Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Monastery No. 4, Lalitgiri

Lalitgiri Buddhist complex has various structures of religious and architectural importance that have been excavated by the A.S.I.  There are various monasteries here and Monastery No. 4. measures 30 sq.m. and is facing toward west and oriented north-south.



On the basis of architectural ground and excavated material this monastery came into existence between 8th and 12th century A.D during the period of Bhaumakara and Somavamsi dynasties. It is a large monastic complex square in plan with ten cells, of which five are on each wing and a central courtyard a shrine chamber at the rear wall. 



The monastery has an open courtyard with chambers in all side fronted by a veranda and a sanctum in the rear wall. It is plain, except the pedestal of Buddha, which is represented with triratha symbol, lotus medallion, lion and scroll work. 


For courtyard and doorjambs the material used is Khandolite stone where as bricks are used for other structures. 

27 comments:

Reader Wil said...

I discovered that the lion is a symbol in almost any country. In Christianity and Judaism the lion represents the tribe of Juda. In the temples you showed us there were images of lions too.Thanks for sharing this all.
Have a great week.
Wil, ABCW Team.

NCSue said...

It's amazing how beautifully preserved the workmanship is!

Ranjana's craft blog said...

Very interesting . Nicely narrated.

Uppal said...

Great brick work and slice of history!

Pat said...

Sigh...another place in India to visit!

http://joshidaniel.com/ said...

that is cool :)

fredamans said...

Beautiful carvings in the stone.

Jeevan said...

Excellent brick construction and well preserved monument/monastery! Beautiful captures Rajesh

Steffi said...

Very interesting photos for SWF;Rajesh!Have a nice weekend!

Leovi said...

Very interesting these excavations in the Buddhist complex!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

so nice to see the green trees at the back.

Anonymous said...

What a great monastery building.

Gattina said...

Wow ! how interesting !

Gillena Cox said...

fantastic structures

much love...

desi Traveler said...

Very interesting place a blend of history and culture

Hazel said...

All charm and it looks peacefully quiet. I love that quality.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Great restoration going on.

Forest Dream Weaver said...

Very interesting,I always like to see the beautiful carving.....thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

I love the carved details in the last photo.

Tom said...

I'm always amazed at the workmanship of things that were built in the past. Tom The Backroads Traveller

Kathe W. said...

amazing that it still exists being so old. I especially like the last photo....thanks!

Abhijit Ray said...

Very nice pictures. Great!

Unknown said...

The remains of the monastery Speaks volumes of the structured way of learning and architecture in the ancient times.

Purba chakraborty said...

A wonderful post :)

Amit Agarwal said...

Very interesting!

Yogi Saraswat said...

Great brick work and slice of history! Great series of pictures !!

Sri Kri said...

Love the last shot.