Page:Report of a Tour Through the Bengal Provinces of Patna, Gaya, Mongir and Bhagalpur; The Santal Parganas, Manbhum, Singhbhum and Birbhum; Bankura, Raniganj, Bardwan and Hughli in 1872-73.djvu/176

152 favorably with these, as also those of No. 5 temple here; and even No. 4 has very perceptible advantages over Nos. 1 and 2: see plates.

It is needless to do more than allude to the richly indented towers. As examples of towers richly, yet simply, ornamented, they invite especial attention and study. It is not, however, possible to give a critical account of them till accurate drawings to scale can be made—a work which, as I have before observed, must be undertaken at some future time, not now, when extensive rapid tours are undertaken and accomplished.

Close to and south of these temples stands a raised mound—the ruins of a temple. This temple contained numerous statues of the avatars of Vishnu, several of which still exist in a weather-beaten and broken state. The temple must have been large, and the statues appear to have been ranged along the walls of the mahamandapa, doing duty as pilasters and, perhaps, as pillars, precisely in the style of the temples in the eastern portion of the Central Provinces, which I have since seen. The age of this temple is difficult to ascertain. Judging from the ruins of what its style must have been, and comparing it with the temples in the Central Provinces, to which type it clearly belongs, this temple should be placed at a very early period, perhaps the sixth or seventh century of our era; but as it is found in company with other temples which, apparently, are of a later date, I do not see how any great antiquity can be assigned to it. There is but one solution,—to ascribe all the Barâkar temples to a date prior (but not by much) to the Muhammadan conquest.

Temple No. 4 stands by itself. It, like Nos. 1 and 2, consists at present of a single cell, but, unlike them, it does not appear to have ever had a mahamandapa in front, as the mouldings are carried round to the very entrance of the sanctum. Unlike them, too, it does not face east, but due west. In other particulars it appears to be much like them. The floor of its cell is considerably lower than the sill of the entrance, being 3 feet 7 inches below the level of the entrance sill. Like them, too, it has a pyramidal roof inside, with no chambers visible above, and the tower and the ornamentation of the tower are similar also. The mouldings of the basement are, however, different, both in being unadorned with sculpture, and in being higher and bolder, and altogether more pleasing. A portion of the lower part of the temple is now buried underground.