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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

Trace the origin and development of temple architecture in India with reference to regional styles and variations.

  • UPSC 2017
  • Regional States during Gupta Era

Indian temple architecture has no independent origin before the Gupta period — earlier religious building in the subcontinent was dominated by the stupa, the chaitya hall, and the rock-cut vihara, none of which housed a permanent cult image inside an enclosed sanctum. What changed under the Guptas was theological before it was architectural: the consolidation…

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What the full answer covers

  • The Gupta-Period Origin of the Free-Standing Temple
  • The Nagara Style: North India's Curvilinear Tower
  • The Dravida Style: South India's Storeyed Vimana
  • The Vesara Style: The Deccan's Hybrid Idiom

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