Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c27.13

c27.13

are they found in such profusion. As an example there are at least a thousand pillars in the temple of Madura, in addition to an equal number in the hypostyle hall, making a total in this one temple alone of two thousand pillars in all. They are mainly of four kinds, consisting of a square moulded and patterned example, the simplest of all, the rampant dragon; the figure, usually of a deity; and the portrait, often of the donor or one of his family. All of these support ponderous and complicated superstructures in which crouching dragons and foliated brackets predominate. Although the first kind is relatively a simple composition in some instances it is enlarged into an immense square pier, with the radiating brackets above spreading out like the branches of a tree, as may be seen in the central court of the Jambukeswara temple near Trichinopoly. (Plate LXXVII) Most common of all is the second kind, that of the rearing dragon type already noted in the Vijayanagar temples, a motif still retaining its spirited curves, but restrained and stylised in the hands of the artists under the Nayak regime. This hippogriff formed the favourite design in the hypostyle halls of a thousand pillars, and individually there is much in its lines and shapes which is commendable, but when reiterated so insistently it becomes wearisome. The best example may be seen in the thousand pillared hall at Madura, where not only are the dragons exceptionally well-rendered but their superstructures are cleverly composed. This specially applies to the gryphon bracket-system above the capital and its combination with the beam it supports, the whole being balanced and finished off in a masterly manner by the dropping knop.