The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c33.s1.4

c33.s1.4

The first inscription might refer to one shrine containing the image of Nārāyaṇa with Lakshmī in his lap, such as we now find in the central shrine, or it might refer to two shrines with the god in one and his consort in the other. As the inscriptions are engraved upon the wall on either side of the entrance of the central shrine it is most probable that that shrine alone is referred to. But, again, this is a shallow chamber, without an antechamber, built against the back wall, and there is no indication of it outside at the back of the temple. The other two shrines are built in the ordinary way, off the hall, with their antechambers (see plan, Plate CXXXIII). In any case it seems certain that the three deities were represented in the temple, either by images of themselves, their *saktis*, or both as in the central shrine. In old Kanarese inscriptions we have several references to the worship of this triad, and, as we have seen, they occur over the antechamber doors of most temples.