Indian Antiquary Vol 05

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 14

10
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JANUARY, 1876.
set as it were in a double row, so that the points of the rear rank appear in the intervals between the shoulders of those in front. The rest of the nine interior domes, and of the lateral porches or transepts, is modern work ; but the porch behind the shrine, though much injured, preserves its original ceiling, resembling those of the temples above described. Dr. Gibson mentions "Bacchus-looking figures" as forming the capitals of the pillars; but these are merely the four-handed figures which are found as brackets at Ambarnâth and other places in the Konkan, though this is the first place where I have seen them above ghat. A comparison with these pot-bellied monsters would, I fear, have been odious to the graceful Dionusos; but doubtless the doctor was thinking of Silenus. He also mentions some "mounds of earth round the town" as possibly containing other remains, but upon examination they turned out to be the spoil-heaps of modern quarries
Twenty miles from Ankole by the nearest road lies the mountain of Harichandra- gadh, the culminating point of the ridge which divides the drainage areas of the Bhima and the Ganga or GodÂvari; nor is it un worthy to crown the most important watershed of the Dekhan. The crest, occupied by a small fort, attains an elevation of 4700 feet above sea-level; and the scarps which overlook the Konkan on its north-western face are estimated by Colonel Sykes at three thousand feet of sheer descent. I should say less; but they are certsirly the finest cliffs in the Northern Sahyadri (probably one of the most precipitous ranges in the world), and the views are magnificent. The west wind striking with great force against these cliffs produces such an up-draught that branches of trees, or the like, thrown over, descend only a few feet, then, hesitating in mid-air, suddenly reascend, and fly far inland over the head of the as tonished experimentalist. It is an article of belief with good Hindus that a man jumping over with proper faith in the local divinity would return in like manner safe and sound; but no one has tried the experiment in these days of infidelity. The top of the mountain is what, for want of a better name, I must call a
plateau, though it presente inequalities suffi. cient in some countries to make a very respectable mountain and a valley or two. It is about four miles in diameter any way you take it, and about the centre there is a group of Brahmanical caves, as follows :
No. 1. A dharmaśâlâ, with bench all round. No. 2, "The horse, "-a large cave, or rather group, -has a verandah, supported on stout square pillars ornamented only with a capitalcomposed of "thin slab-like members" increasing in size upwards. This opens at one end into a long cell, with a small well or cistern beside it, and at the other into one somewhat similar but smaller. Behind the verandah is a large hall with three cells. Unfortunately it was occupied at the time of my visit by an English lady, which prevented my examining it very closely but en revanche her kindness enables me to accompany these notes with a sketch of the façade. The hall is lighted only by one large door and two small embrasures or windows.
Nos. 3 and 4. A large double cave, occupied when I was there as a kitchen : divided by a partition, on which, in high relief, is a figure of Ganapati, about life-size (assuming Ganapati to be of human stature).
No. 5 is a large double cell.
No. 6 a dharnasilâ, with bench, inner room, and well.
No. 7 is similar, though not exactly on the same plan as No. 6, with which it communicates by a window in the thin partition left between them.
No. 8 is a double cell, with a bench, upon the front of which are carved a few figures and ornaments, including a sort of diamond-shaped flower found also on the temples described above.
No. 9 is the same, with a well.
These form one range in a low scarp looking north-east, and the numbers are from the east westwards. The last two or three are muck ruined, a vein of soft red stone cropping ont here.
A little below this row of caves is a large reservoir, along the southern side of which is a row of little niches or shrines, some still oocupied by images. This is surrounded by small temples and thadlís or cenotaphs, some of
• Vide Nos. VII., XI. XII., and XXIII. of Ambarnath plates in Ind. Ant. vol. III. They only appear on the
pillars of the central dome and rear porch. The others have fiddle-headed' brackets with the cobra's hood.