History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c24.s8.47

v2.c24.s8.47

Most of the buildings above described belong to the first or great age of Jaina architecture, which extended down to about the year 1300, or perhaps a little after that. There seems then to have been a pause, at least in the north of India—caused probably by the devastating raids of 'Alâu-d-dîn and others into Gujarât and Mâlwâ in the end of the 13th century. But a revival took place in the 15th century, especially under the reign of Kumbha, one of the most powerful of the kings of the Mewâr dynasty, whose favourite capital was Chitor. His reign extended from 1428 to 1468, and it is to him that we owe the other of the two towers that still adorn the brow of Chitor. The older one has just been described and illustrated. This one was erected to commemorate his victory over Mahmûd Khaljî of Mâlwâ, in the year 1440.³ It is therefore in Indian phraseology a *Kîrtti* or *Jaya Stambha*, or pillar of victory, like that of Trajan at Rome, but in infinitely better taste as an architectural object than the Roman example, though in sculpture it may be inferior. As will be seen from the next woodcut (No. 296), it stands on a basement, 47 ft. square and 10 ft. high, being nine storeys in height, each of which is distinctly marked on the exterior. A stair in the interior communicates with each, and leads to the two upper storeys, which are open, and more ornamental than those below. It is 30 ft. wide at the base, and 122 ft.