Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c16.12

c16.12

The second group of brick buildings comprises a number of Brahmanical shrines, also widely distributed, and extending over several centuries of time. They may be divided into three sub-groups consisting of (*a*) a temple at Bhitargaon in the Cawnpur district, together with several shrines of a later date in its neighbourhood, (*b*) a series of temples at Sirpur and Kharod in the Raipur district of the Madhya Pradesh, and (*c*) two small Hindu shrines at Ter near Sholapur (Bombay State). The earliest and most remarkable of this group is the temple at Bhitargaon, probably built during the fifth century A.D., and on account of its unique character, standing in a class by itself. (Plate XLI, Fig. 5). On grounds of style the only other brick building to which it bears any resemblance is the Buddhist temple at Budh Gaya, which, in its original form appears to have been erected about the same date, but the size and intentions of the two structures are so different, that they have been referred to separate groups. It is worthy of note that a stylistic similarity also exists between the Bhitargaon temple and a number of Indo-Buddhist shrines constructed of stone on the Djeng plateau in Central Java, dating several centuries later, but manifestly of Indian extraction.² The temple at Bhitagāon³ is a tall tower-like edifice rising in diminishing stages to a height of about 70 feet, and standing in the centre of a fairly high plinth. It is a square of 36 feet diameter in plan, but has double recessed angles, and on the east side there is projected a porch approached by steps, and leading by a passage to an interior chamber or cella 15 feet square. Like the majority of early Brahmanical structures it was not a temple for an assembly of worshippers, but a shrine or repository for an image. The interior is quite plain but displays certain constructional expedients, which for a building of so early a date are of considerable interest, as the porch and cella are both covered over by domical vaults, and the passage connecting the two by a wagon-vault.