The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

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282 THE HINDU RENAISSANCE
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masonry framing the corners and dividing the
faces of the sikhara give the impression of the
in which the original or cubical form of the cella
is entirely merged into the curvilinear profile of
tower being tied in
by ribs converging in the
the tower. Inserted one above another in alter-
crown or amalaka. The precise curvature of
these members was carefully regulated by the
sastras. Just as the ascent and meeting of these
members symbolically connoted for the worshipper
the aspiration and ultimate absorption
of all in the godhead, their presence in an
architectural sense provided the strongest
impression of verticality to offset the static
horizontal lines of the porch and spire itself.
The latest example of the Orissan style of
architecture at Bhuvanesvar may be seen in the
Lirigaraj temple of a.d. 1000 [217]. The sikhara
is now a completely beehive-shaped structure
217. Bhuvanesvar, Lihgaraj temple
nate converging ribs of the spire are turrets
repeating the shape of the tower as a whole
these are the Orissan version of the urusringas
that appear as more salient projections in the
temples of Khajuraho. It should be pointed out
that even the most elaborate of the Orissan
temple towers are extremely primitive in construction.
They are built entirely on the principle
of corbelled vaulting, so that in section we
would see a hollow pyramid with overlapping
courses of masonry roofed by the terminal cap
of the structure. The sikhara shrine of the Lihgaraj
temple was preceded by a number of
porches of the bhadra type reserved for the
accommodation of worshippers and the performance
of religious spectacles.
The final achievement of Orissan builders is
the Surya Deul or Temple of the Sun at Konaraka
[218]. This sanctuary was erected in the
reign of Narasirhhadeva (1238-64). It stands
to-day a
desecrated and impressive ruin on a
lonely stretch of sea-coast north-east of Puri. 10
The temple was never finished, perhaps because
the problems of construction proved too much
for the builders, so that the rekha or tower
already familiar to us from examples at Bhuvanesvar
is only a stump of masonry behind the
massive assembly hall or jagamohan that precedes
it. The plan of the temple is, as would be
expected, a repetition of arrangements found
in earlier Orissan shrines : the holy of holies or
garbha griha was to have been located in the
sanctuary tower, and was entered through the
frontispiece already mentioned. This shrine was
originally a dedication to the sun-god Surya.
One of the most striking features of the design
of the temple is that the entire sanctuary was
conceived as an architectural likeness of the
god's chariot or vimana; around the circumference
of the
basement platform on which the
temple proper rests are affixed twelve great