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The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c9: Chapter III

The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c9

Language
English

Contents

Chapter III

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ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS AND SCULPTURE:—Trammels of orders and styles. Unity of Indian art. Situation, the first element of beauty in architecture,—how regarded by ancient Indians;---neglected in the present day. Tanks, Magnitude, the second element of beauty; how adventitiously increased. Solidity and massiveness. Basement. Crests for mouldings. Battlements. Mouldings for plinths. Walls and pilasters. Pillars. Cornices. Various kinds of Mouldings. Bands and fascias. Weather-moulding. Coats of Arms. Eccentric ornaments. Brackets. Bosses, Finials. Lotus. Quality of floral designs. Do—of figures of animals. Do—of the human form. Schools of Daedalus, of Aeginitus, of Egypt, of Assyria and of Orissa. Merits and defects of Orissan human figures. Features. Relative proportions of the different members of the human figure. Relief. Groups. Drapery. Obscenity of Orissan sculptures; its cause. Sculptures carved *in situ*. Torentic art.

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“In architecture, as in all other operative arts, the end is to build well”, says Sir Henry Wotton; but this is a maxim which cannot be adopted in the present day without a multiplicity of qualifications. It implies a freedom from restrictions of orders and styles which even Gothic architects with their “disregard of precedent and untrammelled wildness of imaginations”,¹ could not command. To the Uriyās it was a license not to be thought of. The ordinances of the *Śilpa Śāstra*, which claimed a sanctity next to the Veda itself, hemmed them on every side, and left little room for the play of the imagination in the design of their temples.² The ground plans, the forms, the proportions, had all to be regulated by rigid rules and inviolable canons, and they had scrupulously to abide by them while yearning to produce something that would be at once grand, imposing, and lasting for ages. Ornamentation was the only branch of the art which was left entirely to their fancy, and they gave free vent to their constructive faculty and taste to the development of an endless variety of decorative designs. Hence it is that in the midst of one unbroken monotony of form in India, the observer is charmed by a profusion and richness of ornaments which has nowhere been surpassed. Indeed, ornamentation has always been, so to say, a passion with the Hindu. To quote the language of Mr. Fergusson: “Like all people untrammelled by rules and gifted with a feeling for the beautiful, they adorn whatever they require, and convert every object, however utilitarian in its purposes, into an object of beauty, knowing well that it is not temples and palaces alone that are capable of such display, but that every thing which man makes, may become beautiful, provided the hand of taste be guided by sound judgment that never forgets what the object is, and never conceals the constructive exigencies of the building itself. It is simply this inherent taste and love of beauty, which the Indians seem always to have possessed, directed by unaffected honesty of purpose, which enables those who are now without independence or knowledge, or power, to erect, even at the present day, buildings that will bear comparison with the best of those erected in Europe during the middle ages”.³ It is to be remarked, however, that even in this passion for ornament, and the diversity and profusion to which it has led, there is a marked unity of design. Whether in the North, or the South, in the peninsula of Guzerat, in the West, or the sea-shore at Orissa in the East, the same general principles of decoration prevail everywhere. It is not to be expected that in their quality and execution they should always be alike, but their general character is the same in all places. The corbels, the medallions, the panels, the mouldings, and the scrolls in the temples of northern India and Orissa, are all closely similar to those in the Tamulian structures of the South. The same forms, the same figures, the same proportions, however variously combined and elaborated, turn up wherever the observer directs his eyes, and they display a community of thought and inspiration on the part of the builders which could not have resulted unless the Tamulians and the Aryans had drawn from one common source. Hence it is that the *Śilpa Śāstras* as current in the North and South are alike, and the canons of the *Mānasāra* are reproduced unchanged in the works of Tamulian authors.

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¹ Fergusson, *History of Architecture*.

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² The ancient Egyptians, who resembled the early Hindus so closely in their manners, customs and habits of life, were equally restricted in their architecture. “Plato and Synesius both mention the stern regulations which forbade their artists to introduce innovations in religious subjects; and the more effectually to prevent this, the profession of artist was not allowed to be exercised by common or illiterate persons, lest they should attempt anything contrary to the laws established regarding the figures of the deities”. Wilkinson’s *Ancient Egyptians*, III. 87.

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³ *Handbook of Architecture*, I. p. 123.

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**Situation:** The first element of beauty in a building is due to its situation. It would be a truism to say that a plain structure situated in a romantic spot appears far more picturesque than a really beautiful edifice buried in the midst of a towering mass of masonry surrounding it on every side. None who has seen the [40] elaborately sculptured, goldcovered fane of Viśveśvara at Benares, overshadowed on every side by lofty dwellings, and the simple unadorned temple on the Jangirah rock near Bhāgalpur, rising like a beacon tower in the midst of a wide expanse of water can for a moment deny the influence of place, in the development of beauty in buildings. The ancient Hindus paid particular attention to this subject, and generally selected the most prominent spots accessible, ordinarily beyond the boundary of a town, or village, for the erection of their temples, and there is scarcely a romantic spot in India, in forests or on hill-tops, on island or rivers, which has not been consecrated to some presiding divinity or other.

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Where a commanding situation was not available, or from other causes, an urban site was deemed necessary, they cleared out the place selected so as to have sufficient space round the proposed temple, and to keep it perfectly unencumbered and detached. The same rule was also laid down, though probably not always observed, in regard to private dwellings. With a clear eye to effect it was also ordained that temples and houses should not be placed on any one corner or side of the area selected, or on its exact centre, but so located as to leave more space in front than behind. The space on the sides should be equal. According to the *Vṛhad-rāja-mārtaṇḍa*, the building should not cover more than one-ninth of the total space ;⁴ but other authorities are less imperative. The *Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra* condemns the sinner who ventures to build in close proximity to an existing temple. In Orissa these rules were formerly strictly observed, and the temples were so built as to leave lots of open space all round, more in front than on the sides. The desire, however, of dedicating temples on spots hallowed by the sanctity of ages, and the cupidity of the officiating priests, have, in later days, completely set those rules at naught, and the court-yards of temples are now so crowded with numberless structures of various kinds and qualities, that it is often difficult to get a clear and complete view of the principal edifices from any one side, and their aesthetic effect is completely destroyed. At Bhuvaneśvara some of the finest carvings and sculptures are completely covered by dead walls and thatched huts.

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⁴ Navakhaṇḍaṃ sūtraṃ dhṛtvā vāstuṃ kṛtvā vicakṣaṇaḥ / navame pravibhāge tu gṛhaṃ kuryāt prayatnataḥ // na koṇe ca gṛhaṃ kuryāt nāpyante na ca madhyame / puṇye'hani sthire lagne sūcayedbhavanaṃ budhaḥ // sūtre'pyutthāya sandehān nimittaṃ niyataṃ śṛṇu / sūtre vistāryamāṇe hi pramādādbhidyate yadi // acireṇaiva kālena tadgṛhī mriyate dhruvam // *Vṛhadrājamārtaṇḍa* of Bhoja Deva. As. Socy's. MS, No. 74, fol. 50. “The intelligent, holding a string divided into nine parts, and laying the foundation carefully, should build his house on one of the nine parts. But it should not be in a corner, nor on one side nor in the middle. On an auspicious day, during a good conjunction of the stars, the wise lays the foundation of a house”.

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**Tank :** The *Rājamārtaṇḍa* recommends a tank to the East or the North of the building, but I do not remember to have noticed any such within the temple enclosure in Orissa. Without, they are not only common, but seem to have been originally held as an absolute necessity. Every large temple has its appropriate tank, on whose water is largely reflected the sanctity of the presiding divinity. They are evidently due, as much to the necessity of excavating materials for the temples, as to a desire to secure an ornamental, and at the same time a most useful, appurtenance to the sanctuary. Adverting to the attention paid to tanks by the people of this country, Mr. Fergusson observes : "Indeed, there is scarcely a tank or stream in all India that is without its flight of steps, and it is seldom indeed that these are left without some adornment, or some attempt at architectural display, the proximity of water being always grateful in so hot a climate, and an especial place of favourite resort with a people so fond of washing and so cleanly in their habits as the Hindus.”⁵

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⁵ *Handbook of Architecture*, I. p. 126.

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**Height:** But to turn from the adventitious to the innate: “the first and most obvious element of architectural grandeur,” says Fergusson, “is size,—a large edifice being always more imposing than a small one; and when the art displayed in two buildings is equal, their effect is almost in the direct ratio of their dimensions.”⁶ This size or magnitude affects human feelings according to the direction from which it is seen. “Magnitude in height is expressive to us of elevation, and magnanimity; in depth of danger or terror, and, from our constant experience, of images of terror; in length, of vastness; and in breadth, of stability, and when apparently unbounded, of infinity.”⁷ Orissan architects, were fully aware of the importance of these principles, and tried to utilise them in the erection of their sacred edifices; but, owing to the peculiarity of the style they adopted, they never acquired the same success, which their neighbours, the Tamulians, achieved. A single square chamber for obvious engineering reasons, can never be of any extraordinary magnitude, either in height, or in its length and breadth; the utmost limit is soon attained, and as the height must be proportioned to the base, the edifice must, to a certain extent, be wanting in such majesty and grandeur as are attainable by large dimensions. To remedy this evil, secondary buildings were attached to the principal temple, so as to cover a large area, and overcome the eye by a great expanse; but as they were never blended into one, they failed to fulfil their object. They look detached and separate, and, instead of heightening the effect of the principal structure, mar it by their incongruity.

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⁶ *History of Architecture*, I. p. 11.

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⁷ Alison's *Essays on Taste*, p. 171.

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**[41] Vertical style:** Another and a more effectual remedy was “to increase the apparent dimensions of a building by a scientific disposition of the parts, and a skilful arrangement of ornament, thereby making it look very much larger than it really was.”⁸ As the temples had to depend upon their height for their grandeur and effect, the builders not only carefully avoided cornices and continuous commanding horizontal mouldings, but so arranged the projections as not only to remove the baldness of dead walls by an agreeable play of light and shade, but to enhance the apparent height by a series of vertical, or upright, lines and forms. The plinths were broken by deep and strongly marked projections; the piers and pilasters were made narr ow and tall; the architraves were so designed as nowhere to offer a continued, or unbroken, line; the facades were attenuated by repeated canting of the corners of projections, and other devices; the niches were narrowed and elongated; the mouldings were made to tend upwards; and the sculptured ornaments were to such an extent forced to the vertical position that even figures of lions and elephants had to stand in an unnatural erect posture like men. In short, the composition is throughout vertical, or, so to say, of the perpendicular mediaeval Gothic ordinance, as opposed to the horizontal composition of the Greeks and the Romans. The artistic effect of this arrangement is most advantageous; the eye of the observer is always directed upwards, and temples of even moderate size look lofty, towering, and highly imposing.

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⁸ Fergusson’s *History of Architecture*, I. 11.

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**Solidity :** This impression is further greatly heightened by the solidity and extreme massiveness of the temples. According to the verse quoted above from the *Agni Purāṇa*, (*ante*, p. [27]), the walls of buildings should occupy four-tenths of the area, leaving six-tenths for the space of the room. This rule assimilates to a great extent with the practice of the architects of Egypt, Greece and Rome; but in the principal temples of Orissa it is greatly exceeded. Indeed, the excessive solidity of Orissan piles implies, either a sad want of constructive ingenuity, or an unnecessary and most lavish waste of materials. But the end directed the operation of their builders, and that end was, next to what Professor Lübke describes architecture to be, "the aesthetic manifestation of the law of gravity", the greatest stability for that peculiar form of building which Uriyā art could attain—a stability which should not only rise above the atmospheric influence of the Indian climate, and defy its tremendous elemental commotions, but rival even the eternity of the divinity whose fanes the structures were intended to serve, and firmly to impress that idea on the imagination of the beholder. With such an end in view it is not remarkable that constructive elegance and economy of materials, should have been looked upon as questions of secondary importance. That it was not the result of want of ingenuity is evident from the comparative lightness of the Dancing halls, Gateways and other structures of the time. The following table shows the relative proportions of the chambers and the walls of some of the principal temples of Orissa. The measurements are rough, and must be taken as only approximate:—

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| Name | Outer measurement | Inner measurement | Total area | Area of room | Ratio of solids to the total area; in decimals | Ratio of room to the total area; in decimals | Nearest vulgar fraction |
| Bhagavati | 38X38 | 13X13 | 1,444 | 169 | ·882 | ·117 | 1/10 |
| Great Tower | 66X60 | 42X42 | 3,960 | 1,764 | ·554 | ·445 | 1/2 |
| Rāmeśvara | 34X34 | 16X16 | 1,156 | 256 | ·778 | ·221 | 1/5 |
| Paraśurāmeśvara | 20X20 | 11X 9 | 400 | 99 | ·752 | ·247 | 1/4 |
| Yameśvara | 22X22 | 12X12 | 484 | 144 | ·702 | ·297 | 1/3 |
| Kapileśvara | 20X16 | 9 X 9 | 320 | 81 | ·746 | ·253 | 1/4 |
| Rājarāṇi | 32X25 | 12X12 | 800 | 144 | ·820 | ·180 | 1/5 |
| Mukteśvara | 14X14 | 6 X 6 | 196 | 36 | ·816 | ·183 | 1/5 |
| Puri | 73X73 | 29X29 | 5,329 | 841 | ·842 | ·158 | 1/6 |
| Śarideül | 24X22 | 12X12 | 528 | 144 | ·727 | ·272 | 1/4 |
| Someśvara | 23X23 | 11X11 | 529 | 121 | ·772 | ·228 | 1/4 |
| Ananta-vāsudeva | 26X26 | 16X14 | 696 | 224 | ·678 | ·322 | 1/3 |

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**Basement :** In Rām Rāz's work on the architecture of the Hindus, forty different designs are given, from the simplest to the most elaborate and ornate, for pedestals and bases of pillars. In Orissa most of these have been employed, either intact, or variously combined, in the ornamentation of the stereobate.

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[42] They all begin with a thick rectangular projecting base-moulding called *upāna*, corresponding exactly with the plinth of the European orders. Over it occurs either a thin receding tile of the same description, or a quirked cyma-recta in a reversed position, covered by a thin tile. The plinth and the tiles are invariably left plain, without any carving on their face, but the upper edges of the tiles are frequently broken by small projections, shaped like lancet-heads, and placed at long intervals. (See woodcut No. 20) At Benares these are called *rāmarekhās*, and are most extensively employed in the ornamentation of all flat, horizontal mouldings. In Orissa, they are used in conjunction with both flat and rounded members, and project either upwards, or downwards, or both upwards and downwards at the same time, serving the purpose of crests in the former, and of cusps in the latter, position. In upper mouldings they are richly carved. In plain work they spring from the moulding and form an unbroken part of it, as shown on the upper side of the woodcut; but when decorated with carving, they are entirely independent. Some plain ones are also so represented as to appear separate from the band on which they are placed. (See the lower part of the woodcut.) On the ledges of sloping roofs and cornices they serve the purpose of finials. Everywhere they constitute the most marked and characteristic feature of the ordinance, and there is not a single ancient temple in Orissa where they are wanting. When ornamented, they have generally a scroll or beaded border, with men, animals, or flowers, in the middle. Sometimes they are so shaped as to look like what in Gothic architecture are called crockets. Ordinarily in general appearance they are very like miniature Saracenic battlements, and if enlarged and brought into close proximity, they would no doubt serve the purpose of those ornaments. This arrangement is actually seen on the outer wall of the Puri enclosure, and there the lancet-heads are sufficiently enlarged to form regular battlements. The walls, however, cannot be taken to be of the same date as the temple, as the priests have a tradition that the Marhattas rebuilt that part of the wall which has large battlements, and the other portion may, likewise, be the result of a previous attempt at improvement. Among the ruins at Koṇārak I noticed several large battflements, each formed of a single stone, measuring 2′ 2″ by 1′ 8″ and having a flat band round the edges in front; but they were not *in situ*, and I could not satisfy myself as to the position they had formerly occupied, It is well known that the Marhattas transferred larger quantities of building materials from Koṇārak, in the middle of the last century, for the erection of the refectory or Bhogamaṇḍapa at Puri, and it is possible that the battlements were carried at that time for use at Puri. They are exactly of the same pattern as those on the eastern wall of the Puri enclosure. The doubt regarding the origin of the Puri battlements is, however, immaterial to the question at issue, viz. as to whether the Hindus ever built battlements on the top of their walls and cornices, for the triangular and pyramidal battlements to be met with at Udayagiri and Sāñcī (*vide ante* p. [17], woodcuts, Nos. 1 and 2) leave no room for doubt on the subject; and the transition of the straight lines of triangular battlements of Udayagiri into the curvilinear ones of Puri is so easy, that a Saracenic theory is not at all needed to account for it.

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The moulding, which, for want of a better name, has been called a "quirked cyma-recta", is formed of the sections of two circles like the letter ˙S slanting towards the wall thus, ∽ and has its surface carved into a series of lotus petals, whence its distinctive name the "lotus moulding", *padmabandha*. Sometimes its surface is cut into the form of a check, or beaded, pattern.

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Over this, the wall rises straight upwards, from two to four or five depths of the plinth, and forms the dado, the *kaṇṭhā* of the Sanskrit writers In some highly decorated temples the surface of this member is divided into panels, and filled with carvings; but generally it is left bare. At Benares it is reduced to a narrow neck (*galā*) from a half to one-fourth of the thickness of the plinth. But whether reduced or not, it is followed by, first, a projecting flat band and then a cyma in exact correspondence with the lower moulding of the dado. The builders of Benares omit the tiles or bands above and below the dado, and, counting the dado the two cymas, with them become almost straight sloping surfaces, and the bands above and below them, make a *pañcthurā* or a course of five mouldings; and this is repeated two or three times with a few intervening bands to complete the stereobate. This produces a very jagged appearance, with interminable narrow lines, highly offensive to all sense of elegance and beauty. The Orissans did not approve of it, and when they repeated the fivefold course, they brought back the projecting plinth, and carved its face in various designs, or paring off its edges, converted it into a torus, either plain, or ornamented. The plan, however, which pleased them most, was to convert the stereobate into a number of stylobates, corresponding with the projections of the wall, and to carve them into solid, rounded, lobed figures like dumpy pitchers, which are called *kumbhas*. The base of the Great Tower at Bhuvaneśvara is carved in this way, each stylobate having a double set of *kumbhas*. Over these the fivefold moulding is produced in two or three courses until the necessary height of the basement is completed.

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Rām Rāz notices for pedestals, an ornament named *Kapota*, or the "parrot head", but it has not been met with in Orissa, its place being generally occupied by the lancet-headed crests noticed above.

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**[43] Walls and pilasters:** The surfaces of the piers are, as already stated, broken into a number of pilasters, or engaged pillars having intermediate panels, or niches, filled with bas-reliefs or statues. The pilasters are of various sizes and proportions,—generally most elaborately carved and decorated, and the panels and niches have the most sumptuous bands and mouldings carved around them. In small temples these pilasters are generally, but not invariably, carried up in whole height of the body; but in large structures they are arranged as to give to the wall the appearance of two or three stories, each having its separate rows of pilasters, niches, panels, and blind doors. The artistic effect of this arrangement is remarkable. It helps greatly to diversify the appearance of the walls, and prevent all unnatural elongation of niches, panels and pilasters, and the aesthetic defect of placing niches over niches within one intercolumnistion, or having too much bare space over them. These members are merely architectural or ornamental; they do not, to any material extent, enter into the constructive economy of the temples, nor contribute much to their stability; it is not remarkable therefore that their size, make, and strength bear no relation to the size of the building to which they are attached.

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The builders were no doubt guided by some principles or rules in the distribution of these ornaments, but in the midst of unlimited profusion and variety, it is now difficult, if not impossible, to make them out. The pillars and pilasters range from the most heavy and bulky to the most slender and delicate possible; the intercolumnar spaces vary from one to many diameters of the pillars, and the niches are of various sizes and patterns, though always, rectangular. To describe them all in detail would be tedious and ineffectual. I must refer the reader, therefore, to the accompanying plates for an idea of the different styles in which pilasters and pillars are decorated, and the manner in which the walls are generally diversified. Illustration, No. 2, gives an elevation of the west face of the Kapileśvari Temple, and Illustration, No. 3, of the southern facade of the Jagamohan of Mukteśvara, two of the most beautiful of the minor temples of Bhuvaneśvara. Illustration, No. 4 A, represents an attached pillar, or antis, on the exterior of the Mukteśvara Jagamohan. It has a round lobed pitcher-shaped base, and capital, with a slender shaft, divided into three segments, of which the lower two are four-sided, bearing on the front of the lowermost section a danseuse and on the next, two lions mounted on elephants: the third is rounded, and has a female figure in front, whose nether half is formed of a serpent which coils round the shaft above the head of the figure.

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The head is protected by the spread hood of a five-headed cobra. A modification of this style of pilaster occurs in Illustration, No. 7A. from the temple of Bhagavatī. In it the most prominent figure is a lion standing erect over a mounted elephant, and the capital has two nude females for ornament. The semi-ophide figure on the first pillar is called Nāgakanyā, or *ophidian nymph*. Sometimes two such figures are twined round each other on each shaft, and representation of the kind are very common in different parts of India. They are no doubt the congeners of the semi-piscine Triton of Greece, or the mermaids of Europe, Assyria and Persia, and intended to represent emblematically the descendants of the Nāga race; but it is remarkable that their counterparts are not unknown in other parts of the world. In a Chinese book entitled *The Great Cloud Wheel Rain asking Sutra*, and noticed by Mr. Fergusson, there are four representations of a serpent god,⁹ each of which has "a human head and body, ending in a serpentine form from the waist downwards, but with the much more characteristic accompaniment of a degenerate serpent hood. In the first figure in this Chinese work, the Nāga has three serpents rising behind its head; in the second, five; in the third, seven; and in the last, nine serpents. The lower extremities of the first and second are spotted like serpents, and the fourth" (the one copied in Mr.

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Fergusson's work)—"has scales more like those of a fish".¹⁰ Commenting upon these Mr. Fergusson observes: "In India between the third century B.C. and the thirteenth A.D. we find serpent hoods ranging from three to seven heads, but never the human body terminating in a serpent downward, till after the last quoted date”.¹¹ This conclusion, however, appears open to objection, as there are some pillars in the Great Tower of Bhuvaneśvara, which dates from the middle of the 7th century, on which the characteristic semi-ophide female figures are most elaborately sculptured. It is impossible to make out from flat drawings whether the serpents shown in the Chinese drawings are intended to represent separate animals, or numerous heads for the tail from which the human figure comes out. In India polycephalous cobras are always intended, as not so many separate animals as there are heads. The taste displayed in this monstrous representation cannot but be severely condemned, but the tact and talent with which it is executed in Orissa are worthy of praise. It may be added also that bad as the conception is, it is not worse than that of the Pans, and the Tritons, and the Centaurs of the Greek artists, ,or that of the Apollo and Daphne of Bernini of the 17th century, in which floating tresses and the ends of the fingers and toes of a lovely maiden are “all sprouting forth in elaborately executed laurel branches and leaves”.¹²

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⁹ *Tree and Serpent Worship*, p. 52.

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¹⁰ 10, *Ibid*, p. 53.

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¹¹ *Loc. cit.*

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¹² Westmacott’s *Handbook of Sculpture*, p. 312.

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Of pilasters, Illustrations, Nos. 4B, 5, 6 and 7B, offer very rich typical examples. The first is from the exterior of the Jagmohan of the Great Tower. It is of a square make with a flat band-like projection in front along the middle. [ 44 ] Its surfaces are decorated with scroll work enclosing small figures of animals. The second is attached to the northern side of the Tower itself. It has a female figure on a panel on the front of the capital, resting on one knee, and supporting the abacus on her uplifted hands. It is the most florid specimen of the flat pilaster that has been met with at Bhuvaneśvara. No. 6, is a variety of the last. It has been taken from the north-east corner of the Mukteśvare Jagmohan. In it the female supporter of the abacus is replaced by a stout muscular dwarf who groans under the weight resting on his head and hands. Its base has the typical pitcher and the shaft, flat projections, making it thereby many sided. No. 7 B. is in many respects similar to No. 4 B. It occurs on the temple of Bhagavati in the Bhuvaneśvara enclosure.

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**Pillars :** Looking at the beauty and elegance of these pillars and pilasters, it is difficult to account for the almost total absence among the Uriyās of a columnar ordinance, which seems never to have struck them. Once only they attempted it, when erecting the refectory of the Great Tower of Bhuvaneśvara; but they failed. The pillars they raised, proved too light and weak for the superstructure, and they had to fill up the intercolumnar spaces with solid masonry to secure additional strength. At Puri the Muktimaṇḍapa is an open pillared *chaultry*, but it is probably of a much later date than the temple near which it is placed; and, as it is, a most unsuccessful attempt at building a *chaultry*. Its pillars, though monoliths of black chlorite, are of an inordinately heavy appearance, having the most clumsy and ungainly bases and capitals (Illustration No. 10 B). They bear no relation to the ornamental attached pillars noticed above. The pillars used internally in porches and dancing halls, are invariably of a thick massive square make, all but totally devoid of ornament; the only decorations used being a few plain mouldings. They rise from a naked plinth, and terminate in a similar square tile or abacus, serving the purpose of a capital. The shaft measures from 3¾ lengths of the thickness. Considering that the attached pillars and pilasters are generally exceedingly beautiful and ornate, it is certainly remarkable that these detached internal pillars should be so bald and unattractive; but bearing in mind the heavy roofs they had to bear, the builders had to forego ornament for the sake of strength. The following are the relative proportions of some of the principal pillars that have come under observation:—

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| | Shape | Total height | Total base | Total Shaft | Total capital | Diameter of shaft | Ratio of diameter to shaft |
| Muktimaṇḍapa, outer range. | Round | 9 | 1 | 4-6 | 3-4 | 2-7 | 1-70 |
| Ditto, inner range. | „ | 9-5 | 1-1½ | 6-4 | 2-1 | 1-6 | 4-0 |
| Nāṭmandir Bhuvaneśvara. | Square | 21-3 | 2-9 | 13-3 | 5-3 | 4-0 | 3-07 |
| Ditto, Puri outer range. | „ | 11-0 | 0-6 | 8-4 | 2-0 | 4-4 | 1-77 |
| Jagmohan Bhuvaneśvara, Exterior. | „ | 12-7 | 2-5 | 7-8 | 2-5 | 2-1 | 3-71 |
| Ditto, Tower, ditto. | „ | 11-7 | 2-0 | 6-6 | 3-1 | 1-8 | 3-6 |
| Bhagavatī Pilaster. | round | 12-2 | 0-6 | 8-5 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 7-72 |
| Mukteśvara Gate. | polygonal | 9-4 | 2-0 | 5-1 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 2-31 |
| Ditto, Pilasters of Jagmohan. | square | 8-0 | 2-7 | 4-0 | 1-5 | 1-2½ | 3-33 |
| Ditto, ditto. | round | 8-0 | … | … | … | 0-7 | … |
| Monolith, Puri. | poligonal | … | … | … | … | … | … |

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In the ornamentation of the detached internal pillars, as already stated, the simplest mouldings were all that were resorted to, and no carving was ever thought of. But in the case of outer pillars, or pilasters, the architects followed a very different principle. Avowedly introduced as ornaments, the pilasters could be effectual only when they were carved and ornamented, and hence great pains were taken to make them as sumptuous as possible. Their length was broken by repeated bands, contractions and mouldings, and their surfaces were covered with a lavish profusion of carving of various kinds, including floral bands, lions, elephants and human figures in various attitudes. The lions were invariably placed in an unnatural erect posture to make room for them on the surface of a narrow pillar, and the elephants crouching under them, were so reduced in size as to bear no relation to the lions. Human figures are usually introduced as mere ornaments, but not as an integral part of the pilasters. They are mostly females, standing in conventional graceful attitudes, adorned most sumptuously with jewelry but very insufficiently clad. Sometimes thick stout dwarfs are put on the capitals, and made to represent as supports of architraves; they serve also as supports of abacuses, ledges of domes, edges of roofs, and other projections; but they are so placed as to appear distinct, and to some extent detached from the actual prop of the member. Nowhere in Orissa has the gross enormity of converting an entire pillar into the shape of a human being, like the caryatedes and telamones of Grecce and Egypt, been attempted,¹³ and this respect the Uriyās have displayed a better appreciation of the true principles of taste in architecture, than their more advanced brethren in other parts of the world.

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¹³ In the Tamulian structures of southern India such caryatedes and talemones are common.

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Illustrations, Nos. 8,9,10 A and 10 B, are typical representations of detached pillars. The first forms the side post of an elegant archway in front of the Mukteśvara Jagmohan. On the side of it is represented a portion of the low parapet [ 45 ] wall which runs round three sides of the sacred fane. Its panels are very elegantly carved, and it is surmounted by battlements which are closely similar to Saracenic ornaments of the kind. The second is from the Dancing Hall of the Great Tower of Bhuvaneśvara. It has a plain square shaft with a peculiar capital formed of a succession of square blocks, the lower edge of the topmost one being cut aslant from below upards and outwards. The third occurs in the Dancing Hall of the Puri Temple. It differs from the last principally in the capital being formed of a single plain block. The last is *sui generis*. Its shaft is formed of a single block of chlorite, plain and rounded, with a capital peculiar to it. It occurs in a detached open *chaultry* in the south side of the Puri Temple, called Muktimaṇḍapa; but the *chaultry* is not synchronous with the temple itself. Looking, however, to the large number of costly pillars employed in its construction, it is to be supposed that the structure is of an early date. It is used as a lecture hall, where learned paṇḍits assemble to expound the Śāstras for the edification of the faithful.¹⁴

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¹⁴ For specimens of various other kinds of pillars see Rām Rāz’s *History of Architecture*, Fergusson’s *History of Architecture*, and *Illustrations of Indian Architecture*, Prinsep’s *Illustrations of Benares*, Tod’s *Rājasthān*, and Cunningham’s *Essay on the Arian Order of Architecture* (*Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal*, Vol, XX). The pillars of the Khaṇḍagiri rock-cut caves will be noticed further on.

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The most favourite ornament for the base is the *kumbha*, or pitcher, and that for the neck is a series of garlands of flowers or pearls, hung from the mouths of lions, and festooned in graceful curves. The ornaments are so variously combined and so fancifully introduced, that it is impssible to make out from the specimens that have come under notice, the principle, if there were any, upon which they were introduced.

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In works on architecture, mention is made of mounmental columns having an unbroken cylindrical shaft from plinth to capital, and the Aśoka *lāṭs* afford the most remarkable instances of structures of that kind; but in Orissa, they have nowhere been met with. The nearest approach to them is offered by the monumental pillars of Puri and Jājapur, and they are polygons of sixteen sides. The column in front of the Bhogamaṇḍapa at Bhuvaneśvara has a rounded shaft; but it is quite modern, probably not a hundred years old.

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**Cornice:** The temples of Orissa have nothing like a projecting cornice, designed to throw off the rain water from the walls, and the transition from the body to the steeple takes place either imperceptibly, or is marked by one or more flat band,—rarely, and only in later structures, by a narrow neck. In highly ornamented temples, the capitals of the pilasters, terminating in a series of rings, mark the commencement of the steeple. The case is different with porches, dancing halls, refectories, and gateways: they have a deep cornice formed of oblong slabs projecting from 1½ to 3 or 4 feet. These stones are invariably placed horizontally, flat on the walls, and so built over as to keep them in their position without the aid of consoles, brackets, or other support of any kind. Indeed, in the whole range of Orissan porches there is not a single instance where any attempt has been made to strengthen the cornice by the gradual projection of the walls, or by a series of horizontal mouldings, or by the insertion of blocks at short intervals. In this respect the Orissan cornice of the Bhuvaneśvara era bears no relation to the Assyrian, Egyptian or Grecian cornices, which all rest on projections of some kind or other. At Benares this cornice of a single-stone projection is common, but there the stones are generally placed in a sloping position; but as the roof slopes inward into the form of a pyramid from the inner edge of the cornice, the structure appears weak and ungainly. Such is, however, not the case with the cornices of Bhuvaneśvara. There, aloft at a great height, they do not from below seem weak or ill-adapted. Nevertheless some of the cornice-stones of the porch of the Great Tower at Bhuvaneśvara, which project over 4 feet, and most of those of the Puri porch, though of considerable thickness, were apparently unequal to bear the weight placed over them, or, as the Pāṇḍās maintain, were knocked down by lightning and when they had to be replaced, about two cenutries ago, the builders found it impossible to keep the new slabs in their places without the aid of iron stays. These latter have since been covered over with plaster, and moulded into the form of caryatides, ugly and obscene, not at all in keeping with the general character of the ordonnance. Projection under three feet have nowhere yielded to the superstructure.

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In ornamented porches, the edges of the cornice-stones are most elaborately sculptured, the design being either floral scrolls, or processions of men, horses, elephants, or geese. Occasionally they are divided into square panels, and filled with single figures, or groups of animals and other designs. But whether sculptured or left plain, they invariably have on their upper edge a number of the lancet-headed crests described above; and these form their most peculiar characteristics. The amount of sculptured work displayed on the edges of these cornices is sometimes immense. Mr. Fergusson, adverting to the cornice of the porch of the Black Pagoda at Koṇārak, observes: "All the faces of these twelve cornices are covered by bassi-rilievi of processions, hunting scenes, and representations of all the occupations and amusements of life. The immense variety of illustrations of Hindu manners contained in it may be imagined when we think that, with a height of from one foot to eighteen inches,* this frieze extends to nearly three thousand feet in length, and contains, probably, at least twice that number of figures.¹⁵

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¹⁵ *Ancient Architecture of Hindustan*, 28.

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[46] A regular frieze under the cornice is all but unknown in Orissa, the only exceptions being the friezes of the Brahmeśvara and Mukteśvara temples; but the architrave over the pillars which flank the principal doorway is generally richly carved,—ordinarily with the figures of the nine planets,—occasionally with other designs; and the space above the architrave is not unfrequently made the repository of elaborate bas-reliefs.

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**Mouldings** : The principal mouldings used in Orissan temples are the fillet and the *astragal*, the former passing, by widening, into broad flat bands of which further mention will follow. The regular *cyma* of classical architecture (both the *recta* and the *reversa*) is also common. It has an easy, gentle, delicate curvatare, very different from its Roman form of two semicircles linked together. By diversified combinations with the preceding, and with tiles, narrow necks, and the ovolo, it produces many exquisite forms. The *chain*, the *nebule* and the *nail-head* mouldings of the Norman style have nowhere been met with, and the *rose* and the *dog’s-tooth* ornaments are invariably replaced by lotuses, open or in bud. The *hatched* and the *crenulated* mouldings may be seen in several places within the enclosure of the Great Tower, as also the *lozenge* and the *indented* forms, or what may be taken as such; but neither the *star* nor the *scallop*. Reference has already been made to the *guillochi* or interlacing circular moulding, (*ante* p. [17]); but it is by no means of very frequent occurrence. The most common is the *pellet* or *beaded* moulding; it occurs almost everywhere, and, by differences in size and arrangement, assumes very diversified forms.

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**Sculpture** : The great strength of the architects, however, lies in the most sumptuous floral scrolls which they have designed on all their leading bands or fascias. They are as well designed, as skilfully executed, and they reflect the highest credit on the artistic taste and ingenuity of the designers. In arranging them on the temples, the main object of ornament has been very carefully borne in mind, and their disposition appears the most appropriate. Instead of forcing architecture to subserve the purpose of “a mere frame-work for the setting of delicate sculpture”, the latter has everywhere been made to retain its subordinate position as ornament designed to set off the former. It certainly is in some places very florid, elaborate, and over-crowded, but still it appears subordinated to an end and not rendered itself the end. The diversities in the style, character, proportions and arrangements of these sculptured scrolls are so great, that it is scarcely possible to do more here than point out a few of the leading characterstic varieties. Their general outline is often alike, a winding or undulating scroll, enclosing more or less rounded spaces for flowers, leaves and animals. The flowers and foliage are of various kinds, and some of them are evidently fanciful, for they cannot be compared to anything living that I know of. Illustration, No. 11, is a characteristic specimen of a carved scroll.

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It is formed of a gigantic pothos branch, enclosed by two rows of pellets, with a row of lotus petals below, and the characteristic crest above, shaped like a seated human figure. It occurs frequently in the Mukteśvara and the Bhagavatī temples. The drawing has been taken from a specimen in the Mukteśvara. No. 12 from the last named temple is a variety of it of common occurrence, and No. 13, the most ornate form, is from the Paraśurāmeśvara temple. The vine is still the pothos, but the foliage appears arranged in a very graceful style, and is remarkable for the skill and taste with which it has been developed. As a specimen of scroll-work it will stand comparison with the finest sample of the kind of mediaeval or ancient times. Illustrations Nos. 14 and 16, from the Great Tower, and 18 from the Rājarāṇī temple, show the same creepers, but the foliage is scant, and the loops formed by the stalk enclose men and animals of various kinds, such as antelopes, deer, hogs, bulls, buffaloes, rabbits and the like; cranes, hogs and deer prevailing. In the first two, the pellet occurs on one side only. No. 20 from the Bhagavatī temple exhibits the same vine and foliage, but encloses, within the rounded folds of the stalk, little pigs and heads of elephants. The leaves in No. 21 from the Sārideül are different; the plant appears to me to be a succulent Cucurbitacea, but the style is very much the same. In general character, No. 22 from the same place, corresponds with the preceding;

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but it includes leaves and flowers of several kinds, as a tiger, an animal of rare occurrence in Orissan sculptures. These are all employed for both horizontal and vertical bands, and used principally round door-ways and niches. No. 15, from the Paraśurāmeśvara temple belongs to this class, but the foliage is altogether different, and it is intended only for vertical mouldings. It may well pass for a scroll under a Roman frieze. No. 24 from Mukteśvara does not show the pothos, nor make a creeper twine into loops, but masses the foliage in a rich, florid style. Its lancet crest bears on its face an emaciated hermit and his disciple, engaged in a game of chess over a folding table. The scroll is of rare occurrence, and is never carried to any great length, occurring only on brackets, capitals, of pilasters, and tops of niches, supplying in the last position the place of a dripstone moulding. No. 19, from the Great Tower is a variety of this style, and on its crest is seen a monkey engagd in picking out lice from the head of a neighbour. In No. 23 from the Rājarāni temple the scroll is formed of a creeper issuing from the tail of a peacock. The foliage is entirely fanciful, but most elaborately and richly executed. Round a lattice frame in the Mukteśvara porch, No. 28, the foliage of the creeper is reduced to a minimum, and two stalks from opposite sides are made to form loops wherein gambol a number [47] of monkeys and crocodiles in great delight.

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A monkey has got his tail caught in the fork of a branch, and is hanging down in pain, while another with an anxious look is coming forward to release him. One is happy, having mounted on the back of a crocodile, which is darting forward to escape from the unusual load. This frightens two juveniles, one of which is climbing up a branch in great haste, while the other, having got to a safe distance, is grinning at the sight of the fun. In a third group there is a domestic scene. Mater familias is seated at her ease with a young hopeful in her lap, while one kind neighbour is busy picking out lice from her head, and another is occupied in the, to her delightful, task of eating them. In a fourth group a crocodile has caught a monkey by the tail which wriggles in great pain, while some good-natured companions crowd around, anxious, but unable, to help it. Altogether there are about two dozen groups of this kind, some including deer, elephants and other animals and they have been designed and executed with a degree of skill, vigour, and fanciful spirit that makes them look more like the work of a modern French caricaturist than that of an old Uriyā of the 7th or 8th century. The original has suffered much from long exposure, and my sketch of it is an exact fascimile taken with a *camera lucida*, and must therefore appear rough ;

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but as it is, were one to put it in a portfolio of Gustave Doré, or in Griset's " Grotesques, " it would, I fancy, be easily mistaken for the handiwork of one of those humorous artists. No. 25, from Paraśurāmeśvara, drops the twining vine altogether, and is formed of a series of lozenges tied to each other by ribbons, and enclosing curly petalled flowers, apparently a kind of *passiflora*; the spaces above and below the knots are filled up with curled petals or stamens of the same species of plant. On the lower side it has a row of pellets, and below it a string of lotus petals supported on a hatched zigzag moulding. It is neither very rich, nor common. It is used only for horizontal fascias. No. 31, from the same place, discards the festoons of creepers altogether, and takes a line of pitchers, bearing unknown or fanciful tendrils, leaves and flowers. The lower half of the pitcher is ribbed, and a garland of beads or flower-buds encircles its neck. This fascia has a fillet for its lower, and a corbel table for the upper, edge. The corbels are formed of three square tiles each, the smallest occupying the lowermost place; no parapet or continuous covering is placed over them. A very florid example of the pitcher band occurs in No. 32, from the same locality. No. 26 is entirely different from the last. It has a corbel table of carved ornaments, supporting a deep continuous projection above. The projection has a cable moulding enclosed in a winding band of ornamented lace.

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Above the last, and enclosed by two rows of fillets, occurs a line of cruciated four petalled flowers, evidently the golden jasmine (*Jasminum fruticans*): the top is surmounted by a number of ornamented lancet-heads placed at short intervals. This moulding is of rare occurrence, and the only specimen noticed, was seen on the Mukteśvara temple. No. 17 from the Rājarāṇi temple is even more singular. It is formed of a range of either cucurbitaceous, or solenaceous, pyri-form ribbed fruits, or perhaps some flower buds strung together. No. 27 from Paraśurāmeśvara exhibits a combination of billets and pellets in a string-course. It has for its crest a peacock with a foliated tail similar to that in No. 23.

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Of bands bearing only animals, a great number of specimens may be seen on the Great Tower and other rich temples. Nos. 29, 29A and 30 give examles of lines of elephants, and No. 34. of geese and goslings. The distinction between the old and young bird is well marked; and indicated with much spirit. Lines of horses, ducks and martial processions are like-wise common; but I had no opportunity of taking their drawings. No. 36, from the Great Tower, represents a man singing to the accompaniment of a *dholak* which is being played upon by a woman ; but in the attempt to put large figures, in a narrow band, the artist has been obliged to resort to very distorted positions, and altogether to spoil the effect.

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It would be as useless as tedious to describe in detail the manner in which these various ornaments have been combined and disposed, particularly as the plates annexed will appeal to the eye and mind much more readily and effectually than any description that I can offer. The bands are used both singly, and in combination, often three, four, or five different bands being placed side by side so as to produce the most gorgeous effect. Round the principal doorways this combination of moulding is carried to an inordinate extent, and in some places a dozen bands may be seen placed side by side, and eked out by the intervention of small bas-reliefs of men and animals. A remarkable feature in such cases is formed by two snakes twining on each other. The snakes are generally most carefully executed in black chlorite, and the effect is very agreeable. At the entrance to the Great Tower, a broad band about a foot wide, is formed of an elegant pothos vine coiled into loops, each of which encloses a chubby little boy—a cherub without wings—disporting among the foliage. The design and execution of the juvenile figures are remarkably beautiful. They display a quiet grace, an artistic feeling, and a playful fancy which are deserving of every admiration; and this is the more noteworthy as Hindu artists are not particularly proficient in developing the human figure with a correct eye to nature. The sight of these little cherubs recalled to my mind Sir Joshua Reynold's picture of Cupid sleeping on a cloud in the Library of the Asiatic Society, as the fittest object of comparison, next only to a fat, handsome, healthy, living child of one year of age,—the most lovely object in creation. Unfortuntely, however, [48] for the taste of the artist of this elegant group, there is an adjoining band formed of square panels filled with ill-formed human couples in most disgustingly obscene positions. Counterparts of these two bands may be seen at the Koṇārak porch, but the execution of the cherubs there, is not nearly so good.

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