Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c8.s5.1

c8.s5.1

Of about the same age as the temple at Sangameśvara is that of Chāngdeva at the village of the same name near the junction of the Purnā with the Taptī, fifteen miles east of Bhusāval. It has been a large and fine building, but whether it was ever originally finished or not is not very clear. It has been finished off in later times, with brick and mortar in a very clumsy manner. The whole length of the temple measures 97 feet, and it faces the east. At the entrance there are some inscriptions, but they are much effaced. The roof of the hall has gone, together with some of the pillars, and portions, only, of the lower parts of the walls of the hall remain, upon which mud and brick continuations have been carried up to supply the missing portions. The basement is silted up, and two or three feet of the lower mouldings are buried. The original stone walls end with the string course above the cornice, and it is possible that the śikhara was built, or was intended to be built, in brick and plaster as in the temple at Kokamthān in the Ahmednagar District. The temple appears to have been dedicated to Vaiṣṇava worship. (Plates XXXVIII—XL.)