History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c46.148

v2.c46.148

the Jagannātha temples. The Śikhara was still standing in 1837; but the whole of the Vimāna has now disappeared with the exception of the plinth moulding. The Jagamohana is of the same type as that of the Liṅgarāja and Jagannātha and is 129ft. 8ins. in height, while the height of the existing portion of the Vimāna is 30ft. In plan the arrangement of the shrine must have been the same as the original temples of Liṅgarāja and Jagannātha. It consisted of a Vimāna and a Jagamohana, both square, the former being much smaller in size than the latter. The interiors of both are perfectly square. The temple faces the east and from the only entrance of the Vimāna there was a long passage to the western entrance of the Jagamohana. On three sides of the Vimāna there are three structures in the same style as that of the niches of the sides of the Liṅgarāja or the Kṛttivāsa, with staircases leading to the terraces in front of them. The northern niche contains the image of the Sun on horse-back, a very rare example in Indian iconography. The southern niche contains a standing figure of the Sun in the usual fashion. The western or the rear niche also contains a similar figure of a god.