The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c46: Columns
The Chālukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c46
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Columns
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OCCASIONALLY solitary columns are met with which, no doubt, in most cases, stood before temples that have disappeared, and with which they were connected. We have already noticed those at the temples of Lōkēśvara at Paṭṭadakal and Mahākūṭēśvara with their inscriptions. These, when complete, were surmounted by regular capitals, above which, as they were Śaiva temples with which they were connected, was placed the triśūla—at least, we know it was upon the column at the former temple. Of about the same age are the remains of two found lying upon a heap of ruins on the western outskirts of the town of Kukkanūr, one of them being more perfect than the other. The base, shaft and capital lie apart, but when plotted together on paper, they form a pillar sixteen feet six inches high. The shaft is divided into sections which are square, octagonal, sixteen and thirty-two-sided. It is Hindu, and appears to be of the same age as the Navalinga temple which is not far from it, and which has already been described. There is a band of figure sculpture round the shaft in which seems to be a representation of Mahishāsura-Mardanī. On the square portion, above this, are flower buds and corner tassels with the śvastika emblem between them. The capital is similar to the capitals of the round pillars in the temple just mentioned. It is very likely this column was surmounted by the triśūla like the great pillars in the courtyard of the monolithic temple of Kailāsa at Ēḷūrā. The place, where these columns lie, looks like the site of some old building, for deep down in the bottom of a pit that has been dug may be seen layers of brick masonry forming the foundation of some entrance. Round the shaft of the column is an almost illegible old Kanarese inscription (Plate LVI).
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Fig. 41.—The Gaṇḍa-bhēruṇḍa column at Baḷagāmve.
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At Baḷagāmve, whose temples have been described in previous pages, is a very interesting column in the middle of the village. It stands upon a raised mound, and reaches a height of over thirty feet, although the breadth of the shaft measures no more than fifteen inches. The top is finished off with a spreading octagonal moulded capital, which is surmounted by a broad abacus or slab. Upon this stands a statue of the fabulous two-headed bird, the *gaṇḍa-bhēruṇḍa*, supposed to have been the mortal enemy of elephants and to have fed upon their flesh. The image here takes the form of a human being, standing upright, with two birds' heads looking opposite ways like the Russian eagle. It is eating or tearing something which it holds in its hands. An inscription on the base of the column records its erection and tells us that in *Śaka* 969 (A.D. 1047) the *mahāmaṇḍalēśvara*, Chāmuṇḍa Rāyarasa (of the Kadambas of Banavasi) erected before the god Jagadēkamallēśvara this *gaṇḍa-bhēruṇḍa stambha*, and, having washed the feet of the *āchārya* Anantaśiva, made a grant of land for the god Bhēruṇḍēśvara.¹ It does not follow that the column had any more connection with the temple than that it stood before it. The people of the village say it was set up to scare wild elephants away from their crops, and especially the sugarcane fields (Figs. 41 and 32).
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¹ The prefix *gaṇḍa* means 'male' [Rice] or 'strong' [Venkayya], *bhēruṇḍa* being the name of the bird. The name was afterwards applied as a title to several of the Vijayanagar kings, e.g., Devaray II. was known as Rayagaja-gaṇḍabhēruṇḍa, Krishnarāya and Sadāśiva as Gajangha-gaṇḍabhēruṇḍa, and Achyutaraya as Aribha-gaṇḍabhēruṇḍa. The bird became an emblem of the Vijayanagar kings, and is found upon their coins as a bird with two heads.
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Fig. 42.—Column in front of Ketapai Nārāyaṇa temple, Bhatkal.
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A great broken column with a square shaft used to lie just outside the citadel gateway at Bijāpur, but it is now at the local museum. One portion of it, which has been broken across the middle, is thirteen feet four inches long by three feet square. It has a narrow band of festoons around it.²
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² See *Bijāpur and its Architectural Remains* (Cousens)
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Lofty columns are frequently found erected before Jaina temples where they were generally surmounted by a little canopy in which was placed a *chaumukha*, that is a group of four Jinas seated back to back. Such columns have been already described in connection with the temples at Bhatkal. When set up before Vaishṇava temples they usually carried an image of Garuḍa, before Śaiva a *triśūla* or trident, and, sometimes, in both these cases, they were *dīpdāns* or pillars for lights, especially in later temples (Fig. 42).