The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.s1.91

v2.c17.s1.91

Proceeding from the pillars there runs each way a line of low parapet wall with panelled sides and carved battlemented coping. It surrounds the temple on every side, and parts of it are shewn in plate XXXVII. The panelling is remarkably chaste and beautiful. The space in front of the Toran is paved with sandstones, forming a courtyard for the devout to assemble and behold the divinity in his swing. Towards the west corner of this surrounding wall there is a stone platform, rising in three steps, and forming a place where the divinity is occasionally placed (by proxy again) in chill winter mornings to bask in the sun. The attending priests find the place much more pleasant, and in the cool of the evening many of them congregate there. On the south side of the parapet there are three small buildings, one intended for an out-office, the other two, very small chambers, 5 feet square, contain in the middle each a vat, which is fed by a subterranean fountain. There are three other vats on this side, but without any covering.