HAVELIS OF JAISALMER

HAVELIS OF JAISALMER
The enticing Havelis of Jaisalmer are mansions built by the wealthy merchants of this city. With the old...est of them going back nearly 300 years, these Havelis are an ode to true Indian architecture, without any European influence.

Built in sandstone, the Havelis have exquisite detailing in the patterns carved in stone. The fineness of these patterns is a joy to behold. The decorative latticework on the Havelis facades’ are made from stone and wood. The Havelis are all in mint condition and have imposing and beautifully done up interiors. The history of each of these Havelis is as colorful as the place itself. It is pride and joy of Jaisalmer:
The Havelis of Jaisalmer are as famous as its might fortress. Carved in the same yellow sandstone, their intricately carved beauties are a reminiscent of the prosperous past of the town when it happened to be the business hub on the Camel caravan route connecting India to Central Asia.
More Ornate work at the HavelisThough there are so many havelis in Jaisalmer, there are few as famous as the big three: Patwa ki Haveli, Nathmal ki Haveli and Salim Singh ki Haveli. It is needless to say these Are Renowned For Their Architecture, Rajasthan Royal Grandeur And Exquisite Paintings. so it fascinated by the beauty and grandeur of these buildings whose owners were as grandiose as the royals.

Gangadeshvara Temple

Nandi (bull) in Gangadeshvara Temple at Turvekere.
The Tripurantaka Temple (also called Tripurantakesvara or Tripurantakeshwar...a) was built around c. 1070 CE[1] by the Western Chalukyas. This temple, which is in a dilapidated state, is in the historically important town of Balligavi (also called Balagamve), modern Shimoga district, Karnataka state, India. The exterior walls of the temple have erotic sculptures on friezes. These depictions are considered rare in Chalukyan art. Being miniature in size, these are visible only upon close examination.

During medieval times, Balligavi was a seat of learning to multiple religious faiths and was home to many monuments and structures built by the Chalukyas.
More than 80 medieval inscriptions have been discovered in Balligavi and belong to the Shaiva, Vaishnava, Jain and Buddhist faiths. These inscriptions describe, among other things, the building of temples.

Dhammayangyi Temple

Dhammayangyi Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Bagan, Myanmar. Largest of all the temples in Bagan, the Dhammayan as it is popularly known was built during ...the reign of King Narathu (1167-1170). Narathu, who came to the throne by assassinating his father Alaungsithu and his elder brother, presumably built this largest temple to atone for his sin.
The temple is four faced whose entrance is marked by "pointed arch and vaulted ceiling". In contrast to the stupas, the hollow gu-style temple is a structure used for meditation, devotional worship of the Buddha and other Buddhist rituals. The gu temples come in two basic styles: "one-face" design and "four-face" design—essentially one main entrance and four main entrances. Other styles such as five-face and hybrids also exist. The one-face style grew out of 2nd century Beikthano, and the four-face out of 7th century Sri Ksetra. The temples, whose main features were the pointed arches and the vaulted chamber, became larger and grander in the Bagan period.
 

Sompura Mahavihar temple

Reconstructed model of Sompura
Mahavihara by Ali Naqi
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About Somapura Mahavihara, Mr. J.C. French says with grief: "For the research of the Pyramids of Egypt we spend millions of dollars every year. But had we spent only one percent of that money for the excavation of Somapura Mahavihara, who knows what extraordinary discoveries could have been made".
The site houses the architectural remains of a vast Buddhist monastery, Somapura Mahavihara,covering 27 acres (110,000 m 2 ). It was an important intellectual centre for Dharmic Traditions such as Buddhists (Buddha Dharma), Jains (Jaina Dharma) and Hindus (Sanatana Dharma) alike. The 21 acre (85,000 m²) complex has 177 cells, viharas , numerous stupas, temples and a number of other ancillary buildings. The outside walls with ornamental terracotta palques still display the influence of these three religions.
In terms of acreage, Somapura was the largest of the mahaviharas.
It was also quite unusual architecturally. As one scholar described, the complex was dominated by a temple, which was not typical, and further, the temple had "none of the characteristic features of Indian temple architecture{here it is wrongly interpreted that it has none of the features of Indian temple}, but is strongly reminiscent of Buddhist temples of Burma, Java and Cambodia, reproducing the cruciform basement, terraced structure with inset chambers and gradually dwindling pyramid form . . during the age of the Palas some sort of intercourse between eastern India and south-east Asia existed . . but how this temple type, represented in India by this solitary example, became the standard of Buddhist temple architecture is not known." Another commented, "there can be no doubt that this style of architecture has most profoundly influenced that of Burma, Java and Cambodia. The nearest approximation to the plan and the superstructure of the Paharpur temple is afforded by the temples known as Chandi Loro Jongrang and Chandi Sevu of Prambanam in Central Java."

Chaturbhuj Temple (चतुर्भुज मंदिर),

Chaturbhuj Temple (चतुर्भुज मंदिर), dedicated to Shree Vishnu, is situated at Orchha in Madhya Pradesh, India. Built in 875, during the reign of imperial Gurjar...a Pratihara dynasty, it is constructed within a later colonnade. The temple consists of a sanctum with pancha-ratha Shikhara, a vestibule and a porch. The temple also has a curved tower with a small porch.
 

MUSICAL PILLARS OF HAMPI

THE MUSICAL PILLARS OF HAMPI AT VITHALA TEMPLE HAMPI
 [ NEAR OSPET ,KARNATAKA-INDIA]
Previously it is mentioned that...the temple has 56 odd musical pillars, but now there are only nine musical pillars which are functional and produce melodious, feet-tapping tunes.

The musical pillars of Vithala temple in Hampi produce melodious and feet-tapping tunes. The solid stone columns in these pillars produce audible sound, when struck with a finger. Systematic investigations on the acoustic characteristics of the musical pillars of mahamandapam (great stage) of the Vitthala Temple have been carried out. The 11 most popular pillars that produce sounds of specific musical instruments are considered for the investigations.
Surprisingly, these pillars are rock solid, not hollow as they would look . A huge rock was used to make the main pillar and the sub pillars were around the main pillar. So basically the sub pillars are carved out in different length and width to make the differences in sound.
The sound produced from these 11 most popular musical pillars was recorded systematically and different nondestructive testing techniques such as low frequency ultrasonic testing, impact echo testing, and in situ metallography were employed on the musical columns of these pillars. The peak frequencies in the amplitude spectrum of the sound produced from various columns in these pillars are correlated with the dimensional measurements and ultrasonic velocity determined using impact echo technique.
The peak frequencies obtained experimentally have been found to have excellent correlation with the calculated flexural frequencies based on the dimensional measurements and ultrasonic velocities of the columns.
This shows the skill of the Stone Mason who could discern the sound probability while cutting the stone to desired sizes and shapes to give different sounds .

 

Shiva in Tripura-Unakoti in Tripura

Very rare ancient rock-cut sculpture of Shiva, Tripura
It's very similar to some sculptures found in meso-american civilizations.
‘Unakotiswara KalBhairava’ is ...about 30 feet high including an embroidered head-dress which itself is 10 feet high. On each side of the head-dress of the central Shiva, there are two full size female figures - one of Durga standing on a lion and another female figure on the other side.
http://www.mysteryofindia.com/.../beautiful-stone...

Sculpture of Skanda, Kannauj
Dated: ~8th century CE