Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c31.27

c31.27

The interior of this enclosed portion is divided equally into two compartments, each consisting of a square of twenty-five feet side, the front or eastern being the *gudhamandapa*, or assembly hall, containing eight columns around a central octagonal nave, above which is a highly ornamental ceiling Except however for a niche in every bay enthroning an image of the sun-god the walls of this hall are plain. Leading out of this compartment, through a shallow four-pillared vestibule, is the shrine-chamber--a square cell with a processional passage around it. Carved decoration is here sparsely distributed, most of it being concentrated on the entrance to the cella. This doorway has its jambs and lintel divided up by mouldings into sections each crowded with figures, a somewhat stiff and formal treatment and a forerunner of that rigid and over-strained method of dealing with the door-frame which marks the later style.