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

THE PERIOD OF THE HINDU DYNASTIES 323
resented by a large group of shrines erected
under the Hoysala Dynasty in Mysore between
the years 1050 and 1300. These sanctuaries, of
which the Kesava temple at Somnathpur may
be taken as a typical example, have certain
features that separate them from the rest of
India and yet partake of the main stylistic developments
of the North and South. Among
such peculiarities are a star-shaped plan with
three shrines grouped around a central pillared
hall. The sikhara towers over each cella carry
upward the indentations of the ground plan.
Also characteristic are the high podium, intricate
grille windows, polished and apparently latheturned
pillars, and, above all, an almost incredible
richness of sculptural decoration. The
temple at Somnathpur [253], erected in 1268, is
a small but perfect illustration of the type with
the radiating stellate plan of three shrines
attached to a central hall plainly visible in the
illustration. It will be noted that the sikharas do
not have the continuous parabolic silhouette of
the northern type, but are constructed in welldefined
horizontal tiers, so that even in the
spires the general effect of horizontally is carried
through These towers could be described
as a compromise between the Aryan and
Dravidian types.
The most extraordinary feature of the Hoysala
temples, and one that makes them so
extraordinarily photogenic, is the incrustation
of sculpture that covers them literally from top
to bottom. The material of most of these shrines
is chloride schist, a very fine-grained stone much
253. Somnathpur, temple