Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/442

 390 DRAVIDIAN STYLE. BOOK III. found literally in hundreds in southern India, and, as works exhibiting difficulties overcome by patient labour, they are un- rivalled, so far as I know, by anything found elsewhere. As works of art, they are the most barbarous, it may be said the most vulgar, to be found in India, and do more to shake one's faith in the civilisation of the people who produced them than any- thing they did in any other department of art. Where these monstrosities are not introduced, the pillars of entrances are only enriched a little more than those of the interior, when the ornamentation is in better taste, and generally quite sufficiently rich for its purpose. Immediately in front of his chaultri, Tirumalai Nayyak com- menced his Raya gopuram, which, had he lived to complete it, would probably have been the finest edifice of its class in southern India. It measures 174 ft. from north to south, and 117 feet in depth. The entrance through it is 21 ft. 9 in. wide ; and if it be true that its gateposts are 57 ft. in height, that would have been the height of the opening. 1 It will thus be seen that it was designed on even a larger scale than that at 5rirangam, described above, and it certainly far surpasses that celebrated edifice in the beauty of its details. Its doorposts alone are single blocks of granite, carved with the most exquisite scroll patterns of elaborate foliage, and all the other carvings are equally beautiful. Being unfinished, and consequently never consecrated, it has escaped whitewash, and alone, of all the buildings of Madura, its beauties can still be admired in their original perfection. The great temple at Madura is a larger and far more important building than the Vasanta mantapam or Chawadi. It possesses all the characteristics of a first-class Dravidian temple, and, as its date is well known, it forms a landmark of the utmost value in enabling us to fix the relative date of other temples (Woodcut No. 229). The sanctuary (A) is dedicated to .Siva, under the name of Sundarejvara, and this clearly points to its having been founded by one of the Pandya princes who bore the name of Sundara, of whom there were four during the thirteenth century. The shrine of the goddess (B) is consecrated to Minakshi. 2 The city and temple fell to the Muhammadans in 1324, who plundered it mercilessly, and it was only recovered by the Vijayanagar sovereign in 1372 when Hindu worship was 1 Most of these particulars, regarding the temples, are taken from Capt. Lyon's description of his photographs of the places. He devoted twenty-four photos to this temple, of which the negatives are now in the India Office. 2 Minakshi means "fish-eyed"; but, with the first vowel short, it would mean " bright-eyed." Traditionally she was the wife of Sundara, but as a goddess is the same as Parvati, the goddess wife of .Siva.