SIGSTOP

When a comment posted to my previous blog entry surfaced in my mail box today, I realized that I haven’t updated my blog in a looong while. Still, resaauring to know that people are checking it out once every two months.

Inspired by Vijay’s pictures here, I went to Lepakshi.
Lepakshi is a 500-year old temple built in the Vijayanagar style. I’m no a temple architecture expert, but here is my opinion on South Indian temple archituctre formed after visiting many ancient temples:

The Hoysala/Kakatiya architecture (circa 1200AD) tends to abound in sculptural beauty and a certain kind of symmetry, but the structures themselves are relatively compact. The Chola architecture of Tamilnadu on the other hand focuses on impressing with size : imposing gopurams, massive courtyards and such. Intricate stone carvings are not that much in evidence. (When I say sculpture, I speak of sculpture within the temple precincts, excluding gopurams. Most all South Indian temples tend to have carvings on the gopurams.)

The Vijaynagar style tends to fall between that of the Hoysala and the Chola. Neither compact nor humongous. Neither abundant in sculpture nor devoid of it. And the sculpture, such as it is there, is not as finely carved as that of Hoysala or Kakatiya temples. Also, the latter use polished black stone, whereas the Hampi temples use the more damage-prone sand stone.

Lepakshi fits the Vijaynagar pattern, though it seemed smaller than most Hampi temples. It does have what I didn’t see in temples at Hampi though: murals. 500 year old murals. These depicted stories from the Hindu lore. Roughly at about the same time that Michaelangelo was working on the Sisitine Chapel, unknown painters in Lepakshi were toiling away on the roof of the Lepakshi temple. Michaelangelo’s work is well-preserved, but the art work at Lepkashi is slowly disappearing, both owing to poor maintenance and also the vagaries of the climate.

Another of Lepakhi’s interesting aspects is a hanging pillar. A stone pillar does hang loose from the ceiling, albeit an inch above the floor! The pillars are arranged in such way that they close in on the event of an earthquake, and prevent the roof from caving in. The guide told us that a British engineer wanted to investigate the mystery of the hanging pillar, and tried to forcibly rest it on ground. Reportedly, all pillars moved and the roof shook. He abandoned his project.