Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c36.12

c36.12

The fourth, and last, of the characteristics which distinguishes this style, relates to the particular shape of the pillar and its capital, in a word the "order". This order was in many respects a development of that of the Dravidian style, with its capital of expanding mouldings, and "four-square" brackets above. But the pillars themselves took on a special form, owing to a mechanical process by which they began to be produced in this particular region, which very largely conditioned their appearance. As in most Indian temples the pillar shaft is monolithic, and it became the almost invariable practice of the stone masons to fashion and decorate these elongated blocks by turning them on a large lathe. The stone was first roughly shaped to the required proportions, and then mounted in an upright position on a wheel, by means of which the block was rotated against a chisel, set as a turning tool A baluster-like appearance was the result, the shaft and capital being converted by this process into a series of rounded horizontal mouldings, resembling rings, with the base or pedestal left square In the preparation of these mouldings and their contours, whether sharp convex rims or deep sunk grooves, the workman showed considerable ingenuity and seems to have been allowed a fair amount of freedom in his designs ; there is however one particular form almost always present, a conventional motif to accord with some ancient tradition, and that is a prominent bell-shaped member towards the lower half of the shaft The manufacture of these lathe-turned pillars was in operation over a wide area in the Deccan, but they are a special feature of the Hoysala temples in Mysore, and must have provided employment for a large number of people, as they are found in great profusion. Incidentally, they provide early evidence of a system of mechanical handling and mass production in the field of building construction. As an enrichment to this type of pillar in the Hoysala temple there was attached a sloping bracket-stone imposed on the turned capital to which it was fixed by sockets. These strut-like brackets were carved out of one slab into images enshrined within leafy aureoles, and are known as *madanakai figures*: so elaborately are they sculptured as to rival in execution and high finish those in the niches on the *vimana* walls.