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MAY, 1880.]
THEGANGAI-KOŅDAPURAM SAIVA TEMPLE.
117
THE GANGAI-KONDAPURAM SAIVA TEMPLE.
BY COLONEL B. R. BRANFILL. THE great Saiva temple at Gangai-kondapu- TE9 Gaigai-konda-puram temple, as
1 ram, in the extreme north-east part of the it is now miscalled, consists of a nine-storeyed Trichinopoly district, twenty miles south-west of stúbi (steeple tower) or vimana over the shrine Chidambaram, and five miles north of the Kolli- or sanctuary, 99 feet square at the base, dom (Coleroon), is the finest and grandest Indian and about 165 feet high. This appears to be temple I have seen, but is simple in design and larger, though not higher, than any Indian chaste in ornament. This style of temple, built temple of which the size is given by Mr. on anything like this scale, is very rare. The Fergusson in his volume (The History of Indian great temple at Tanjore and one other near und Eastern Architecture). The two lowest Kumbakonam are the only comparable examples storeys are vertical, and composed of five towers I can recall. That it is no common specimen or compartments on each face; a large one in may be gathered from Mr. Moore's Trichinopoly the centre, with two narrow ones beside it, and District Manual, p. 343, whence the following two of medium size outside, next to the angles extracts are taken :
of the building, all of them ranged in the same "In a letter published in the Pall Mall Gazette, line forming a side of the square. It would Dr. Caldwell has remarked that he has reason seem more usual in Hindu temples for the cento hope that future enquiry will firmly establish tral compartment of each face to project or stand a supposition formed by him, that this temple forward most, the intermediate next, and the is one of the great, if not the greatest of, parent outer, or corner towers, to stand back, or be Hindu temples. He believes that the old and withdrawn so as to form the anglés of a smaller splendid temple of Tanjore is probably merely square than would contain the central and a model of it."
intermediate projections. The base of this temMr. Moore's description is erroneous in several ple conforms to a precise square. The central particulars. The size of the outer court, 584 by tower or compartment of each face is orna372 feet, is an interior measure for the length, mented simply by 16-sided pilasters at the which is actually 610 from wall to wall, and the angles, and has a deep niche between halfbreadth apparently includes the additional court pilasters in the centre, containing a well sculpof the Amman Kovil (Lady-chapel) attached, tured figure or group in full relief or free standonly that would bring up the width to 400 ft. ing. The blank wall-space, of which there is There is only one Gopura (or "gate pyramid") plenty, is covered with bas-relief scenes in which instead of six as stated, and a wrong impression Rishis bear a prominent part in company with is given of the ruinous state of the buildings, country.folk, herdsmen, and others, in great which is true only of the accessories and minor variety. The abundance of these tableaux is parts. The principal is in very fair order, but a characteristic of the temple. The interthe stone of the inscribed portions is beginning mediate narrow partitions are ornamented in to decay and peel off.
the same manner except that the pilasters are The first object of interest here is the great actagonal, whilst the outer compartments or stone vimana dedicated to Siva, conspicuous towers at the four corners of the temple have from its situation and size, for many miles plain square pillars and pilasters. Each storey around. Roughly speaking, it is a fac-simile, is marked by a bold projecting cornice of possibly the prototype, of the Great Saiva single (convex) flexure, an older form than that temple at Tanjore, which it closely resembles. of donble flexure. Ahove the second storey, but it is larger in plan, built of better stone, the tower rises in seven steps or terraces pyraand less spoilt by stucco and white-wash. midally, ench terrace having five small domed
A strict comparison however cannot be made cells, which cap the five towor-like compartwithout studying the two temples together by ments before mentioned, diminishing in size to means of comparable photographs, or by visiting the top of the pyramid. According to Fergusthem in succession.
son, these small domed cells may be supposed 1 On a basement terrace 106 feet by 104.
