Pallava Architecture, Part I (MASI 17) c2.63

c2.63

The cubical portions of the two pillars in the centre of the facade are decorated with conventional lotus flower medallions similar to those on the rails of the Amarāvatī stūpa. Above the main entrance and springing from the two corbel capitals is a bas-relief representation of a makara-torana, in which the two ends or volutes of the torana are shown emerging from the mouths of makaras. Above the torana running the entire length of the facade, is a heavy projecting convex cornice decorated with the Buddhist gable-window ornament. With the exception of the linga and the figures of the doorkeepers, the entire ornamentation is Buddhist in character.