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[ Holy Abu
choki, the Gudhamandapa, the Garbhagrha are similar. The eight pillars of the dome of the Rangamaṇḍapa are somewhat taller and each of a different type. The dome itself is slightly less in diameter than in the other temple, but quite rivalling it in elaboration of details and beauty of design. Of the architectural and æsthetic quality of this dome Fergusson has observed, " On the octagon formed by the massive architraves across the heads of the pillars rests the dome. In both temples a single block in the angles of the octagon suffices to introduce the circle. Above the row of the ornaments sixteen bracket pedestals are introduced supporting statues and in the centre is a pendant of the most exquisite beauty. The whole is in white marble and finished with a delicacy of detail and appropriateness of ornamentation which is probably unsurpassed by any similar example to be found anywhere else. These introduced by the Gothic in Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster, or at Oxford, are coarse and clumsy in comparison. It is difficult, by means of illustrations, to convey a correct idea of the extreme beauty and delicacy of these pendant ornaments. "1 The same writer speaking of the architectural superiority of the Indian dome writes that what the Indian master masons achieved in the mode of constructing domes by placing them on pillars was never even attempted by the Romans or by the Byzantine architects. In India all the pressure was vertical without anything to fear from the lateral thrust of [the vault. In order to ensure stability it only required sufficient strength in the supporting pillars and architraves to bear the downward pressure of the mass-an advantage the importance of which is not easily overestimated. One of the consequences of this
mode of construction was that all the decoration of the
1 History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, Vol. II, p. 41.
22
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| SR No. | 023259 |
| Book Title | Holy Abu |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Jayantvijay |
| Publisher | Yashovijay Jain Granthmala |
| Publication Year | 1954 |
| Total Pages | 380 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 14 MB |