History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c25.s10: Gwâliar.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c25.s10
- Language
- English
Gwâliar.
v2.c25.s10.1
The oldest temple at Gwâliar is, doubtless, the small one on the road up to the fort, excavated in the solid rock and dedicated to Chaturbhuj or Vishnu. It bears two inscriptions stating that it was made by the governor of the fort in A.D. 875. It is only 12 ft. square, with a portico in front 10 ft. by 9 ft., supported on two advanced pillars. The roof is a truncated pyramid divided into small steps, resembling that on the Dhamnâr rock-temple, and in details like the Teli Mandir. This is crowned by a small modern dome.⁴
v2.c25.s10.2
⁴ 'Epigraphia Indica,' vol. i. pp. 154f.; Cunningham, 'Archæological Reports,' vol. ii. pp. 335, 355; and Sir L. Griffin, 'Famous Monuments of Central India,' plate 39.
v2.c25.s10.3
There are, however, in the fortress here, two very remarkable temples: one, known as the Sâs-Bahû, has been mistaken for a Jaina erection, but it is designated and dedicated to Padmanâbha or Vishnu.⁵ The first temple was finished apparently in A.D. 1093,⁶ and, though dreadfully ruined, is still a most picturesque fragment. What remains is the cruciform porch of a temple which, when complete, measured 100 ft. from front to rear, and 63 ft. across the arms of the porch. Of the sanctuary, with its sikhara, nothing is left but the foundation;
v2.c25.s10.4
⁵ Râjendralâl Mitra who translated the inscription read 'Padmanâtha' and tried to identify the name with Padmaprabhanâtha the 6th Tîrthankara.—Cunningham, 'Archæological Reports,' vol. ii. p. 357.
v2.c25.s10.5
⁶ 'Indian Antiquary,' vol. xv. p. 36.
v2.c25.s10.6
339. Sâs-Bahû Temple at Gwâliar. (From a Photograph.)
v2.c25.s10.7
Teli-ka-Mandir, Gwâliar. (From a Photograph.)
v2.c25.s10.8
but the porch, which is three storeys in height, is constructively entire, though its details—and principally those of its roof—are very much shattered (Woodcut No. 339).
v2.c25.s10.9
An older temple is described by General Cunningham,¹ but, as it was used as a mosque, there is too little of the original structure left to show the character of the design. A mutilated inscription was dated in A.D. 1108, and several Jaina images were found in the substructure.
v2.c25.s10.10
¹ Cunningham, *ut supra*, plate 90 and pp. 362, 363.
v2.c25.s10.11
At the same place there is another, bearing the not very dignified name of the Teli-ka-Mandir, or Oilman’s Temple (Woodcut No. 340). It is a square of 60 ft. each way, with a portico on the east projecting about 11 ft. Unlike the other temples we have been describing, it does not terminate upwards in a pyramid, nor is it crowned by an amalaka, but in a ridge of about 30 ft. in extent, which may originally have had three amalakas upon it. I cannot help believing that this form of temple was once more common than we now find it. There are several examples of it at Mâmallapuram (Woodcut Nos. 185, 193, 194), evidently copied from a form common among the Buddhists, and one very beautiful example is found at Bhuvaneswar,² there called Kapila Devî, and dedicated to Siva. The Teli-ka-Mandir was originally dedicated to Vishnu, but there is no inscription or any tradition from which its date can be gathered; on the whole, however, we may place it about the 10th or 11th century.³
v2.c25.s10.12
² A view of this temple will be found in my ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Indian Architecture,’ plate 4.
v2.c25.s10.13
³ Sir L. Griffin, ‘Famous Monuments,’ *ut supra*, pp. 62-69, and plate 40.