Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c37.28

c37.28

At the town of Ittagi, the temple of Mahadev is another illustration of this phase of the builders' art at its meridian and is situated some twenty-two miles east of Gadag This temple was the centre of an important group of religious structures arranged on a terrace specially built for the purpose and containing an ornamental tank the whole a very fine conception, evidently the focus of much spiritual activity early in the twelfth century A.D Now the only building which is intact is the Mahadev, and this has lost the upper part of its sikhara, while the roof of its pillared hall has also been damaged. Even with these defects it is a beautifully harmonised structure, orthodox and symmetrical in its arrangements as it consists of a hypostyle hall, chamber of assembly (*navaranga*), with a pillared porch on either side, a vestibule and a cella, all grouped together in a simple and appropriate manner. It is of a fair size, as it measures, 120 feet long by 60 feet wide, and its tower would have been over 40 feet high, the general appearance of the whole proving that these proportions produce a very pleasing result. According to some standards its decorative treatment may be considered excessive, but nonetheless it is all balanced and orderly, and, although rich, its elements are well thought out and carefully distributed. In style it is much nearer to the Mysore phase previously discussed, particularly in the suave curves of its tower, in which there are no stories but only horizontal tiers, and a sculptured pattern is repeated over its entire surface The hypostyle hall confronting the eastern aspect of the temple, and which measures some 55 feet across, is a striking part of the composition, as it originally contained as many as sixty-eight pillars, each of no mean size Of these the twenty-six interior ones are massive lathe-turned columns with highly decorated pedestals, while the four forming the central group support a coffered ceiling, wrought into a most intricate design of figuresubjects and spirited foliage scrolls In the interior of the *navaranga*, on each of the four walls, are two rectangular recesses, each one provided with a kind of altar table and a pedestal for the reception of sacred symbols, vessels, etc., a system strangely suggestive of the Easter Altar in some Christian churches In the same way the circular niche on the front face of the tower, now empty, was utilized for a change of image whenever this was desired. (Plate CXXX)