The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c8.s5: Huchchimalli-Guḍi

The Chālukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c8.s5

Language: English

Huchchimalli-Guḍi

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The next five temples to be described are possibly older than the Durga temple, judging by the general style and more cyclopean-looking masonry, and certainly older than that of Mēguṭi. It requires but a glance at the Huchchimalli-Guḍi, which is situated in the fields a short distance to the north of the town, to be convinced that it can claim, on the score of its massive simplicity alone, a somewhat earlier date (No. 14). Here, again, the shrine is contained within the main body or hall of the temple, being placed towards its east end, so that a passage or *pradakshiṇā* is left around it. This arrangement of the shrine within the hall is found at the Elephanta Caves and in the Dumar Lena at Elūrā.

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As already mentioned, this temple has a spire in the northern style, but its details are more archaic-looking than in that of the Durga temple. It is interesting to compare it with the temple of Paraśurāmēśvara at Bhuvanēśvara in Orissa.¹ There is a great similarity between the two. Dr. Fergusson, in his first edition of his *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, was inclined to place the tower and cella of the latter at about A.D. 450, the *maṇḍapa* or hall being a little later. In the revised edition Dr. Burgess has brought the date down to the seventh or eighth century, but I think this too low an estimate. The outline of the tower has an older look than the Aihoḷe one, though in its details, the latter is simpler and heavier-looking. But, in judging the age of these temples, local peculiarities have to be taken into account as much as other matters.

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¹ *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, II, 96.

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The plan of the hall of Huchchimalli-Guḍi, as in other temples of this class, does not give a clear idea of the arrangement of the interior of the temple. It is practically the same plan as that of hundreds of small mediæval temples which are met with of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, omitting their outer halls, where the four central pillars support a central square compartment of the ceiling, boxed in on all four sides by deep beams above the pillars, the marginal ceiling, outside and around this, being lower. But, in these older ones, instead of taking the four pillars as a central group, the two on either side should be taken as linked up with the end pilasters to form two continuous lines of columns from the front door to the shrine. The whole length of the ceiling, between these, is of the same height, which is made much loftier than the side ceilings by a deep running architrave over the beams above the pillars. This long ceiling is divided into bays by shallow cross-beams above the architraves. The hall is thus divided into a central nave and two side aisles. It will be noticed that there are no pilasters on the side walls opposite the pillars as in later temples such as those shewn on plate LXII. The side ceilings are formed of plain sloping slabs.

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The interior of the temple is perfectly plain, excepting the shrine door which is decorated, which, like some of the cave doorways, has a band of little panels, with pairs of small figures in them, running down either side of the doorway. Some of these figures are rather suggestive of indecency. The interior of the shrine has been totally wrecked, portions of the *linga* and the paving of the floor lying about in great confusion. This has been due to treasure hunters who expected to find valuables buried beneath the image.

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Between the two pillars, immediately in front of the shrine, a stone perforated screen has been inserted, with a doorway through it. It stands out 5 feet 8 inches in advance of the shrine and was no doubt intended to form a sort of ante-chamber to it. It is probably not an original feature.

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The temple faces the west; and in front of the entrance doorway, which is fairly well decorated, stands a porch upon four disengaged pillars. In later temples the porch is built upon two disengaged pillars and two wall-pilasters. On either side of the porch, between the pillars, is a low seat, the outer back of which forms a parapet which is decorated with panels containing urns or waterpots as upon the porch of Lāḍ Khān's. In the porch ceiling is a group of sculpture representing Kārtikēya seated upon his peacock, with a lance in rest in his right hand and a flower in his left. Attendant figures, which surround him, make offerings, while a prostrate figure, with a shield and dagger or short sword, lies beneath the peacock's feet. There can be no mistake about the peacock here. It stands in profile, and thus shews its long tail to advantage, at the end of which the "eyes" are well delineated, while upon its head is the top-knot of feathers. But Kārtikēya, who sits side saddle, has only one head. Sometimes he is represented like this, in other cases with his six heads. Kārtikēya, Svāmi-Mahāsena, Shaḍānana, Skanda, Subramanya, or Shaṇmukha was the god of war, who led the early Chālukyas to victory as well as the Kadambas of Banavāsi.

Linked texts (1)

Grant of Nandivarmā-Pallavamalla — Sanskrit