History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c35.s1.2

v2.c35.s1.2

The *bāṛa* of one of the temples at Bhairab-thān is composed of five elements, *viz.* *pābhāga*, *tāla jāngha*, *bāndhanā*, *upar jāngha* and *baranda*. It is a rule in the case of the later temples of Orissa that erotic couples should be placed in niches in the *upar jāngha* and *virāla* figures in corresponding places of the *tāla jāngha*. In the case of the above temple at Bhairab-thān, the order of the *virāla* and erotic figures has been reversed and both sets accommodated in the *tāla jāngha*, leaving the *upar jāngha* bare. This was probably due to the artist's lack of familiarity with the rules current in Orissa. This absence of *virāla* figures and of the five-fold construction of the *bāṛa* in the rest of the temples of Telkupi definitely prove the above two traits to be exotic in their origin. These features, as well as the presence of a flying lion (*jhappā singha*), in the style of Orissa, on the *jagamohan* at Bhairab-thān definitely connect the later history of this locality with that of Orissa.