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/195

Rh chamber above the sanctum has no opening, and therefore is, and always was, inaccessible; the roof proper of the sanctum (now broken) was formed of overlapping stones; the original architrave over the entrance no longer exists, having been replaced at some period by a plain one; this, too, failed, and others were successively put in, till, at this moment, there are four door frames, one within another, thus reducing the original width and height of the entrance considerably; the jambs which were afterwards put in are not all entire pillars, but are made up of miscellaneous fragments, put together so as to make up the required height.

The mahamandapa was roofed also by overlapping courses of stones; the square corners were gradually rounded off by successive small portions, till it formed an octagon, over which the circular roof proper rested; the roof has long ago tumbled in, but the corners are yet intact, and the constructive expedient used may be seen in the photograph; the circular roof was further supported, as is done in several instances elsewhere, by four pillars, placed as a square in the centre of the mahamandapa; these pillars are quite plain; the material and execution of the portion external to the sanctum and antarala differ from those of the sanctum, being of plain, indeed coarsely-dressed, granite, while the sanctum is of finely cut and smoothed sandstone; the line of junction, too, of the mahamandapa and of the sanctum is quite distinct, proving clearly that the mahamandapa is a subsequent addition, the original temple having consisted of the sanctum and its attached vestibule alone; which, far from having the manifestly unfinished appearance of the façades of the Barâkar temples, has, independently of the subsequently added mahamandapa, a finished façade, the portion over the entrance being provided with regular freize, and cornice, and mouldings and sculpture, all which would necessarily be hidden by the roof and architraves of the later added mahamandapa.

Externally, the tower is adorned with sculpture and mouldings, carefully and finely cut in the stone itself. At some subsequent period the tower appears to have received externally a coat of plaster, in which was sculptured devices, ornaments, and figures different to that in the stone below, proving clearly that the original stone tower was not covered with plaster when first built. Over this coat of plaster was put on, at a still later period, a second coat, and on this was