Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c6.31

c6.31

Like those of the Northern Gujarāt and Chālukyan temples, the ceilings are a very conspicuous feature in the general scheme of decoration of the interiors. Being almost invisible in the gloom which ever broods over the deity enthroned in the innermost shrine, the ceiling of the sanctum is, as a rule, designed in a very simple manner; but that of the great hall or sabhamaṇḍapa is often a veritable work of art. In the older temples these are usually domical in outline, though the domes are not constructed with radiating voussiors as western domes are. A ceiling, in its simplest form, is no more than one or more flat slabs laid across above four beams forming a square, which are supported upon four pillars or four walls. This is the case in ceilings of the smallest span, but, as the span increases, other devices are used to cover in the larger space. Triangular slabs are then laid across the corners of the square formed by the beams, so as to reduce the opening to a smaller square set diagonally to that of the beams, and, if necessary corner slabs are again placed above these, and so on until the opening is small enough to be closed up by a single square slab. These may then be carved and decorated, a favourite ornamental detail for these simpler ceilings being the rosette or conventional lotus. Such ceilings are generally found in the side bays and corners of the hall.