History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c31.13

v1.c31.13

The brackets and struts, adorned by three-dimensional figures of vyālas (leogryphs), śālabhañjikās (tree and woman motif) and surasundarīs (nymphs) in the interior, constitute an attractive feature of the ornate temples like those at Khajuraho by their sensuous modelling and exquisite finish. But they share no load at all and are merely ornamental being fixed by the device of mortice-and-tenon to either the pillar brackets, generally decorated with atlantid figures, or to the corners of the ceilings.