History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c46.131

v2.c46.131

Fergusson says: "How this great fame came to be raised by the new sovereign Anantavarman-Choḍagaṅgadeva in a style so inferior to those of the previous dynasty must be matter of conjecture. As fresh conquerors, the Gaṅgas might not have accumulated wealth; and, moreover, they would almost certainly employ architects of their own race who were already known to them. These, coming from the Deccan, would naturally adopt the leading features of the temples of their native province in preference even to the best traits of the earlier structures. The style would thus be an intrusion breaking in upon the Orissan style."¹ The number of mistakes in this statement are incalculable, and even Burgess, who edited this book in 1910, failed to correct them, though he was helped to a very great extent by recognised authorities on Indian Architecture like Marshall. In the first place, the Eastern Gaṅgas of Kaliṅga did not come to the eastern coast of India from the Deccan; they came from Gaṅgavāḍi, in Mysore, which is really Karṇāṭaka, to Kaliṅga, *i.e.*, to the Ganjam district, where they ruled for at least two centuries before they conquered Northern Orissa. Their temples at Mukhaliṅgam or Kurmeśvara do not betray any signs of Chālukya or Drāviḍa styles of architecture. The exotic Vaital Deul does not prove any Drāviḍa influence, as similar lone examples of the Dravida style are to be found in other places also, *e.g.*, the *Teli-ka-mandir* on the top of Gwalior hill. In the second place, if we believe Orissan tradition and accept Yayāti-Keśari, *i.e.*, Mahāśivagupta- Yayāti, as the builder of the Liṅgarāja, even then we must admit that the king was a foreigner. It has been demonstrated by Hiralal that Mahābhavagupta I—Janamejaya was an immigrant into Orissa from Kośala or Chhattisgarh, who had no hold upon Orissa proper. His son Mahāśivagupta-Yayāti was the first king of his dynasty who succeeded in conquering parts of Northern and Central Orissa. The style of the Liṅgarāja proves that the builder of that shrine, whether he was Mahāśivagupta-Yayāti or not, adopted the style current in the country. Similarly we have no reason to suppose that Anantavarman Choḍagaṅga adopted a new style in his temple of Jagannātha. His connection with Gaṅgavāḍi had ceased long centuries ago; but even in Gaṅgavāḍi proper temples of the style of the Jagannātha of Puri are totally unknown. Anantavarman Choḍagaṅga was certainly richer than the poor Somavaṁśis of Kośala and he spent lavishly on the shrine to his tutelary deity. The degeneration of the style both of architecture and art in the temple of Jagannātha is due entirely to the general degeneration throughout the country at the close of the 11th century A. D. We must remember that at this time the political condition of the country was deplorable; the Southern chiefs fighting continually with the Northerners, the Somavaṁśis having lost all power, and finally all Orissan chiefs having succumbed to the attacks of the Eastern Gaṅgas. It was just at the close of this period that the Vimāna and the Jagamohana of the temple of Jagannātha were erected by Anantavarman Choḍagaṅga. Art does not thrive in such an atmosphere and architecture stagnates. The degenerate art and the architecture of the temple of Jagannātha is solely due to contemporaneous unrest and consequent stagnation of the fine arts.