Chaitya

Glossary

Meaning ‘shrine’ or ’sanctuary’ in Sanskrit, chaitya or chaitya griha (‘chaitya hall’) refers to a pillared hall in Buddhist architecture, which usually houses a votive stupa in an apse at its end. It is typically a long and narrow structure with a high roof. The stone ceiling has carved beams in imitation of the original wooden construction, or attached timber ribs, as seen in the earliest surviving chaityas in the rock-cut caves of Karle and Bhaja in the Western Ghats of India. The term is also used in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism to refer more generally to a temple or sacred monument.

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Pre-Modern Art

Chicago	MAP Academy Encyclopedia of Art. “Chaitya”. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://mapacademy.io/glossary/chaitya/
MLA	“Chaitya.” MAP Academy Encyclopedia of Art. https://mapacademy.io/glossary/chaitya/. Accessed 27, April, 2024.
Harvard	MAP Academy Encyclopedia of Art. (2022) Chaitya. [Online]. Available at: https://mapacademy.io/glossary/chaitya/. (Accessed: 27, April, 2024)