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Torana (तोरण; [tawr-uh-nuh]) is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. Chinese Shanmen gateways, Japanese torii gateways, Korean Iljumun gateways, Vietnamese Tam quan gateways, and Thai Sao Ching Cha were derived from the Indian torana. They are also referred to as vandanamalikas. Indologist art historian and archaeologist Percy Brown has traced the origin of torana from the grama-dvara (village-gateways) of the vedic era (1500 BCE – 500 BCE) village which later developed as a popular adornment for cities, places. sacred shrines. According to the vedic text, the Arthasastra, the gateways of different forms were to adorn the entrance to a city or a palace. A granite stone fragment of an arch discovered by K. P. Jayaswal from Kumhrar, Pataliputra has been analysed as a pre Mauryan Nanda period keystone fragment of a trefoil arch of gateway with mason's marks of three archaic Brahmi letters inscribed on it which probably decorated a torana. The wedge shaped stone with indentation has mauryan polish on two sides and was suspended vertically. In Mauryan Empire, the archaeological evidence shows the Torana of Sanchi stupa dates back to 3rd century BCE. The Sanchi torana and architecture is imitation of timber and brick construction in stone, which was popular feature in Indian architecture before 3rd century BCE. In Kalinga architecture we can see the Toran in many temples built from the 7th to 12th centuries. Jagannath Temple, Puri, Rajarani Temple and Mukteswar Temple are the few example of Kalinga architecture having torana. In Gujarat, several toranas built during reign of Chaulukya dynasty (10th-12th century). They were mostly associated with temples.

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Related concepts (16)

Sanchi

Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an important monument of Indian Architecture. It was originally commissioned by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE.

Stupa

In Buddhism, a stupa (स्तूप, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as śarīra – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. Circumambulation or pradakhshina has been an important ritual and devotional practice in Buddhism since the earliest times, and stupas always have a pradakhshina path around them. The original South Asian form is a large solid dome above a tholobate or drum with vertical sides, which usually sits on a square base.

Brahmi script

Brahmi (ˈbrɑːmi; ; ISO: Brāhmī; Sometimes also known as dhamma lipi) is a writing system of ancient South Asia that appeared as a fully developed script in the third century BCE. Its descendants, the Brahmic scripts, continue to be used today across South and Southeast Asia. Brahmi is an abugida which uses a system of diacritical marks to associate vowels with consonant symbols.