Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s9: Kangra
Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s9
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Kangra
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The two famous temples in Kangra will complete the account of Hindu architecture in the Himalayan valleys. One of these is known as the temple of Vaidyanātha, situated in the village of Kiragrama some 25 miles from Kangra. It is clear from the inscriptions² that it was built by two merchants, Manyuka and Ahuka, under Lakshmana Chandra, brother-in-law of Jayachandra, king of Jalandhara or Trigarta, in about A.D. 1204. It is dedicated to Śiva and proved to be a Śiva temple by its porch, bull in front, and Gaṇeśa as its integral sculptures. But in the niche in the back there is the base portion of the image of Mahāvīra and a Jain inscription showing its consecration in A.D. 1240. ‘This base must have been transferred to the Siva temple after the destruction of the original Jain shrine,’ says Fergusson, ‘and probably owes its preservation, and that of a figure placed over it, to the ignorance of the priests of Vaidyanātha.’³ In its composition it is an ordinary Śiva temple. It consists of a hall 20 feet square inside, with four round pillars supporting the roof, and a shrine for the Liṅga, 8 feet square, which is separated from the hall by a small ante-chamber. The roof and spire appear to have been rebuilt. The whole structure measures 51 feet by 31 feet and the walled enclosure is 120 feet long, 60 feet wide at the east, and 75 feet wide at the west. Rooms for the priests and some small temples are situated within this area. But its chief interest lies in the shape of its pillars, particularly the capital. These pillars are styled the Hindu Corinthian order by Fergusson, who, however, says that the cylindrical shafts bear the Grecian proportions and that ‘the bases are only slightly removed from classical design; the square plinth, the two toruses, the cavetto or hollow moulding between, are all classical (Grecian) but partially hidden by Hindu ornamentation of great elegance.’¹
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² *Epigraphia Indica*, I, 97–118, II, 482, V, Appendix, p. 78. *Indian Antiquary*, XX, 154.
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³ The image of Pārśvanātha was found in the porch of a small Hindu temple at Kot Kangra (*Epigraphia Indica*, I, 120), Fergusson, *ibid*, II, p. 301.
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¹ This type of capital is, however, found in the Śrī Yajña cave at Nāsik, in the courtyard of Viśvakarma at Elora, cave twenty-four in Ajanta, Hindu caves at Elora, at Eran of the Gupta period (about A. D. 400 to 600). Afterwards it became almost universal with the Jains till the advent of the Muhammadans. Compare Fergusson, *ibid*, pp. 298, 300, wood-cut no. 165, 166, 167.
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The other temple is known as that of Siddhanātha, situated at the west end of the town. It also consists of a four-pillared hall and a shrine, 33 feet by 20 feet, and with a *śikhara* of 35 feet height. It faces the east and has doorways on each side of the shrines leading into a circumambulatory passage.’²
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² Cunningham, *Archaeological Reports*, Vol. V, Plate 44, which is stated to be incorrect by Fergusson, *ibid*, Vol. II, p. 301, footnote 2.