A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c8.90

c8.90

The next stage in the development of the style is marked by the structural temples at Conjeeveram (Kānchī), the Pallava capital, which became known only a few years ago, and have been recently described in detail by Mr. A. Rea. Six temples of the Pallava period exist in or close to the town.¹ Inscriptions prove that the two principal edifices, the Kailāsanātha and the Vaikuntha-Perumāl, were erected by the sons of King Rājasimha, great-grandson of Narasimha-varman. The Muktesvara temple of about the same date, say A. D. 700 to A. D. 750, with a domical roof, is a typical example. Mr. Rea is mistaken in believing the structural temples to antedate the rock-cut examples.²