History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c19.s6.4

v1.c19.s6.4

But by far the most interesting of the Conjivaram temples is a very early one known as Kailâsanâtha standing in the fields to the west of the town.³ From its style when first seen by the editor in 1883, he at once placed it as about coeval with the "Seven Pagodas." Fortunately it contains several original inscriptions, the translation of which has established the fact that it was erected by the Pallava king Rajasimha or Narasimhavishnu, the son of Ugradanda-Lokâditya, who was a contemporary of Vikramâditya I. of Bâdâmi (A.D. 655-680), so that Râjasimha must have ruled at Kânchî in the second half of the 7th century. The temple is a Saiva shrine originally styled Râjasimhesvara, consisting of a vimâna and separate mantapam in a court surrounded by small cells, as shown in the plan, Woodcut No 209. At a late date the mantapam has been joined to the vimâna by an ardhamantapam, roofed on six pillars with the entrance on the south side, and the east face of the old mantapam is shut off by a wall with only a window through it. Further, an additional shrine has been inserted in the east wall of the court with a small porch and surrounding court; but this is evidently a very early addition, as are also, probably, the eight small shrines in front of the enclosure. The vimâna contains the usual Linga cell surrounded by a *pradakshina* passage; and round it are seven small attached shrines—with large Nandis between them—the three on the back facing west, and the others facing east. There are also two somewhat larger in front, by the sides of the entrance to the main cell. All these are occupied inside and sculptured outside by forms of Siva, Pârvatî, and other devatas of the same cult, and form the temple into a complete Sivâlaya—differing mainly in details of arrangement from what we have met with in the Kailâs temple at Elûrâ.¹ At the latter, too, the east end of the court is surrounded by a gallery or corridor containing fully forty Saiva sculptures, which are here represented by a series of small shrines quite round the court—all, except those on the east side, facing to the east and covered inside and out with Saiva imagery—mostly of Siva and Pârvatî. The little shrines had all sikharas over them appearing over the walls