Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c37.26

c37.26

This consummation is exemplified in several temples of which the three finest are the Kasivisvesvara at Lakkundi, the Mahadeva at Ittagi, and the Mallikarjuna at Kuruvatti, all of which may date from the twelfth century There are others, which in certain aspects, may be equally good, but as a whole this small series is representative of the phase in its most finished form. The Lakkundi temple indicates that some of the plainer parts of its structure may be of earlier date, but it is surmised that it was rebuilt at the time the city became a Hoysala capital in 1193. (Plate CXXXI, Fig 1) It is one of several temples which adorned a once populous region, and is a double-shrined structure of conventional plan save for the unusual introduction of an open court towards the middle of its lay-out, from which various compartments extend axially on either side What strikes one most in the elevational aspect of the building is the strength and vigour of its conformation, and the outstanding relief and richness of its architectural embellishment, the whole resulting in a powerful and effective composition Provided with two shrines, one at each extremity, it has two separate towers, the larger one being at the western end, but both have lost their superstructures. The scheme consists of an alignment of four different sized squares, or elaborations of this figure, and its total length is 100 feet, with a width of 37 feet, while its main tower, when complete, would have been about 35 feet high The principal entrance is on the south side, and leads into the *navaranga*, a chamber some 20 feet square with four pillars in the centre, and eight semi-detached pilasters around the sides, each pillar with a lathe-turned foundation of mouldings, but parts of these embossed with an intricate pattern as fine as chased metal Where the temple excels however is in the bold character of the architectural ornamentation distributed over its vimanas, and the refined enrichment of its doorways, the one acting as a contrast to the other, evidently the productions of two different groups of workmen In the decoration of the western vimana the customary system of mural design has been followed, but several motifs have been emphasised, including a large and prominent niche and canopy in the centre of each side above which rises a kind of foliated trefoil repeated up the centre of the sikhara, each repeat diminishing as it ascends. There is a voluptuousness and exuberance in the ornamentation, in temper not unlike that of the Baroque in Europe with its fantasy of grandiose excrescences, but, although impassioned, it is well-controlled and expressive of the style at the extreme height of its power.