History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c25.s8.56

v2.c25.s8.56

Among the more complete examples, the oldest I know of, and consequently the most beautiful, is the porch or temple of Sîtalesvara at Chandrâvatî, near Jhâlrâpathan, in Rajputana.² Assuming that it belongs to the early years of the 9th century, with the châwadî in the Mukandwârâ Pass, and the pillars at Eran, this Chandrâvatî fragment completes the list of what we at present can feel sure of having been erected before the middle of the 9th century. There are doubtless others, such as the temples at Pathâri and Tigowâ, that may be of even an earlier age, and it would be well they were examined, for this is one of the most elegant specimens of architecture of its period (Woodcut No. 335). It has not the poetry of arrangement of the Jaina octagonal domes, but it approaches very nearly to them by the large square space in the centre, which was covered by one of the most elegantly designed and most exquisitely carved roofs known to exist anywhere. Its arrangement is evidently borrowed from that of Buddhist vihâras, and it differs from them in style because their interiors were plastered and painted; here, on the contrary, everything is carved in stone.¹ It is a Saiva shrine.