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

CONSTRUCTION

OF

THE SIKHARA

103

shrines, consisting

of acell—

the holyof holies—

andanante-

chamber

;

but

without the

splendid halls

ofworship {manda-

pams)
whichbelong
tothe larger and more
famous ones. It

would take volumes

to do justice

to the intuitive sense of

beauty and splendid

craftsmanship

which they display. A

complete study

oftheirstructure

wouldbe avaluableaddition

to

architectural

knowledge,

but would form a considerable

monograph in itself. In

some ofthem acone

of

brickwork,

suggestive of the

structures shown in the Nineveh bas-relief

(fig.

40),

forms

the core upon which

thestone facing of the

sikhara is built. Many are built

entirelyof exceedinglyfine

brickwork,with cut or

moulded ornaments, finishedwith fine

polished

stucco.

PI.

XXXIV is a beautiful example ofa brick sikhara,

illustratingthecomposite style, called

by

Fergusson

"

Chalu-

kyan," inwhich

both theVishnu and Siva principles of con-

structionarecombinedinonesikhara. Theamalaka,Vishnu's

symbol, isused as an ornament in the horizontal courses of

the brickwork, and thesikharawouldbe crowned with Siva's

symbol,the stdpa dome,

instead of

bythe

amalaka. In the

present instance the dome has fallen. PI. XXXV,

from

another temple, shows the fine brickwork on a larger scale,

with some ofthewhite

stucco whichcoveredit.

PI. XXXIII shows

afinestone-builtVishnushrine, pos-

sibly

of the

eighth century, atBarwar

Sagar, in the

Jhansi

district,Central

Provinces. Here small porches are

addedin

thenorth, south, andwest

sides, makingitachaumukh (four-

Faced), as ina

Brahmishrine; but the

principal entrance on

theeast, thesikhara,

and theminiature

sun-windowsskilfully

used

asornaments in

combination with theamalaka,

indicate

that the Vaishnava

aspect of the

Trimtirti is specially

wor-

shipped.

A ruined

temple at

Khajuraho(PI. XXVII)shows

very