History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c47.74.1

v2.c47.74.1

The evolution of the chaitya-window as a decorative motif is nowhere better illustrated in India than in the early mediæval temples of Orissa (800-1200 A.D.). It has been stated above that the chaitya-windows of the Paraśurāmeśvara are early Gupta in form. The two types used in the Jagamohana of this temple can be traced back as early as the lintel bearing the Kṣānti-vādin Jātaka in the Sarnath Museum. But the great chaitya-windows on the facades of the *Śikhara* show the beginning of stylization. In the first stage the chaitya-window is practically the same. It is converted into three separate chaitya-windows, one over the other. There are three similar ones over the central niche at the back and two such over the side niches.¹ The next step is reached in the Mukteśvara where the base is formed by a narrow band bearing small sunken panels with bas-reliefs, one of the very best examples of the idea of real naturalism and perspective of the Orissa artist. Even the side wings are complete. The medallion consists of five different circles, unconcentric, but placed within one another. The largest periphery contains a bell in the centre, hung from a ellipsoid projection on the top of the medallion, from a chain which issues out of the mouth of a *Kīrttimukha* placed above the projection. The second is much smaller and contains a lotus. The third and fourth are really one, and the fourth and the smallest contains a human head in relief.