The Hindu Temple v1.c8.s3.23
The Hindu Temple v1.c8.s3.23
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v1.c8.s3.23
The Śikhara of the Liṅgarāja temple in Bhuvaneśvar, Orissa, has at least one internal chamber above the flat roof of the Garbhagṛha. It is accessible by a steep staircase built through the thickness of the sides of the Śikhara; above this internal chamber, which has a window, a third similar chamber is said to exist. (R. D. Banerji, ‘History of Orissa’, Vol. II. p. 360). These internal spaces have no part in the effect or symbolism of the Prāsāda; they are technical devices for lessening the weight of the superstructure; the same purpose serve the great trabeate arches in the sides of the Śikhara and which are closed up by an ‘antefix’, the Śukanāsā. See also Part VI, note 65.