Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s4.64

c12.s4.64

The Vyāghragumphā is an original conception in its architectural formation. It is a great jutting boulder, carved into the shape of a tiger's open mouth with the upper jaw with nose and eyes forming the roof and the throat as a doorway leading to a single cell about 6′4″ deep by 7′ to 9′ wide. The doorjambs slope inwards slightly and the pilasters on each side have winged elephants on the capitals and vase shaped bases with an arch surmounting them. It is quite impressive as a specimen of bold sculpture in its tiger face like the Dhauli elephant similarly carved out of a rock. The fancy of the Orissan artists was given to such capricious ideas of art-creations. There is a small inscription stating that it was the abode of an anchorite named Ṣabhūti who spent his days in contemplation as if in the jaws of death. [Fig. 107].