In India’s architectural history, temples of Bengal find just a cursory reference – as a small aberrant type. Applying correctives to this aberration, the authors here show how Bengal temple architecture, with its distinct regional style, merits a far wider recognition than it has been accorded so far.

Recorded evidence: notably archaeological and epigraphical, suggests that significant temple-building activity started in Bengal from the Gupta era (in early fifth century), when a large number of Vishnu and Shiva temples were built – with the revival of the Brahmanical faith. Later, during the Pala rule, several outstanding Buddhist structures came up throughout their territories. And the activity continued till the late medieval period. Sadly, most of these ancient structures have disappeared under the onslaughts of time, natural calamities, and adverse socio-political history. However, on the basis of the limited surviving examples, the authors show how temple architecture of Bengal forms one of the most distinctive groups among the sacred buildings of India.

The book explores the stylistic evolution of Bengal temple art -- covering a vast time-span of about 1,500 years: from the Gupta period that marked the beginning of a large-scale temple-building activity to its final flowering in the late medieval era when the region saw some of the finest terracotta temples. Making a close study of the representative temple types, it offers an in-depth analysis of their stylistic nuances – together with the architectural merits of the temples like, for instance, their unique design, significant typological innovations, scale of buildings, degree of terracotta embellishments, skills of execution and, of course, the present state of their preservation. Besides the Brahmanical Hindu temples, the authors study Bengal’s Jain temples and the Buddhist stupas and viharas as well. The book is generously illustrated with photographs, conjectural drawings, and maps.

Dr Sibabrata Halder and Dr Manju Halder, (both born, 1949), are Senior Professors, Bengal Engineering and Science University, Howrah.