The Colas c35.41

c35.41

The main entrance at the eastern end of the *maṇḍapa* is obviously meant to be a large and impressive portal with architecture and sculpture of a colossal order. The *maṇḍapa* is a large hall of some 140 pillars arranged across its width in 8 rows rising from a platform 4 feet high, through the centre of which runs a wide passage at ground level continued in a somewhat narrower passage round the inner circuit of the entire hall, which is covered by a flat roof 18 feet from the ground at the centre, and 16 at the sides. The vestibule or transept at the farther end is important in the scheme; its exterior rises above the roof of the *maṇḍapa* and forms a double-storied mass between it and the pyramidal *vimāna*. Inside the vestibule are two rows of large square piers, four in each, thus producing a colonnade across, beyond which stands the sanctum.