Page:Oriental Scenery — One Hundred and Fifty Views of the Architecture, Antiquities, and Landscape Scenery of Hindoostan.djvu/69

10 No. XIV.

VIEW IN THE FORT OF MADURA.

principal object in this view is a pavilion situated on the east side of the fort at Madura. It is constructed of stone, and is ascended by a considerable flight of steps. Rajah Tremal Naig is said to have built it for the purpose of viewing the religious processions, and other ceremonies, of the Hindoos. In the distance appears part of the palace; many of the buildings in the fort of Madura have suffered considerably by the siege it sustained in the year 1751.

 No. XV.

INTERIOR VIEW OF THE PALACE AT MADURA.

interior view of one of the apartments of the palace is at present of little more use than affording shelter to cattle; formerly, as some report, it was the Rajah's hall of audience, though others conjecture it to have been used as a bath, which opinion is chiefly founded on the circumstance of discovering a smoothly stuccoed floor some feet below the present surface, with a circular hole in the centre, apparently for the admission of water. The materials are of stone, not very smoothly wrought, but from several parts still remaining, the interior surface was certainly covered with chunam, or stucco, and richly painted with various colours.

 No. XVI.

AN HINDOO TEMPLE AT MADURA.

is a place of great antiquity, justly celebrated for its Hindoo temples and choultries. The lofty part of this building is a gate that leads to the principal temple, dedicated to the idol Chokee Lingham. The style of architecture is perfectly Hindoo, but of what period no exact account could be obtained; the publisher of these views, indeed, regrets very much his inability on many occasions to give the dates of buildings apparently ancient, and hopes that his silence will be accepted in preference to conjectures unsupported by facts.

 No. XVII.

RUINS OF THE PALACE, MADURA.

ruins of the palace at Madura shew evident marks of its former grandeur; many of the buildings appear to have suffered much by time, and not inconsiderably, as before observed, by the destructive effects of war; a few, however, are sufficiently in repair to be converted into use by the garrison, as granaries, store-houses, powder magazines, &c. of which description are some of the edifices in this Plate.

 No. XVIII.

TREMAL NAIG'S CHOULTRY, MADURA.

Choultry of Rajah Tremal Naig is considered one of the first works of its kind in the south of Hindoostan. Its general form is that of a parallelogram, three hundred and twelve feet in length, by one hundred and twenty-five feet in width; and consists of one large hall, the ceiling of which is supported by six ranges of columns, about twenty-five feet in height, many of them formed of single stones, and the whole composed of grey granite. This view contains half the centre ile. On the second pillar to the right hand is the effigy of the Rajah with three of his wives, to whom, for his munificence, the Hindoos still continue to pay divine honours. Beyond the Rajah, and on the pillars opposite to him are other statues representing his family. In the ceiling are the twelve signs of the zodiac; and a number of mythological figures carved in basso relievo, are interspersed through the building, which, together with a profusion of other decorations, are executed with an uncommon degree of skill and attention.

The Choultry is an edifice which in the Deccan is always found attached to Hindoo temples, and appropriated to the use of the religious; they are likewise erected on the public roads for the accommodation of travellers. 