Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c13.s2.13

c13.s2.13

The architectural features of the more developed Orissan monasteries consist of their facades of pillared verandahs and the cells leading out of them. In the treatment of the former most of the pillars have simple square shafts with bracket capitals, some of the bracket forms being of a very special character. For instance in one example, that known as the Rani Gumpha, or Queen's Cave, the largest and most important of the entire series, there is a bracket of a very primitive order, not unlike the curved branch of a tree On the other hand in the Manchpuri Gumpha the portico pillars support intricately carved struts made up of figures riding hippogryphs and other compositions of a similarly fanciful nature (Plate XXXII, Figs 5 and 6) It may be noted that this form of bracket is the prototype of those which are a prominent feature of the Brahmanical rock-cut temples at Badami in Dharwar, produced at least six centuries later. As already observed a distinctive element in all the early rock-cut viharas is the arcading which decorates the walls, and which in the Orissan examples is of an exclusive kind. Instead of being of the horse-shoe variety, the arches of the arcades are almost invariably semi-circular, and their lower ends, corresponding to the "springer" of a true arch, are expanded to enable them to be supported on pilasters These pilasters have capitals formed of pairs of recumbent animals, a decadent derivative of the Persepolitan type, and a number of them have vase bases. Another feature in some of the Orissan viharas is a ledge or podium carved like a continuous bench around certain of the compartments. Here is seen an early appearance of the *asana*, a stone seat with a sloping backrest, which in a more developed and highly decorated form became prominent in the temples of Central and Western India of the early medieval period. The cells comprising the interiors are not square as in most of the other viharas, but oblong in plan, and some are long chambers entered by several doors, in shape more like dormitories than single rooms; in place of the stone bed, differentiating the early type of cell, the floor in each compartment is sloped so as to form a couch, and as in many instances the height of the room is only four feet, they can only have been intended for sleeping.