A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c21.82

c21.82

The cella is a 45-foot square inside with a narrow circumambulatory passage 9 feet wide around it. The inner walls of this passage contain fine frescoes coeval with the temple (Frontispiece) but overlaid by later tempera work of the Nāyak rulers of Tanjore. The cella enshrines an enormous *lingam* originally called Rājarājeśvara and now known as Brihadiśvara. Its height with its pedestal occupies the space of both the storeys. In front of the cella is a transept reached by flights of steps on the south and north, and the walls of the *garbhagriha* and *ardhamaṇḍapa* on either side are adorned with pilasters and large niches, the same as the outer walls of the shrine. The entrance to the shrine-chamber is guarded by two large *dvārapālas* in niches. The roof of the transept is supported by two rows of four piers each. In front of the transept the *ardhamaṇḍapa* (also a two-storeyed structure) on the same plinth with the same type of pilasters and niches. Then comes the *mahāmaṇḍapa* with rows of pillars along the middle and aisles on either side. In front of the *mahāmaṇḍapa* is another transept reached by flights of steps on the north and south. The relatively small *maṇḍapa* added to this with another flight of steps in front is a very late accretion. Some yards away in front is the *nandi-maṇḍapa* containing one of the largest monolithic bulls known in South India. The outer walls of the *ardhamaṇḍapa* contain niches carrying sculptures of gods and goddesses of considerable iconographic and artistic interest. The whole temple from the heavily moulded parts of its high basement to its finial is a magnificent example of solidity combined with proportion and grace of form.