Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/510

 444 CHALUKYAN STYLE. BOOK IV. and magnificence by its neighbour, the Hoysale^vara temple at Halebid, which, had it been completed, is one of the buildings on which the advocate of Hindu architecture would desire to take his stand. Unfortunately, it never was finished, the works having probably been stopped by the Muhammadan conquest in 1311 A.D. 1 The general arrangements of the building are given on the annexed plan (Woodcut No. 261), from which it will be perceived that it is a double temple. If it were cut into halves, each part would be complete with a pillared mantapam of the same type as that at Belur above referred to, an antarala or intermediate vestibule, and a sanctuary containing a lingam, the emblem of Siva. Besides this, each half would have in front of it a detached, pillared porch as a shrine for the Bull Nandi, which, of course, . would not be required in a Vaishnava temple. Such double temples are quite common in India, but the two sanctuaries usually face each other, and have the porch between them. Its dimensions may roughly be stated as 200 ft. square over all, including all the detached pavilions. The 261. Plan of Hoysalervara Temple at Halebid Scale 100 ft. to i in. of the stones. In a drawing in the Mackenzie collection in the India Office, made in the early part of this century, the building is shown entire. Twenty years ago it was as shown at p. 443. A subsequent photograph shows it almost hidden ; a few years more, if some steps are not taken to save it, it will have perished entirely. A very small sum would save it ; and, as the country is in our charge, it is hoped that the expendi- ture will not be grudged." But no attention was paid to this warning, and as Mr. L. Rice says : " With shame be it written Mr. Fergusson'sgloomy anticipa- tions have been completely fulfilled. . . . Some of the most perfect figures have been conveyed to Bangalor, and set up in the Museum, but divorced from their artistic setting they have lost their meaning. A proposal has been made, I believe, to convey the ruins to Mysore, and erect the restored temple there as a memorial to the late Maharaja." 'Mysore Gazetteer' (1897), vol. i. p. 515. Mr. Rice has preserved for us two photo- graphs of the temple in 1866, and 1886 in ' Epigraphia Carnatica,' vol. v. pt. i. Later, in 1907, the Mysore Government tried to restore the temple, but the result is reported as not very successful, as empty spaces had to be filled in with plain slabs. But these are much better than the crude attempts made in other cases to imitate the old work. 1 The date of its foundation is not known, but as Halebid or Dorasamudra became the capital only in the middle of the 1 2th century, it was probably begun somewhat later, and possibly well into the next century.