The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c8.s5.1

c8.s5.1

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.