Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c18.18

c18.18

Another temple of the same kind is that of Huchchimalligudi, a smaller and simplified form of the preceding, for it has no apsidal end, and is without a peristylar verandah. As with the other examples at Aihole, to it has also been added a *sikhara* of later date. Unlike the richly carved Durga temple, it has a relatively simple exterior, the plainness of its walls being relieved by one pattern only, a singularly elegant motif of a floral vase, repeated in panels along the *asana* or sloping surface of the portico. The interior is a rectangular hall divided into nave and aisles by two rows of pillars, three on each side, with a processional passage carried around the square sanctum. Its plan is quite ordinary except that it contains one additional feature. This is a vestibule, or *antarala*. Hitherto in no temple has there been found any sign of an intermediate chamber in front of the cella, but in Huchchimalligudi something of the kind is beginning to appear, rather a primitive affair, but showing that some form of "pronaos" was becoming necessary. It consisted in this instance of introducing a masonry screen, with a doorway in the centre, between the two innermost pillars of the nave, thus providing an intermediate compartment between the main hall and the cella. It has every appearance of an afterthought, and is obviously an early attempt, and perhaps the first of its kind.