Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c15.9

c15.9

There is a arched opening with a circular top on the eastern side of the circular chamber (Parimaṇḍala chaitya) which is framed by an outer façade through which a portion of the Chaitya is visible. This is similar in style to the façade of the Lomas Ṛishi cave and has in its upper portion a chaitya window with a plain blind screen, horse-shoe shape and also the ends of the longitudinal joists with a central finial on the top. Thus we are face to face at Guṇṭapalle with the earliest form of a rock-cut Buddhist Chaitya cave having a distinctive architectural character. Later on when this circular portion was joined to a maṇḍapa in front flanked by side aisles the exca-vators arrived at the complete architectural form of both the rock-cut and structural Chaitya halls. In the field of rock-excavations there was no further development in the Kṛiṣṇā Valley, but the spark touched the sculptures of Western India, specially in Mahārāṣṭra, probably due to Sātavāhana inspiration. The structural type, however, was followed up in many other monuments of the Andhra country.