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Addresses historiographical questions about religious space, temple formation, and continuity with later Hindu temples. Stresses the need to reassess labels such as “Hinduism” and “temple” by examining their etymology and chronological usage, drawing on archaeological and Vedic historical frameworks.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/some-notes-on-temple-building-and-image-worship-in-indian-religion-in-historical-perspective-department-of-sociology-working-papers-no106/661991/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/some-notes-on-temple-building-and-image-worship-in-indian-religion-in-historical-perspective-department-of-sociology-working-papers-no106/661991.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Mabel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":14},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What central questions does the essay pose about Indian religious structures?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It asks how religious space and structures were conceptualised across Indian religious history, when the temple emerged, when temple-building gained momentum, and how temples assumed forms continuous with later Hindu temples.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the essay treat the terms “Hindu” and “temple” as problematic?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It emphasizes that such labels have histories and were created for specific purposes, making them unsuitable as unexamined, taken-for-granted categories when writing about the themes being studied.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the essay plan to address the problematic terminology before answering its main questions?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It proposes examining the etymology of key words and locating their chronological usage in the history of the Indian subcontinent, alongside historical and archaeological context.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},661991,1793192746,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":14,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":144},7971474920318,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/74000ee537e6b0ca360?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1788430171632181674","8  \nDEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY WORKING PAPERS  \nNo.106  \nSome Notes on \"Temple\"-building andImage-worship in Indian Religion,inHistorical Perspective  \nVINEETA SINHA*  \n*Senior TutorDepartment of SociologyNational University of Singapore  \nISS 0129-8186  \nISBN 9971-62-526-1  \nAll Rights Reserved  \n1991  \nContents  \n1.3000-1500 BC: Indus Valley civilisation……………………………………………………………………………………9  \nII. 1500-900 BC: Early Vedic Period………………………………………………………:.....:...9  \nII.900-500 BC: Later Vedic period………………………………………………………………………………………14  \nIV.600-300 BC:Rise of \"Jainism\" and \"Buddhism\"……………………………………………………………14  \nV.320-185 BC: The Maurya dynasty……………………………………………………………………………………………16  \nVI. First to Tenth centuries AD.......:………………………………………………………………20  \nVII. Concluding notes………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………31  \nAppendix1:A glossary of Indian terms.....:…………………………………………………………:.35  \nAppendix 2: A list of Indian texts relating to religious matters…………………………………………38  \nBibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………:40  \nAcknowledgments  \nSpecial credit is due to the following individuals: Assoc. Prof. Geoffrey  \nBenjamin for reviewing this paper as well as typesetting it for publication; DrChan Kwok Bun and Dr Ho Kong Chong for editing the paper; and Mr  \nRavinran Kumaran for doing all the maps and drawings for this paper.  \n# List of figures\n\nFigure 1:Hindu Trimurti,Elephanta Temple, Bombay…………………………………………………………3  \nFigure 2a: Yaksi bracket from the gateway of Stupa I at Sanchi,1st century BC……………5  \nFigure 2b: Guardian yaksa figure from the railing pillar of Bharhut,c 150 BC………………5  \nFigure 3: Sanchi Stupa(Bhopal),beginning of the Christian era………………………………………6  \nFigure 4: The Great Bath Tank at Mohenjodaro………………………………………………………………………11  \nFigure 5a-5d:Seals and statuettes from Mohenjodaro…………………………………………………………12  \nFigure 6:Facade of rock-cut caitya-halls, 2nd century BC……………………………………………15  \nFigure 7: Asoka's Pillar(Bihar), dated to the reign  \nof the Gupta dynasty(320 AD-647 AD).........:.:…………………………………17  \nFigure 8a:Yaksi or Sri Lakshmi figure from Mathura…………………………………………………………18  \nFigure 8b:Yaksa figure from Parkham,Mathura, 2nd century BC…………………………………18  \nFigure 9:Lingam at Gudimallam, Tamilnadu,2nd-1st century BC………………………………19  \nFigure 10: Stone Buddha, Mathura,4th-5th century AD.Anthropormorphic  \nimages of the Buddha began to appear in about the 2nd century BC……………21  \nFigure 11: Lomas Rishi Caves, Barabar Hills,Bihar, 3rd century BC…………………………22  \nFigure 12a: Earliest known structural stone temple, Aihole, 350 AD or earlier…………23  \nFigure 12b: Temple No.17 at Sanchi,Gupta style in stone 400 AD………………………………23  \nFigure 13a: The shore temple at Mamallapuram, in stone masonry,675 AD……………26  \nFigure 13b:Draupadi's ratha,at Mamallapuram, cut out in a single rock,450 AD..26  \nFigure 14: The main temple at Tanjore, showing the gopuram and vimanam……………27  \nFigure 15a: Dance of Siva,14th century,in bronze……………………………………………………………28  \nFigure 15b: Rama, in bronze of the Chola period,11th century………………………………………29  \nFigure 16a: The Brahmesvara Temple, Bhubhaneswar,Orissa, 1050 AD……………………32  \nFigure 16b: The Rajarani Temple,Bhubhaneswar, Orissa,1000 AD………………………………32  \nList of maps  \nMap 1: Map of Vedic India..........:……………………………………………………………………10  \nMap2: Map of the Deccan,760 AD…………………………………………………………………………………25  \n# List of charts\n\nChart 1: Chart showing the conceptualisation of religious structures and  \nrepresentations of divinity,as well as the existing religious climatein the Indian subcontinent,during significant periods in the history  \nof this region……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………30  \n# Some notes on \"temple\"-building andimage-worship in Indian religionin a historical perspective\n\nThis essay explores,in a very preliminary way how religious structures and divinity havebeen conceptualised throughout the history of Indian religion and how the relationshipbetwecn these two expresses a particular religious style.A h","cbCaiazrRyChyf9Y","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiazrRyChyf9Y","pdf",3436231,51,"English","# Contents\n## 3000-1500 BC: Indus Valley civilisation\n## 1500-900 BC: Early Vedic Period\n## 900-500 BC: Later Vedic period\n## 600-300 BC: Rise of \"Jainism\" and \"Buddhism\"\n## 320-185 BC: The Maurya dynasty\n## First to Tenth centuries AD\n## Concluding notes\n## Appendix 1: A glossary of Indian terms\n## Appendix 2: A list of Indian texts relating to religious matters\n## Bibliography\n# List of figures\n## Figure 1\n## Figure 2a\n## Figure 2b\n## Figure 3\n## Figure 4\n## Figure 5a-5d\n## Figure 6\n## Figure 7\n## Figure 8a\n## Figure 8b\n## Figure 9\n## Figure 10\n## Figure 11\n## Figure 12a\n## Figure 12b\n## Figure 13a\n## Figure 13b\n## Figure 14\n## Figure 15a\n## Figure 15b\n## Figure 16a\n## Figure 16b\n# List of maps\n## Map 1\n## Map 2\n# List of charts\n## Chart 1","[{\"question\":\"What central questions does the essay pose about Indian religious structures?\",\"answer\":\"It asks how religious space and structures were conceptualised across Indian religious history, when the temple emerged, when temple-building gained momentum, and how temples assumed forms continuous with later Hindu temples.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the essay treat the terms “Hindu” and “temple” as problematic?\",\"answer\":\"It emphasizes that such labels have histories and were created for specific purposes, making them unsuitable as unexamined, taken-for-granted categories when writing about the themes being studied.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the essay plan to address the problematic terminology before answering its main questions?\",\"answer\":\"It proposes examining the etymology of key words and locating their chronological usage in the history of the Indian subcontinent, alongside historical and archaeological context.\"}]","Some Notes on \"Temple\"-building and Image-worship in Indian Religion, in Historical Perspective - Department of Sociology Working Papers No.106 | PDF",129]