Encyclopaedia
of Indian Temple Architecture : South India: Dravidadesa: Later Phase, c. A.D.
1289-1798: Vol. I, Part 4-A/edited by George Michell. New Delhi,
American Institute of Indian Studies, 2001, 2 Parts, 382 p., 570 plates, maps,
figs., $275. ISBN 81-7304-436-8.
Contents: I. Text Volume: Preface. Introduction. 49. End of Hoysala and Kakatiya domination/George Michell. 50. Sangamas of Vijayanagara: phase I/George Michell. 51. Sangamas of Vijayanagara : phase II/George Michell. 52. Saluvas and Tuluvas of Vijayanagara/George Michell. 53. Govdas of Yelahanka and Vodeyars of Maisuru/George Michell. 54. Bedas of Citradurga, Hiriyur, Kanakagiri and Sorapur/George Michell. 55. Period of Vijayanagara domination/George Michell. 56. Aravidus of Penukonda and Candragiri/George Michell. 57. Period of Vijayanagara domination/George Michell. 58. Nayakas of Keladi, Ikkeri and Bidnur/George Michell. 59. Samutiris of Kolikode and Kolattiris of Kannur/Jayaram Poduval. 60. Perumbadappus of Kochi/Jayaram Poduval. 61. Tiruvitankurs of Venad/Jayaram Poduval. Reference Glossary. Site and temple index. II. Plates Volume: 1. Style code for plate reference. 2. Plate/Chapter reference.
"This, the fourth set of volumes to survey the temple architecture of South India, concentrates on the period of the Vijayanagara empire during which the Sangama, Tuluva, and Aravidu kings ruled over a substantial portion of Karnata, Andhra and Tamilnadu. However, the volume begins with temple architecture in the decades immediately preceding the foundation of the Vijayanagara in the middle of the 14 century, and continues with the religious monuments of the lesser dynasties which succeeded those of Vijayanagara in Karnata during the 16 and the 17 centuries.
"Since the majority of religious monuments described here have never been adequately published before, these volumes offer the first opportunity to fully evaluate the architectural developments in South India between the 14 and 18 centuries. What emerges from the different chapters is a stylistic consistency unknown in the region in the pre-Vijayanagara times. Beginning with the comparatively modest projects of the Sangamas, temple architecture progresses to the grandiosely-scaled and richly decorated religious complexes of the Tuluvas and Aravidus. During the same period there is the evolution of a characteristic temple style in Kanada in coastal Karnata and the efflorescence of temple building in another equally distinctive style in the different zones of Kerala. Such idioms bear witness to the vitality of local architectural traditions in South India during the Vijayanagara period." (jacket)