Pallava Architecture, Part I (MASI 17) c2.125

c2.125

No dates are given and it is not quite clear from inscription (B) whether Āchārlu (the sculptor) of Dērlugumtham excavated the entire temple or was merely responsible for the images of Brahma and Vishnu, which have the appearance of being later additions to the original edifice. Mr. Krishna Sastri states that the name Āchārlu (with the honorific plural termination) given to the sculptors in these records, shows clearly the great veneration in which they were held at the time. The term *āsāri* used to-day as an attribute of the artisan class is due to the defective Tamil pronunciation of the Sanskrit word Āchārya. It shows that the “dignity of labour” was better appreciated in those early times than it is in India to-day. [Plate XVIII (a)].