Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/389

 CHAP. Ill, MAMALLAPURAM. 341 The great bas-relief on the rock, 90 ft. by 30 ft., is perhaps the most remarkable thing of its class in India. It is close to the Gane^a ratha, and is locally known as ' Arjuna's Penance,' but what it was meant to represent is still a puzzle. It is in two sections divided by a crack or split in the rock, in which are placed a great Naga wearing a crown surrounded by a seven - fold hood (Woodcut No. 197); under him is a Nagini with the usual triple hood ; and below this a large cobra's head. The figures on both sides are directed towards this recess. On the left there is a small shrine below and a devotee worshipping at it, whilst behind are several wild beasts ; above the shrine is a yogi standing on one foot before a deva, four armed, with a sort of I97> sceptre and attendants, and behind and above him all the figures are in pairs male and female with only two arms each. Head of the Naga figure at Mamallapuram. On the rock to the right, there are two large and some smaller elephants, and above them three tiers of figures, represented as floating through the air, all two-armed, mostly in pairs, some with birds' legs and wings (Gandharvas), and wild beasts behind. There seems nothing to enable us to fix its age with absolute certainty ;