Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/372

 3 2 4 DRAVIDIAN STYLE. BOOK III. Whatever its origin, this amalaka is generally surmounted by a flat dome of reverse curvature, in the centre of which stands the kalasa, karka, or pinnacle, in the form of a vase, generally of very beautiful and graceful design. The great and at first sight puzzling question is, from what original is this curious combina- tion of forms derived ? It is like nothing found anywhere out of India, and like no utilitarian form in India, that we now know of. It cannot be derived from the dome -like forms of the topes. They are circular 184. Diagram Plan and Section of the Temple at Kanarak, designed to explain the construction of Hindti Temples.