History of Architecture

Panch Mahal

Fatehpur Sikri, India

The Panch Mahal is a rectangular colonnaded structure open on all sides and 

built from local red sandstone. 

It is positioned to act as a "transition" building between the 

semi-public spaces that surround the Daulat Khana courtyard and the more private spaces of the Royal Harem. Its function is unknown: some assumptions hold that it served as a pleasure resort for the Emperor or that it was used exclusively by the ladies and children of the court. For others, its interconnection with the imperial apartments (the Khwabgah complex) as well as the relation of the building’s main façade to the public court and its eastern orientation suggest that it might have been used for the Emperor’s daily ritual of Jharokha-Darsana, where Akbar displayed himself to the public assembled in the Pachisi court to worship him and receive his blessings.


As its name implies, the building is comprised of five levels, with the ground floor measuring 22.05 meters north–south by 17.65 meters east–west, and the upper floors decreasing in their horizontal dimensions as they rise, forming an asymmetrical pyramid stacked over the southeast corner. The final, fifth level is a domed chhatri. The total height of the structure equals the total length of its ground floor; however, the building appears vertically dominant, perhaps due to its being raised on a plinth approximately .75 meters above the level of the public court. With the exception of the chhatri dome, the building is a trabeated structure. On the east elevation, double and quadruple series of columns facilitate the transfer of load. The emphasis is visual as well as structural: the east elevation is the building’s principal elevation, overlooking the Pachisi Court.

Jor-Bangla Temple

This temple is designed as per Hindu temple architecture that arose in Bengal. The style involves two structures that resemble the traditional village huts of the region, one that serves as a porch, in front of the other that serves as a shrine. Each structure has a roof of the ek-bangla (or do-chala) style, with two curved segments that meet at a curved ridge. Jor Bangla Mandir is one of the few temples of Bishnupur which is in good condition. The fondness with which my guide explained the Jor Bangla Mandir, I could make out it was his favorite Chala style temple. I too felt this is one of the must see temples of Bishnupur. The terracotta panels are undamaged and effect of wearing out is not prominent yet. It was built by Raghunath Singha II in 1655 A.D. The temple platform is squarish and measures 12m by 12m we were told. These panels have detailed scenes from the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Krishna-Leela. The prayer room was shut. It houses the idol of Shadbhuja (6 hands) of Shri Chaitanya

The Temple platform measures 11.8m in length and 11.7 m in breadth. Some of the most exquisite terracotta carvings on walls and sculptures can be found here.

Sun Temple, Konark

A Temple of Great Architectural Brilliance and a splendid blend of Architecture-Art-History, the Konark temple consists of a Vimana (main temple) intended for housing the deity, Jagamohana (hall in front of vimana) from where the worshippers could have a glimpse of the deity and a Nirtya-mandapa (dancing hall), but a separate Bhoga-mandapa (offering hall) was not built at this place. Dancing and offering both were probably done in the same building. In the Orissan architecture this type of temple is known as pancha-ratha-dekha deul, as each of its facades are broken by five small projections to produce an effect of light and shade on the surface and also to create an impression of one contineous verticle line, called Rekha.

As a fact the beauty of shade and light cannot be effected on a plain surface, was known to the builders, as such, the facades were broken by a number of small projections. These projections vary from three to nine, from which they derive the names as tri-ratha (three projections), Pancha-ratha (five projections), sapta-ratha (seven projections) or nava-ratha (nine projections).

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