The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.s1.235

v2.c17.s1.235

**Refectory or Hall of Offerings.** The Refectory or Hall of Offerings, Bhoga Maṇḍapa, stands immediately to the east of the last. It is a square building like the other three but of smaller size. It measure 58 x 56 feet on the ground-plan and has a richly sculptured plinth 7 ft. 6 in. high. Its body above the plinth is 15 feet 6 inches high and profusely carved in the most finished style of Orissan art, and it is the only part of the temple enclosure which has not suffered from white-wash. In fact it has not been repaired since its erection in the middle of the last century and its material—a dark-red sandstone—retains its natural colour, slightly darkened by age. The statues on it are of smaller size than those which occur on the temple and the porch but they are of good workmanship. A few, however, are obscene. Only the front of the building is seen to advantage and a photograph of it taken by me is given in plate LV. The doorway seen in it is flanked by frames of chlorite, chiselled in the richest style, the softness and fine grain of the stone adding considerably to the finished appearance of the work. The architrave over it with the figures of the nine planets (*navagraha*) is particularly rich. In marked contrast to this ornamentation the interior is left perfectly bare and the four pillars which support the roof have on them no moulding or carving of any kind. The roof of this building, as also that of the Porch, is double, i. e., formed of a flat ceiling supported on iron beams and over it a pyramidal structure formed of overlapping stones, the weight of which rests mainly on the sidewalls. This building was originally a part of the Temple of the Sun at Koṇârak, and thence was bodily transferred to this place by the Marhattas in the middle of the last century. The transfer was effected with great care and skill and in the adjustment of its different parts no trace is visible of the structure having been erected and then dismantled and again set up. Looking to the vast mass of sculptured ornaments never intended to be moved about, and carved *in situ*, the task was of extreme difficulty but it was most successfully executed.