Ikshvaku Architecture

Built Environments & Structures Premodern Culture

Architecture patronised by the Andhra Ikshvakus (c. fourth to third century BCE) (not to be confused with the legendary Ikshvaku dynasty of Kosala) and characterised by ornate temples and a rich assemblage of pillars, copings, railings, casings and sculptures portraying various themes from Buddhist texts and cosmology. Specimens of Ikshvaku architecture were found in excavations from Nagarjunakonda in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh.

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Ananda Nilayam

The name of the vimana (the sanctum sanctorum and the tower over it) of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra…

Blind Bays

In architecture, a recess or space between two vertical supports that is set on a wall without doors or windows.

amalaka

Ribbed or notched stone disk that is part of the crowning segment in Kalinga and Nagara temple architecture. The amalaka…

Chandrashala

A decorative motif similar to a barrel-vaulted roof, with a circular dormer-shaped or horseshoe-shaped arch. It is commonly found in…

Collonade

A row of columns, typically equidistant from each other and joined by an entablature. A colonnade may be freestanding or…

Shala

Derived from the Sanskrit word broadly meaning "house" or "shelter", shala may refer to a covered pavilion, often oblong; a…

Cantoned Pillar

An architectural term used to denote a pillar that emerges at an angle in a building or a structure.

Kapotabandha

In Indian temple architecture, it is a style of decorative moulding seen on a tier of the adhisthana, the raised…