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

308 THE HINDU RENAISSANCE
•
240. Ellura, Kailasanath temple J*
[240]. These niches consist of slender colonnettes
supporting an overhanging cornice of
the Bengali roof type, surmounted in turn by a
finial in the shape of a chaitya arch. The same
type of heavy convex cornice is repeated in the
entablature of the main buildings. All these
elements, like the formation of the central spire,
are completely Dravidian in character and clearly
derived from Mamallapuram. Although at
Ellura we find occasional examples of the 'jarand-foliage'
capital typical of Indo-Aryan buildings,
the vast majority of the columns reveal the
Dravidian order almost entirely evolved. The
pillars have a square or polygonal base, succeeded
by an octagonal shaft; at the summit
of the shaft the reeded neck of the pillar is
constricted beneath a bulbous cushion type of
capital which continues the lines of channelling
on the neck. A modification of this type can be
seen in the free-standing pillars in the court,
and, in its usual form, in the columns of the
mandapa.
A spectacular feature of the Kailasa temple is
the deeply carved frieze of the podium, consisting
ofvery freely disposed lions and elephants
that appear to be effortlessly supporting the
massive superstructure on their backs. The
architectural carving of the Kailasa temple is not
limited to the almost incredible achievement of
the main shrine, but includes lesser sanctuaries
dedicated to the river goddesses and other members
of the Hindu pantheon, forming an almost
continuous cloister around the great pit in
which the principal temple is isolated.