History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c24.s2.1

v2.c24.s2.1

The Jaina group at Elûrâ has been considered as the most modern there: an impression arising partly from the character of the sculptures themselves, which are of later Jaina style—more, however, from the extreme difficulty of comparing rockcut examples with structural ones. Our knowledge of the architecture of temples is, in nine cases out of ten, derived from their external forms, to which the interiors are quite subordinate. Cave-temples, however, have practically no exteriors, and at the utmost façades modified to admit more light than is usual in structural edifices, and then strengthened and modified so as to suit rock-cut architecture. As no ancient Jaina temple—except that of Meguti at Aihole—has a dated inscription upon it, nor a tolerably authenticated history, it is no wonder that guesses