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After the decline of the Harrapan civilisation, India entered the
Vedic age. In the early centuries before and after Christ, dynasties
like the Mauryan, Gupta and Maitreka held sway and created Buddhist
caves. But it was the Rajput rulers who heralded the golden period
of architecture from the 8th to the 13th centuries AD.
The Solanki Rajput
rulers patronised some of the finest Hindu temples in India, and
created unique structures for harvesting water-the Vav or stepwell,
stepped tanks called kunds and stepped reservoirs called talaos.
Their Jain ministers too patronised exquisite temples, of marble
or local stone, dedicated to the tirthankars. Jain temples were
built on sacred mountain summits and in wooded valleys, the breathtaking
landscapes
providing a pristine backdrop for the majestic architecture of these
holy shrines.
Other Rajputs too rose to power in this period including the Jhalas
and Sammas(Jadejas) who arrived from Sindh and established rule
in northern Saurashtra and Kutch respectively, the Gohils who came
to the east coast of Saurashtra from Marwar in the 13th century,
the Jetwas who were the rulers of the west coast of Saurashtra,
and the Chauhans who reigned over eastern Gujarat.
The best known Solanki monument is the Sun temple at Modhera, commissioned
in 1026 AD by Bhimadev, two centuries before the world famous Sun
temple of Konark was built on the east coast of India. The temple
has been ravaged by plunderers and natural calamities, including
an earthquake, yet it remains an outstanding monument to the architectural
genius and artistic flair of the Silavats. The facades and pillars
are decorated with exquisite carvings of Gods and Goddesses, birds,
beasts and blossoms, and traditional erotic sculpture. The forecourt
of the temple is a rectangular stepped tank, 50 by 20 meters in
area, interspersed by 108 subsidiary shrines. The entrance to the
temple is by a beautifully carved columned portico, leading to the
Sabha Manclapa or assembly hall. The cusped arches, which became
a feature of Indo-Saracenic architecture after Islamic incursions
into India, the corbelled roof, the magnificent series of carvings
portraying scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Hindu
epics, and the light-and-shadow effect given by the beautifully
sculpted and organised columns, are highlights of the Sabha Mandapa.
The first rays of the sun, during the equinox would light up the
jewelled image of lord Surya in the sanctum, before the idol was
taken away by invaders.
The Solanki capital was Anhilwada Patan, a town filled with temples
and monuments, the most important among them being the Rani ki vav,
a stepwell dated to 1052 AD. The stepwell is a massive seven storeyed
subterranean structure, with flights of steps leading to the water
level, string coursed by magnificent works of 11th century7 sculpture
depicting voluptous women, Gods and Goddesses of the Hindu pantheon,
and the avtars of lord Vishnu. Just above the water level are chambers,
believed to have been reserved for queens and princesses to enjoy
the coolness of the air wrafting from the surface of the water,
and a stupendous sculpture of lord Vishnu reclining on the coils
of a serpent.
Sidhapur, north of Patan, wras the site of Raja Siclharaj Solanki's
splendid Rudramalaya, a 12th century7 temple with huge torana arches.
The temple is now largely in ruins, worth visiting to see the tapering
torana entrances of the temple complex, and the nearby Bohra Muslim
mansions. A fine pair of toranas can be seen at Vadnagar, richly
decorated by exuberant sculpture of the Solanki period. The town,
near the Toranas, is entered through 12th century7 gateways embellished
writh fine carvings. Near one of the gates is the 17th century Hatkeshwar
temple, and inside the town are Naggar Brahmin The magnificent lain
complex atop Shatrunjaya hill. Paliti havelis. Vadnagar was known
for its music, poet and other arts, and the famous musician due
of Tar and Riri wTho cured Tansen from the burning effec of the
Deepak rag by singing the Malhar rag, ar enshrined near the lake
of Vadnagar. Tana and were invited by emperor Akbar to sing in his
cout and rather than refuse the request of an emperc opted for self-immolation.
Further north of Vadnagar is the Jain complex Taranga, set in the
heart of rocky hills, with hugd boulders providing a spectacular
backdrop for thd architectural splendour of the principal temple
ancj its subsidiary shrines. The 12th century Ajitnath temple is
one the largest Jain shrines in Gujarat) with a columned central
hall and rotund lotv capitals, and an impressive dome. The Ajitnath
ido| has jewel eyes. The temple exteriors are embellishe by panels
of fabulous carvings, some of the bes sculpture being the ones portraying
voluptou women.
Among the marble temples of north Gujarat really fine example is
the Jain complex atl Kumbhariyaji, near Ambaji, which contains fivel
temples dated to the 1062-1134 AD phase of the! Solanki empire.
The temples have corbelled interior! domes, with carvings in concentric
circles rising to
the apex of the dome, superimposed by carved brackets
of detailed Godly, human, faunal and supernatural figures. Heavy
pendants hang from the centre of the main dome. Delicate marble
carvings are a feature of this temple complex.
