Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/34

 JAINA ARCHITECTURE. BOOK V. 270. Section of Ranl-gumpha. Scale 25 ft. to i in. substance to support the mass of rock above, and probably in consequence of some accident, the mass above fell in, bearing everything before it. Either then, or at some subsequent period, an attempt has been made to restore the lower verandah in wood, and for this purpose a chase has been cut through the sculptures that adorned its back wall, and they have been other- wise so mutilated that it is almost impossible to make out their meaning. The accompanying section (No. 270) will illustrate the position of this wooden adjunct and that of the two storeys of this cave. Fortu- nately, the sculptures of the upper verandah are tolerably entire, though in some parts they, too, have been very badly treated. Besides this, which may be called the main body of the building, two wings project forward ; that on the left 40 ft, that on the right 20 ft ; and, as these contained cells on both storeys, the whole afforded accommodation for a considerable number of inmates. The great interest of these two caves, however, lies in their sculptures. In the Gane^a cave, as already mentioned, there are two bas-reliefs. The first represents a man asleep under a tree, and a woman watching over him. To them a woman is approaching, leading a man by the hand, as if to introduce him to the sleeper. Beyond them a man and a woman are fighting with swords and shields in very close combat, and behind them a man is carrying off a female in his arms. 1 The second bas - relief comprises fifteen figures and two elephants. There may be in it two successive scenes, though my impression is, that only one is intended, while I feel certain this is the case regarding the first. In the Rani cave the second bas-relief is identical, in all essential respects, with the first in the Gane^a, but the reliefs that precede and follow it represent different scenes altogether. It is, perhaps, in vain to speculate what episode this rape scene represents, probably some tradition not yet identified ; its greatest interest for our 1 There is a very faithful drawing of this bas-relief by Kittoe in the ' Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' vol. vii. plate 44. But casts of all these sculptures were taken in 1871-1872 by Mr. Locke, of the School of Art, Calcutta, and photographs, some of which were published on plate 100 of 'Tree and Serpent Worship,' 2nded., 1873 ; 'Cave Temples,' plate I ; and in Rajendralal Mitra's ' Antiquities of Orissa,' vol. ii. plates 6-14.