The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c9.6

v1.c9.6

**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.