Secret Codes in Indian Architecture?

[Naaga]

A series of yalis, horses or elephants sculpted on the walls of a temple, uniformly facing one way contain a rare yali, horse or elephant facing the otherway. Is it a mistake, or an attempt to break the monotony of a pattern......OR a deliberate attempt to convey something?

Does a 'Sangubootham' sculpted anywhere indicate a subterranian vault or a passage nearby?

There are these odd pillars in a series of pillars with unique themes. Are they the result of the later repair works, or deliberate markers?

In other words, when the Sthapathis built the temples, have they left coded messages in the temples for a future Sthapathi to interpret and know? If so, the facts may be contrary to what the stone inscriptions say.

These are the aspersions cast by a book which i had read some time back, written by one Mr.Pillai...... It was in the Max Mueller Bhavan Library, Chennai......
Sorry for my poor memory........i do not remember the name of the book or Mr.Pillai's full name.

(One of my personal observations in my recent trip to Belur, Halebid and Somnathpur.........A series of horses sculpted around the Somnathpur temple depict them as docile trotting horses to start with, then it turns into a hunting scene with monkeys, again some docile horses, then long warlike scenes with the horses trampling on soldiers interspersed with peacefully trotting horses. The numbers in each section vary. Is this an attempt to convey the warring years and peace-times during the hundred odd years it took to build the temple????)

(This post is also an attempt to trace Mr.Pillai's book. It talks about various temples in our country, specifically about the Thanjavur temple and Gangaikondacholapuram temple. Mr.Pillai claimed that these temples were originally Buddhist viharas. Mr.Pillai, if i remember correctly, was also employed with the Archaeological Survey of India...............An attempt was made to trace it at MMB.....but the library is closed and the entire collection of books is donated to a Missionary and they when contacted do not seem to have the book.)

SO, ANY LEAD TO TRACE THIS BOOK IS WELCOME

[gaddeswarup]

Could it be this book?
From:
http://mezcal.ub.uni-koeln.de:8080/w...0000=005452355
Autor / Person Pillai, Suresh B.
Titel/Stichwort Introduction to the study of temple art
Verfasserangabe Suresh B. Pillai
Verlagsort Thanjavur
Verlag Equator and Meridian
Erschein.-Jahr 1976
Seitenzahl VIII, 72, 110 S. : überwieg. Ill.
Serienangabe South Indian art and archaeological series ; 1
Standort USB-Magazin
Signatur 12B2275
Notation Slg. Ostasiatica
This is by google search. It would be a bit of surprise if this is the required book.
swarup

[pooja.shankar]

wow .... amazing topic !!!!!!!
naaga ...



well after reading DA VINCI CODE ...
very few indians think about codes in indian architecture ..

well the chidambara ragasiyam .i dunt know what ragasiayam it s ..wish some one will tell me ..

and what else ..


most of indian architechture is built in praise of god ....but u never know ..

so was Da Vinci's Last supper...
but it took years for a Dan Brown to be born and think about these things ...

u never know ..there could be something behind everything in Indian Architecture .... not jsut the praise for God ...!!

like Lord Chesterfield said : Humans are not random creatures ..what ever they do ..they do with a reason ...


continue this topic people ..

[pooja.shankar]

what about the temples with pillars that make musical notes ..

and even some temples ..why do they have some very odd number of pillars ..
(what does the number imply ?)

leaving the religious monuments ...whats about forts and havelis ..


What about the churches and mosques india ....

There should be something isnt it ?

[pooja.shankar]

continue this topic people

[Naaga]

Thanx Swarup for the lead. I had some more results through other search-engines. But all of them lead me to dead-ends.

There are more than one Pillais who have written about Indian architecture.

Just returned from a trip to Thiruvalankadu temple near Arakkonam.

Though a simple temple with not much adornment, the pillars are worth noting. They have a sort of ribbon-like horizontal piece on top connecting two points on the pillar. I noted that some odd pillars in between, lack them.

A friend who came along suggested, that they could have been broken while they carved...and the sthapathis could have finished the pieces without them.....as it doesnt make any sense to dump the whole pillar just because a small detail was missing.

Very valid argument.......but it failed to explain a couple of pillars which had the structure in unfinished condition.........especially one pillar (the first one on the west side extension in the outer prahara) which had one side fully finished and the other side half finished.

Any Hubber with any knowledge about such a secret code (if it exists) stand-up please!!!

[1&only]

Indian architecture - When was the beginning of architecture in India?

[pooja.shankar]

Well the chidambara ragasiyam ..is a well known thing i think ..but i dunt know it ..


I think this is a very interesting topic and i hope people will continue ..

[pooja.shankar]

well the musical notes on pillars and steps ....could be the expression of a talented artisan ..who wanted to learn the music ( at that time ..it was taught only to the brahmins .. ) and resorted to it ..

but it also goes that the musical notes are SA RE GA MA PA .. in a particular raag ..so it can't really be ....


I SAY AGAIN

HUMANS ARE NOT RANDOM CREATURES
WHAT EVER THEY DO
THEY DO WITH A CAUSE

so people lets ponder over it ...

[pooja.shankar]

hmm ....what happened ...no one here ?????????????