Chandrasala

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Lined up chandrasala motif in the Chaitya hall of the Aurangabad caves (3rd century)
chandrasala motifs combined into decorative panels ( udgamas ) on the Teli-ka-Mandir in Gwalior (8th century)

As Chandrasalas (. See also kudu ) are in the Indian architecture small - called window or pop-up window motifs that are spread mainly in North India - mostly arranged in rows or groups.

etymology

The term chandrasala comes from Sanskrit ( chandra चन्द्र = "moon"; śāla शाल = "house") and can best be translated as "crescent window" (cf. the European term bezel ).

history

Originally, the chandrasalas come from the wooden construction, which can still be read from the imitations of beam vaults with cross bracing, which are often located inside and foreshortened. They were then carved in stone for the first time on the facades of the Buddhist Chaitya halls ( Ajanta , Ellora , Karli , Bhaja , Bedsa, etc.), whereby the motif was quickly recognized as decorative and - placed next to and on top of one another - as a blending decoration on early Hindu temples found various uses.

Characteristics

Characteristic of the chandrasalas (or kudus ) is their semicircular shape with the ends drawn in at the bottom, resulting in the motif of a horseshoe arch ; the outer arch is drawn up at the upper end and tapers to a point so that the shape of a keel arch is created. Both arch forms are static without any meaning and were completely unknown in the entire world architecture of that time; the keel arch came only in the 13./14. Century - probably mediated by Islam - to Europe and became an important decorative element of the late Gothic .

literature

  • Jeannine Auboyer among other things: Handbook of Form and Style - Asia. Fourier Verlag, Wiesbaden 1988, pp. 28ff, ISBN 3-925037-21-7

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