Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c21.5

c21.5

In addition to the series of Indo-Aryan spires at Aihole, there are several examples of the contrasting or Dravidian style of temple, as for instance, that numbered 53, and the Jaina temple, No. 39, as well as the Meguti temple bearing a date equivalent to A.D. 634, and referred to in Chapter XI. But the remains of these are so incomplete they only suffice to indicate they belong to the southern mode, that most distinctive feature, the tower, being in each case in a state of ruin For a very early example of the Dravidian style in this region, it is necessary to turn to the town of Badami, situated some fifteen miles from Aihole, and the seat of the Chalukyan dynasty at a slightly later date. Here, among a cluster of temples and shrines three miles west of the town, is the temple of Mahakutesvara, which from inscriptional evidence appears to have been built before A.D. 600. It is a small and almost insignificant edifice, but it is instructive because the tower is complete, and shows this feature with an octagonal domical finial, and surrounded by tiers of miniature shrines, all illustrative of an early phase in the evolution of the Dravidian sikhara. But a larger and slightly more developed structure of much the same type, although undoubtedly of a somewhat later date, is a temple on a spur of the rugged hills which overlook the town of Badami itself, and known as the Malegitti-Sivalaya. In the tower of this temple also, the domical finial is octagonal, and supported by a series of small shrines as in the previous example. The Malegitti temple, however, implies something more than a mere confirmation of a stage of evolution; it is a structure of considerable appearance, besides containing much informative material. It is not large, being only 56 feet in length, but is a massive solid production evidently built to withstand the elements in its exposed position. Consisting of three compartments—cella, assembly hall, and porch, the two former square in plan—its heavy monolithic pillars, ponderous bracket capitals, broad string-courses, and overhanging roll cornice, are all suggestive of the rock-cut tradition. Yet imposed on these starkly elemental structural features is a certain amount of sculpture, in panels, borders, and niches, which, although not exactly refined, possesses a spirit and action implying youth and movement. There is an air of restrained power in this structure and a sense of stability which makes it appear as part of the rock on which it is built. (Plate XLII, Fig 1).