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Home > Kerala Temples > Carvings and Paintings > Stone Carvings in Kerala Temples Stone Carvings in Kerala TemplesStone Carvings 
From ancient times the materials used by man were generally perishable items like wood or clay, which were abundantly available. Later it was felt that harder and lasting materials should be used and this paved the for the use of stones. This practice came into vogue in later centuries of the pre Christian era. The earliest ones were sthoopas built after the nirvana of Lord Buddha. Though the construction of temple is datable to 2nd century B.C. the Guptha period can be taken as a significant land mark in the history of stone sculptures. The Indian Silpa Saasthras recognize three main styles, the Naagara, the Draavida and the Vesara along with a geographical distribution of each. The Naagara style is said to have been prevalent in Northern India in the region between Himaalayas and the Vindhyas; the Draavida between Krishna and Kanyakumari and the Vesara in the territory between Vindhyas and the Krishna. The Brahath Samhita, assigned to 6th century AD, lays down the essential details connected with iconography of some deities and iconometric technicalities. However, superb sculptural art reached its zenith during the 8th century AD. Tamil Nadu had the greatest impact of this artistic revival, though Kerala also witnessed its influences. However, Kerala’s geographical setting, large number of rivers, inadequate communication facilities etc have stood in the way of having imposing structural temples with stone as the principal material. In Kerala generally the temples are built with adhishtaana of stone and wall and superstructure are made of laterite and stucco, timber and tile. The balus trades of the sopaana of some of the temples have excellent craftsmanship. Similarly, the idols, bali peethas, pranaala etc are also sculptured marvelously in certain temples. The namaskaara mandapa is always a centre of attraction in a temple. It can be seen that the same stone pillar has different shapes (square at bottom, round octagonal, on hexagonal at middle etc) and carved with artistic skill. Granite is also extensively used in temples for steps, pradakshina patha and even for the floor of garbha grha, namaskaara mandapa, akatthe balivattam etc. however in certain temples granite stones are used as walls, apart from making motifs, or even as roof for naalambalam etc. it will be interesting go give a list of some of the important temples where stone is significantly used for walls or roof or both. That list is not exhaustive but only illustrative.
There are large number of smaller temples, where granite is used as wall material. Stone-carvings
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