Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c35.6

c35.6

Dominating the opposite and southern ridge of Satrunjaya is another temple, not only typical of the style but celebrated for the antiquity of its foundation, as it occupies the most sacred site on the mountain, the *sanctum-sanctorum* of the *tirtha*. This is the Sri Adisvara which stands within the Vimalavasi Tuk, the present structure dating from A.D. 1530, but it fills the place of a much older temple erected in A.D 960, and there was probably another still earlier Although simpler in plan than the previous example, as it enshrines only one cella, its architectural elevation, which is notably ornate, has distinctly good features. This specially applies to the eastern frontage with its pillared portico and upper story, the semi-circular arches of each being cusped and braced with the characteristic convoluted strut. Over the mandapa extends a low pitched roof, moulded in lines resembling tiles, with figures of dragons along the ridges breaking the skyline like crockets on a Gothic gable. As a whole this building is however not unified, it is a combination of parts each good in itself, but the process of assembling has not been perfectly accomplished.