Public Lecture: Ancient Indian Temple Architecture

Another public lecture at the National Library in Singapore.

Ancient Indian Temple Architecture: Style, Patronage and Influences
Dr Gauri Parimoo Krishnan

Friday Jun 20, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Level 5 – Imagination in National Library (Singapore, Victoria Street)

Dr Gauri Parimoo Krishnan, a specialist in Indian temple architecture and sculptures of Medieval (8th-12th centuries) India, will explore the significance of temple building, its symbolism and how it served as a centre of economy, social, political and religious identity in the past.

Alongside the talk will be a slide presentation that will explore the origins and development of temple architecture in different parts of India, their stylistic differences and influences within India and in parts of Southeast Asia such as at Angkor Wat, Cambodia and Bali, Indonesia. The presentation will also unravel the beautiful sculptures and decorative motifs that constitute the temple forms and what significance they carry.

This is a great opportunity to examine the works of great temple builders such as the Pallavas, Chola, Chandellas and Solankis, as well as distinguish between styles such as Nagara, Vesara and Dravida in structure and design.
Related books:
– Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization
– The Temple Architecture of India
– Architecture and Art of Southern India: Vijayanagara and the Successor States 1350-1750 (The New Cambridge History of India)
– Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia
– India & Southeast Asia to 1800
– India’s Interaction with Southeast Asia: History of Science Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. 1, Part 3 (History of Science, Philosophy & Culture in Indian Civilization)
– Art of India and Southeast Asia