Ancient Indian Architecture :: Papers

ancient Indian Architecture The Science of Architecture and Civil Construction was know in Ancient India as Sthapatya-Shastra. The word Sthapatya is derived from the root word Sthapana i.e. to establish. The technique of architecture was both a science and an art, hence it is also know as Sthapatya-kala, the word Kala means an art. From very early times the formulation of temples, palaces, rest houses and separate civil construction was undertaken by professional architects cognize as Sthapati. Even during the Vedic times, there existed professionals who specialized in the technique of constructing chariots and other heavy instruments of war. These professionals have been referred to in the Rig Veda as Rathakara which literally means chariot maker. The excavations of the ruins at Mohenjodaro and Harrappa (today in Pakistan) proved the worldly concern of a essential Urban civilization in India. The Indus valley civilization is dated rough 3000 B. C. Thus since the last 5000 years. India has had an urban civilization. The existence of an urban civilization presumes the existence of rise up developed techniques of architecture and construction. These techniques would no doubt have had been systematically stated in record books for transmitting them to the later generations as well for being used as reference media for actual construction. Unfortunately, as further as the Indus Valley civilization goes no such records have been preserve either as rock edicts, manuscripts, etc., or in folk tales and legends. save the fact that cities on the scale of Mohenjodaro had been constructed bear testimony to the existence of a systematized and highly developed technique of architecture 5000 years ago. But in the later ages, from about the 7th century B.C., we have both writings references as well as archeological evidences to prove the existence of astronomic urban civilizations in the Ganges Valley. Like in most other sciences, even remotely connected with religion, in architecture also the scientific ideas and techniques have been integrated with philosophy and theology. This was so as the majority of the overlarge constructions were temples.