Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/62

 JAINA ARCHITECTURE. BOOK V. The woodcut (No. 284) will give some idea of the arrange- ment of the porch, but it would require a far more extensive and elaborate drawing to convey a correct impression of its extreme beauty of detail and diversity of design. The great pillars, as will be seen, are of the same height as those of the smaller external porticos ; and like them they finish with the usual bracket-capital of the East ; upon this an upper dwarf column or attic, if it may be so called, is placed to give them additional height, and on these upper columns rest the great beams or architraves which support the dome, the springing of which is shown in woodcut No. 284 (ante, p. 39) ; as, however, the bearing is long, the weight is relieved, at least in appearance, by the curious angular strut or truss of white marble, mentioned above (vol. i. p. 315), which, springing from the lower capital, seems to support the middle of the beam. That this last feature is derived from some wooden or carpentry original, can scarcely be doubted ; but in what manner it was first introduced into masonry construction is unknown : probably it might be discovered by a careful examination of the buildings in this neighbourhood. 1 It continues as an architectural feature down to the present day, but gradually becoming more and more attenuated, till at last, except in one example at Delhi, to be mentioned hereafter, it loses all its constructive significance as a supporting member, and dwindles into a mere ornament. The marble dome in this temple is of great beauty from its very rich carving, which may be judged of to some extent from the photograph, Plate XX. It differs in minor details from that in Tejahpala's temple (Woodcut No. 286), though the general design is the same, and the description of the latter, given below, will apply to this. In the roofs of the corridors of this temple also there is a series of carvings of most complicated ornamental designs that are quite unrivalled anywhere else. In Tejahpala's temple, which stands to the north-east of the preceding, the procession of the founder's family occupies the place of the cells in the east end of the enclosure behind the shrine. 2 This corridor is separated from the court by a pierced screen of open tracery : a little rude and heavy, it must be confessed, but still a fine work of its kind. Behind it, in the centre, is an elaborately carved Chaumukh, with five 1 In the temple of Vadipura-Pamva- nfith, at Anahilawada, built in 1594, we have an example of a temple of which the whole interior (illustrated in ' Archaeo- logical Survey of Western India,' vol. ix. p. 49 and plates 4, 20 and 21) is carved in wood. Jaina temples with carved wood facades and interiors are generally met with in the larger cities. 2 'Architecture and Scenery in Gujarat and Raj pu tana,' p. 16,