Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c37.23

c37.23

The other example at Kukkanur is the temple of Kallesvara which, although of much the same architectural character as the Navalinga shrine, in its more refined treatment marks a slight advance on that structure, and is therefore, no doubt, a little later in date. Complete in all its parts, with an outer *nandi* porch, a four pillared hall, vestibule and cella, all in axial alignment, it measures 67 feet long by 37 feet wide, while its sikhara is 37 feet high, so that it is a compact and well-proportioned composition. Its exterior walls are simply but effectively decorated with pilasters at fairly close intervals, and an occasional mural shrine or similar structural motif is interposed between. The most instructive feature is the tower, which depicts the beginning of the departure from the earlier Pattadakal model. An increased definition in the separate stories, and a pronounced double-flexured curve in the outlines of the cupola at its apex, show that progress towards the flattened and more florid Hoysala type was already taking place An unusual addition to the pillared hall are four windows tunnelled nearly seven feet through the thickness of the walls In view of their style and that they are built of the same material, these two structures at Kukkanur appear to be closely allied to the temples of the Early Chalukyan group, as at Aihole and Pattadakal, and should be but little removed from them in date, although on historical grounds, one would place them as late as the last half of the tenth century.