Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c37.18

c37.18

Turning to the pyramidal tower which surmounts the temples, the design of this outstanding feature is a compromise between on the one hand the sikhara of the Early Chalukyan type with its plainly defined stories, and on the other the closely moulded tiers of the Hoysala examples in Mysore. And the same remarks apply to the superstructure forming the apex of the tower, which is neither the bold upstanding cupola of the Pattadakal variety, nor the flat overlying parasol favoured by the builders of Mysore, but a faceted, double-flexured bell-shape, suggestive of a combination of the two conceptions. As a whole the sikharas of this phase display a not unpleasing mass contained within moderately strong contours, and sustained by a series of well-marked horizontal mouldings sufficient to preserve an appearance of some structural vigour.