Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c22.19

c22.19

The cruciform type ends somewhat tamely in the temple of Jogeswari on the island of Salsette near Bombay, the last of its kind as it dates from about 800 A D. Although in some respects larger and more grandiose than the two preceding examples, there is a want of logic in its plan, with little of that assurance in the arrangements that makes these so satisfying. Comprising a rather rambling sequence of entrances, porticos, courts, and galleries, its principal central feature is a square hall of 95 feet side with an aisle all round formed by an inner colonnade of twenty pillars. Within this, in the middle, is the shrine with its four doorways leading to a cella containing a *linga*. The pillars are similar to those at Elphanta, but except for the carving on some of its doorways, its walls are devoid of sculpture. The main approach is from the east by means of a flight of steps which give access to a portico having a range of four pillars on each side. In the gallery behind these pillars the walls have been carved with figure subjects. Beyond the portico is an open court with an isolated mass of rock left on either side which it was evidently intended to sculpture. Three doorways in the far side of the court lead to another larger portico, with the same arrangement of pillars on each side, out of which three more doors give access to the main hall described above. This range of courts, porticos and main hall is in one alignment and the measurement of the whole amounts to two hundred and fifty feet in a straight line, a longer distance cut in the rock than any other of the excavated temples.