Question

The temple built at the beginning of the Gupta period had only the sanctum sanctorum and a veranda with four columns.
a. True
b. False

Answer 1

Hint:
The Guptas were the first Hindu temple architects who developed from the earlier rock-cut shrine tradition. These temples, decorated with towers and intricate carvings, were also devoted to all the Hindu gods. Relatively few of a large number of constructed Gupta temples have survived.


Complete solution:
 The Gupta Dynasty, founded by Chandragupta I, ruled in North Central India between the 4th and 6th centuries CE, and the era is considered a golden age of artistic accomplishment.

With the single cubicle “garbhagriha” in the middle, most temples during the Gupta period also follow a square plan. This is normally entered by a short columned porch with a projecting lintel set over a single, highly decorated doorway. A pot-and-foliage capital can be supported by columns, and roofs are usually flat, as in surviving examples at Tigawa and Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh. Other traditional Gupta decorative features include triangle motifs inside doorways and lion's heads at the ends of stone beams.

Cave-temples were the earliest examples of religious architecture, which usually had exterior sculptures adorned with relief and a single carved doorway. Ritual sculptures, such as a Shiva linga (phallus), were mounted inside the shrine and the walls were richly decorated with more carvings depicting mythological scenes. Notable examples are found in Madhya Pradesh at Udayagiri, where one cave bears a 401 CE date mark.

Finally, the Ajanta caves, a row of 29 rock-cut caves following the ravine of the Waghora river bed in northwest Deccan, should be described. They include some of the earliest and finest examples of Indian wall painting, dating from the 2nd century BCE to the 7th century CE.


Hence, the correct answer is option A.

Note:
The Guptas were the first dynasty to construct permanent free-standing Hindu temples, not content with caves, and so a long tradition of Indian temple architecture began. It is perhaps important to note here that Hindu temples were not built for congregation but rather as the dwelling place (devalaya) of a deity.