Temple to Love : Architecture and Devotion in Seventeenth-Century Bengal

278 Pages·2005·11.572 MB·English

by  Pika Ghosh

Temple to Love
Illustrations • i
Contemporary Indian Studies
Published in association with the American Institute
of Indian Studies
Susan S. Wadley, Chair, Publications Committee/general editor
AIIS Publications Committee/series advisory board
John Echeverri-Gent
Brian Hatcher
David Lelyveld
Martha Selby
Books in this series are recipients of the
Edward Cameron Dimock, Jr. Prize in the Indian Humanities
and the
Joseph W. Elder Prize in the Indian Social Sciences
awarded by the American Institute of Indian Studies and are published
with the Institute’s generous support.
A list of titles in this series appears at the back of the book.
ii • Illustrations
Temple to Love
Architecture and Devotion
in Seventeenth-Century Bengal
PIKA GHOSH
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Bloomington and Indianapolis
Illustrations • iii
This book is a publication of
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© 2005 by Pika Ghosh
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data
Ghosh, Pika, date
Temple to love : architecture and devotion in
seventeenth-century Bengal / Pika Ghosh.
p. cm. — (Contemporary Indian studies)
Includes bibliographical references and
index.
ISBN 0-253-34487-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Temples—India—Bengal. 2. Architec-
tural terra-cotta—India—Bengal. 3. Terra-
cotta sculpture, Indic—India—Bengal.
4. Architecture—India—Bengal—17th
century. 5. Architecture and religion.
I. Title. II. Series.
NA6007.B4G55 2005
726'1'09541409032—dc22 2004016533
iv • Illustration1s 2 3 4 5 10 09 08 07 06 05
For Didu
(Reba Basu)
Illustrations • v
CONTENTS
vi • Illustrations
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Note on Transliteration xv
Introduction 1
1 • Desire, Devotion, and the Double-Storied Temple 39
2 • A Paradigm Shift 65
3 • Acts of Accommodation 108
4 • Axes and the Mediation of Worship 137
Epilogue: A New Sacred Center 185
Glossary of Architectural Terms 201
Notes 203
Bibliography 229
Index 247
Illustrations • vii
viii • Illustrations
Illustrations
All photographs are by the author unless noted otherwise; drawings are
by G. Murugan, The Landscape Company, Bangalore, India.
Illustrations are grouped at the end of each chapter.
Introduction
0.1. Map of South Asia Showing Major Sites Discussed 25
0.2. Map of Bengali Cultural Region 26
0.3. South Façade, Shyam Ray Temple, Vishnupur 27
0.4. Temple No. 4, Barakar 28
0.5. Radha Ballabh Temple, Krishnanagar 29
0.6. South Façade, Keshta Ray Temple, Vishnupur 29
0.7. Kala Chand Temple, Vishnupur 30
0.8. Murali Mohan Temple, Vishnupur 31
0.9. Radha Vinod Temple, Vishnupur 32
0.10. South Façade, Madan Mohan Temple, Vishnupur 33
0.11. Radha Shyam Temple Compound, Vishnupur 33
0.12. Temple-Types of Bengal 34
0.13. East Façade, Keshta Ray Temple, Vishnupur 35
0.14. Domestic Hut, Vishnupur 35
0.15. Temples No. 1 and 2, Barakar 36
0.16. Celebration of Ratha at Madan Gopal Temple, Vishnupur 37
0.17. European Ships, West Façade, Keshta Ray Temple, Vishnupur 38
0.18. Dedicatory Inscription, South Façade, Shyam Ray Temple, Vish-
nupur 38
Chapter 1
1.1. Central Upper Pavilion, Shyam Ray Temple, Vishnupur 57
1.2. Terra Cotta Panel Depicting Kirtan,Central Upper Pavilion, Shyam
Ray Temple, Vishnupur 57
1.3. Gokul Chand Temple, Gokulnagar 58
1.4. Central Upper Pavilion, Gokul Chand Temple, Gokulnagar 59
1.5. Plan of Shyam Ray Temple, Vishnupur 60
1.6. Kalanjay Shiva Temple, Patrasayer 61
1.7. Ratha Procession, Madan Gopal Temple, Vishnupur 62
1.8. Priest Sushanta Mukhopadhyay Attending upon Madan Mohan and
Radha during the Annual Celebration Commemorating the Arrival
of the Saint, Srinivas, Who Initiated the Vaishnava Transformation
of the Region, Madan Mohan Temple, Vishnupur 63
Illustrations • ix