The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c18.87

v2.c18.87

The figure of Garuḍa referred to above occurs in a ṭhākurbāri about a mile and a half away from the column. Sir John B. Phear has published a drawing of it, taken from a photograph. In commenting on it, he remarks : 'If you place the two photos side by side, it will be evident to you that the base, or platform, on which the Garuḍa now stands, never could have been a part of, or an addition to, the existing capital of the column : it is itself a capital, with appropriate mouldings, not a copy of, though closely resembling, the capital of the column. It is even open to doubt whether the Garuḍa itself ever could have formed the termination of the *lāṭ*, for the image appears to be too small to be capable of being seen with effect at the elevation of 37 feet, to which the *lāṭ* rises'³². This disposes of the question of the *lāṭ* being a Vaiṣṇavite monument, and with it must fall the theory about its age, founded upon its Vaiṣṇavite character.