Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus c4.s5: A Vimána Consisting of Two Stories
Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus c4.s5
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A Vimána Consisting of Two Stories
c4.s5.1
(See Plate XXII.)
c4.s5.2
“The height is twice the breadth, which latter is divided into six parts; one to be given to the *carnacút'ha*,[^asterisk] one to the *hárántara*,dagger two to the *muc'hub'hadra*,[^daggerdbl] and two to the *carnacút'ha* and *hárántara* on the other side of the façade. The height of the edifice is divided into twenty-eight parts, of which three are given to the *ad'hist'hána* (base), six to the pillars, three to the entablature, five to the pillars above; two to the entablature, one to the base, two to the neck or cant'ha, four to the cupola, and two to the pinnacle.”
c4.s5.3
dagger † The flank ornaments. [^daggerdbl]: ‡ The front tabernacle.
c4.s5.4
“The pedestal at the bottom is not included in the height of the temple, but it is equal in height to the base over it.”
c4.s5.5
Under this head may be noticed the designs in Plates XXIII. and XXIV.
c4.s5.6
[^asterisk]: * The side niches which represent the plan and the front and side elevations of the *vimána* at *Sri Rangam*, one of the earliest specimens of sacred architecture which the ancients have left us in the South of India. The cupola or dome is crowned with four pinnacles over the front portico, and four more across the former over the principal cell; and in the tabernacle immediately below the cupola, stands the statue of *Paravásudéva*, a form of *Vishnu*. The plan of the cell or sanctuary, where the idol of *Ranganát'ha* is seen in a recumbent posture, is oval, but that of the front portico square, and the outside of the vault is adorned with a sort of tracery-work. The front portico, which extends to a considerable distance from the main cell, is supported by rows of lofty columns; and the whole temple is enclosed by seven square courts, each of them having four pyramidal gateways, one in the middle of each side of the wall. Several of these courts contain private dwelling-houses of Brahmans and other classes. The designs have been taken by an artist on the spot, and the proportions of the different parts of which the temple is composed are, according to his account, as follows: "The whole height of the *vimána* is divided into thirty-two parts, four are given to the base, three to the pillars, four to the entablature, five to the upper pillars, two to the upper entablature, one to the upper base, two to the *can'tha*, four to the cupola, and two to the pinnacle."