The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c19.s1.1

c19.s1.1

SIX miles to the north of Haraḷhaḷḷi, and upon the same bank of the river, is the village of Galagnātha, where, by the river, stands the old temple of Galagēśvara. The most notable feature about this old temple is its great heavy pyramidal basement (Plate LXXXV). At first sight it looks as if this great mass of masonry had been added to buttress up the walls that had been bulging out, or had been threatening to give way under the immense weight of the tower. But this basement appears to support the tower and is not merely built against the walls as a buttress. The walls rise from the top of this basement and are not buried within it. The sandy nature of the soil, no doubt, necessitated special precautions being taken, when the temple was being built, to spread the weight as much as possible to prevent the walls sinking. And, in order to save the temple being washed away bodily by river floods, strong retaining and curtain walls have been built upon the river face which preserve the bank and prevent further corrosion.