Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c22.6

c22.6

The largest and finest of the first type (*a*), and also the most important as it is the only Brahmanical example in two stories, is the Das Avatar (No. 15). This temple is approached through a rock-cut entrance which opens on to a large irregular-shaped courtyard having a detached shrine in its centre. There is a doorway on the left of this courtyard leading to a square compartment surrounded by cells comprising the quarters of the sacristan and store-rooms for the reception of the ritualistic vestments and utensils. The detached shrine is a large and important feature of the exterior, probably intended for a *nandi* image (the bull of Siva), and is in the form of a square four-pillared pavilion surrounded by a verandah with a flight of steps at front and rear. Beyond this rises the facade of the temple, the two stories being defined by two rows, one above the other, of square pillars, recalling a similar arrangement in the frontage of the Tin Thal monastery in the Buddhist group. A short flight of steps gives admission to the ground floor which consists of a compartment 97 feet wide by 50 feet deep, and containing 14 square pillars A staircase on the left communicates with the upper story, a fine rectangular hall 105 feet by 95 feet having the large number of 44 pillars to support its flat roof. These pillars are arranged in six rows of nine each, with two additional ones at the far end of the central aisle to form a shallow vestibule leading to a square cella enshrining a lingam The whole of this portion of the conception is remarkable for the plainness, of its treatment, the pillars, save the two in front of the vestibule which are elaborately carved, being simple square prisms with flat abacus capitals. The architecture was however only the framework, or setting, for the handiwork of the sculptor, whose skill is displayed in large sunk panels spaced out between pilasters at regular intervals around the walls. In each of these deep square recesses is illustrated, in exceedingly bold relief, some striking episode from Hindu mythology, those on one side being mostly Vaishnava, while on the other they are entirely Saivite. The effect of such gigantic figures partly hidden by the darkness and shadowy obscurity of the pillared aisles is supremely dramatic.