Throughout the long history of the Indian subcontinent, various social groups, diverse cultures, practices, and traditions have influenced the trajectory of the development of Indian architecture. As a result, a variety of architectural styles developed in India over the years, the most prominent of which are mentioned below:
Harappan Architecture
Harappan Architecture refers to the architectural style prominent during the Indus Valley Civilization. It mainly refers to the designs of the buildings in cities that developed between 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE such as Harappa, Lothal, and Mohenjo-daro. The style of buildings in these cities was utilitarian with minimal decorations and artistic elements present.
- Indian Rock-cut Architecture or Buddhist Architecture
After the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization, most of the architecture that remained was of wood and bricks, of which few traces remain at present. Indian rock-cut architecture emerged around 400 BCE, during the time of Buddha, and involved carving a structure out of a single piece of large solid rock.
This style of architecture was popular during the time of the Mauryan Empire and was mostly Buddhist in nature. The structures that constituted this unique style of architecture were Viharas, stupas, and chaitya-grihas.
Hindu Temple Architecture(Nagara, Dravid, and Vesara Styles)
Hindu Temple architecture started to develop in India around 400 CE, during the Gupta period in history. Hindu Temple architecture refers to a style in which the womb-chamber, or garbha griha is the central aspect where the image of the deity is put in place with a variety of surrounding structures and buildings with distinct cultural elements.
Of the Hindu-temple architecture, Nagara is the North-Indian style which can be recognized by a high and curved crown on top of the structure.
Dravida or the Dravidian style of architecture refers to the South-Indian style of temple architecture with a relatively straighter profile of the structure around the temple, that rises in the form of terraces to form a pyramid.
Vesara style of Hindu Temple architecture, on the other hand, refers to a style that has elements of both North and South Indian styles.
Jain Architecture
Jain Architecture shares a lot of similarities with Hindu Temple Architecture and Buddhist Architecture. The earliest Jain architecture is also rock-cut in nature, with its layout being similar to that of Buddhist architecture. One major difference between the Hindu Temple architecture and Jain architecture was that the statues of 24 Tirthankaras of the Jain religion were placed outside the central shrine.
Indo-Islamic Architecture
Indo-Islamic Architecture began to develop in India around the 7th century AD under the Islamic influence. The patrons of art and architecture in the medieval period blended the skills of the Indian workers who trained according to Indian design traditions with the regional Indic, Persian, Arabic, Central Asian, and other architectural styles adapted from around the world to create new, unique, and high-quality structures. These structures were later classified as Indo-Islamic Architecture.
- Mughal Architecture
Mughal Architecture developed in India during the Mughal rule, majorly from the 16th century to the 18th Century AD. this style of architecture featured large halls and domes, huge vaulted gateways, and intricate ornamentation.
Indo-Saracenic Revival Architecture
Indo-Saracenic Revival Architecture developed in India under British influence. It refers to a fusion of Indian and Islamic styles of Architecture with the Victorian and Gothic style that was predominant in the western world. It was predominantly used by British Architects to build public and government buildings in India during British rule.
