Dr.Sanjeev Narayani at 22:05, 22 March 2026

2026-03-22T22:05:56Z

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{{short description|Architecture in the Indian state of Rajasthan}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Jaisalmer forteresse.jpg|thumb|[[Jaisalmer Fort]], originally including the whole city, dominating the more recent city sections below.]]
[[Image:Nagda2.jpg|thumb|One of the [[Sahasra Bahu Temples]] built during the 10th century CE.]]
The architecture of the Indian state of [[Rajasthan]] has usually been a regional variant of the style of [[Indian architecture]] prevailing in north India at the time. Rajasthan is especially notable for the forts and palaces of the many [[Rajput]] rulers, which are popular tourist attractions.

Most of the population of Rajasthan is [[Hindu]], and there has historically been a [[Jainism in Rajasthan|considerable Jain minority]]; this mixture is reflected in the many temples of the region. [[Māru-Gurjara architecture]], or "Solaṅkī style" is a distinctive style that began in Rajasthan and neighbouring [[Gujarat]] around the 11th century, and has been revived and taken to other parts of India and the world by both Hindus and Jains. This represents the main contribution of the region to [[Hindu temple architecture]]. The [[Dilwara Temples|Dilwara Jain Temples]] of [[Mount Abu]] built between the 11th and 13th centuries CE are the best-known examples of this style.
[[File:Adhai Din-ka-Jhonpra Screen wall (6133975257).jpg|thumb|Screen of the [[Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra]] mosque in [[Ajmer]]]]
[[File:Jaipur 03-2016 19 City Palace complex.jpg|thumb|[[City Palace, Jaipur|City Palace]] at [[Jaipur]] was designed by [[Vidyadhar Bhattacharya|Vidyadhar Bhattarcharya]] and built between 1729 and 1732. The architecture of the palace shows clear [[Mughal architecture|Mughal]] influences on its Rajput Architecture.]]

The [[Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra]] mosque in [[Ajmer]] (no longer in religious use) is an important early example of [[Indo-Islamic architecture]] in a state not otherwise notable for this.

==Common features==
The generally arid climate has made [[stepwell]]s (''baoli'' or ''bawdi'') more common than in other parts of India, as well as the distinctive covered ''[[taanka]]'' underground tanks.
[[File:Chittorgarh-Kalika Mata Temple-03-20131014.jpg|thumb|'''Dedicated to the Hindu gods Meera bai, Krishna and Vishnu'''. It was constructed between 1599 and 1608 AD by Queen Kanakwati.]]
Stone carved [[Jaali|''jali'']] screens are very common, both in temples and secular buildings. As well as palaces, many cities have surviving large townhouses or ''[[haveli]]'' from the last few centuries.

==Forts and palaces==
[[File:Ahar Cenotaphs.JPG|thumb|Some of the [[Ahar Cenotaphs]] outside Udaipur]]
{{See also|List of palaces in Rajasthan}}
The [[Hill Forts of Rajasthan]] ([[Amer Fort|Amer]], [[Chittor Fort|Chittor]], [[Gagron Fort|Gagron]], [[Jaisalmer Fort|Jaisalmer]], [[Kumbhalgarh]], [[Ranthambore Fort|Ranthambore]]), a group of six forts built by various [[Rajput]] kingdoms and principalities during the medieval period are among the best examples of Rajput Architecture. The ensemble is also a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. Other forts include the [[Mehrangarh Fort]] and [[Jaigarh Fort]].

The [[City wall of Jaipur|walled]] city of [[Jaipur]] was formed in 1727 by [[Jai Singh II]], and is "a unique example of traditional Hindu [[town planning]]",<ref>Michell, 288</ref> following the precepts set out in much older Hindu texts. Subsequently, the [[City Palace, Jaipur|City Palace]], [[Hawa Mahal]], [[Rambagh Palace]], [[Jal Mahal]] and [[Albert Hall Museum]] were also built. [[Udaipur]] also has several palaces, including the [[Bagore-ki-Haveli]], now a museum, built by an 18th-century chief minister.

The rulers of the [[princely state]]s of Rajasthan continued the tradition of building elaborate palaces almost until independence, with examples such as the [[Lalgarh Palace]] in [[Bikaner]], [[Monsoon Palace]] in [[Udaipur]], and [[Umaid Bhawan Palace]] in [[Jodhpur]]. Many of these are in versions of [[Indo-Saracenic architecture]], often using European architects.

===Cenotaphs===
A number of the Rajput dynasties built groups of [[cenotaph]] memorials for their members, mostly using the [[chatri]] form, and often at the traditional site for cremations. These include the [[Ahar Cenotaphs]] outside Udaipur, and [[Bada Bagh]] near [[Jaisalmer]]. Individual examples include the [[Jaswant Thada]] at [[Jodphur]], Gaitore at [[Jaipur]] and [[Chaurasi Khambon ki Chhatri, Bundi]]; there are [[Chhatri#In_Rajasthan|many others]].

==History==
===Ancient===
Rajasthan has significant sites of the [[Bronze Age]] [[Indus Valley civilization]], in particular at [[Kalibangan]] and [[Sothi (archaeology)|Sothi]]. The ruined [[Bairat Temple|Bairat Stupa]] is the state's main [[Mauryan]] and Buddhist site, and appears to have been exceptional at this date, as a large circular shrine or temple around a small stupa.<ref>Michell, 280</ref>

===Hindu temples===
[[File:Baroli temple.jpg|thumb|[[Baroli Temples]] ]]

Notable early Hindu temples include the early 9th-century [[Harshat Mata Temple]] at [[Abhaneri]], where there is also an early stepwell, the [[Chand Baori]], the earliest parts of which are of similar date.<ref>Michell, 273</ref> The [[Harshnath Temple]] in [[Sikar District]] is from around 973, according to an inscription.<ref>[http://asijaipurcircle.nic.in/Harsh%20-%20Harshnath%20Temple.html "Harshnath Temple"], ASI</ref> The [[Badoli]] or [[Baroli Temples]] are an important group of nine 10th-century Hindu temples in the south-east of the state, no longer in religious use, and with much of the sculpture now in museums, especially the one at [[Kota, Rajasthan|Kota]].<ref>Michell, 279, 296</ref> Another group is the two late 10th-century [[Sahasra Bahu Temples]] at [[Nagda, Rajasthan|Nagda]].<ref>Michell, 287</ref>

The small but richly-carved Hindu [[Ambika Mata temple]] in Jagat, built before 960, is an example of the previous [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Pratihara]] style transitioning into [[Māru-Gurjara architecture]].<ref>Michell, 288</ref> On the exteriors, this style 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 [[kīrttimukha]]s. 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.<ref>Hegewald</ref>

The style mostly fell from use in Hindu temples in its original regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat 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.<ref>Harle, 239–240; Hegewald</ref>

The five [[Kiradu temples]], of the 11th or 12th century, are examples.<ref>Michell, 295–96</ref> The [[Jagdish Temple, Udaipur]] (completed 1651) is an example of a Hindu temple using the Māru-Gurjara style at a late date; in this case a commission of [[Jagat Singh I]], ruler of [[Udaipur State|Mewar]].<ref>Michell (1990), 311</ref>

===Jain temples===
{{multiple image
|image1 = Ranakpur Jain Temple Ceiling detail.jpg
|caption1=Mandapa ceiling in the [[Ranakpur Jain Temple]]
|image2 = Delwada.jpg
|caption2 = ''Luna Vasahi'', [[Dilwara temples]]
|width2= 140
}}

Māru-Gurjara architecture is especially popular in [[Jain temple]]s. 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.<ref>Hegewald; Harle, 219–220</ref>

Significant older [[Jain temple]]s, or groups of temples, include the [[Dilwara temples]] on [[Mount Abu]], the [[Ranakpur Jain temple]],<ref>Michell, 305–306</ref> the group at [[Osian, Jodhpur]], including the [[Mahavira Jain temple, Osian]] (also early Hindu temples),<ref>Michell, 301–302</ref> [[Mirpur Jain Temple]] (in fact one of four there), the disputed [[Kesariyaji]] temple at [[Rishabhdeo]], and the [[Suswani Mataji]] temple at [[Morkhana]].

The [[Kirti Stambha]] at [[Chittor Fort]] is a spectacular 12th-century tower, carved in Māru-Gurjara style, erected by a Jain merchant.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180" heights="160">
File:Buddhist Temple Viratnagar.jpg|Remains of the [[Bairat Temple|Bairat stupa]], 3rd century BCE
File:Jagat 22-76 (cropped).jpg|[[Ambika Mata temple]] in Jagat, Rajasthan, by 960
File:Worshippers leaving the temple in Ranakpur.jpg|[[Ranakpur Jain temple]]
File:Dev Somnath Temple, Dungarpur.jpg|Dev Somnath Temple
File:Deshnoke Karni Mata.jpg|Detailed Stone work, Karni Mata Temple, Bikaner Rajasthan
File:Umaid Bhawan palace, Jodhpur 02.jpg|The [[Umaid Bhawan Palace]] at [[Jodhpur]] built between 1929 and 1942 is one of the largest royal palaces in the world. It was designed by [[Henry Vaughan Lanchester]] in a blend of [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] and traditional Rajasthani styles.
File:Laxmi Niwas Palace.jpg|[[Lalgarh Palace]], [[Bikaner]], designed in the [[Indo-Saracenic architecture|Indo-Saracenic style]] by [[Samuel Swinton Jacob]].
File:Albert Hall ( Jaipur ).jpg|The [[Albert Hall Museum]] was designed by [[Samuel Swinton Jacob]], and was opened as public museum in 1887.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Rajasthanis}}
*''[[Johad]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, {{ISBN|0300062176}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Hegewald|first=Julia A. B.|title=The International Jaina Style? Māru-Gurjara Temples Under the Solaṅkīs, throughout India and in the Diaspora|journal=Ars Orientalis|volume=45|issue=20191029|doi=10.3998/ars.13441566.0045.005|issn=2328-1286|year=2011|doi-access=free}}
*Michell, George (1990), ''The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu'', 1990, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|0140081445}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Atherton |first=Cynthia Packert |title=The Sculpture of Early Medieval Rajasthan |publisher=BRILL |year=1997 |isbn=9004107894}}

{{commons category|Architecture of Rajasthan}}

==External links==

{{Architecture of India}}{{Rajasthan}}{{-}}

[[Category:Architecture of Rajasthan| 01]]
[[Category:Indian architectural styles|Rajasthani]]
[[Category:Culture of Rajasthan|Arch]]
[[Category:Indian architecture by state or union territory|Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Rajasthani arts]]

Architecture of Rajasthan - Revision history

Dr.Sanjeev Narayani at 22:05, 22 March 2026