Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/429

 CHAP. IV. CHIDAMBARAM. 377 temple is dedicated to Nate^a or Siva as god of the dance, and is a plain wooden building standing on a stone pavement ; but behind it an apartment of polished black stone has recently been added, part of the roof of which is formed of gilt plates. The outer enclosure, with the buildings it contains, are, it appears, of later date. The temple of Parvati, C, is principally remarkable for its porch, which is of singular elegance. The preceding woodcut (No. 221) gives some idea of its present appearance, and the section (Woodcut No. 222) explains its construction. The 222. Section of Porch of Temple at Chidambaram. (From a Sketch by the Author.) No Scale. outer aisles are 6 ft. in width, the next 8 ft, but the architect reserved all his power for the central aisle, which measures 21 ft. 6 in. in width, making the whole 50 ft or thereabouts. In order to roof this without employing stones of such dimen- sions as would crush the supports, recourse was had to vaulting, or rather bracketing, shafts, and these brackets were again tied together by transverse purlins, all in stone, and the system was continued till the width was reduced to a dimension that could easily be spanned. As the whole is enclosed in a court surrounded by galleries two storeys in height, the effect of the whole is singularly pleasing. Opposite to this, across the Sivaganga tank, is the Raja- sabha or hall of 1000 columns, E, similar in many respects to that at Srirangam, above described, but probably slightly more modern. It is about 197 ft. wide by 338 ft. in length. Here the pillars are arranged twenty-four in front by forty-one in depth, making 984 ; but in order to get a central space, four in the porch, then twenty-eight, then two, and again twenty-four, have been omitted, altogether fifty-eight ; but, on the other