History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c25.s8.4

v2.c25.s8.4

The inscription of the No. 3 cave at Bâdâmi is dated in the twelfth year of the reign of a well-known king, Kîrtivarman I., in 'the 500th year after the inauguration of the Saka king' ; the date therefore is A.D. 578. Admitting, which I think its architecture renders nearly certain, that it is the earliest of the three, still they are so like one another, that the latest may be assumed to have been excavated within the limits of the next century, say A.D. 575-680. Comparing the architecture of this group with that known as the central or Râmeswara group at Elûrâ, it is so nearly identical, that though it may be slightly more modern, it can hardly now be doubted they too, including perhaps the cave known as the Râvana-ka-khai, must have been excavated in the 7th century. Instead, therefore, of the sequence formerly adopted, we are forced to fall back on that marvellous picture of religious toleration described by the Chinese Pilgrim as exhibited at Allahâbâd in the year A.D. 643. On that occasion the King Harsha Silâditya distributed alms or gifts to 10,000 priests (*religieux*), the first day in honour of Buddha, the second of Âditya the Sun, and the third in honour of Îswara or Siva ;¹ and the eighteen kings who assisted at this splendid quinquennial festival seem promiscuously to have honoured equally these three divinities. With this toleration at headquarters, we ought not to be surprised if we find the temples of different religions overlapping one another to some extent.