India is full of beautiful monuments which attract a number of foreign tourists every year. Sanchi Stupa is one among them. It is a Buddhist Temple, which was built in 3^rd BC. This is in the place called Sanchi, in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the main part of India.

The Word Sanchi means Mould of Stones. This is said to be originally started by Ashoka the Great. The Stupas found here was destroyed using the method called Vandalism. Stupa means Symbolism and meaning. This symbolizes the event in the Buddha Life.

Sanchi Stupa has five parts each one represents some quality of Buddhism. This Monument has been modified by various kings according to their time and religion. The re-construction of this monument was started in the 18^th century however it took more than a century to restart the restoration and was completed in the 19^th Century.

Sanchi Stupa was added to the UNESCO world Heritage Site in 1989. The stupa is a mound which covered the relics of Buddha or his followers. This made Stupa to be most characteristic monument of Buddhist people in India. Stupa is not a building, these were once burial or reliquary mounds.

Sanchi Stupa is the symbol of Buddha, which resembles his doctrine of birth and re-birth, in other words “Final Dying” or “Parinirvana”. Though the history of Buddha doesn’t reveal that he was in this place, then how come there is Stupa in Sanchi?

Begging was one of their religious duties, which they have oblige for half of the day and other half of the day to perform their other religious duties. To perform other religious duties for the rest of the half day in noisy place or near to a busy trading place was difficult, the monastic communities searched for place which fit in their requirements.

Ashoka Maurya thought that Sanchi would be an apt place for that and provided a beginning to Buddism in India. This was one of the Monuments in India which has Buddhist state of art and architecture in India.

The architecture which was used in Monuments in India was of great standard, outstanding and excellent. These monuments though were related to religion directly or indirectly, the construction and the method used to construct these monuments were of high technology and incomparable architecture.

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Khajuraho, an Indian village in Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India.

It has the largest collection of Hindu and Jain temples and is famous for their erotic sculptures. It is also considered to be one of the seven wonders of India and is listed in UNESCO world heritage site.

Architecture of Khajuraho Temple

The khajuraho temples were among the most important monuments in India and is built in a span of 200 years, ranging from 950 to 1150. The complete area is enclosed by walls. Originally it had over 80 Hindu temples but now only 25 remains that are built over an area of about 21 square kilometers.

The temples there are fine examples of Indian architecture styles which are popular due to their explicit depiction of the traditional way of sexual life during medieval times.

The architecture of khajuraho temples can be related to northern Indian shikhara temple style or a panchayatana plan. Besides a few Jain temples, the various Hindu temples are dedicated to god’s trio Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and various Devi forms.

Temples Famous for Erotic Art

Though the temples are famous for erotic art, there are no sexual or erotic images inside the temples near the figures of deities. Only the external carvings bear some of those. It is believed that to portray the arts there, one must leave their sexual desired outside the temple premises. The deities of the temples are portrayed as atmas and do not refer to any physical body. People suggest that the images there give an idea of tantric sexual practices. Some 10% of the images depict sexual art whereas others show the common life of normal Indian man and their activities.

Because of the erotic art forms here, the site is often referred to as Kama sutra temple. But they do not illustrate the positions of the Vatsyayana’s famous sutra’s philosophy. They just focus on pleasure rather than procreation.

It is also believed that the Chandela monarchs built this temple between 950 and 1150. At that time, Tantric tradition was practices. In those times, boys lived in brahmacharya until they became men and they can learn about household works by examining these images. All the sculptures present here clearly tells that these temples would have required a number of trained sculptors.

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Situated in the Nilachal Hill, Assam, Kamakhya or shakti temple is dedicated to various forms of mother goddess. Hindu and tantric pilgrims often consider this place an important destination. Chilarai from the Koch dynasty constructed this temple in 1565. The original old structure was believed to be destroyed by Kala Pahar but the current structure consists of three chambers with idols and images of lord Ganesha and other Hindu gods and goddesses on the outside and a beehive like shikhara.

The general pilgrims use the western chamber which is large and rectangular. Middle chamber, added later, is a square and has an idol of goddess and images of Naranarayana and other related gods on the walls. It leads to the sanctum sandtorum through a cave which is a natural underground spring and flows in the bedrock through a yoni shaped cleft. The mensuration of goddess Kamakhya or Shakti is celebrated every summer during the Ambuvaci festival.

The legend of this famous temple says that after the Koch Bihar royal family was banned from offering puja here by Devi, the temple faced a lot of hardship without their support. By this time, Ahoms’ interest grew in this temple and the later Ahom kings supported the temple by renovating it. Later, Krishnaram Bhattacharyya, a famous mahant of Shakta became the spiritual guru for many Brahmins. Siba Singh, the king gave the management and land of Kamakhya temple to Krishnaram Bhattacharyya. The guru and his successors resided on the top of Nilachal hill and were called Parbatiya Gosains.

Worshipers consider this place a sacred sacrificial site and devotees often go there with goats and other animals as offerings to Shakti. According to Kalika Purana, Kamakhya is described as yielder of all desired, Shiva’s young bride and salvation giver. Kamakhya is also known as Shakti. On the other hand, the Yogi Tantra relates Kamakhya with goddess kali. Banikanta Kakati says about the existence of a tradition which was famous among the priests. The tradition was established by Naranarayana and it tells that the Garos, a matrilineal people, worshiped Kamakhya by sacrificing pigs as an offering to the goddess.

The two modes of worship, Vamachara and Dakshinachara, are both used to worship the goddess. Often flowers are offered to the goddess but many also believed in male animal offering to please the goddess.

The Kamakhya temple is considered a major center for Tantra worship and due to this reason, thousands of devotes of Tantra are attracted here in Ambuvaci, an annual festival celebrated here. Manasha Puja is another sacred celebration that takes place here every year. Kamakhya people also take part in Durga Puja celebration during Navratri, in the autumn. This celebration often runs for five days and it attracts several thousand people from around the country.

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakhya_Temple

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Various Indian designs were also added to the building. These included several circular stone basins on the top of the palace, as water features are an important part of Indian architecture. There was also a traditional Indian chujja or chhajja, which took the place of a frieze in classical architecture; it was a sharp, thin, protruding element which extended 8 feet (2.4 m) from the building, and created deep shadows.There were also statues of elephants and fountain sculptures of cobras in the gardens. The British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger, known for his war memorials in Britain, designed the elephants on the corners of the retaining walls, as well as the bas-reliefs around the base of the Jaipur Column.

Inspired from the Indian designs, there were grilles made from red sandstone, called jalis or jaalis. The front of the palace, on the east side, has twelve unevenly spaced columns with the Delhi order capitals. These capitals have a fusion of acanthus leaves with the four pendant Indian bells. The Indian temple bells are a part of the culture of Indian religions, such as Hindu and Buddhist, the idea coming from a Jain temple at Moodabidri in Karnataka. One bell is on each corner at the top of the column. It was said that as the bells were silent British rule in India would not end. The front of the palace does not have windows, except for the wings at the sides.

Lutyens stated that the dome is inspired by the Pantheon of Rome. There is also the presence of Mughal and European colonial architectural elements. Overall the structure is distinctly different from other contemporary British Colonial symbols. It has 355 decorated rooms and a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m²). The structures includes 700 million bricks and 3.5 million cubic feet (85,000 m³) of stone, with only minimal usage of steel.

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrapati_Bhavan

Being very big and the biggest residence of any Head of the State in the world, Rashtrapati Bhavan has seperate wings for the Viceroy and guests. The viceroy’s wing is a separate four-storey house in itself, with its own court areas within. This wing was so large that the first president of India decided not to stay there, staying in the guest wing, a tradition which was followed by subsequent presidents.

The layout of the palace is designed around a massive square and it has many courtyards, rooms and open inner areas within. There is the Durbar Hall, at the centre of the main part of the palace. It lies just below the main dome. This was known as the Throne Room during British rule when it had thrones for the Viceroy and his wife.

The hall has a 2-ton chandelier which hangs from a 33-metre height. On each of the four corners of the hall is a room, including two state drawing rooms, a state supper room and the state library. There are also other rooms such as many loggias (galleries with open air on one side) which face out into the courtyards, a large dining hall with an extremely long table, sitting rooms, billiards rooms, and a large ball room, and staircases. Water features are also through the palace, such as near the Viceroy’s stairs, which has eight marble lions spilling water into six basins. The lions symbolise Britain, as the lion was often used for this purpose. There is also an open area in one room to the sky, which lets in much of the natural light.

The dome in the middle involved a mixture of Indian and British styles. In the centre was a tall copper dome surmounted on top of a drum, which stands out from the rest of the building, due to its height. The dome is exactly in the middle of the diagonals between the four corners of the building. The dome is more than twice the height of the rest of the building. The height of the dome was raised by Lord Hardinge in the plan of the building in 1913.

The dome combines classical and Indian styles. Lutyens said the design evolved from that of the Pantheon in Rome, while it is also possible that it was modelled after the great Stupa at Sanchi. A porch goes around the dome with evenly spaced columns which support the dome, with an open area between the columns. Because this goes the whole way round, it makes the dome appear from any angle that it is ‘floating’ as seen in the heat haze of Delhi. The reinforced concrete shell of the outer dome began to take shape near the start of 1929. The last stone of the dome was laid on April 6, 1929. However the copper casing of the dome was not laid until 1930.

The main entrance to Rashtrapati Bhavan is known as Gate 35, and is located on Prakash Vir Shastri Avenue, renamed from North Avenue in November 2002, as a memorial to the politician of the namesake who served here during his tenure as a Member of Parliament for the state of Uttar Pradesh.

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrapati_Bhavan

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The temple takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka), the sun god, and is heavily decorated with stone carving. The entire complex was designed in the form of a huge chariot drawn by six spirited horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated wheels. The entrance is guarded by two giant lions, which are each shown crushing a war elephant.

Each elephant in turn lies on top of a human body. The temple symbolises the majestic stride of the Sun god. At the entrance of the temple is a Nata Mandir. This is where the temple dancers used to perform dances in homage to the Sun god. All around the temple, there are various floral and geometric patterns.

The temple is now partly in ruins, and a collection of its sculptures is housed in the Sun Temple Museum, which is run by the Archaeological Survey of India. The poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote of Konark: “here the language of stone surpasses the language of man.”

The Sun Temple, built in the thirteenth century, was conceived as a gigantic chariot of Sun God, with twelve pairs of exquisitely ornamented wheels pulled by seven pairs of horses. Majestic in conception, this temple is one of the most sublime monuments of India, famous as much for its imposing dimensions and faultless proportions as for the harmonious integration of architectural grandeur with plastic allegiance.

Every inch of the temple is covered with sculpture of an unsurpassed beauty and grace, in tableaux and freestanding pieces ranging from the monumental to the miniature. The subject matter is fascinating.
Thousands of images include deities, celestial and human musicians, dancers, lovers, and myriad scenes of courtly life, ranging from hunts and military battles to the pleasures of courtly relaxation.

These are interspersed with birds, animals (close to two thousand charming and lively elephants march around the base of the main temple alone), mythological creatures, and a wealth of intricate botanical and geometrical decorative designs. The famous jewel-like quality of Orissan art is evident throughout, as is a very human perspective which makes the sculpture extremely accessible.

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_temple

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Charminar, which literally means “Mosque of the Four Minarets” or “Four Towers” is the most famous and important monument situated in Hyderabad, India. The great monument is considered the foundation around which the glory and history of the Hyderabad has developed.

History about Charminar

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah built this famous structure to commemorate the elimination of a plague epidemic from this city. It is believed that he had prayed for the end of a plague that was ravaging his city and vowed to build a masjid at the very place where he was praying. Today one can see the city as evidence of the prayer being answered. There is also a legend of an underground tunnel that connects palace at Golkonda to Charminar which is possibly intended as an escape route for the Qutub Shahi rulers in case of a siege.

Art and Architecture of Charminar

This beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some say, pulverised marble, was at one time the heart of the city. This great tribute to aesthetics looks sturdy and solid from a distance but as you’ll move closer, it will emerge as an elegant and romantic edifice proclaiming its architectural eminence in all its detail and dignity.

Charminar looks equally spectacular at night when it is illuminated full of lights. Charminar is a beautiful and impressive square monument. Each side measures 20 m, and each of the corners has a tall, pointed minaret. These four gracefully carved minarets soar to a height of 48.7 m above the ground.

The actual masjid occupies the top floor of the four-storey structure. A vault that appears from inside like a dome, supports two galleries within the Charminar, one over another, and above those a terrace that serves as a roof, bordered with a stone balcony. The main gallery has 45 covered prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more people for Friday prayers.

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charminar

India is full of world heritage monuments that are known for their architecture and intricate work. Taj Mahal is the most important and master piece monument of India which is also one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It portrays Indian culture, heritage and civilization for which we Indians are always known for.

India is having a treasure of thousands of monuments. This treasure of unique master pieces is given by five thousand years of Indian History. Each monument has a history, mystery, intrigue and romance behind its building. Monuments in India do not belong to just one religion but we have the treasure of monuments belonging to all religions like Hindus, Buddhist, Muslims and Christians.

One should definitely visit monuments of India that forms a great heritage of the country and reflects the culture of yore days. Travelers from all over the world visit India just to see the architecture and miraculous beauty of these historical monuments whether it is Taj Mahal or Khajuraho Temple. Here they get to see the diversity of culture and heritage for which India is known all over the world.

Monumental Heritage of India
Monumental Heritage has its Roots in Mohenjodaro and Harappa Civilization

India has always been known for its monumental heritage. There are many famous monuments in India that include forts, palaces, temples, mosques, churches and more. These monuments are known for their superb architecture and historical pasts. The mind blowing and unique architecture of the cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa gave a start to the era of architecture in India. The great architecture in India is not just given by one but it is influenced from its various rulers be it Hindus, Muslims or British. There are some earlier architectural forms like The Great Bath, the Assembly Hall and the Drainage System which are still known for their great architecture and marvelous beauty.

Religious and Spiritual Monuments

There are many religious and spiritual monuments in India that are a sign of Hindu architecture. It is often seen that Hindu architecture mostly concentrates on religious and spiritual aspects. We have some Hindu Architectures like Khajuraho Temples, Jain shrines at Dilwara, Jagannath Temple at Puri, Konark Sun Temple and Kailashnath Temple at Ellora which are famous not only in India but all over the world.

Just as Hindus, Muslims have also given some brilliant monument to India. The invasion of Muslims in India brought about a tremendous change in the architectural form. They gave emphasis to the features like arches, tombs, mosques, minarets and more. Qutub Minar, Taj mahal, Jama Masjid are some of the monument gifts given by the Muslim invasions to India.

British Style of Architecture

British style of architecture was totally different from Hindus and Muslims. They gave emphasis on various architectural styles such as Gothic, Imperial, Christian, English Renaissance and Victorian. The Rajabai Tower at Mumbai, Victoria Memorial at Calcutta and Law Courts at Chennai are some of the architectures given by British. Also the layout of cities like New Delhi and Chandigarh symbolizes the British colonial structure in India.

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TAJ MAHAL CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A SHEER POETRY IN MARBLE.

Majesty, Beauty and magnificence, unrivaled, the Taj Mahal supposed to be the only one of its kind across the world. It is the monumental labor of love from Shahjahan (a great ruler) for his beloved queen. It is a real and true symbol of Love and is one of the Most Famous Monuments of India.

If you have already read about Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world, you probably know the three things about this magnificent monument of India.

• Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and attractive monuments on this earth.
• It is the greatest monument of True Love that was ever built. It’s ‘the living legacy’ of Love. And above all
• There is no other monument that lies in comparison with the art and architecture of Taj Mahal.

Also to know about the construction of this beautiful monument of India, it is basically considered as the master of Mughal architecture, a style that is mixture of Indian, Islamic and Persian craftsmanship. Taj mahal was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaj (the most ravishing of the world).

WHERE IS TAJ MAHAL LOCATED

Regarding the location of this beautiful monument, it is in the city Agra, on the banks of the Yamuna. Many of the people say just wow for this magnificent beauty and one of the most famous monuments of India. It is one of the must visit destination on the historical tour to India and is one of the memorable and glorious ancient monuments of India. Taj Mahal is not just the piece of architecture, rather it is considered as the living monument, which is counted and will be forever as one amongst the ‘Seven Wonder s of the World’.

WHO BUILT THE WONDERFUL TAJ MAHAL

It’s the ultimate realization of Emperor Shahjahan’s dream. Shahjahan, the great emperor made this beautiful monument of India for his beloved beauty. The Taj Mahal rules on the square piece of marble platform. This is further adorned with the glaring minrates at each corner and made astonishingly beautiful.

Each one of these minrates, are actually leaned out slightly so that they won’t fall on the main complex due to any earthquake. This is simply a wonderful piece of art and architecture in India which is brilliantly designed and constructed at that non technological era of times.

Taj Mahal also includes giant arches which are beautified with the ornate carvings of the flowers. These are also inlaid with the pietra -dura mosaics of the semi precious stones and the elegant calligraphy from the holy book of Koran.

An estimated of about 20,000 people worked to complete the enchanting mausoleum which is world famous and one of the most famous monuments of the world. It took around 22 years in its making.

For a breathtaking beauty and a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal, one has to see it by moonlight and sunrise. This ancient monuments of India looks amazingly beautiful when the light change over from the cold hazy blue to any variation of pale gold, orange or skinny pink. Taj also seems to be changing its colors during the different hours of the day and during different seasons. The sunset view of the Taj Mahal is simply brilliant and can attract any eye in the world. So now when you are in India the next time do not forget to visit this astonishingly fine beauty of world which is known as Taj Mahal India.

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