The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c8.s4.4

c8.s4.4

The pillars in this temple are not quite so heavy and massive as they are in Lāḍ Khān's, though they are very simple in their general outline, being square blocks, without bases, surmounted by very plain bracket-capitals. Those in the front of the temple have been decorated with pairs of figures, in full relief, upon their outer sides. Some of the innermost columns in the porch are further enriched with bands and medallions of arabesque (Fig. 9). It will be noticed that all the male figures wear a high crown, and thus differ from that in the temple of Mallikārjuna at Paṭṭadakal, which has a very elaborate coiffure of curls (see Fig. 18). The latter looks more like a portrait statue than these, which are, probably, merely decorative figures.