Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c28.9

c28.9

Compared with the other regional development in the Indo-Aryan style, the Orissan temples as a whole are of the astylar order, pillars being notable by their absence. In some of the earlier examples the pillar finds a place, suggested no doubt by other modes, but as a rule it was not favoured. In a few of the larger halls however some such support became a structural necessity to sustain the heavy weight of the pyramidal roof, and accordingly a group of four solid piers, one at each corner of a four-square system of roof beams was introduced. One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Orissan temple is the plan and featureless treatment of the interior contrasted with the profusely ornamented walls of the exterior, the surfaces of which are charged with a superfluity of plastic patterns and forms. The difference between the rich carving on the outside, and the simple unadorned planes of the interior can only be accounted for by the existence of some esoteric tradition which the builders either instinctively followed, or were compelled strictly to observe.