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

312 THE HINDU RENAISSANCE
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Later Andhra reliefs, which were, of course, the
artistic prototypes of the Pallava style. Not the
least important element in this gigantic theatrical
tableau is the figure of the giant Ravana.
His multiple arms, indicative of his manifold
powers, are spread out like the spokes of a wheel,
their arrangement effectively communicating
the idea of the superhuman pressure that he is
exerting against Siva's mountain throne.
The last great achievement of architectural
sculpture in western India is the cave temple on
the island of Elephanta in the harbour of Bombay.
This sanctuary was ruthlessly desecrated
by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. A
stone panel with a lengthy inscription, presumably
including the date of dedication, disappeared
at the same time, so that the age of the
temple remains a matter of conjecture, but its
date is no earlier than the eighth or ninth
century.
The temple proper is a pillared hall roughly
ninety feet on a side with six rows of six columns
'supporting' the roof of the cave. The arrangement
of the sanctuary is an outgrowth of such
earlier plans as the temple at Bhumara in which
space was provided for an interior circumambulation
of the shrine [244]. Actually, since at
Elephanta the main object of worship is attached
to the back of the hall, the arrangement more
nearly resembles the interior of the Ladh Khan
temple, where the shrine occupies a similar
position and pradaksina is impossible [159].
As in many cave temples, the pillars show the
greatest irregularity not only in alignment but
in individual details of carving; in many the
corners of the bases are not even true right
O IO 20 30 40 50 FEET
O 3 6 9 12 15 METRES
244. Elephanta, Siva temple
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