Cultural achievements during the early mediaeval period:
(i) The new regional kingdoms led to the emergence of new regional cultural zones such as Bengal and Orissa in the north, Gujarat and Maharashtra in central India as well as Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the south.
(ii) The various art forms, languages, literature etc. that form an important part of our regional cultures today, took their shape around this period. Most of the languages such as Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Marathi, etc., that are spoken in the northern, central and eastern parts of India are some examples.
(iii) The rich literature produced in these languages began to replace the earlier monopoly of Sanskrit literature. However, Sanskrit still remained a position of importance among the elites as a language of learning.
(iv) Three types of temple architecture evolved during this period. These were the Nagara, Dravida and Vesara styles. The characteristic feature of the Nagara style of temples was the lofty tower or spire called the Shikhara. Some examples of Nagara style of architecture are the Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneswar, the sun temple at Konark and the Kandariya Mahadeva temple at Khajuraho.
(v) The Dravidian style of architecture is found in south India. It reached the height of its glory under the rule of the Chola kings. Some of the important characteristics of this style are the garbhagriha, the vimanas, the mandapa and the gopurams. The garbhagriha was the inner sanctum that housed the chief - deity to whom the temple was dedicated. The vimanas were the various stories built on the garbhagriha. The mandapa was a hall with numerous carved pillars, placed before the garbhagriha. The gopurams were the lofty gates along the high walls that enclosed the entire temple complex. An important example of this style is the Brihadeshwara temple built by Chole king Rajaraja at Tanjore.
(vi) The Vesara temples represented a mixed style. These were mostly built under the patronage of the Chalukyas and are found at Pattadakal near Badami (Karnataka).
(vii) There was also great improvement in the art of making sculptures in this period. An important contribution of Chola artists in this respect was the bronze images of Nataraja. These images represent Siva in his cosmic dance and are unmatched in their rhythm and balance.
