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Arts and Architecture

By evolving the Nagara and Dravida styles the Gupta art ushers in the history of Indian architecture a formative and creative age. The rock-cut caves continue the old forms to a large extent but possess striking novelty by bringing about extensive changes in the ornamentation of the facade and in the designs of the pillars in the interior. The most notable groups of rock-cut caves are found at Ajanta and Ellora and Bagh.The Udayagiri caves also belong to this category.

    Main features of the temple architecture:
  • Flat roofed square temple
  • Flat roofed square temple with a second storey above.
  • Square temple with a curvilinear tower above
  • Rectangular temple
  • Circular temple.
The second group of temples shows many of the characteristic features of the Dravida style. The importance of third group lies in the innovation of a sikhara that caps the sanctum sanctorium, the main feature of the Nagara style. Stupas were also built in large numbers but the best are found at Samath, Ratnagiri and Mirpur Khan.