Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/294

 250 INDIAN SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE. BOOK VII. two small windows by the sides of it, and by three perforated marble screens on the north side, so that the interior is not more gloomy than seems suitable to its destination. On one side of the mosque is a splendid Dharma^ala or hall, 230 ft. long, supported by three ranges of pillars, twenty- eight in each row. These are of a pattern purely Hindu ; only on the capitals the kirttimukh or horned gorgon face, so frequent in Hindu decoration, has been hewn into a group of leaves of the same outline ; and on the north side is a porch, of which the pillars and style are purely Hindu. The palaces of Mandu are, however, perhaps even more remarkable than its mosques. Of these the principal is called Jahaz Mahall or " water palace," from its being situated between two great tanks almost literally in the water, like a "ship." It is a massive structure, the eastern facade being about 360 ft. long and 40 ft. in height, in the centre of which is the arched entrance, faced with marble, and still in fair preserva- tion ; over it is a projecting cornice supported on brackets, above which is a bracketed balcony under an oblong pavilion. In the front of the lower storey on each side are five arches under a deep overhanging cornice, and over each end of the facade is a domed pavilion. On one side is a ruined wing of the palace branching off from it ; and on the opposite side were other apartments and a stair leading up to the roof. Seen from the west, where it overhangs the lake, this is altogether a striking building. Its mass and picturesque outline make it one of the most remarkable edifices of its date ; very unlike the refined elegance afterwards introduced by the Mughals, but well worthy of being the residence of an independent Pathan chief of a warrior state. The principal apartment is a vaulted hall, some 24 ft. wide by twice that length, and 24 ft. in height, flanked by buttresses massive enough to support a vault four times its section. Across the end of the hall is a range of apartments three storeys in height, and the upper ones adorned with rude, bold, balconied windows. Beyond this is a long range of vaulted halls, standing in the water, which were apparently the living apartments of the palace. Like the rest of the palace they are bold, and massive to a degree seldom found in Indian edifices, and produce a corresponding effect. On the brink of the precipice overlooking the valley of the Narbada is another palace, called that of Baz Bahadur, of a lighter and more elegant character built apparently by N^siru-d-Din Khaljt in 1509, but even more ruined than the northern palace some portions of the courtyards and the cupolas over the colonnades are almost the only parts that