Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c32.16

c32.16

In addition to the Gondeswara temple, Sinnar contains the remains of another temple, which, because it is of a different tradition and date, is of unusual interest. This is the temple of Aesvara, a building in the Chalukyan style, the most northerly example of the mode usually associated with the country of Mysore. Yet, probably owing to its isolated situation, it has assimilated certain features of the Indo-Aryan development of the Deccan, such as the atlantean figures, or *kichaka* bracket above the capitals, a motif unknown to the Chalukyan builders. Moreover, it appears to have been built as early as the eleventh century, and is therefore anterior to the Gondeswara temple, indicating that it was in existence while that temple was being constructed, but clearly without in any way influencing its northern architectural character. The inference is that, although buildings in the Chalukyan manner were produced over a wide area, they had no marked effect on the indigenous regional manifestation, both types evolving independently.