Chaitya

(“place of worship”) A rock-cut cave
temple. This architectural form is closely
associated with Indian Buddhism but
was also used in early Hindu temple
architecture. The earliest chaityas were
simple caves, but these grew more elaborate as the form developed. In its later
stages, the builders would not only cut
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Chaitanya-Charitramrta
out the side of the hill to make a cave;
they would also sculpt pillars and
other architectural details that
mimicked free-standing construction.
Another characteristic architectural
feature was a ceiling carved into the
shape of an arch. The true arch, built
from the bottom up and used in
Roman architecture, was not used in
ancient India. A third common feature
was a large window opening over the
doorway to let in additional light.
During the construction, the builders
began removing stone at the top of the
structure and worked their way down;
this eliminated the need for any scaffolding during the building process,
but it also meant that the builders had
to work carefully to avoid mistakes.
This construction method creates
structures considered gigantic sculptures rather than buildings. The earliest
examples are Buddhist caves carved
into the side of the western ghats in
Maharashtra. The form was later used
to create Hindu temples, specifically
at Ellora (in which the oldest caves
are Buddhist) and on the island
of Elephanta.