Māru-Gurjara architecture or Solaṅkī style,Hegewald, note 3. Mitchell (1977) uses "Solanki style", while Harle is reluctant to tie the style to a specific name. is the style of West Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Chaulukya dynasty (also called Solaṅkī dynasty).Mitchell (1977), 123; Hegewald Although originating as a regional style in Hindu temple architecture, it became especially popular in Jain temples, and mainly under Jain patronage later spread across India, then later to diaspora communities around the world.Hegewald
On the exteriors, the style of Māru-Gurjara architecture is distinguished from other North Indian temple styles of the period in "that the external walls of the temples have been structured by increasing numbers of projections and recesses, accommodating sharply carved statues in niches. These are normally positioned in superimposed registers, above the lower bands of moldings. The latter display continuous lines of horse riders, elephants, and kīrttimukhas. Hardly any segment of the surface is left unadorned." The main shikhara tower usually has many urushringa subsidiary spirelets on it, and two smaller side-entrances with porches are common in larger temples.Hegewald
Interiors are if anything even more lavishly decorated, with elaborate carving on most surfaces. In particular, Jain temples often have small low domes carved on the inside with a highly intricate rosette design. Another distinctive feature is "flying" arch-like elements between pillars, touching the horizontal beam above in the centre, and elaborately carved. These have no structural function, and are purely decorative. The style developed large pillared halls, many open at the sides, with Jain temples often having one closed and two pillared halls in sequence on the main axis leading to the shrine.Hegewald; Harle, 219–220
The style mostly fell from use in Hindu temples in its original regions by the 13th century, especially as the area had fallen to the Muslim Delhi Sultanate by 1298. But, unusually for an Indian temple style, it continued to be used by Jains there and elsewhere, with a notable "revival" in the 15th century.Harle, 239–240; Hegewald Since then it has continued in use in Jain and some Hindu temples, and from the 20th century has spread to temples built outside India. These include many large temples built by the Hindu Swaminarayan tradition, with the Neasden temple in London (1995) an early example, and smaller ones built by the Jain diaspora, such as the Jain temple, Antwerp, Belgium (completed 2010), and temples in Potters Bar and Leicester in England.Hegewald
Origin of the name The name of the Māru-Gurjara style is a 20th-century invention; previously, and still by many, it is called the "Solanki style".Hegewald, note 3 The ancient name of Rajasthan was Marudesh while Gujarat was called Gurjaratra. The term "Māru-Gurjara" was coined by art and architectural historian Madhusudan Dhaky, who also coined the terms "Surāṣṭra", "Mahā-Māru", and "Mahā-Gurjara" to describe other historical styles of Western Indian architecture. The Māru-Gurjara style is a synthesis of the Mahā-Māru style of Marwar region in Rajasthan and the Mahā-Gurjara style of Gujarat. However, Hegewald suggests "This change in terminology appears to have been suggested first by A. Ghosh during a symposium in Delhi in 1967".Hegewald, note 3, citing "Pramod Chandra "The Study of Indian Temple Architecture", in Studies in Indian Temple Architecture, ed. Pramod Chandra (New Delhi: American Institute of Indian Studies, 1975), 36" She notes that the change was an "attempt to avoid dynastic terms", and that both "Māru-Gurjara" and "Maru-Gurjara" are used by different writers, and that the Jain community mostly continues to call the style "Solanki".Hegewald, note 3
Development
The style developed from that of the dynasties preceding the Solankis, mainly the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, and the local dynasties under it. The most famous monuments of this period are the Khajuraho Group of Monuments built under the Chandela dynasty between 950 and 1050. These are famous for their erotic reliefs. Many of the broad features of this earlier style are continued in the Māru-Gurjara style. The beginnings of the new style can be seen in the small Ambika Mata temple in Jagat, Rajasthan. The earliest inscription here records a repair in 961 (well before the Solankis came to power).Harle, 220–221; Mitchell (1990), 288 For George Mitchell, in the Jagat temple (and others he names) "the Pratihara style was fully evolved in its Western Indian expression".Mitchell (1990), 263
Early Hindu temples The Somnath temple, dedicated to Shiva, was the most famous in Gujarat, but was largely destroyed by the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud in a raid in 1024–1025 CE. It was then rebuilt, but sacked again when the Delhi Sultanate conquered the area at the end of the 13th century.Rowland, 293–294 The ruins have recently been restored and rebuilt in what is intended as the Solanki style.
The Sun Temple, Modhera, Gujarat, was built in 1026–27 CE, just after Mahmud's raid. The shikhara is now missing, but the lower levels are well-preserved, and there is a large stepwell tank of the same period in front of the temple. There is a large detached mandapa between the main sanctuary building and the tank, which is slightly later. The carving of all parts is "extremely luxuriant and exquisitely refined in the rendering of detail".Rowland, 294–296, 296 quoted; Michell (1990), 299–300; Harle, 223–227
The Rudra Mahalaya Temple was a large complex in Siddhpur Gujarat, mostly destroyed under Muslim rule. The main temple was surrounded by a screen of subsidiary shrines (partly surviving as a mosque), and the porches, parts of which remain, and a stand-alone torana were exceptionally grand. The mandapa had three storeys. It was completed in 1140, ending a long period of construction.Michell (1990), 300; Harle, 227–228 Two groups of smaller ruined temples of similar date are the two Rama Lakshamana temples, Baradia and the five Kiradu temples; both have their lowest storeys fairly intact, and some of the Kiradu group retain part of their shikharas.Michell (1990), 295–296 (Kiradu, which he sees as mostly "late Pratihara"; Harle, 223–227
The Rani ki vav ("Queen's Stepwell", probably 1063–83) is a very grand stepwell in Patan, Gujarat, once the Chaulukya capital. With a very different architectural form and function, "throughout, the ornamentation of the architectural elements is sumptuous" in the contemporary temple style, including very many Hindu figures. Another non-temple example is the 80 foot Kirti Stambha tower in Chittor Fort, Rajasthan, built for a Jain merchant, mostly in the early 13th century, with the pavilion at the top a 15th-century restoration.Michell (1990), 283; Harle, 227–228
Early Jain temples
The five Dilwara Temples on Mount Abu are among the most famous Jain temples. The Vimal Vasahi is much the earliest, constructed by 1031, with the Luna Vasahi by 1230, and the others at intervals between 1459 and 1582. All are in a very white marble that adds greatly to their effect, and remain in use. The oldest and largest two have large amounts of intricate carving even by the standards of the style, reaching a peak in the Luna Vasahi temple. The main buildings of the first three named are surrounded by "cloister" screens of devakulikā shrines, and are fairly plain on the outer walls of these; in the case of the Vimal Vasahi this screen was a later addition, around the time of the second temple. These three have an axis from the sanctuary through a closed, then an open mandapa to an open rangamandapa, or larger hall for dance or drama.Michell (1990), 274–276; Harle, 226–227 Surrounding the main temple with a curtain of shrines was to become a distinctive feature of the Jain temples of West India, still employed in some modern temples.Harle, 228
The Ajitanatha Temple, the largest and earliest of the cluster of Taranga Jain temples, was constructed in 1161, and is a fine example of the style, which remains largely intact, and in religious use. The shikhara and the much lower superstructure over the mandapa are both among the "most complicated" in the style. The former begins with three rows of bhumija-style miniature towers in clusters, before turning to the sekhari style higher up, where the miniature towers are of varying lengths, and overlap. Over the mandapa, the lowest level continues the regular miniature tower clusters over the sanctuary, above which shallow pitched planes of roof are studded with miniature towers, with rows of beasts and urns along the edges of the planes. The surfaces are heavily decorated with figures and "honeycomb" gavaksha decoration, the figures "characterized by lively poses and sharply cut faces and costumes".Michell (1990), 310–311, 311 quoted
The Ajitanatha Temple was built under, and very probably by, King Kumarapala (r. 1143 – 1172 CE) of the Solanki/Chaulukya dynasty, who was the most favourable towards Jains of the dynasty. According to Jain sources he converted to Jainism towards the end of his life; at the least he was influenced by the religion. His reign marked the height of Jain power and influence; his son Ajayapala, something of a villain in Jain chronicles, was much less favourable, although there continued to be Jain ministers.Hegewald
Kumbharia Jain temples is a complex of five Jain temples in Kumbhariya, Banaskantha district built between 1062 - 1231 CE. The five temples are famous for their elaborate architecture. The Jain temples, Kumbhariya along with Dilwara temples, Girnar Jain temples and Taranga Jain temple are considered excellent examples of Chaulukyan architecture. Mahavira, Shantinatha, and Parshvanatha temples are some of the most renowned temples in India. These five marble temples vary in size and architecture details, but every temple is surrounded by a protective walled courtyard with elaborate arched gateways.
The Bhadreshwar Jain Temple, mostly constructed for a merchant in 1248, just at the end of the Solanki dynasty, is surrounded by the high walls of a curtain of subsidiary shrines, each with a shikhara in sekhari style, except for a much later two-storey porch at the entrance, which has elements from Indo-Islamic architecture in the domes and arches. The main temple, in a courtyard considerably above ground level, is comparable to the earlier examples described above.Michell (1990), 280; Hegewald
The clustered group of Girnar Jain temples, with a magnificent mountain-top position, are mostly in the style, with the major temples ranging in date (of basic construction) from 1128, 1231, 1453 and another 15th century example.Michell (1990), 294; Hegewald Other temples, like the large example at the Rajgadhi Timbo ("mound"), have been completely destroyed.
Later temples
The Solanki dynasty finally fell around 1244, replaced by the Hindu Vaghela dynasty for some decades before the Muslim Delhi Sultanate conquered the region. Temple building then largely ceased in the original areas of the style for a considerable time, although a trickle of repairs and additions to existing temples are recorded, and some small new buildings. However, Solanki rule came to be seen by Jains as something of a "golden age", and the Māru-Gurjara style evidently became something of a standard for Jains, specifically the Śvetāmbara wing of the religion. The style began to re-appear in Jain temples in the same area in the 15th century, and then spread elsewhere in India, initially moving eastwards.Hegewald