Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/404

 356 DRAVIDIAN STYLE. BOOK III. also in this style, and probably belonging also to the 8th century. On the east it has an open portico, 19 ft. wide by 20 ft. 3 in., the roof of which is supported on eight pillars standing on a low screen wall with four on the floor. The mandap or hall is 32 ft. 3 in. wide and 30 ft. 8 in. from east to west, having four square pillars on the floor and half pillars against the walls, with two round columns at the entrance to the lobby or ante-chamber of the shrine all about equally spaced apart. The shrine is 8 ft. 11 in. wide by 9 ft. 9 in. deep, and is surrounded by a pradakshina passage. A peculiar feature is a stone ladder in the north aisle of the mandap leading to the roof, in the tower on which is an upper shrine, a common feature in most of the Jaina temples. 1 Though the temple of Malegitti Sivalaya, outside the town of Badami is but small, it is a characteristic example of the early Dravidian style, and is probably one of the earliest, if not the only one, now existing in so com- plete preservation. On this account it seems deserving of representation (Plate VIII.). The storeyed character of the jikhara is well defined, its whole style is that of the Mamallapuram 207. Malegitti Temple raths, with a few sculptures in the panels, scaie^ff to'i in. whilst the mandap is lighted by perforated windows on each side ; and, as will be seen from the plan, Woodcut No. 207, it has a porch in front, facing east, supported on four very massive square pillars. The type of these latter indicates very distinctly that in age it is not far removed from the period when the caves were executed, whilst the similarity of pattern to those of the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal indicates a date about the 7th century perhaps a century earlier than that of the great temple there. At Aihole, the old Jaina temple known as the Meguti temple, has lost its jikhara, but is one of the oldest shrines in the Dravidian style for which we have a date, since it was com- 208. Meguti Temple pleted in the reign of Pulikejin II. by Ravikirti, at Aihole. a Jain, in A.D. 634-635. 2 The arrangement Scale 50 ft. to i in. s h own j n t h e p l arjj WOO dcut No. 2O8, is SOme- what peculiar, the shrine being surrounded by eight small rooms, 8 ft. wide, in place of a pradakshina passage. 3 1 ' Archaeological Survey of Western India ' vol. i. p. 35, and plate 45. 2 'Indian Antiquary,' vol. viii. p. 237. 3 Perhaps the three divisions in front of the shrine might be regarded as one apartment.