Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c23.15

c23.15

Of the rock-cut examples of Pallava architecture at Mamallapuram, the mandapas may be referred to first: these excavated halls are ten in number¹, and are to be found on various suitable sites on the main hill. In most instances they are of the same general character and proportions as those of the previous group, but much more highly developed, a proof of the rapid progress that took place during the short period that intervened. None of them is large, their approximate dimensions being as follows:—width of facade 25 feet; height from 15 to 20 feet; depth overall including cella 25 feet; pillars 9 feet high and 1 to 2 feet wide diameter; cellas, rectangular and from 5 to 10 feet side. It will be seen from these measurements that the mandapas are relatively shallow halls or porticos, and are remarkable therefore not for their size but for the exceptional character of their design and execution. This character is shown in two ways, first in their architectural treatment, and secondly in the disposal and quality of the sculpture combined with the architectural forms. As regards the former, except for the pillars which are the main features of the composition as a whole, the actual architectural treatment is of the simplest kind. On the facade there is a roll cornice decorated with chaitya arch motifs (*kudu*), and above this a parapet, or attic member, formed of miniature shrines, a long one alternating with a short one. The remainder of the scheme both inside and out consists principally of pilasters of mouldings acting as a framework of the figure sculpture, the display of which appears to have been one of the prominent objects of the mandapa idea. For it is fairly clear that the rock-cutter was primarily and fundamentally a sculptor, and these pillared halls were regarded very largely as a means of presenting to the visiting devotees pictures of mythological and other subjects produced in this plastic manner. Not that the treatment of the architectural features was in any way inferior to the relief work, some of the architraves, cornices and strings-courses being as finely wrought as the figures. As an instance the precision with which the basements were designed and executed is admirably shown in the Varaha mandapa, where the stylobate has been sunk so as to form a long narrow receptacle for water. (Plate LIX, Fig. 2). Apart from the manner in which this important part of the facade has been conceived and carried out so as to compel ablutions before entering the temple, it is an excellent illustration of the artistic handling of a purely material adjunct.