Hindu religious architecture Essay Example for Free

Hindu religious architecture Essay In order to understand a kind of people and their behavior, it is important to understand their literature and art . Different people have different cultures and believe, but can sometime adapt to the cultures of those they come in contact with. In India, there have been many cultural developments that have taken place over several years. The rich cultural activities in India have been due to the influence of many settlers in the county. Furthermore, India’s culture has been enriched by the kind of language that people talk and the religion they practice. Indian Architecture The Hindu architecture reflects the influence of various regions and dynasties. â€Å"With the Islamic style concentrating only on monuments and the Hindu style being more religious, thematically, Indian architecture is indeed a celebration of creatively of unsung artisans who dedicated their lives to bring to life such wondrous pieces of enviable beauty†, (India Travel Agents, N. d). The Hindu temple was built with the concept of four compartments i. e. an entrance porch (the ardhamandap), the vestibule (antarala) and the Sanctum (garbhagriha). In some large temples, was addition of mandap with liberal transepts for size and splendor (India Travel Agents, N. d). The coming of the Muslims in India brought about several changes that had not been experienced in the Hindu religion. One thing that the Hindu religion was not accustomed too was the architecture of the tomb. The Muslims build the â€Å"tomb as a form made modest beginning with small canopies over the graves of Sufi saints and soon led to the erection of increasingly complex structures culminating in India, in the monumental mausoleums of the Mughal emperors (Nangia, 2001). The fusion of the cultures The most striking different between the Indo Islamic and the Hindu religion is the place of worship. The Hindus worship in the temple while the Muslims worship in the mosque. These different worshiping places precisely explain the different conciousness between the two communities. The temple building contains abode of mystery, the courts of the temple are open to light and air. It has got so many doorways which invites publicity. On the contrary, the mosque encloses a ‘phantasma’ of massive darkness with somber passages leading to the dim cells. These places of the mosque are jealously guarded (Nangia 2001). According to Brown (1975), another different that can be spotted between the temple and the mosque is that, it is not infrequently introspective, complex and indeterminate (Nangia 2001). Furthermore, there were other stinking differences in the architectural work of the two religions. In the Hindu religion the temple had various carvings but this was prohibited to the Muslims. The Muslims also had decorations of letterings on the mosque and the tomb while the Hindu did not have such decorations. Most of the architectural designs came because of the various believes that was excised between the two religions. For instance, the Hindu believed in reincarnation and therefore did not practice burying of the dead, rather they practiced cremation. References India Travel Agents (N. d): Indian Architecture retrieved on 20th Oct from http://www. india-travel-agents. com/cultural-heritage-tourism-india/architecture-heritage-tours/index. html Nangia. A (2001): Islamic Influence, retrieved on 20th Oct from http://www.boloji.com/architecture/00015.htm