RELIGIOUS BUDDHIST

ARCHITECTURE.

RELIGIOUS BUDDHIST
ARCHITECTURE.

BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE

The major features of this style are Stupas,

Stambas, Chaitayas, Viharas or Monastries.

The primitive Buddhism rejected any form of image

worship,but represented Buddha by means of
symbols like Stupa, Bhodhi tree indicating
enlightment, Wheel of Law as first sermon as well
as corporeal vehicle of Buddha and his Footprints.

BUDDHIST STUPAS

BUDDHIST STUPAS
SYMBOLISM AND STRUCTURAL FUNCTION.

Stupas are the circular tumuli built of earth.

Plan,elevation and section and total form derived from

circle- the most powerful architectural form of
Buddhism.

The tectonic composition comprising The Dome of the

stupa (or the anda ) The Square Railing at the
crown ( or the Harmaika )and The Three Tier
Umbrella (or chhatra )have in course of time been
invested with various elaborate geomantic, theological
and philosophical meanings.

Staggered gateway
to Pradikshna Path

The stupa,surrounded by Vedica with

gateways four cardinal points

BUDDHIST STUPAS

The plan of pradikshna pathatthe ground level is read

to be a swastik and pregnant with the symbolism of
ancient social cults.

The Harmica And Chhatra are a stylized visual

depictions of the famous Bhodhi tree surrounded by the
scared Vedica Or Railing.

The Torana, erected after the railing was completed

some feet away from railing.

The location of its entrance was straggered from the

opening in the railings to ensure privacy for the pilgrim
pradkishinapath.

Northern Gateway,Great Stupa

Sopana(Stairs), Great

Vedica.

BUDDHIST PAGODAS

BUDDHIST PAGODAS

A Pagoda is the general term in the English language for

a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in China,
Japan, Korea, Nepal and other parts of Asia.

Buddhist Pagodas were often located in or near temples.

The modern pagoda is an evolution comprising of a tomblike structure where sacred relics could be kept safe and
venerated.

The architectural structure of the stupa has spread across

Asia, taking on many diverse forms as details specific to
different regions are incorporated into the overall design.

BUDDHIST PAGODAS

Pagodas attract lightning strikes because of their

height. This tendency may have played a role in their
perception as spiritually charged places.

Many pagodas have a decorated Finial at the top of the

structure. The finial is designed in such a way as to have
symbolic meaning within Buddhism; for example, it may
include designs representing a lotus.

The Finial also functions as a lightning rod, and thus

helps to both attract lightning and protect the pagoda
from lightning damage.

Nepalese Pagoda

The Japanese Pagoda

A pagoda at Sibu,
Sarawak, Malaysia
An Quang
Pagoda

BUDDHIST MONASTRATIES

BUDDHIST MONASTRATIES
The other architectural formation in rock cut architecture
was the monastery proper, which is an arrangement of
apartment for the accommodation of the monks, known
as a Vihara( Monastraties ).

Vihara

A typical Vihara consisted of a square central hall

entered by a door way, in front of which was a
vestibule, veranda, or portico.

Out of the central hall door ways open into square cells
carried still further into the rock, each of which was the
abode of one of the brotherhood.

BUDDHIST MONASTRATIES

The hemispherical Stupa was a geometrical

crystallization of the rudimentary mound of earth
eminently suitable for the ritual of endless
circumambulation.

The style of architecture employed in the rock cut

monasteries was of a very significant and evocative
character.

It took the form of reproductions, as far as the unusual

conditions admitted, of existing structural originals, the
general shape of such wooden buildings as well as every
detail, even to the joints and fastenings of the carpentry
constructions, being exactly imitated in the natural
rock.