The Antiquities of Orissa v2: Volume 2

The Antiquities of Orissa v2

Language: English

v2.c12 Front matter — 8 parts
v2.c13 Editor's Note — 20 parts
v2.c14 The Antiquities of Orissa, Vol. II — 8 parts
v2.c15 Contents of the Second Volume — 14 parts
v2.c16 Chapter I. Khandagiri — 156 parts
v2.c17 Chapter II. Bhuvanesvara — 151 parts
v2.c18 Chapter IV. Konarak — 131 parts

Volume 2

Front matter

Printed by Ashitabha Guha at the *Quality Printers and Binders*, 84 Rashbehari Avenue, Calcutta 26, and published by R. K. Maitra on behalf of *Indian Studies : Past & Present*, 3 Sambhunath Pundit St., Calcutta 20

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Price Rs. 35.00

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*Publication Date of the Reprint*

Editor's Note

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The second volume of *The Antiquities of Orissa*, originally published in 1880, is reprinted here for the first time. Like the reprint of its first volume, issued by us in July 1961, the present one is intended to be verbatim. The long Sanskrit quotations in the Devanāgarī script, where the author adds literal English translations of these, are avoided; where any such quotation is considerd to be indispensible for the reader, a transliteration of it is given in Roman script. Page-beginnings of the original edition are indicated here in **bold letters within square-brackets.**

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We owe an apology to the readers for not being able to reproduce all the plates of the original edition. The financial commitment for that would have been heavy. Besides, in the only copy of the book with which we were obliged to work, some of the plates are too indistinct to be satisfactorily reproduced. There has, moreover, been another reason for the decision of using only selected plates in this reprint. A large number of the plates of the original edition were but full-view photographs of the Orissan temples. However much valuable these might have been for illustrating a pioneering work on Orissan art and archæology, the photographic technique has vastly advanced since the days of R. L. Mitra and much better photographs of the same temples are now easily available. So we saw little point in reproducing the rather obsolete photographs. In selecting the plates for reproduction here, we have of course tried to remain conscious of the special points of æsthetic and archæological importance which the author wanted to make with the plates.

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As we felt at the time of issuing the first volume, we feel particularly happy to express our gratitude to the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, --with which the life and work of R. L. Mitra was so inextricably bound,--for offering us ungrudging help in all possible manners.

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For reproducing the plates here we are thankful to M/S. Radiant Process, Calcutta.

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Sri Ranendra Mohan Sinha has copied the illustrations of the text and Sm. Anjali Maitra has typed out the whole volume for the press. We cannot thank them enough.

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*Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya* Editor : INDIAN STUDIES : PAST & PRESENT

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This image appears to be entirely blank. There is no text or content to transcribe.

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[Figure: RANI GUMPHA UDAYAGIRI LOWER STOREY]

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[Figure: RANI GUMPHA UDAYAGIRI UPPER STOREY

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PLATE VII—PORTION OF A FRIEZE IN THE UPPER VERANDAH OF THE RANI GUMPHA

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PLATE VIII—PORTION OF A FRIEZE FROM THE UPPER VERANDAH OF THE RANI GUMPHA

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PLATE IX—PORTION OF A FRIEZE IN THE UPPER VERANDAH OF THE RANI GUMPHA

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PLATE XIII—PORTION OF FRIEZE FROM THE RIGHT WING OF THE QUEEN'S PALACE

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PLATE XV—PORTION OF A FRIEZE FROM THE GANESA GUMPHA, UDAYAGIRI

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PLATE XVI—PART OF A FRIEZE FROM THE GANESA GUMPHA, UDAYAGIRI

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[Figure: Section

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[Figure: Section Scale of 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 10 20 Feet]

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[Figure: Section

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PLATE XIX—FRIEZE FROM JAYA-VIJAYA CAVES

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PLATE XXII—PORTION OF A FRIEZE FROM THE ANANTA CAVE : KHANDAGIRI

The Antiquities of Orissa, Vol. II

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ANTIQUITIES OF ORISSA

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RAJENDRALALA MITRA, LL. D., C. I. E.

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HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, AND OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VIENNA; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE GERMAN AND OF THE AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETIES, OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, HUNGARY, AND OF THE ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BERLIN; FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ANTIQUARIES, COPENHAGEN, ETC., ETC.

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*These are some of the relics of the past, weeping over a lost civilization and an extinguished grandeur.*

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PUBLISHED UNDER ORDERS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.

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CALCUTTA: PUBLISHED BY W. NEWMAN & CO., 3, DALHOUSIE SQUARE. PRINTED BY J. W. THOMAS, BAPTIST MISSION PRESS.

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An empty page containing no text, headings, figures, or page furniture.

Contents of the Second Volume

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[Pages referred to are of the original edition, indicated in the present reprint by bold letters within suqare-brackets]

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Chapter I.

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KHANDAGIRI

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Khaṇḍagiri Hills, 1. Their general character, 1. Legend about their origin, 2. Routes to them, 2. Udayagiri Hill, 3. Rānī Naur, 3. Its right wing, 3. Its left wing, 5. Its north facade, lower storey, 6. Its north facade, upper storey, 7. Gaṇeśa Gumphā, 9. Interpretation of the subject of the friezes, 10. Svargapuri Caves, 14. Jayāvijayā Caves, 14. Gopālpure, 14. Munchapura, 14. Vaikuṇṭha Cave, 14. Pātālapura Cave, 14. Jomapura Cave, 14. Hāthi Gumphā, 16. Pāvana Gumphā, 30. Sarpa Gumphā, 30. Bhajana Cave, 31. Alakāpura Cave, 31. Tiger Cave, 31. Urdhavāhu Cave, 31. Minor Caves, 31. Khaṇḍagiri, 31. Ananta Cave, 31. Kalachandra’s Cave, 34. Jain Caves, 35 Jain Temple, 35. Deva Sabhā, 36. Ākāśagaṅgā Tank, 37. Lalāṭendu Keśarī Cave, 37. Religion of the early cave-dwellers, 37. Age of the caves, 39. Theory of Greek origin of Orissan architecture and sculptures, 42. State of Sculpture and Architecture in Orissa at the time the caves were cut, 45. Nīlagiri, 46. Dhavalaglri, 46. The Dhauli Edicts of Aśoka, 47. Kośalagāṅg Tank, 55.

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Chapter II.

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BHUVANESVARA.

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Bhuvaneśvara, 56. Its situation, 56. Its boundary, 56. Its area, 56. Number and nature of its houses, 56. Its population, 56. Its present condition, 56. Its antiquarian importance, 58. Earliest mention in the Temple Records, 58. Yayāti Keśarī, 58. Capital of Orissa at the time of Hiouen Thsang, 59. Boundary after the time of Yayāti, 59. Its ancient name and site, 59. Its Hindu legendary account, 62. Śākta story, 65. Vindu Sāgara, 68. Great Tower, 70. Its Courtyard, 70. Its Gates, 70. Bhagavatī's Temple, 71. Courtyard of the Tower, 72. Bhoga Maṇḍapa, 72. Nāṭ Mandir, 73. Mohan, 73. The Great Tower, 74. Bhuvaneśvara, 76. His name 76. His form 76. His offerings, 76. His daily service, 76. His festivals, 76. His minor festivals, 80. Vrishabha, 32. Sahasraliṅgam Tank, 83. Ruins of the Palace, 83. Tīrtheśvara Temple, 83. Ananta-Vāsudeva, 83. Koṭitīrtheśvara 87. Brahmeśvara, 87. Bhāskareśvara, 89. Rājarāṇī Deül, 90. Mukteśvara Temple, 91. Gaurī Kuṇḍa, 92. Kedāreśvara Temple, 92. Siddheśvara Temple, 93.

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Paraśurāmeśvara Temple, 93. Alābukeśvara Temple, 93. Nākeśvara Temple, 94. Uttareśvara Temple, 94. Rāmeśvara Temple, 94. Gosahasreśvara Temple, 95. Vaitāl Deül, 95. Someśvara Temple, 95. Sāri Deül, 96. Kapileśvara Road, 96. Kapileśvara Temple, 96. Kapileśvara Tank, 96. Gandhavatī River, 98.

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PURI

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Puri, 99. Its situation, 99. Its name, 99. Its boundary, 100. Its population, 100. Its appearance, 100. Its History, 100. Larly Hindu Period, 100. Purushottama Māhātmya, 101. Sanctity of Puri, 101. Story of Indradyumna, 101. Hindu account of the Buddhist Period 104. Buddhism in Orissa, 105. History of the Tooth-relic, 105. Locale of Dantapura, 106. Jagannāth's relation to Buddha, 107. Post-Buddhist or Vaiṣṇava Period, 108. Yayāti's revival, 108. Anangabhīma Deva, 109. Chaitanya's reformations 110. Mārkaṇḍeśvara Temple, 112. Āṭhāranālā Bridge, 112. The Great Temple, its boundary wall, 112. Its gateways, 113. The Sun Pillar, 113. Outer enclosure, 114. Inner enclosure, 115. The Great Temple, 116. Dancing Hall, 119. Refectory or Hall of Offerings, 120. Inscriptions, 120. Jagannātha, 121. His audience, 121. His miracles 121. His image, 121. Images of his companions, 121. His daily service, 128. His festivals, 129. Guṇḍichā Gaṛh, 138. Minor sacred places, 139. Svargadvāra, 139. Mārkaṇḍa Tank, 140. The Primitive Mothers, 140. Yameśvara Temple, 141. Alabūkeśvara, 141. Kapālamochana, 141. Svetagaṅgā, 141. Indradyumna Tank, 142. Narendra Tank, 142. Jagannātha-vallabha Temple, 142. Chakra Tīrtha, 142. Bāleśvara Temple, 142. Lokanātha Temple, 142. Satyavādī, 142.

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Chapter IV.

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KONARAK, YAJAPUR, AND CUTTACK.

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Koṇārak, 145. Its situation, 145. Its present condition, 145. Story of Sāmba, 145. Sun as the healer of diseases, 147. Merits of Koṇārak, 147. Buddhist origin of the place, 148. Muhammadan account of the place, 148. The courtyard of the Great Temple, 149. The Bhoga Maṇḍapa, 149. The Tower or Temple proper, 150. The Audience Hall, 151. Its ornaments, 154. Its date, 156. Yājapur, 157. Daśāśvamedha Ghāt, 157. Virajā's Temple, 158. Cynotaph of Sayyad Bokhārī, 158. Monolyth, 158. Minor Temples, 158. Śāntamadhava, 159. Palace at Narapadā, 159. Kopārī, 159. Āssiā Hill. 160. Muṇḍaka Hill, 160. Udayagiri Hill, 161. Nālti Hill, 162. Achalabasanta Hill, 162. Mahāvināyaka Hill, 162. Chhatiā Hill, 163. Kapilāsa Hill, 163. Cuttack, 163.

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Appendix—Inscription from Puri, 165

Chapter I. Khandagiri

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Antiquities of the Khaṇḍagiri Hills.— Khaṇḍagiri Hills— their locale—general character—legend about their origin—route to them. Udayagiri Hill its general character. Rānī Naur,—its right wing,—its left wing,—its northern facade,—the frieze on its upper storey. Gaṇeśa Gumphā,—its frieze. Svargapuri. Jayāvijayā. Dvārkāpura. Gopālapuṛa. Jambupura. Vaikuṇṭhapura. Pātālapura. Hāthī Gumphā'—its inscriptions. Pavana Gumphā. Sarga Gumphā. Bhajan Gumphā. Alakāpura. Bāgh Gumphā. Urdhavāhu. Minor caves. Khaṇḍagiri Hill. Ananta cave Kālachandra's cave. Jain caves. Lalāṭendu Keśarī's Cave. Minor caves. Jain temple. Deva-sabhā. Dolmen. Akāśa-gaṅgā Tank. Religion of the Cave-dwellers. Age of the caves of Udayagiri and Khaṇḍagiri. State of Architecture and Sculpture in Orissa at the time the caves were excavated. Dhavalagiri. Kośalagāng Tank.

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The country to the south-east of Cuttack, on the right bank of the Mahānadī, down to the Chilkā Lake, is studded with a large number of low hills—outlying spurs of the great chain of the Eastern Ghats - cropping up on a plain of large expanse These hills consist mostly of gneiss; but those which occur in the Pargannahs of Daṇḍimal and Domapārā are of sandstone, and the area they cover is fringed by a broad band of laterite. Some of the hills are of considerable length; others are small, narrow and isolated. One of these, situated near the village of Jagmārā, in Pargannah Limbāi, stretching north and south, forms a semi-circular belt five miles to the north-west of the Great Tower of Bhuvaneśvara. It is indicated on the maps by the name of Khaṇḍagiri; but the people in its neighbourhood assign different names to its four separate prominences. The north-eastern mound is called Udayagiri or "sunrise hill"; the second, Khaṇḍagiri or "broken hill"; the third, Nīlagiri or "blue hill"; and the fourth, Dhavalagiri or "the white hill", the *Mont Blanc* of Orissa. The first two are separated by a break caused by unequal upheaval of the rock; the fractured surfaces on the opposite sides being such that, if the furthest ends of the two hillocks could be tilted up, the opposing ends would coalesce and form one rock. The chasm is scarcely fifty yards wide in its broadest part, but at the base the two portions touch each other. This fracture has given its specific name to the second hill in question, and the generic name to the entire range. The separations between the second and the third, and the third and the fourth are indicated by slight depressions only.

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**General character of the Hills :—** The belt is throughout well wooded. Pipal and other trees rising from the crevices of the rocks, and ferns and small shrubs in cracks, hollows and low sheltered places, where the disintegrated rock has left a layer of mould for their growth, envelope it in a pretty thick coating of verdure. But the most prominent and exposed surfaces are perfectly bare. Vegetation is also sparse and stunted on the plain to the east of the belt as far as Bhuvaneśvara, the laterite having in most places cropped up to the very surface of the earth producing a soil, barren, naked, and ungrateful. Nevertheless, there are here and there some large and umbrageous mango trees, and a few scattered patches of cultivation: around the village of Jagmārā topes of mango and bamboo and clutivated fields are plentiful. On the west of the belt, the country is also well wooded; and when I visited the place in the middle of November 1868, a large and smiling crop of paddy clothed the plain to the very foot of the hills.

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The highest point of the Khaṇḍagiri Hill, on which in perched a modern Jain Temple, is 123 feet high, lat. 20º 15′ 50″ N. long. 85º 49′ 34″ E. The highest crest of Udayagiri is 13 feet lower. These heights have been ascertained by actual survey made by Mr. Beck for this work. The measurements were made from the Byrāgi's Maṭh at the foot of the Hills, and not with reference to the sea-level. The farthest point of Dhavalagiri is probably higher.

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The substance of these hills is a kind of warm grey sandstone, soft and porous, peculiarly well adapted for excavations; but from its coarse gritty character, it is not fit for finished sculptures.

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The south-western mound is Dhavalgiri, abbreviated by common people into Dewalgiri or Dhāüli. It is noted for its being the site of the famous Aśoke edicts which are engraved on one of its outlying spurs. Nīlagiri possesses no antiquarian remains of any kind.

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[2] To the antiquarian the most interesting parts of these hills are certain excavations which are to be met with on some of them. These excavations or cave dwellings are similar in many respects, to the farfamed rock-cut caves of Ellora, Ajaṇṭā, and other places in Western India. They abound most in Udayagiri. Khaṇḍagiri has, likewise some caves, but neither so numerous, nor nearly so elaborate. To those who are familiar with the notices of these antiquities in the pages of the *Researches* and the *Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal*, and elsewhere, this remark may appear incorrect, inasmuch as they have generally seen the most elaborate sculptures described as existing on Khaṇḍagiri; but the apparent error will vanish when they are told that in those writings the generic name of the group has often been used instead of the specific names of the different hills. Captian Kittoe, in his *Journal*,¹ notices the antiquities of the two hills separetaly; but others have not been so careful, and even James Prinsep in his *Notes on Inscriptions at Udyagiri and Khaṇḍagiri in Cuttack* confounds the two, and before commencing his remarks on the large Hātigumphā inscription, says: "But first I would call attention to a number of short inscriptions in the old character which he (Kittoe) discovered on the occasion of his first visit, in the various caves of the neighbouring hill called Udayagiri,"² when in fact both the short and the long inscriptions alike came from Udayagiri, and only two have as yet been discovered on Khaṇḍagiri. Elsewhere the same error may be frequently noticed.

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¹ *Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal*, VI, p. 1079.

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² *Ibid*, p. 1072.

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Legend about the origin of the Hills

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—The native legend about the origin of these hills is, that "they formerly constituted a part of the Himālaya, at which time they were inhabited by numerous *ṛṣis*, who dug the caves now found in them. They were taken up bodily, ascetics and all, by Mahābir Hanumān, with other masses of rock, to build the bridge of Rāma, but by some accident, were allowed to drop in their passage through the air, when they alighted in their present position."³

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³ *Asiatic Researches*, XV, p. 312.

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**Routes to the hills :**—The usaul route to the Khaṇḍagiri Hills is *via* Bhuvaneśvara. The traveller, starting from Cuttack, has to perform two stages on the Puri road, first eight miles to Bālkāti, thence seven miles to Bālihantā, then about five miles across country to Bhuvaneśvara, crossing the rivulets Bhārgavī and the Balabhadrā in the way, and lastly five miles from the latter place to the hills. Some bearers prefer to go down the Puri Road three miles from Bālihantā to Tankapāni, thence two and a half miles across the fields to Bhuvaneśvara. There is a small Government bungalow opposite Khaṇḍagiri, at the foot of the hill, and, close by, a modern *maṭh* set up by a *byrāgi*, who earns a precarious subsistence from the few pilgrims who from time to time visit the place. The ground around the bungalow is skirted by some shady trees; but as no eatebles of any kind are available there, and water of good quality is also scarce, the usual practice with tourists and pilgrims is to pitch their tents, or hire lodgings, at Bhuvaneśara, and thence to visit the place after an early breakfast. For persons travelling by the Madras Trunk Road, the village of Mendāsal offers a convenient starting point for a short cut to Khaṇḍagiri; but the whole distance, about seven miles, has to be done across hills, and rocks, and arid plains without any road or beaten track. I am not aware if there is any approach to the place accessible to travellers from the west side.

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When I was at the place in the winter of 1868, the Government bungalow was in a dilapitated condition, with a part of the thatch blown away, and altogether utterly unfit for use. It was in charge of a *pāyik* who acted the cicerone to me, taking particular care to treat me and my party with interminable stories of the innumerable bears and tigers which, according to him, infested the place. He had a huge flaming brand in his hand, which he turned about a good deal in front of every cave before he would permit us to enter it, and never ventured to name the tiger except in the most respectful form of "the mighty one" (*mahābali*). The wood-cutters of Sunderban are equally mindful of the respect due to this fell monarch of Indian forests, and not only address him, with the title of *banadevatā*, "the forest god," but invariably offer his spirit worship in the forms of Kālurāya and Dakṣiṇarāya before entering the forest. Elsewhere the same respect is shown by never naming him except by a periphrasis, though the term used is not always, the same.⁴ Nor is this system of circumlocutory courtesy for a redoubtable enemy peculiar to India. The Norwegian peasant is careful not to offend the big brown bear, to him the most dreaded enemy, by calling him after his ordinary name. No, he is there "the old gentleman with the fur coat." In like manner do the hunters of Oregon and Colorado speak of the dreaded grizzly bear by the euphemistic title of "uncle Ephraim." In India, such names rapidly pass from the concrete to the abstract, and become the symbols of the presiding divinities of particular objects of dread, such as *Mā-śitalā*, “Mother Soother” (small-pox), *Olā-bibi*, “Madam Cholera,” and the like. What with the cultivated field on the west side, and a few scattered huts on the east, with little children walking about in front of them, and the far from imposing physique of our decrepit guide, the stories failed to produce in us the effect they were intended [3] to do, but the worthy man had the satisfaction of affording us at least one proof in support of his veracity by calling our attention to the fresh footprints of the “mightly one” on a retired sport in the north of Udayagiri. And on the whole the place is to a certain extent bearish-looking and porcupines abound everywhere.

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⁴ A common term with some wood-cutters is *Siyāl* or the Jackal.

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**Udayagiri Hill.** :— Udayagiri, as already stated, forms the easternmost protuberance of the belt. It is of an irregular shape, the extreme measurements being 1300 feet by 1200. It is generally well-wooded, but in some parts bare. Its highest point measures 110 feet from the level of the surrounding country. Its substance like that of the other hills of the group, is sandstone, tilted to an incline of about 40 degrees. It was surveyed at my request by Mr. H. Beck, a professional Engineer, in 1873, and his plan of the hill is shown on plate 1.

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**Rani Naur :—** Standing between the Government bungalow and the modern *maṭh*, the visitor has before him to the west a steep flight of steps leading to the top of Khaṇḍagiri, and a small group of caves to the right at the foot of Udayagiri. He will find it more convenient, however, to leave these unnoticed, and walking on round the *maṭh* to the east over some jungle and brush-wood, a little behind the aforesaid caves, to begin with the easternmost and by far the most elaborate and sumptuous excavation in Orissa. It is called differently by different persons, Rānī Naur or “Queen’s Palace” by some, Rānī Gumphā, “Queen's Cave” or Rānī-antaḥpur, corrupted by the common people to Ranihāñsapur, the “Queen’s Chambers” by others. It consists of a two-storeyed monastery covering three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth or south-eastern side being open. The quadrangle, (Plate II) measures 49 x 24 feet. The left wing, however, after a turn inwards, extends in an oblique direction outwards much beyond the limit of the right wing, and if the whole area included by it be reckoned as a part of the court-yard, as it probably did when first excavated, the enclosure would measure 49 x 43 feet. It is formed of the original rock cut smooth with a gentle slope towards the open side. Some undressed stones and rubble lie along its outer edge, and at one time formed a sort of partition wall, but this was probably long after the completion of the excavation. The original design, it would seem, included a Buddhist rail or wall with an entrance gate in the middle. Owing to the place being lumbered with huge, loose stones and covered over with jungle, I could not, however, trace the situation of the rail and the gate.

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The caves on the three sides are apparently two-storeyed, but in reality they are not so, as the upper storey is so placed as not to be right above the lower, but some way behind it. This arrangement obtains in most of the other two-storeyed caves, and its object evidently is, to secure the greatest strength and stability, by placing the caves always on solid rock, instead of perforated hollows. The soft, fragile, incohering texture of the *Front View* TIGER CAVE : UDAYAGIRI *Side View* [Figure: GROUND PLAN & SECTION OF THE VAIGANTA CAVE Section Scale of 10 20 30 40 Feet]

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JAIN CAVE : KHANDAGIRI

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[Figure: GROUND PLAN & SECTION OF THE GUNGBA CAVE Section

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PLATE XXXVIII—CEILING OF THE MUKTESVARA PORCH

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GROUND PLANS

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[Figure: SÁRIDÉUL Height 55 ft.

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SIDDHÉSVARA Height 47 ft.

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BHAGAVATÍ Height 54 ft.

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BHUVANÉSVARA Height 180 ft.

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KÉDÁRÉSVARA Height 41 ft.

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SOMÉSVARA Height 33 ft.

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GROUND PLANS OF THE TEMPLE OF BHUVANESVARA

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[Figure: NÁGEŚVARA Height 28 ft.]

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[Figure: KAPILESVARA Height 40 ft.]

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[Figure: RÁMEŚVARA Height 70 ft.]

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[Figure: ANANTA VÁSU DEVA Height 60 ft.]

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[Figure: KOPÁRI Height 28 ft.]

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[Figure: RÁJÁRÁNI Height 63 ft.]

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[Figure: MUKTEŚVARA Height 35 ft.]

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[Figure: PARAS’URÁMESVARA Height 38 ft.]

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[Figure: JOMESVARA Height 67 ft.]

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Scale of Feet

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[Figure: *Left-top*: TEMPLE OF BASULI THAKURANI, CUTTACK *Left-bottom*: COLOSSAL STATUE OF BUDDHA AT UDAYAGIRI, ALTIHILLS, CUTTACK *Right*: PADMAPANI, ONE OF THE FIVE DHYANI BUDDHAS, AND PROFILE OF A COLOSSAL HEAD OF DITTO, UDAYAGIRI, CUTTACK]

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stone rendered this precaution necessary ; and we now find that wherever it was neglected, the caves have suffered serious injury.

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**Rani Naur, Right Wing :—** On the east side, facing the south-west, there was formerly a flight of steps leading to the upper storey, but there are now only a few traces of it, and the visitor has to scramble over bare rocks and scattered loose stones. When the steps existed, they were probably exposed and unprotected from the inclemencies of the weather, at least no trace is now visible of any room which enclosed it. The ground floor on this side, facing the west, has a raised plinth of about 2′ 6″. Over it there once was a range of four pillars, two of which are still *in situ*. The pillars are divided into five sections each, of which the basal, terminal and central sections are square, and the intermediate ones octagonal, the corners of the square shaft being there chamfered (Illustration No. 1) to give them a finished moulded appearance. They measure six diameters in length, and have neither bases nor capitals. The verandah formed by these pillars is 19 feet long, and 6½ feet broad, with an average height of 7 feet. The ceiling here, as elsewhere, is slightly arched, the rise in the centre being about six inches. The object of this arching was to add to the strength of the roofs, and at the same time to prevent leakage in the middle. The whole surface is cut smooth and there is nothing like ribs, beams or rafters to be anywhere seen. This peculiarity is worthy of special note, as it demonstrates most clearly that in the formation of the ceiling, the architect did not imitate any wooden model, and what is true of this verandah is likewise true of all the other caves in Udayagiri.⁵

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⁵ On the Khaṇḍagiri Hill the arches over the doors of the Ananta cave, have, under them, a series of blocks projecting from the top of the tympanum, which may be taken as representations of the ends of rafters. They appear to serve as supports to the projecting arch over them, in the same way in which corbel-tables support the cornice in Greek architecture. In either case they may be taken to be copies of wooden models. In Khaṇḍagiri they have been used as ornaments, for the situation in which they occur, carved in solid rock they can contribute very little to the mechanical strength of the superstructure.

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Passing through the verandah the visitor comes to a large room with three doors. It measures 20 x 7 x 7 feet, and is perfectly bare of ornament, as indeed the interior of all other cells and caves invariably are. The doors, however, have around them on the outside a rich framing formed of two side pilasters with lion capitals (Illustration No. 2), and surmounted by a semi-circular flat band filled with scroll work (A. 13.) The outer edge of the band is surmounted by a triangular pointed [4] crest or finial enclosing a floral ornament, or a figure. This style of ornamenting the door-frame is common to all the caves of Udayagiri, but the ornaments on the band, instead of being repeated throughout as is uaully the case in Greek and Roman buildings, are greatly diversified, and scrolls, single flowers, figures of men and animals have been carved at option without any reference to uniformity. Each frame is complete by itself, and, except in outline and general character, bears no relation to its neighbour. The spring of the arch generally begins with a couchant lion, or elephant, or deer, and the space between the two nearest springs is connected by a flat band representing a five-barred fence, with uprights at short itnervals. This fence or rail is peculiarly Buddhistic in character, and is to be met with either in original or effigy in every Buddhist structure throughout India without an exception. At Sāñchi, Amarāvatī, and Buddhagayā, it occupies a most prominent position round the sacred fane, and at Ceylon, its counterpart is met with round the great Tope of Anurāhdāpur. ⁶ Its presence in the cave unmistakably indicates the true character of this dwelling. Standing on this rail are a series of human figures engaged in various acts of devotion. The first in the series beginning from the north or left side (A. 13) is a dwarf with outstretched knees and ponderous ear ornaments, resting against a tree. The next is a female standing with folded hands in the act of salutation. She has heavy anklets, necklets and pendulous ear-ornaments, but only a very narrow strip of cloth round the hip by way of dress. Her husband next to her is better habilimented, with a flowiug plait of cloth (*koñchā*) reaching the ground, and a scarf tied round the waist. He has a light turban on his head, and heavy ear-ornaments, but no necklet or anklet. His hands are reverentially folded like those of his wife. The fourth figure is a famle (a second wife?) dressed and ornamented as the first female figure; but holding a large tray on one hand and an urn on the other. A counterpart of this figure is to be seen on the opposite side of the arch, but without the urn. The three central figures of the second compartment (A. 14) represent the husband and his two wives dancing in ecstatic devotion. Then comes the famale with the urn and tray to be replaced on the other side of the arch by a full-blown lotus. The third compartment (A. 15) exhibits a female dancing under a canopy supported on carved posts, and four seated companions playing on musical instruments, the nearest thumping a tom-tom, the next ringing cymbals lifted over her head, the third striking a harp, and the fourth blowing a flute. The fourth compartment (A. 16) begins with a female holding forth a tray, followed by a man in a heavy turban advancing with folded hands, and a woman carrying a tray and an urn. The last figure is a boy, not a dwarf, as at the other end, standing under a tree with his hands crossed over his chest.

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⁶ For a detailed account of this rail, vide Cunningham's *Bhilsa Topes*, p. 187.

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Against the terminal piers of the verandah facing the courtyard, there are two alto-rilievo stalwart figures, dresseed in tight fitting clothes and armed with spears and clubs. The figure on the right hand side is very much mutilated, but that on the left is perfect, except about the face. They are cut out of the solid rock, and are attached to the piers against which they stand.

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To the right of the left side figure, at the angle where the north wing joins the western range, and projecting a little from the corner of the verandah, there is a small chamber 2' 6" square, with two doors, one opening towards the west, and the other toward the south, both set flush with the level of the courtyard. The sides of these doors are most sumptuously carved. The pier to the right of the front doorway has a curious piece of sculpture representing a hill of many peaks or boulders, with several caves in which are seen figures of elephants in different attitudes, of a bird very like an owl in the centre, of a snake, of some fruits and of a man, but so mutilated as not to admit of being made out as to what he is engaged in (A. 12). The appearance of these carvings and ornaments would seem to indicate that the room was intended as the repository of some relic or sacred image. There is, however, no trace now of any such object in it, and the room looks very like a porter's lodge. The roof of this chamber is lower than that of the verandah aforesaid.

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The roofs of the verandah and the large chamber form an open terrace, but of different levels, and the rock behind the chamber-roof has been dressed so as to form a plain wall with a very small closet to the south of the chamber-roof. To the east of the terrace, but behind its outer line, there is a narrow verandah leading to a square compartment with two doors. (Plate III.) The length of the room on the front side is 10 feet and behind 9·4, the breadth being 8 feet. The doors are plain, having none of the usual side pilasters and semi-circular top-mouldings. The floor of the verandah has a raised plinth or seat along its three sides, two feet broad, leaving the front low. The anterior face of the verandah is divided into two inter-columniations by a massive square pillar having the angles at the middle of its shaft chamfered to form an octagon, the base is formed of a thick plinth without ornament or moulding, and the capital is represented by a small bracket projecting forward and having a female figure carved on its face (Plate IV). Against the side piers of the verandah there are two human figures in alto-relievo standing as guards to the sanctuary. The right hand figure represents a pot-bellied Uriyā, dressed in a close-tucked *dhuti* or wrapper and a heavey turban, but having no shoes, nor bearing any arms. The figure on the left hand side is 4 feet 6 inches [5] in height and is intended to represent a warrior in full uniform. The dress of this figure has already been described (Vol. I. p. [82], plate XXIV), and nothing further need be said here, than that, though the character of the dress, as there stated, cannot by any stretch of imagination be likened to anything Greek, it may be compared to that of the figure on the obverse of Kenerki coins; and the question may be raised as to how far the dress was Scythian? Did the sovereigns of the Kenerki dynasty of Kashmir retain their Scythian dress, or assume an Indian one when ruling in India? At first sight, it would appear presumptuous to assume the latter position, but seeing that Alexander the Great changed his dress in Asia, it would not be altogether unwarrantable to suppose such a change in the case of the Scythians, who adapted themselves in so many ways to the manners and customs of the country of their adoption. Certain it is that the Hindu sovereigns who followed them, appear on their coins in identically the same garb. It should be added also that the principal article of dress which raises this question is the *jāmā* or outer coat, which was an old Indian upper garment, the archetype of which was probably brought from Central Asia by the Aryan colonists, and retained by them in some modified form or other until very recently, and which the Parsis still retain, and its similitude, therefore, with a Bactro-Aryan garment is *a priori* what was to be expected, and its presence on an Indian statue cannot solve the question as to whether the garment was the old one which accompanied the old Aryans, or was borrowed from the Scythians, when they occupied the north-western parts of India. The next article of dress is the turban, which, generally speaking, is a good ethnic index, and was adopted by the Hindus from a period of remote antiquity. It is prominent on the statue in question, but the Kenerki coins show no trace of it. The *chādar* or scarf thrown diagonally over the body is another article of dress which has a marked Indian character, and it serves completely to upset the Scythic theory. Beyond the figure of the warrior, just at the corner, there is a lion guardant of nearly natural size, mounted by a female figure, not in the graceful style of Umā, but striding across with both hands uplifted.

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**Rani Naur, Left wing :**—The lower storey of the left wing corresponds with the last in its general character. It has its raised plinth, stalwart guards, and a verandah in front, but its interior arrangements are different in its details. The verandah is larger, measuring 23' x 9'6", and has three rooms on its three sides, instead of one behind (Plate III).⁷ Its front pillars have fallen through, and are not now traceable, but from marks on [6] the foundation, it would seem that they were counterparts of what exist on the opposite side The room behind the verandah has three plain doorways, and measures 21' 6" in front and 20' behind, the breadth being 6 feet. The two central piers of the doorways are uniform, but the side ones are of unequal length. On the west side, the verandah leads by a door in the midst of its width to an oblong chamber 11' x 6' 6", and on the east a similar chamber is accessible by a door placed a little to one side. The dimensions of the chambers are 13' 6" x 6' 3" x 7'. A counterpart of the little corner room of the right wing, occures on this side, but it has an only doorway facing the east. The southern wall of this chamber has an elaborate piece of sculpture representing a hill with several caves occupied by crouching elephants, very much, but not quite, like what occurs on the right side.

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⁷ H. Locke, Esq., Principal, Government Scool of Art, Calcutta, surveyed the Caves in the cold season of 1871-72, and prepared a series of most accurate drawings of the ground-plans, sections and elevations, which he very generously placed at my disposal for the illustration of this work, and the plates of the caves hereto annexed have been photo-zincographed from those originals. The pupils of the Art School, who accompanied Mr. Locke on the occasion, prepared, under his immediate superintendence casts, of the principal sculptures on the Udayagiri Hill, and those of the Ananta cave on the adjoining hill, and my illustrations have been copied from those casts. Having carefully studied the originals *in situ* on the hill, and taken detailed notes while standing before them with the express object of describing them in a book, I am in a position to speak authoritatively on the subject, and it gives me great pleasure to bear my humble testimony to the extreme accuracy and rigid fidelity of the plans and the casts. As the works of a gentleman, who is a thorough master in his profession, the plans are the most perfect of their kind and nothing could be more exactly like the originals than the casts; and I avail myself of this opportunity to express publicly my feeling of thankfulness to Mr. Locke, for having enabled me to offer their counterparts to the readers of this work.

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I shall have occasion, elsewhere to record my obligations to him for the valuable assistance—most cheerfully and promptly rendered—often under very trying circumstances—while labouring under ill-health, or overwhelmed with official work—for which I feel deeply grateful to him. His pupils also prepared a series of costs of the sculptures of Bhuvaneśvara, which have been of much service to me in getting up some of the illustrations of the first volume. They have been as faithfully executed as the Udaygiri series and are of equal value to the antiquarian, as they help very materially in determining the true position of Hindu architecture as a fine-art. Mr. Fergusson, in his “Rude Stone Monuments,” speaks very disparagingly of these casts. He says, “In 1869, the Government sent an expedition to Cuttack of draftsmen, photographers, &c., but they knew so little what was wanted, and they wasted their time and money in casting minarets and sculptures of no beauty or interest, and having earned their pay, returned *re infecta*”. As one of the party who had for some days the direction of the works, though I drew no pay, I feel it my duty to repudiate the charge as utterly groundless. The draftsmen and photographers could not waste their time “in casting minarets,” even if they had wished to do so, because they could not cast;

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and the “*et cetera*,” which I suppose include the moulders and modellers, could not cast minarets, for there are no mosques with minarets at Bhuvanaśvara which could be cast. The sculptures which principally engaged their attention, were mostly architectural ornaments, and they afford the oldest and most interesting illustrations of the taste for magnificence which manifested itself among the people of Orissa. Very competent judges are of opinion that those ornaments have a great deal of beauty as works of art, and the Principal of the Calcutta School of Art pronounces them to be “admirable” ; but their intrinsic excellence apart, as Indian relics of former times, they have an historical value which cannot but recommend them to the attention of all who take an interest in Indian antiquities. To quote the language of the late Mr. Owen Jones, “Although ornament is most properly an accessory to architecture, and should never be allowed to usurp the place of proper structural features, or to overload and disguise them, it is in all cases the very soul of an architectural monument ; and by the ornament alone can we judge truly of the amount of care and mind which have been devoted to the work. All else in any building may be the result of rule and compass, but by the ornament of a building we can best discover how far the architect was at the same time an artist.” (*Grammar of Ornament*, p. 82).

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“Had we,” he continues, “possessed only picturesque views of the Parthenon and the Temples of Balbeck and Palmyra, we should unhesitatingly have said

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The upper storey of this wing has two rooms, one opening into the other. The one accessible from the terrace measures 8' x 5' 6", and has a raised seat on its three sides ; the other is of the same size, but it has no raised seat. The former has only one entrance, but no verandah in front, nor a booted figure for a guard, the duty of watching the solitary entrance being left to a female bestriding a bull, and a *dhuti*-clad warder. Another peculiarity to be noticed on this side is a small square opening or window in the scarped wall of the inner chamber at a height of about 5 feet from the floor : such openings for the admission of light and air are rarely met with in cave architecture, though they are not absolutely wanting. The fact is, the hermits and monks for whom they were designed, passed their time in open air and in travelling from place to place, and the caves were occupied only at night in foul weather and during the rainy season when the ceremony of the wassā had to be celebrated by them in their monastery, and possibly also in the depth of winter, as also by the old and decrepit, who could no longer pass a life of itinerancy, and for them, and at such times windows were scarcely needed. Owing to the hill being low on this side, the scarped wall has not been carried to the same length as on the right wing, and the area has been left open as a terrace.

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**Rani Naur, North facade, lower storey :--**Turning now to the northern range, we come to the most important part of the excavation to which the architects had devoted their best attention, and which is still in a better state of preservation than the two wings (*Plate V*). Its ground-floor front was originally formed of a colonnaded verandah, 44 feet long, having a raised seat or plinth along the whole of its inner line. The verandah was formed by a row of eight square pillars, of which only the terminal, attached ones are now *in situ*, the rest having fallen down along with the roof long since, and been removed. To the east, it opened into an oblong chamber 11'×7', and to the north into three rooms, of which the two side ones measure respectively 13' 6"×7' 13"×7', and the central one 16' in and 15' 6" behind, the breadth being as in the others, 7 feet. The verandah having been long since removed, the access to the rooms now is by the plinth. The side rooms have each two doors, and the central one three, so the facade has a range of seven doors formed and ornamented like those in the right wing, and having a running frieze of baso-rilievo figures, extending the whole length over the doorways. Owing to exposure caused by the demolition of the verandah, the frieze has suffered much from the rain and sun of many centuries, and in some places has been completey obliterated. Four fragments at the eastern end are all that can be seen in any thing like tolerable preservation. The first, on the penultimate eastern pier, represents a hut of two storeys with an open verandah or balcony round the upper chamber. (A. 8). The lower storey has two doors each with a straight hyperthyrion, having an arched moulding over it. The upper storey has an only door, but it is similar in character to the lower ones. There is a female figure looking out from each door, and one also from the balcony which is protected by a Buddhist rail of four bars; a similar rail runs in front of the lower storey, and a large tree stands by its side. The roof is curvilinear.

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that the Romans were far greater architects than the Greeks. But the contour of a single moulding from the Parthenon would at once reverse the judgment, and proclaim loudly that we were viewing the works of a people, who had reached the highest point in civilization and refinement” (*Loc. cit*). None will I fancy question the truth of this canon of art criticism, and it is equally true that up to the time of expedition, whose labours Mr. Fergusson so unjustly condemns, very little had been done to render accessible to European art-critics, specimens of Indian ornament from living and undoubtedly authentic monuments, to enable them to determine India's place in the history of art; and if they serve to do this, the time and money spent on them will be amply repaid. According to the author just quoted, “in the works hitherto published on the ancient architecture of India, sufficient attention has not been directed to the ornamental portions of the buildings to enable us to recognize the true character of Hindu ornament. In early publications on the art of Egypt, all the works of sculpture and ornament were so falsely rendered, that it has taken considerable time for the European public to become pursuaded that there existed so much grace and refinement in the works of the Egyptians The Egyptian remains, however, which have been transported to this country, the casts of others existing in Egypt, and the more trustworthy representations which have of late been published, have placed this beyond doubt, and Egyptian art is taking its true place in the estimation of the public. When the same thing shall have been done for the ancient architecture of India, we shall be in a better position than we are at present to form an opinion, how far it is entitled to take rank as a really fine-art, or whether the Hindus are only heapers of stones, one over the other, adorned with grotesque and barbaric sculpute.” (*Op. cit*, p 81). It is not for me to pronounce on the merit of Hindu ornament; it may also be, for aught I know, worth more in the estimation of European art-critics than those rude stone monuments which have been figured in Mr. Fergusson's work; still the casts will serve to settle several quastions of considerable importance in the hisory of art, which, as Owen Jones says, “picturesque views,” (however embellished by ingenious conjectures, or supported by hasty assertion) have, it must be admitted, hitherto failed to solve.

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The second fragment occurs on the last pier of the northern wall; the third, on the east wall; the fourth, on the last pier or pilaster of the verandah, including the semicircular band over the door and portions of the frieze on the two side piers. The most important figure on the second fragment, (A. 9), is a saint, or priest, standing with a piece of cloth in his left [7] hand, the right hand being extended as in the act of blessing. He is dressed in an ample plaid (*dhuti*) tied round the waist, with a scarf over the body; the head is broken. To his right stands a servant holding an umbrella aslant over him, and another carrying a sword to his front. On his left stands a devotee with folded hands seeking his blessing. Further to the left, are two women bringing offerings, one kneeling with the hands folded as in the act of salutation, and one kneeling and taking the dust from the feet of a boy, who has one of his hands on her head, and the other holding a cloth hanging from her head. The third fragment (A. 10) represents portions of two scenes, in one of which appears a well caparisoned saddle-horse with three attendants, and in the other the priest of the second fragment with an umbrella held over him, and two attendants bearing swords on their shoulders. The fourth fragment (A. 11) is much mutilated; it represents a group of six women, three carrying pitchers on their heads, one kneeling and offering the contents of her pitcher to some person whose figure is lost, one kneeling with her hands folded, and the sixth resting on the branch of a tree and holding forth her pitcher. The groups on all the three fragments rest on Buddhist rails.

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**Rani Naur, North facade, upper storey** :—The roof of the verandah of the lower storey formed an open terrace or balcony, as on the two wings, and had probably a Bhddhist rail on the outer edge; but it has been destroyed by the fall of the verandah. The roof of the cells now forms a terrace and behind it, on the solid rock, there is a long verandah facing a suite of four rooms each accessible by two doors.

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The verandah is 63 feet in length, 7 feet in breadth, and 7' 6" in height. Along its front there were originally eleven massive square pillars of which seven had fallen when I visited the place. Two of the standing pillars are visible on the accompanying plate (V), and are types of the most ancient cave style, square shafts without any distinct plinth or capitol; the angles about the middle of the shaft chamfered to from an octagon, and having curved brackets in front, carved to represent female figures. The intercolumnar spaces measure two thicknesses of the pillars, which themselves mearure 2 feet square, 6' 6" in height. The rooms were designed to be oblong, 13' 6" x 8 feet; but the further sides of the two central ones appear not to be completely finished, and their side walls remain so rounded as to make the apartments uncomfortable. The walls of the other rooms have their corners and angles thoroughly well cut. The ceilings are slightly arched, but otherwise perfectly bare. The mass of solid rock above being enormous, there has been no necessity for cutting shallow groves to lead the leakage from the roof to a corner, such as have been described by Major Kittoe in his *Journal*, and are to be met with under thin roofs of one-storeyed verandahs.⁸

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⁸ "Before I conclude this note I must remark on the ingenious method which has been adopted to drain the chambers, which from the porous nature of the stone would otherwise have dripped in wet weather : small grooves are cut along the ceiling all verging to one point at the lower corner, where a perforation is made to conduct the water without." *Journal As. Soc.* VI., p. 1079.

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The sculptured bands round the door-heads are similar to those noticed in the right wing and before the ground-floor rooms, but the piers between the doors being wider, a greater length of the rail has been shown on each pier, and its lower edge is diversified by brackets formed of crouching dwarfs. The rail, however, instead of having five bars, as in the lower storey, has only four bars, the upper and lower ones of which form the frame with the side posts. The frieze above it is by far the most interesting piece of sculpture in these caves. Beginning from the western end, the first figure (A.I. Plate VI) is purely ornamental; a man in a conventional running, or dancing, attitude, dressed in a plaid (*dhuti*) and a scarf (*chādar*), and holding in one hand a tray of garlands and flowers, and in the other some lotus stalks bearing flower-buds and leaves. He has a turban on his head, and ornaments and flowers on the head, ears and neck. The offerings in his hands are apparently intended for Buddha, emblematically represented on the other side of the arch by two elephant calves crouching in a cave (A. 2, Plate VII). Then comes a large den, a hollow in a rock, sheltering a grown-up elephant and two elephant calves, the foremost calf crouching, and the hind one standing. The animals are tame ones, and the foremost calf shows a halter round its neck;

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