A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c21.99

c21.99

In Orissa the sanctum (usually a square building) is called deul, and the assembly hall in front of it bears the name jagamohan. In larger temples there are two other parts, the naṭmandir or dancing hall in front of the jagamohan, and the bhogmandir in front of the naṭmandir—all aligned on one axis. These halls stood on a plinth and were invariably of one storey comprising a cubical portion below with a pyramidal roof above. Pillars are conspicuous by their absence here. In larger halls where support was necessary to sustain the weight of the pyramidal roof four solid piers were introduced, ‘one at each corner of a four-square system of roof-beams’. Indeed one chief characteristic of the Orissan temple is the plain treatment of the interior in striking contrast with the profusely ornamented surfaces of the exterior.