Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c19.28

c19.28

This first story of the Tin Thal comprises one large compartment 112 feet across, 72 feet deep, and 11½ feet high, divided into five transverse aisles by five rows of pillars of eight each, thus producing a hall of forty pillars. On the far side are two supplementary pillars fronting a vestibule 38 feet wide by 17 feet deep, beyond which is the cella, a square chamber approximately 20 feet wide enshrining a seated figure of the Buddha The walls all round the hall and vestibule are recessed for the reception of Buddhist images in high relief. Staircases on either side of this great hall lead to the second or top story, where another form of interior will be found Here is a verandah of eight pillars as already noticed in the description of the facade, behind which is a hall, cruciform in plan, as it consists of a nave driven axially into the rock, flanked by a wing or transept on each side cut at right angles. The nave is a rectangular hall 78 feet deep and 36 feet wide divided longitudinally by two rows of pillars of five each. Each wing is also divided transversely, by two rows of pillars of three each the width of the whole being 118 feet, exclusive of the cells, 18 in number which open out of it on all sides. At the far end of the central hall is the cella, a square chamber of 20 feet wide containing the usual seated Buddha image with standing attendant figures round the walls.