Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c38.25

c38.25

Much of the foregoing is confirmed by the remains on another site, that of Tribeni. Now merely a straggling village, Tribeni, originally Saptagrama or Satgawn in the Hooghly district, has a long history, but considerably obscured by the passage of time and events. Owing to its position at the junction of three streams—hence its name—it acquired great sanctity, and many religious buildings grew up in its neighbourhood. Among them there appear to have been some in the same style as those at Lakhnauti, and therefore of the Pala-Sena period, chief of which are two buildings now converted into a tomb and its adjacent mosque, known as the Mazar of Zafar Khan Ghazi. In the aisles of the mosque are the same square solid masonry pillars as at Gaur, evidently dismantled from a similar palace or fortress, although one of the columns, different from the others, seems to have formed part of a chaitya or shrine, as it was carved with Buddhist images The tomb-structure itself, however, tells its own story. It is a rectangular enclosure formed of two roofless compartments built of black basalt, and in spite of the whole having been materially damaged in adapting it to its present purpose, its two compartments have been identified as the vestibule or *antarala*, and the assembly hall or *mandapa*, of a Vaishnavite temple. Most of the sculpture has been defaced, and portions of the structure are a mere jumble of stones, but it is quite clear that this temple was a finished example of the building art, its ashlar masonry is precise and orderly, and the architectural treatment of the parts still in position show knowledge and experience. There are four doorways to the compartments, one facing each of the cardinal points, and from these, and the design of the wall surface between, [Figure: INDIA PRINCIPAL JAIN AND CHALUKYAN SITES Jain ----- x Chalukyan -- o [Modern names within brackets] English Miles 100 200 300 400 R INDUS [Lahore] [Delhi] Gwalior Ranpur Sonagarh Mt Abu x x Chitor x Khajuraho Parasnalh R GANGES [Calcutta] Gyaraspur Girnar Palitana NARbADA TAPTI x Muktagiri Ellura x Udayagiri & Khandagiri [Bombay] R GODAVARI R KISTNA Badami Gadag xIttagi Lakkundi Balagami Halebid ARABIAN SEA Mudabidri Belur Sravana Belgola Somnathpur [Madras] BAY OF BENGAL the style may be judged. The doorways are square-headed openings, contained within mouldings, among which that of Sesha, or the snake emblem, may be recognized, and above the centre of the lintel is the customary dedicatory block. Where the builders of the structure have shown notable restraint is in their treatment of the wall-spaces between these openings, which have been conceived and carried out in a simple refined manner. At intervals plain flat buttresses having little projection, were imposed, intersecting both the mouldings of the cornice above, and of the basement below. This procedure divided the surface into a series of shallow sunk panels, within each of which was placed an ornamental foliated arcade. Such an appreciation of plain spaces and their value in emphasising the structural proprieties of a building are rare in Indian architecture, and in this instance are further proof that the building art under the Pala-Sena patronage was produced with more than ordinary intelligence and good taste.