How Old Is The Hindu Temple Part 2

Evidence from the Inscriptions

Though not many Hindu temples exist which date back earlier than 3rd or 4th century CE, there are inscriptions which testify to the existence of temple and temple worship before Christ. Gopinatha Rao while writing about a 2nd century BCE inscription found in Brahmi script, on a Garuda Stambha, in Besnagar, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, says:

“This is about the earliest known inscription mentioning Vishnu as Vasudeva; and from this we are in a position to assert that the worship of Vasudeva in temples in India cannot be later than the 2nd century BC.” [19]

An inscription at Ghosundi, Rajasthan indicates the existence of a temple of Sankarsana and Vasudeva, forms of Vishnu. It is ascribed to 1st century BCE. Another inscription of pre-Christian era, mentioning construction of a stone temple is found at Mora, Mathura. [20] It dates from 1st century BCE, and speaks of a “sailadevagr…” “a stone house of god”. Five images in stone, of the holy Pancaviras of the Vrsni clan are said to have been installed here. [21] The temple structure is no longer to be found, but the inscription confirms of its existence.

Another inscription of 1st century BCE, from Nagari, Udaypur, Rajasthan describes a temple like structure, consisting of an enclosure around an object of worship. [22] The temple no longer survives, but the outer enclosure and the platform on which the temple used to stand is still there.

Evidence from inscriptions tells us about the existence of Hindu temples, in the pre-Christian era. The inscriptions tell us that the Hindu temple is at least 2200 years old.

Evidence from the Scriptures

Hindu epics and other scriptures also mention about the temples. Both The Ramayana and The Mahabharata testify to the existence of the Hindu temple.

“In the Ramayana, we see mention of temples in Lanka, (Bk. VI. 39, 21), clearly evidencing the fact that there existed at least in S. India the worship of images enshrined in temples.” [23]

Stella Kramrisch asserts that both the epics mention the existence of temples. The Mahabharata uses the words Devasthana for the temple. The Ramayana uses words like Devagrha and Devayatana. [24] It is noteworthy to mention that all of these words are still in use in many parts of India, especially south India. The word, ‘Prasada’ is used in the sense of a sacred structure in ancient texts like Sankhayana Srauta Sutra and Grhya Sutras. [25]

These pieces of evidence prove that some form of temple or sacred structure housing a sacred object was a familiar thing even in the times of The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, which takes the date of the Hindu temple to at least 1200 BCE or 3200 years old.

Another important point to note here is that if the age of the Hindu temple is taken back to more than three millennia, then it means, as discussed above, that it is older than the Buddha, and if the Hindu temple is older than the Buddha, then it lays to rest all arguments that the Hindu temple was just an evolution of the Buddhist temple or chaitya-griha and nothing more.

Evidence from other sources

Numismatics also bears relevant evidence about the Hindu temple. Some coins belonging to the pre-Christian era depict the likeness of the Hindu temple on them, such as those found at Mathura. [26] The Audumbura copper coins depict temples with multiple stories. [27]

Similarly in what can be called as meta-architectural evidence, some sculptures in low relief show an ancient form of temple. They are found at Barhut and Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh, [28] Bodh Gaya in Bihar [29] and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. [30]

Evidence from numismatics and other kinds of evidence also prove that the Hindu temple was in existence in the pre-Christian era.

Conclusion

The evidence from architecture, sculpture, literature, numismatics and inscriptions, confirms that the Hindu temple is older than the popular academic surmise and older than its earliest extant examples. The massive destruction that happened during the Islamic invasions accounts for the loss of temples and evidence regarding it. Also, the earliest temples were built in perishable materials like wood, thatch and mud and not meant to last long. The form of the Hindu temple was also different in ancient times, but the sacred essence of the Hindu temple has continued in an unbroken continuity from the Vedic times to the present age. Ultimately, the chronology of the temple is less important than its spiritual and sacred dimension, and which could be the focus of the future scholars of the Hindu temple.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Harle, J.C. Gupta Sculpture: Indian Sculpture of the Fourth to the Sixth Centuries A.D. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974.
2. Kramrisch, Stella. The Hindu Temple. Vol. I. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1946. (2015 ed.). p. 113.
3. Harle, J.C. Gupta Sculpture: Indian Sculpture of the Fourth to the Sixth Centuries A.D. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974.
4. Dehejia, Vidya. Indian Art. New York: Phaidon Press Limited, 1997. p. 143
5. Cunningham, Alexander (1879). “Report of a Tour in the Central Province in 1873-74-75-76 (Vol IX).” Archaeological Survey of India. New Delhi, p. 41.
6. Mishra, S. N. Gupta Art and Architecture. Agam Kala Prakashan. New Delhi. 1992.
7. Mookerji, Radhakumud. The Gupta Empire. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2007. p. 146.
8. Dubey, Nagesh. Eran Ki Kala. Sagar. 1997. p. 11.
9. D. Banerji. “The Temple of Siva at Bhumara.” Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India No 16, New Delhi. 1998.
10. Kramrisch, Stella. The Hindu Temple. Vol. I. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1946. (2015 ed.). p. 113.
11. Coomaraswamy, Anand Kentish. “HIIA”, Fig. 147.
12. Ramachandra Rao, S. K. The Vastu-Silpa-Kosha: Encyclopaedia of Hindu Temple Architecture and Vastu. New Delhi: Divine Books, 2012. Vol. I. p. 48.
13. ibid.
14. ibid. p. 49.
15. Gopinatha Rao, T. A. Elements of Hindu Iconography. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1997. p. 1.
16. ibid. p. 4.
17. ibid. p. 3.
18. ibid. p. 6.
19. ibid. p. 6-7.
20. Ramachandra Rao, S. K. The Vastu-Silpa-Kosha: Encyclopaedia of Hindu Temple Architecture and Vastu. New Delhi: Divine Books, 2012. Vol. I. p. 52.
21. Epigraphica India, XXIV; J. N. Banerjea, Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art (JISOA), Vol. X.
22. Kramrisch, Stella. The Hindu Temple. Vol. I. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1946. (2015 ed.). p. 109.
23. Gopinatha Rao, T. A. Elements of Hindu Iconography. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1997. p. 5.
24. Kramrisch, Stella. The Hindu Temple. Vol. I. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1946. (2015 ed.). p. 135.
25. ibid. p. 135.
26. ibid. p. 140.
27. Banerjea, J. N. The Development of Hindu Iconography. New Delhi: Munishiram Manoharlal, 1956 (3rd rev ed.). Fig, 16. Pl. I.
28. Coomaraswamy, Ananda Kentish. “HIIA”, Pl. XXX, Figs. 116, 117, 126A
29. Banerjea, J. N. The Development of Hindu Iconography. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1956 (3rd rev ed.). Pl. I, Fig. 16.
30. Coomaraswamy, Ananda Kentish. “HIIA’, Figs. 42 and 70.

Authored by Pankaj Saxena. Published by IndicaToday.