Hindu Temples and their Architectural Styles in Telangana - A Study

Abstract

Hindu temple was the pivot around which the life in India in the past revolved. Of all the constructional activities of the early medieval society in India, temple building was the fore¬most. Our surviving monuments are temples alone and they bear ample testimony to the fact that the medieval society was after religion and its medium of expression was the temple. The society in the Chalukyan and the Kakatiyan kingdoms of Telangana region was no exception in this regard. The temple became a symbolic representation of the various social activities in the medieval history of the Deccan. Numerous Sanskrit texts like the Manasara, the Suprabhedagama, the Silparatna and the Isanasiva Gurudeva Paddhati describe the method of construction of the Hindu temples and classify these temples on the basis of style and location. According to these texts, there are three styles; Nagara style, Dravida style and Vesra style. Many styles of temple art and architecture flourished in Telangana region. Of these, the Badami Chalukyan, the Vemulawada Chalukyan, the Kalyani Chalukyan and the Kakatiyan are important. This paper explores Hindu temples and their architectural styles in Telangana region of Deccan.