THEORY OF

ARCHITECTURE-II
NAME :- AISHWARYA.K.M
SRN NO :- PES1UG20BA002
PROGRAM :-B Arch
BATCH 2020,PES FOA
SEMESTER :- IV
Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi
Veerabhadra temple is a Hindu temple located in the Lepakshi, in
the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to the
Virabhadra, a fierce incarnation of Lord Shiva. Built in the 16th
century, the architectural features of the temple are in the
Vijayanagara style with profusion of carvings and paintings at
almost every exposed surface of the temple. It is one of the
centrally protected monuments of national importance and is
considered one of the most spectacular Vijayanagara temples.
History
The temple was built in 1530 AD (1540 AD is also mentioned by
Virupanna Nayaka and Viranna , both brothers who were Governors
under the Vijayanagar Empire during the reign of King Achutaraya, at
Penukonda who were native to Karnataka. The temple consists only
Kannada inscriptions The cost of building the temple was defrayed by
the government. According to Skanda Purana, the temple is one of the
divyakshetras, an important pilgrimage site of Lord Shiva.
Design of the temple

The Veerabhadra Temple was built in the

style with a profusion of carvings
Vijayanagara
and paintings on almost every exposed
surface of the temple. The fresco paintings are
particularly detailed in very bright dresses and
colours with scenes of Lord Rama and Lord
Krishna from the epic stories of the Ramayana,
the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
A huge granite Nandi (bull), the mount of Lord
Shiv, 20 feet in height and 30 feet in length, is
located about 200 metres away from the
temple.
There is a 24-feet-by-14-feet fresco of the
fourteen avatars of Lord Shiva on the ceiling.
And the idol of Veerabhadra is huge, armed
and fierce, with a garland of skulls.
Figurines of the goddesses Ganga and
Yamuna flank the entrance to the
sanctum.The columns are slim and have
features of colonnettes carved with eaves,
overhanging in a curved shape.
The ceiling in the sanctum above the deity has
paintings of the builders of the temple,
Virupanna and Veeranna, regally dressed and
crowned.
Since most of the temple happens to be built on a tortoise-shaped rocky hill, the hill is referred to as
Kurmasailam, meaning ‘Tortoise Hill’ in Telugu.
The Veerabhadra Temple has an open-air Kalyana Mandapam (wedding hall), where the wedding of
Shiva and Parvati is believed to have taken place in the presence of other gods and goddesses.
But you will notice that the Kalyana Mandapam has been left unfinished. Another local tale says that
this venue was supposed to be ready for the wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati, but since it was not
ready, it was not used.

Hanging pillar
A remarkable feature in this temple-something that puts all the other
masterpieces in the shade in fact, something that is an engineering wonder
and an artistic masterpiece outer portion of the temple has a massive dance
hall with 69 stone pillars supporting the roof among those there's One corner
pillar which is famously known as 'hanging pillar' that does not touch the
temple floor at all It is absolutely stunning to even dare imagine what
instruments could have been used to have a wafer-thin gap between the
pillar's bottom and the surface of the rocky stone floor under it. The guides
who take you around here will do different things to prove that the rock solid
stone pillar is indeed hanging and is suspended, not touching the floor.

There is a small gap between the temple floor and base of the pillar and it is
possible to pass thin objects such as a sheet of paper or a piece of cloth from one
side to the other, there will many people doing the same thing putting a piece of
cloth or paper underneath and sliding it to the other side, proving that the pillar is
disconnected from the floor. The temple, as well as the pillars in the temple, were
designed to resist earthquakes. However, it is a slightly dislodged from its original
position.
There are several stories regarding how the pillar became a 'hanging' one. In their book 'Strange and
Mysterious Places the World Forgot (A Dozen and A Half Stories)', Arthy Muthanna Singh and Mamta Nainy
mention a couple of such stories. According to one story, a British engineer had tried to move the pillar to
know how it was supported, and during the attempt, ten more pillars also moved. The engineer realized that
every one of the pillars was placed just so as to maintain the balance of the entire structure. His actions could
result in a distortion of the roof. So, he stopped the operation, but not before the pillar in question had got a
bit dislodged from its original position.
Another story says that the British government tried to remove the pillar once to repair some things. But the
effort proved to be futile, and they finally managed to only move it barely. They gave up and left the pillar in a
weird position.

The Konarak Sun temple

The Konarak Sun temple is dedicated to the Hindu sun god Surya, and,
conceived as a giant stone chariot with 12 wheels, it is the most famous of
the few sun temples built in India. It is located about 35 km northeast of the
city of Puri on the coastline in the state of Odisha (earlier Orissa). It was built
c. 1250 CE by King Narasimhadeva I (r. 1238-1264 CE) of the Eastern Ganga
dynasty (8th century CE - 15th century CE). The temple in its present state
was declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 1984 CE. Although many
portions are now in ruins, what remains of the temple complex continues to
draw not only tourists but also Hindu pilgrims. Konarak stands as a classic
example of Hindu temple architecture, complete with a colossal structure,
sculptures and artwork on myriad themes.

History
The history of Konark Sun Temple and sun worship goes as far back as the 19th century BC. The
Konark Sun Temple, however, was built in the 13th century. The historic region of Kalinga which
comprises major parts of modern-day Odisha and several parts of Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and
West Bengal, was ruled by the rulers of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty from 5th Century AD to 15th
Century AD. It was one of the most powerful dynasties in India which gave existence to majestic
temples like Konark Sun Temple and Puri Jagannath Temple.
The Konark Temple was built by King Narasimha Deva I in 1244 to worship Surya, the Sun God.
Konark was chosen as its place of construction because it has been described as the holy seat of
Surya in various ancient texts.
Characteristics of the Konark Sun Temple

Symbolism: The chariot contains twelve pairs of wheels, each twelve feet in diameter, representing the
twelve months of the Hindu calendar. The eight spokes of the wheel represent the eight intervals of the day,
and the seven horses represent the days of the week.
Sculptures: In addition to the temple’s giant chariot with twenty-four wheels and seven horses, the walls of
the temple feature sculptures and reliefs. The pieces include an eleven-foot-tall depiction of Surya, multiple
statues of King Narasimhadeva I, relief statues depicting scenes of domestic life, as well as erotic sculptures.
There are also life-sized depictions of lions, elephants, and horses.
Sunlight: The temple faces the east, so the first rays of sunlight hit the main entrance of the temple. The
wheels of the chariot are also sundials and can be used to calculate the time.
Materials: The sun temple comprises three types of stone: chlorite, khondalite, and laterite.
Floating idol
One of the most fascinating things of this temple was that the sun
idol was suspended in the air as there were magnets used in the
construction. So when you entered the main temple, you’d see a
tall idol in mid-air. For years, it was a mystery as to how this
happened. People did not realise it was the magnetic field from all
four sides that made this happen. The magnets and the floating
statue in the air are the most prominent theories related with
Konark temple.

The Sun Temple of Konark is remarkable in that it was constructed

using an architectural configuration of multiple magnets. The
craftsman used an iron plate between every two stone pieces when
building the temple's main tower. A lodestone at the temple's summit
is claimed to be a giant 52-ton magnet. According to tradition, the Sun
God statue within the temple was made of an iron-containing material
and was claimed to float in the air without any physical support due
to the unique arrangements of the top magnet, bottom magnet, and
middle magnet.
The temple walls are surrounded by strengthened magnets The main temple and the Sun God were
located in such a way that the first ray of the Sun from the coast would traverse the Nata Mandir
(Dancing Hall), fall, and reflect from the diamond set in the Sun God's crown. Other tales claim that the
lodestone's magnetic effect was so strong that it disrupted the compasses of ships passing by the
coast (Konark was a significant port at the time), making navigation extremely difficult for sailors. The
Portuguese sailors destroyed the temple and grabbed the lodestone to defend their commerce and
their ships. The collapse occurs when the lodestone is removed. But neither there are any historical
records against these stories nor any record against the existence of such powerful magnet at Konark.
Till now no one knows where the magnet is and whether these stories are true. Let me iterate it again
that the current visible structure of Konark Sun Temple is the entrance to the main temple structure
and the main temple structure is already destroyed and only remains are available at the same spot