Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c16.19

c16.19

The two Brahmanical shrines at Ter, dedicated to Uttaresvara and Kalesvara,¹ are small and dilapidated brick buildings, dating a little later, perhaps, than the chaitya hall of the same place and previously described, but they are valuable because they illustrate a stage in the evolution of the builders' art in which records are few and far between. Introduced into their brick construction are wooden beams and door-frames, a method presumed to antedate those in which stone was employed for the same purpose. In the Uttaresvara shrine these wooden supports are beautifully carved, rivalling in this respect the finely moulded bricks of the reminder of the building. Where wooden beams could not be used, as in some of the upper portions, the courses of brick were corbelled forward until they met, as already referred to in the neighbouring chaitya hall. The bricks measure 16" * 9" * 2½", so that it is possible these shrines may have been built as early as the sixth or seventh century, the style of their ancient woodwork marking them as rare examples of their kind.