________________
Rock-cut Jaina Architecture
The left pilaster depicts a guard standing with a long staff on the front face and an elephant on the corbel. The other corbels of the pillars and pilasters, including also those flanking the doorways, are relieved with floral patterns or animal figures. The arches surmounting the doors are plain and the spaces between them are filled with barrel-shaped roofs supported by bracket figures and crowned by two-barred railing.
Cave 16 (Haridāsagumphā) - The cave is called after the name of sadhu (saint) Haridāsa who lived there some time in the 19h century. It consists of a spacious high cell with a slightly curved ceiling and three doorways, and a benched verandah with two pilasters and a pillar, all devoid of carvings. An inscription carved on the facade of the cave says that it was a gift of Cūlakama and Kothāji.
Cave 17 (Jagannāthagumphā) - The cave is so called because it had a late drawing, now non-existent, of that god on the inner wall. It has a spacious cell, longest in the Udayagiri hill, with four doorways and a benched verandah with three pillars and two pilasters, the central pillar being multi-faceted. The tops of the pillars and pilasters are adorned with seated addorsed deer, hybrid winged figure with the tail of a makara and the head of a single-horned animal, another with the body of an animal and the forepart of a bird, pūrņaghata, fish, bird and flowers. Their inner brackets are lost; the four outer intact brackets carry a seated gana supporting the roof, a Vidyādhara holding a tray of flowers, winged Kinnara holding a garland, and a standing gana supporting the roof.
Cave 18 (Rasuigumphā) - The present name was given due to its conversion into a kitchen room when the painted figure of Jagannatha in Cave 17 was in worship. It consists of a small cell and a narrow verandah, the latter being quite plain, devoid even of a pillar. KHANDAGIRI CAVES
From Cave 17 of the Udayagiri hill one comes down to the main road by a flight of steps and thence
goes up to Cave 1 of the Khandagiri hill by a rocky track. The first two caves at Khandagiri are called Tatovāgumphā as they have the figures of parrots (tatovā) on the arches of their doorways.
Cave 1 (Tatovāgumphā No. 1) – It consists of a low cell with two doorways and a benched verandah with a pillar and two pilasters. The front face of the pilasters carries two sentries armed with sword. The inner bracket of the pillar is carved with lotus etc. The verandah has a shelf on each side wall.
Each doorway is flanked by two pilasters, each having a pair of addorsed bull or lion on the capital. From the capitals spring the semi-circular arches adorned with creepers or lotuses alternating with honey-suckles, both issuing from the mouth of makaras. On two sides of the arches are carved the figures of parrots. The spaces between the arches and the end walls are filled with barrel-vaulted roofs supported on bracket figures and crowned by a row of finials carved against the background of the railing pattern. There is a short inscription saying that it was the cave of Kusuma of Padamulika.
Cave 2 (Tatovāgumphā No. 2) - This cave is similar on plan to the preceding one, but it is larger in size and more elaborate in decoration. The cell has a high and curved ceiling and is entered by three doorways, each ornamented with two pilasters and a torana-arch. The pilasters have a ghata-base on stepped pedestal; their shaft is square below and octagonal above; and the capital consists of an inverted lotus, square abacus and a pair of spirited lions, elephants or bulls. The three arches are decorated with honey-suckles, lotuses and vines respectively, have doves and parrots on either side of the two arches and a pair of deer in the remaining one; they are crowned by nandipada. The arches have the carving of rafter ends on their underside. The semi-circular spaces inside the arches are filled with a honey-suckle in the middle arch and a garland with lotus and lotus-buds in the side ones. The arches are connected by a railing motif followed above by a
Jain Education Intemational
For Private & Personal Use Only
align memational
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org