The rock-cut Temple of Masrur

The monolithic Shiva Temple of Masrur in present Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, marks a pivotal point in the history of Northwest Indian religious architecture. The temple was never completed, and its carved components were severely damaged in the 1905 Kangra Earthquake. Still, with eight spires of four different types, several aedicule framing Brahmanic deities along its walls and more than ten elaborately carved doorframes partially intact, the temple yields the largest amount of archaeological and iconographic data found at a single site in the region. Michael Meister dates the temple to the early eighth century and ascribed it to the Pratihara rulers of Kanauj. He reconstructs a masterplan of the cruciform structure. He assumes that the monument resembles the Kailasha type, the highest rank among the various forms of temples described in the Vishnudharmottarapurana (ca. 6th century): a sanctum with four chambers, topped by shikhara spires. Meisters study however, is based on a plan produced more than 100 years ago. The monument has never been surveyed since then. The first stage of the project therefore focuses on the production of an extensive image- and dataset, including high quality photographs and survey sketches. The focus will be on elevations, in particular the structure and ornamental patterns of the spires and the portals with their highly detailled frames. The resulting dataset will be used, in combination with structure-from- motion technology, to aid in the creation of CAD plans and 3D models, both manually constructed and digitally scanned. These can then be further processed for a wide variety of presentation forms, including augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality. The study aims to include all material aspects (proportions, dimensions and structure) as well as iconography and style. The goal hereby is to reconstruct the architectural DNA of the temple, that is a complete documentation from masterplan scale down to every single lintel. All sculptures will be documented and digitised, too. In a second phase the results will be compared with other benchmark monuments of neighbouring regions, which date from the same period, to analyse the impact of Masrur. The results will be compared with monuments further North in the Himalayan foot hills - for example with the the Basheshara Mahadeva Nagara Temple at Bajaura in Kulu and the broken Nagara Temple at Swai in Chamba. Masrur is understood as a key monument that functioned as a link, as a ressource of architectural information but also a centre of craftsmanship, from where workshop spread out to build religious monuments across the region. In the opposite direction, a selection of Nagara Temples in the heartland of the Pratihara empire will be surveyed, too, to trace the architectural templates. The project thereby aims at reconstructing the transmission of religious ideology, architectural ideas and craftsmanship along routes used for commerce and pilgrimage.