Silent Music and Sacred Sounds of the Hoysaḷas: Visual and Aural Sensory Experiences in Jain and Hindu Temples

This project examines affective responses to temple spaces and investigates how visual and aural sensory stimulations can amplify people’s experiences in Jain and Hindu temples through ethnographic research and qualitative interviews. It involves the study of the traditional Indian methods of designing and planning temples to understand their place in contemporary South Indian devotion. This project focuses on two twelfth century temples built by the Hoysaḷa dynasty in the South Indian state of Karnāṭaka—the Jain Pārśvanātha basadi (temple) at Haḷēbīḍu and the Hindu Vaiṣṇava Chennakēśava temple at Bēlūru—to show that their location, design, and structure were planned to cater to the people’s senses. Through the concept of placemaking, this thesis argues that the architecture of these temples is critical as a placemaking device that enriches the Jain and Hindu devotees’ sensorial experiences through the union of art, performance, ritual, and sound