Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c6.39

c6.39

Two most notable objects in ornamental detail are the *makara* and the *kīrtimukha*, and these are of universal occurrence all over India. On the *makara* an article has already been written in the Annual Report of the Archæological Survey of India, for the year 1903-4. in which an attempt has been made to connect the animal with the tapir or rhinoceros. A good example of this conventionalised beast is that given on plate XLVI. It is certainly not intended for the alligator or crocodile to which the term "maggar" is now applied. The animal not having a tail to speak of in its natural state, the fertile imagination of some early artist has supplied the deficiency with the most wondrous creation in arabesque and floral whorls.