Modern Hindu style is this ancient one modified by Mohammedan styles.