Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c11.s3: Gursāla
Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c11.s3
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Gursāla
c11.s3.1
The temples of Gursāla, a few miles to the south-west of Kātarkhatāv, are of special interest. That of Somaliṅga, in the village, has its spire intact. The total disappearance of the spires of the great majority of the old Chālukyan and "Hemadpanti" temples seems almost unaccountable. The finely-carved stone spires of those that are left would lead one to suppose that they were all in that material. But this shrine, the Kātarkhatāv one, and a few to be found in the adjoining Haidarābād territory, shew that brick spires were in as much, if not greater, use than those of stone, but whether on account of the greater lightness of the mass or the cheaper mode of construction, it is difficult to say. This temple of Somaliṅga is a very solidly built structure, whose walls are severely plain. The pillars, within, are also plain, but are well proportioned. (Plates XC—XCIII.)
c11.s3.2
The temple of Rāmliṅga, outside the village, is a neat little combination of kuṇḍa, or tank, and shrine, the latter standing upon the west margin of the tank, and forming, with it, part of one general design. There is a row of the usual grossly indecent figures on the front wall of the temple. The tank is square, with flights of steps leading down to the water's edge from an inside platform which runs around some distance below ground level, the stair to which descends from the side opposite the temple.