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

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226. Sunak, Nilakantha temple
approximated in other examples in Kathiawad,
consisted of a closed pillared hall, octagonal in
shape, preceding a square cella surmounted
originally by a sikhara.
Something of the same arrangement is found
in the ruined temples of Xavalakha at Sejakpur
and Ghumli. The polygonal hall with its multiple
step-backs in plan precedes a cella set in
the core of an attached sikhara. These pillared
porches in western India were covered with low
terraced roofs, some of them perhaps originally
in several storeys. 17
On the exterior the temples of Gujarat and
Kathiawad are generally divided into three
zones of horizontal ornament and mouldings
including the base, the main body of the wall
up to the cornice, and the roof or attic; over the
cella, of course, the roof is replaced by the sikhara.
These divisions are in turn separated into
numerous horizontal courses, each specifically
named and its exact measurement prescribed
in the sastras. The sikharas differ from the usual
Indo-Aryan type in being composed of clustered
turrets or urusrihgas, each a replica of the main
tower, and almost free-standing from the fabric
of the principal spire. The reconstruction of the
temple of Nilakantha at Sunak [226] gives us a
very good idea of the original elevation of these
sanctuaries.
Among the better-preserved examples is the
Surya shrine at Modhera in Gujarat [227]. It is
built of the soft golden-brown sandstone of the
region, and its derelict splendour is romantically
reflected in the disused tank or pool for ablutions