Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c19.26

c19.26

Of the other halls in this early group, the Mahanwada, or No 5, is by far the largest and most remarkable, and, owing to its uncommon design, is in a class by itself. It measures 117 feet deep by 58½ feet wide, exclusive of two fair sized side recesses, and is divided into a nave and two aisles by twenty four "cushion" pillars in two rows. In addition it has twenty three cells opening out of its sides At the far end is a transverse vestibule, beyond which is a square cella containing a seated figure of the Buddha with his attendants. Down the centre of the nave, two low, narrow and parallel platforms have been left in the rock, extending the whole length of the hall, an unusual feature, of which there is only one other instance, namely the "Maharaja" or "Durbar Hall" at Kanheri; from this circumstance it may be inferred that, although many miles apart, both were designed for the same form of ceremonial usage. What the usage was is revealed by the Lamaistic services in the monasteries (*gumphas*) of Sikhim and Tibet, obviously a survival of those which prevailed in Buddhist India centuries before. There the priests (lamas) sit in two lines facing one another on raised platforms, the abbot on a higher seat at the head and on the right, with the altar and holy image beyond, all of which conforms to the Mahanwada plan. It was evidently in order to suit a similar type of ritual that the Mahanwada prayer-hall at Ellora, and the "Durbar Hall" at Kanheri were designed in such a manner.