The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.s1.201.2

v2.c17.s1.201.2

The measurements give a total height, from the ground to the top of the capital, of 33 feet 8 inches³⁹. The height of the monkey was not measured by me. This monumental pillar was originally set up before the Sun Temple at Koṇārak, and thence brought by the Marhattas in the early part of last century. In its present situation the pillar is scarcely a hundred and fifty years old ; but its [114] execution dates from the early part of the 13th century. Counterparts of this pillar occur at several places in Orissa ; one at Yājapur, made of the same material and in the same style, is probably older, showing that the style was not unknown to the Indian artists. The base of the Yājapur column, as now seen, is, however, rough and uncarved, and its neck has a festoon of garlands. The roughness of the base is attributed to Moslem fanaticism, which attempted to overturn the pillar, but the garlands are unquestionable evidence of age. On its crown there was a figure of the monster bird Garuḍa, the vehicle of Viṣṇu. The festoon ornament was doubtless copied from that member of the Aśoka *lāṭs* of 3rd century B. C., but it was dispensed with, not without considerable improvement, by the architect of the Koṇārak pagoda. The pillar is named Aruṇa Stambha, or the Sun Pillar, from the circumstance of its having been brought from the temple of the sun.