Art and Culture(Architecture)

The Lingaraja Temple marks the culmination of the temple architecture in Bhubaneswar which was the cradle of the Kalinga School of Temple Architecture.
The temple can broadly be divided into four main halls. The Garba Griha (Sanctum Sanctorum), the Yajana Mandapa (the hall for prayers), the Natya Mandapa (dance and music hall) and the Bhoga Mandapa (where devotees can have the offering of the Lord).
Statement 1 is correct. Bindusagar Lake is located in the north side of the temple. The lake is centre of activities for the people of Old Town and is the hub of temple festivities.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The Lingaraja Temple was built during the 11th century AD. The temple has been described as “One of the finest examples of purely Hindu Temple in India” by noted critic and historian James Fergusson (1808-1886).
The temple is believed to be built by the kings from the Somavamsi dynasty, with later additions from the Ganga rulers.
Kharavela was a king of Kalinga, who ruled during the first or second century BCE. He was the best-known king of the Mahameghavahana dynasty also known as the Chedi dynasty

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started work on cleaning the insect faeces deposited on some sections of the iconic Taj Mahal.
• By application of clay pack on its walls, the stains were removed, but as they reappeared, the ASI undertook a study of the problem.
• The findings showed that this problem was also present on other monuments facing the Yamuna, namely Itmad-ud-daullah, Chini Ka Rauza, Mehtab Bagh and portions of the Agra Fort.

Natesa or Natesha is Lord of Dance form of Shiva. Natarja is another dancing form of Shiva. It is found in various sculptures and archeological sites across the Indian subcontinent.
Recently a 9th-10th century rare Prathihara style idol of Lord Shiva – Natesa’, stolen in 1998 from Ghateshwar Temple, Baroli, Rajasthan has been repatriated to the Archeological Survey of India by the Indian High Commission in London.

Lokanarakavu temple (Kerala): Legend goes that Lokanarkavu temple was constructed by the Lohana community of traders and merchants who migrated from Sindh in Gujarat. Some believe that the original name of the temple was Lohanarkavu and others believe that it is the short form of Lokamalayarkavu (Loka – people, mala- mountain, aru -river and kavu – sacred grove).
Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple: Kerala.
Thyagarajaswamy temple: Tamil Nadu.

The sanctuary is located at Domkhar village in Leh, next to the banks of Indus River. It has 500-odd petroglyphs.
• These are numerous rocks carved figures, thought to date back between 2000 and 4000 years.
• The archaic scripts on these rocks have been discovered to be similar to those found among the nomadic tribes of the steppe region of Central Asia who lived 2,000 years ago.
• Such petroglyphs are found scattered widely across Ladakh: some noteworthy places outside Domkhar are Tangtse, Khaltse, Kharu and Biama.

Takshashila or Taxila is situated in present day Pakistan.
• Between the fifth century and fourth century BCE, it was part of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.
• Because of its strategic location on the trade route between the East and the West, it emerged as an important centre of learning and culture.
• Students came from far and wide to Taxila in search of knowledge.
• The city was brought to light by the excavation carried out in the 1940s by Sir John Marshall.
• Taxila is considered “one of the greatest intellectual achievements of any ancient civilization”.
• Panini seems to have compiled his well-known work, Ashtadhyayi, here.

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple.
Statement 1 is incorrect: Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, also known as Thiruvaranga
Tirupati, is one of the most illustrious Vaishnav temples in the country, dedicated to
Ranganatha, a reclining form of Hindu deity, Bhagwan (God or Lord) Vishnu.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Situated in an ethereal setting on the island of Srirangam
that is bounded by the two rivers of Cauvery and Kollidam (a tributary of Cauvery), this
living temple and sacred centre of pilgrimage is counted as the first and foremost among the
108 Divya Desams dedicated to Bhagwan Vishnu.

There are many subdivisions of nagara temples depending on the shape of
the shikhara.
•The most common name for the simple shikhara which is square at the base and
whose walls curve or slope inward to a point on top is called the ‘latina’ or the
rekha-prasada type of shikara.
•The second major type of architectural form in the nagara order is the phamsana.
Phamsana buildings tend to be broader and shorter than latina ones.
•The third main sub-type of the nagara building is what is generally called the
valabhi type. These are rectangular buildings with a roof that rises into a vaulted
chamber. The edge of this vaulted chamber is rounded, like the bamboo or wooden
wagons that would have been drawn by bullocks in ancient times. They are usually
called ‘wagonvaulted buildings’.

THE DRAVIDA OR SOUTH INDIAN TEMPLE STYLE.
Statement 1 is correct: Unlike the nagara temple, the dravida temple is enclosed within
a compound wall. The front wall has an entrance gateway in its centre, which is known as
a gopuram. The shape of the main temple tower known as vimana in Tamil Nadu is like a
stepped pyramid that rises up geometrically rather than the curving shikhara of North
India.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Whereas at the entrance to the North Indian temple’s
garbhagriha, it would be usual to find images such as mithunas and the river goddesses. Ganga and Yamuna, in the south you will generally find sculptures of fierce dvarapalas
or the door-keepers guarding the temple.
Statement 3 is correct: It is common to find a large water reservoir, or a temple tank,
enclosed within the complex.

Statement 1 is correct. Hampi, the 14th century capital of the Vijayanagar

Empire, lies in the Deccan heartland, in the state of Karnataka, protected by the river

Tungabhadra in the north and rocky granite ridges on the other three sides.

Statement 2 is correct. The monuments of Vijayanagar city, also known as Vidyasagar in

honour of the sage Vidyaranya was built between 1336-1570 AD, from the times of

Harihara-I to Sadasiva Raya. A large number of royal buildings were raised by

Krishnadeva Raya (A.D. 1509-30), the greatest ruler of the Tuluva dynasty.

Krishna temple, built by the Krishnadevaraya in 1513 AD to celebrate the conquest of

the eastern kingdom of Udayagiri or Utkala, contains lofty gopurams (grand entry portals)

that lead to shrines and structures for the worship of the idol Balakrishna.

Statement 3 is correct. Group of Monuments at Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Gwalior and Orchha fort cities of Madhya Pradesh have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage cities under its urban landscape cities programme.

Gwalior was established in 9^th century and ruled by Gurjar-Pratihara rajvansha, Tomars, Baghel and Scindhias. It is known for its palaces and temples including the famous Sas Bahu Ka Mandir.

Orchha was the capital of Bundela kingdom in 16^th century and has palaces and temples as major attractions for tourists.

Option 1 is correctly matched. India’s current Parliament building was designed by the famous architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker who were responsible for the planning and construction of New Delhi. The Foundation Stone of Parliament House was laid on 12 February 1921 by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught.

Option 2 is correctly matched. Le Corbusier, was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture.

Corbusier was 63 when he started work on Chandigarh, after several of his plans to reconstruct cities of Europe, after World War II, were rejected.

Chandigarh Capitol Complex, located in the sector-1 of Chandigarh, is a government compound designed by the architect Le Corbusier and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

My Son, an architectural complex on the coast of Vietnam, was the spiritual and political capital of the Cham people (the Champa Kingdom). The site consists of Hindu temple-towers built between the 4th and 13th centuries, though few pre-7th-century remains survive.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the My Son temple complex is among Vietnam’s most cherished cultural treasures. The ancient temples are being restored with support from the Archaeological Survey of India.