question_answer

Mention any two -architectural traditions that inspired the architects of Vijayanagara. How did they transform these traditions into temple architecture? Explain.

Answer:

The main architectural traditions were as follows:

(i) Fortification of the empire

(ii) Large gate ways

Thus these two traditions influenced the architects of Vijayanagara and they built large gopurams for the temples. Also the temples were spacious with large mandapas in them which was inspired by the spaciousness of fortification.

Temple Architecture: The temple architecture of Vijayanagara is a rich addition to temple architecture of India. By this period certain new features were in evidence. These included structures of immense scale that must have been a mark of imperial authority, best exemplified by the ray a gopurams or royal gateways that often dwarfed the towers on the central shrines, and signalled the presence of the temple from a great distance.

Other distinctive features include mandapas or pavilions and long, pillared corridors that often ran around the shrines within the temple complex. Vijayanagara temples are usually surrounded by a strong enclosure. Small shrines consist simply of a garbhagriha and a porch.

This architecture is best exemplified in the Virupaksha temple and the Vitthala temple.