Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c6.13

c6.13

The temples of the Dakhan are of no great size, that of Goṇdeśvara at Sinnar being about the largest now standing. One factor, in limiting the size of a temple. was the length of the shafts of its loftiest pillars. The shaft, or that portion of the pillar between the top of the base and the neck under the capital, was invariably a single block. In their best work the Hindu builders never constructed a shaft of two or more stones, hence the maximum length depended upon the greatest length of stone it was possible, with the means at their disposal, to get out of the quarry. As all parts of a temple are in strict proportion to one another, it follows that the maximum size of a temple was thus limited by the length of the pillar shaft.