Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c25.12

c25.12

Most of the Pandya gopurams, being the earliest of their kind, are however of the simpler and more conventional variety, and their decoration is mainly of the architectural type. From this architectural treatment of the gopurams, and also from other sources, it is possible to observe in the design of the pillar and capital a further stage in the development of the Dravidian order. Two changes in these distinctive features may be recorded, which differentiate them from the order of the previous period. One occurs in that characteristic member the *idaie*, or flower-shape, a motif which corresponds in some respects to the echinus in the Doric capital of the Greeks. In the hands of the Pandya sculptors this flower element was given a scolloped edge, thus presenting it with a foliated and more exquisite appearance The other alteration is in the form of the *bodigai* or corbel of the bracket overhanging the capital, which has been converted from a purely conventional and abstract member into a moulded pendent or "drop." (Plate LXV, Fig. 3). In addition to the above the *palagai*, or "plank," which serves as an abacus to the order, and throughout the style has been remarkable for its outstanding width, is in the Pandya type of capital of exceptional proportions and projection, some of these stone "planks," although only two inches thick, are as much as 4½ feet in diameter. It is by such details peculiar to the order that the identification of the buildings of this period may be confirmed.