History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c20.35

v1.c20.35

perhaps, in its present form, of about the age of the enclosure. But on the west side of it is an interesting congeries of nine shrines, now containing lingas, of an earlier date—possibly going back to the 9th century. The sikharas of these are more Dravidian in contour than Chalukyan; but the pillars inside with round shafts and spreading capitals, and the tendency to reduce and render less emphatic the storeys of the spires, mark them as indicating an early advance towards the latter style. The outer surfaces of the walls also are overlaid with carving after the Chalukyan fashion; but the red sandstone of which they are built has decayed considerably from exposure and obliterated much of the detail.