Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c31.37

c31.37

It is still possible to trace the plan of this fine structure on the banks of the Saraswati river, its foundations indicating an imposing conception, as with its adjacent shrines all forming part of the composition as a whole, it covered a space 300 feet by 230 feet, the central building itself being 150 feet long and over 100 feet wide. From the portions that remain it seems that the mandapa was three stories in height, and by the same fragments the rich character of the design may be appraised.¹ Not much smaller than the Rudra Mala was the temple of Somanatha, after its reconstruction by Kumarapala in the latter half of the twelfth century, as the main building measures 130 feet long by 75 feet wide. It is now a crumbling and disfigured shell, deserted and desolate, a weather-beaten pile from which most of the glory has departed.² Yet these two relics contain sufficient evidence of the great scale, bold planning, and elaborate nature of the Solanki style at this stage of its course