The Age of the Imperial Guptas c8.54

c8.54

Towards the close of the 6th century A.D., a new member was added to the top of the flat roof of the sanctum. This was the beginning of the *Śikhara* in Northern India. The earliest example of this new member in Indian Architecture is to be found in the later Gupta temple at Deogadh in the Jhansi district. The photograph published by Cunningham in 1875 shows the remains of this new member, decorated with *Caitya*-windows and other distinctly Gupta decorative motifs.¹ Other temples of the same period are those discovered by the present writer at Sankargadh,² in the Nagod State and by Cunningham at Nachna Kuthara,³ in the Ajaygadh State. The temple at Sankargadh is earlier than the later temple at Nachna Kuthara. The date of this small temple can be fixed by a comparison of its carved door-frame with that in the later Gupta temple at Deogadh. During a recent visit to Deogadh the writer found that the plinth of the Daśāvatāra temple has been fully excavated. The plan of the temple is slightly different from that given by Cunningham. It is now certain that in this temple also there was a covered path of circumambulation, one beam of which is still sticking out; but there were four entrances to it instead of one, and all of them were provided with small porches and staircases. There were four small temples at the four corners which were probably capped by small *Āmalakas*, many of which were discovered during the excavations. On each side of each of the staircases there was a niche, only one of which is nearly entire.