Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, vol. 2, North India, period of Early Maturity, c. A.D. 700-900.

• Author: Mosteller, John W.

This is the fourth set of volumes of the American Institute's Encyclopaedia to appear, and the second set to deal with architecture in northern India.(1) Like the previous volumes, this one is also the result of a collaborative effort. Edited by Michael Meister and M. A. Dhaky, the 21 chapters have been authored by Krishna Deva, Michael Meister, M. A. Dhaky, M. P. Vora, and Debala Mitra. The format of the chapters remains the same: a descriptive survey of the monuments preceded by both an outline of the political and religious history of the dynastic period under consideration, and a synthetic discussion of the architectural features of the style that flourished under the dynasty's patronage. As always, the text is illustrated by a large number of fine line drawings of temple plans, sections, elevations, and architectural details taken from a number of sources both old and new. The text volume ends with a site and temple index and also a reference glossary of the Sanskrit architectural terminology utilized throughout the work. The plate volume continues the tradition of high quality and comprehensive documentation for which this Encyclopaedia has already received wide praise.

The central purpose of the Encyclopaedia is to define the architectural morphology of ancient India. In line with this goal, the editors have assembled a volume that reflects the stylistic comparability and, at the same time, complexity of what they have called "North Indian Style," where "North" designates both a geographic and morphological reality. As a geography, it encompasses not only the heartland of what we historically regard as north India proper, but also a broader regional sphere of allied morphological experimentation and influence. In the first volume, devoted to the beginnings of the north Indian or nagara style, the style's incipient morphological features were carefully outlined...