Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c8.s7.9

c8.s7.9

In the middle of the town at Erandol, thirty-seven miles east of Dhulia, is a large solidly-built old quadrangle known as the Pāndāva's Vādā. It is the remains of one of those strongly built and enclosed mosques—or rather partly mosque and partly fort—which were erected in the early days of Muhammadan rule, and is of the general plan upon which the great ‘Adina Masjid at Anhilvād-Paṭṭan was probably built. Like the latter, the greater part of this building, at the west end of the courtyard, seems to have been built of the remains of older Hindu temples. The courtyard and the mosque were enclosed by a lofty substantial stone wall, having high arched recesses all around the inner side, in each of which is a barred or grated window. There appears to have been a fine porch before the entrance to the courtyard on the east, but it is now represented by a huge pile of fallen masonry, over which the visitor has to climb to reach the interior. The mosque which, as usual, occupied the whole width of the west end of the enclosure, has almost entirely disappeared; the central bay only remains, and this has been enclosed by mud walls and is still used as a mosque. Of the rest, all, except a few solitary blocks, has disappeared, leaving some beautifully carved miḥrābs, or prayer niches, in the back wall, which are partly buried in accumulated debris. (Plate XLI.)