ART AND ARCHITECTURE

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The word 'Art' is derived from the Latin word 'Ars' meant 'skill'.Collin's Encyclopedia defines art as an expression of a word of thoughtand feeling trying to portray relationship between god and man. Art canalso be defined as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation ofaesthetic objects, environments or experiences that can be shared withothers". Hence Art is well defined as the production or expression ofwhat is beautiful, appealing or more than significant. It is a universallanguage which people of all nations can understand. Each nation has itsown mode of expression of its art, i.e., architecture, sculpture, painting,music and dance though the culture of each nation is different.Art can be divided into two main categories i.e., Visual arts andGraphic arts. Visual Arts deal with architecture, sculpture, painting,dance and music. The most imposing among visual arts, architecture, haddeveloped into two forms i.e., secular and religious. The survival rate ofsecular specimens through the ages is slender compared to the religiousmulti differential buildings. Graphic Arts comprise wood cuttingengraving bone and ivory carving, floral and animal motifs over ceramicsetc. It is no exception to this universal phenomenon.

The Indian art especially the Hindu one is based upon the beliefthat creative nature is the manifested will-force of God, which isrepresented in Hinduism by the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva whosymbolize the powers of creation, preservation and destruction. Hencethe art consciousness among the people of India had its origin in the earlyyears of Indian History and it gradually evolved itself into an ideal raceexperience. This art of India is not a wealth of particular dynasty orregion and possess migratory characted due to political, social, religiousand economic factors.The drift of art in Tamil Nadu is well entrenched not only in Indiabut had bid fair to swamp the entire South Asian, zone comprise suchindependent regions like Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma,Thailand and Cambodia. So far as the art was concerned all these regionsdisplay a chthonic affiliation and this would speak highly not only of thevoluntary absorption of the art media but also the politico-cultural matrixof South India more specially Tamil Nadu.The elements of the Architecture has drifted from neighbouringregions to Tamil Nadu and get added new features and then migrated totheir regions. Architecture is the most finite, technically exact and visuallyimpressive medium of the aesthetic legacy compared with othercategories such as sculpture, painting, dance and music. In Tamil Nadu ithas been the most spectacular and perennially satisfying entity cementingnational and international understanding. It happens only because of itsdrifting nature. This migratory character is not a sudden invention of theTamils but transformed from the North.The tradition of rock cut architecture i.e. the Chaityas and Viharasof the Buddhists initiated by Ashoka at Barabar hills was soon taken up inthe trap rock regions of the South India.

This expanding character ofBuddhist architecture was adopted earlier by the Buddhists and then bythe Hindus and the Jams. Also the combined Buddhist and Hinducharacters of architecture spread into the Deccan region probably duringthe regime of Satavahanas.The Brahmanical and Jain creeds too started adopting the Rock cutmode of temples all over South from Deccan to the Cape. There were anumber of Buddhist excavations of Chaitya halls and Viharas found inthe vicinity of Pune and Nasik and Ajanta and Aurangabad. Even in the Eastern Ghat lying in the northern coastal regions ofAndhra, where the laterite hills found abundant, these types ofarchitecture were excavated. These viharas and chaityas show their owndistinct regional characters as against their compeers in North and NorthWest India. These two elements were then transformed into rock cuttemples by the three great empires. The Chalukyas on the coastalAndhra, the Pallavas of Kanchi on the eastern coast and the Pandyas ofMadurai in the far south.The chalukya king Mangalesa excavated a cave temple for Vishnuin Badami and it was only a perpetuation of early tradition of theMauryas. The contemporary pallava ruler Mahendravarman I alsoexcavated a cave temple at Mandagappattu but it was purely his owninnovation. At the same time there are certain characters found in thesetemples copied from North India. The Adhistanas, for example, in therock cut temples of the western Chalukyas and the Pallavas contain thepanels depicting Ramayana stories and Krishna Avatar. But this style ofengraving tiny figures on the Adishtana had already been there in theDasavadar temple of the Guptas at Deogarh.There are certain elements of Chalukyan architecture traced in thePallava's architecture that prove the migratory nature and the transitional character of that time.

The Taranga Pothigai in Pillars, Elephants inAdhistana, Prastharam, Kapotam, Gajaprishta Vimana etc are fewstanding examples of this kind. The drift in this kind of elements occuredonly due to the constant wars between chalukyas and the pallavas.Though the Pallavas stand out as the earliest fore runner of Vimanaarchitecture in the south, it is not an innovation by them. The origin ofthe monolethic Vimana shrines lie in the carved out stupas inside the rockcut chaitya halls of western India. An early monolithic shrine form isfound in the Tawa Cave at Udaigiri (MP). Hence we could derive aconclusion that some architectural features of the Pallavas are not onlycopied from the chalukyas but also a direct perpetuation from NorthIndiaThis rock-cut tradition might have also been followed by the earlyPandyas either from the Chalukyas or the pallavas. It is believed that thetradition of laying a Linga in the sanctum sancturum is copied by thePandiyas from the Western Chalukyas. The formers had political contactwith the latter against the Pallavas might have been the cause of theadoption of their style. Like the Pallavas and the early Pandyas, the Cholas also copiedcertain architectural characters from Deccan. The projection andrecession of Bhadra is a common characteristics of Indian architecture.The Malligarjuna temple at Mahakudi and the Sirval temple are foundwith projected Bhadras. The same pattern is followed by the Cholas atThiruchorruthurai, Thirunamanallur, Palur, Erumbur, Kizhai yur,Thirukkattalai and Enangur.Likewise, a triangular pothigai wasintroduced at Aihole in the 9th century A.D.The Rashtrakutas also followed the same pattern in the Jain Templeat Pattadakkal in the last quarter of the 9th century A.D. This patternmigrated to Tamil Nadu due to the expeditions undertaken by Rajarajaover Deccan. He introduced it in his temple at Thathapuram,Mathagadipattu, Kudankushi and Thanjavur.The Temple at Chidambaram is famous both for architecture andsculpture. The pillars found in front of the sanctum and sanctorum ofNataraja are purely Holysala in character. The conquest of Cholas overHoysala region and vis-a-vis temple may be the cause of the installationof sixteen pillars in Natyasabha in Nataraja Temple. The conquest of Tamil Nadu by the Vijayanagar rulers alsocontributed much for the development of temples in Tamilnadu. The ideaof construction thousand pillared hail, and the erection of KalyanaMandapam may be a pattern introduced by them. The pillars erected inthe temples during the reign of Vijayanagar rulers is nothing but atransition from Hampi.The Nayaks of Madurai, Tanjore and Senji also introduced theAndhra Style of architecture in their respective monuments. ThusTamilnadu has observed different elements of architecture from otherparts of India to fulfil the needs of the people.Tamil country has also contributed much to the transformation ofarchitecture to other parts of India as well as to the far off countries. TheLion motif in the pillars of the Narasimhavarman I is seen in the SirvalTemple Pillars of Rashtrakutas built in the tenth century A.D. TheThoranas of Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi is said to have beentransformed to the temples of Rashtrakutas and Eastern Chalukyas. TheThoranas in Bavanasisangam Bujangeswara temple (850 A.D). ofRashtrakutas the Pichchavolu Solingeswarar Temple and Chandra SekarTemple (850 A.D.) both of Eastern Chalukyas resemble the Thoranas ofNarasimhavarman I.

The influence of Circular bosses in the temples of Tamil Naduduring the medieval period was quite common among the later Pandyasand the early Cholas. This feature is later adopted by the Rashtrakutas.The Circular bosses were first used in the Panamalai, Talagiriswaratemple and then in the Kalugumalai Vettuvankoil temple of the Pandyas,are traced in the Sirval temple (939) of Rashtrakutas and Sammundaraitemple at Sravanabelgola. Hence the use of Circular bosses havemigration to Deccan in due course. Some decorative symbols of flowers,buds and leaves carved around the hallow space of Kudu had been aspecial feature of the Pallava Rathas and a few temples of the Pandyas.The same character is also found at Ellora and Pavalarisangam RupalaSangameswara temple of the Rashtrakutas. First ever in the south theSala-Sikara of Pallavas at Mahabalipuram (Bhima Ratha) was then usedin Rashtrakutas Kailasanatha temple at Ellora.After the decline of the Pallavas in Tamil Nadu, the Cholasemerged as a truimphant power. Everyone knows that they wereresponsible for the erection of number of temples in Tamil Nadu. Theirage is famous for Vimanas. The erection of Vimanas attained maturityonly under the Later Cholas. For instance the Tanjore Vimana, erectedby the Cholas, is considered as the Touch Stone of Indian Architecture asa whole. Some of their architectural elements have drifted from our soil to other regions for various reasons as indicated earlier. The Chariot likeMugamandapa, errected at Melakadambur by Kulottunga I later attainedfurther advancement at Darasuram and Suriyanarkoil. ThisSimmachalam temple of the Eastern Chalukyas his a witness for thismotif. The matrimonial alliance between the Eastern Chalukyas and theEastern Gangas has given maturity for this style at Konark.The Chola architecture is not merely migrated to the other cornersof India but also overseas. Rajaraja I has constructed a Siva temple atPolanuruva in Srilanka in the same pattern of Chola architecture. His sonRajendran I conducted eastern expeditions in order to stabilize the tradebetween Tamil Nadu and far flung countries of South East Asia. Thetemple of Angorwat in Combodia was born out of commerce andconquest. The succeeding dynasties like the Later Pandyas, theVijayanagar and the Nayaks had ever taken the elements of Tamilarchitecture to anywhere in the country.Like Architecture, Sculptures also migrated from one region toanother region. The antiquity of Icons goes back to Sangam age in Tamilcountry. The Sangam literature contain information regarding theexistence of the idols of Gods like Vishnu, Surya, Karthikeya andGodesses like Devi. We could derive from this that the Sangam Tamils were well known about the Idols. But the knowledge of making sculptureout of soft rock was familiar among the South Indians and the Tamilsvery particularly from sixth century onwards. Sculptures like Siva withhis consort Uma, Ganesa, Brahma, Vaikundhanatha, Narasimha,Karthikeya, Suriyan, Durga and Gangadevi were chisseled out of rock inthe Maleget Siva temple at Vatabi in 642 A.D. The same type ofsculptures are also found in the Temples of the Pallava, the Pandya andthe Chola of Tamil Nadu little later.It proves that the knowledge of sculpture is liberally adopted inSouth India - Deccan and Tamil Nadu. The influence of Duvarabalaga iscommon among the Chalukas, the Rashtrakutas, the Pallavas, the Pandyasand the Cholas. The conquest of these rulers and the migration of theskilled craftsmen and artisans from one place to anothers might havecaused of the transition of this art.The artistic nature of the rulers and the craftsmen resulted in thecombination of different styles and the creation of new ideas in makingsculpture. One would not deny that the same style was also adoptedsimultaneously in different regions. A chain made of beads in Nandi ofthe Kodumbalur Temple is proved to be the Chalukyan influence inTamil Nadu. A panel of Lord Siva's dancing posture, watched by Parvathi and Nandi playing Muzhavu at the Tiruparangunrum rock cuttemple of the Pandyas resembles the same that of the Virupaksha templeat Pattadakkal. A Lingothbava sculpture in the Virupaksha temple and aSomaskanda of Kasi Viswanatha Shrine in the same temple have beentaken from the pallavas of Tamilnadu. A Siva Nataraja figure fromPattadakkal has been brought to Tirupparankundrum. This migratoryaspects of sculpture has happened due to the culmination of culture andthe political contacts.Narasimhavarma I's Magishasuramarthini panel ofMagishasuramarthini Mandapam at Mahabalipuram has been taken toMalligarchuna temple at Pattadakkal.

We can say that the Pattadakkalpanel is the furtherance of the panel of Mahabalipuram. Another exampleof the migratory nature of sculpture from Tamil Nadu to Deccan was theroyal emblem of the Chalukyas.Those emblems (Varagha, Counch, Sun and Mirror) engraved onthe Mugamandapam pillar of Ladkhan temple at Aihole. The sameemblems are later transformed into the royal emblems of Vijayanagarrulers with certain changes. These emblems are found both of theVaradharaja Perumal temple at Kanchi and an incomplete temple towerof Azhagarkoil. In the same way, the sculptures of Vidhyadharas and Nagarajas of the Vijayanagar were mobilized to temples of Kerala andthe Mandapas of Madurai Nayaks.The trade activities of the Europeans - Portuguese, Dutch andEnglish - also changed the Pattern of carving sculptures in Tamil Nadu.The traditional artisans began to emulate or immitate the European art-forms which advocate anatomical features of the body like projectionsand recessions. Sculptures came to be carved with rib-bones, wrist-bones, the assemblage of muscles on the torso, veins, nails, calf muscleetc. is against the Agamic rules. It is not that Tamils were not aware ofthe Anatomy but such carvings do not imply the super humanly quality ofa deity. These sculptures register several notable advances particularlyinterms of embellishment which is profuse, novel and of quality. Severalnew ideas were received from outside processed and absorbed into thetraditional style. Thus sculpture too in Tamilnadu is not static incharacter and ought to transition in different stages.