The ancient and medieval architecture of India: a study of Indo-Aryan civilisation

BHIMA'S RATH

91

eaves,
oneachof thelong sides
of the building,are
fiveother

projecting shrines, three large

and twosmall,

placed opposite

to

the five monastic cells. They are flanked

bypilasters of

the

same design as the pillars of the

ground floor, and are

coveredby sun-window roofs in

dormer fashion. The ridge

of the roofwas intended

to be crownedbyarowofeighteen

kalasas(water-pot finials),

but thesewere never finished,

like

many otherdetails.

In

the original building most

probably

thewholeof the upper storey, including the

roof,would have

been built of brick and plaster, like

the fifteenth-century

mosquesofGaur, the constructionofwhich

was derivedfrom

Bengali prototypes. In theJahangtri MahallatAgrathere is

asimilarvaultedroofbuiltofstone slabs,and Indianbuilders

wereascapable in the seventh century as in the fifteenth of

using stone for such a purpose. Even in Asoka's buildings

thechoiceof the materialdepended uponthesupply available

in different localities. There were skilled carpenters where

woodwas plentiful,skilled bricklayerswherebrickswereused,

andequallyskilled masonswherestonewasmostabundant.