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CHAPTER 71
EAST INDIA some cases like Caves 1 (Rani-gumpha, plate 25), 9 (Mañcapurl and Svargapuri, plate 23) and 10 (Ganesa-gumpha) of the Udayagiri hill and Cave 3 (Ananta-gumpha, plates 26 and 27) of the Khandagiri hill. The cells are arrayed on one, two or even three sides of the verandah, the first layout being the commonest. What distinguishes the Räni-gurapha is the provision of two small wings of cells fronted by a verandah, at right angles to the main wing, and two small guard-rooms on the ground-floor. The upper storey generally is not perched directly on the lower but recedes back, this arrangement being either to lessen the load or to follow the configuration of the slope of the rock or even to both. The open space in front of the Svargapurl is edged by a rock-cut railing (plate 23), which gives it the appearance of a balcony.
Notwithstanding their being the work of rock-cutters and sculptors and not of masons and engineers required in a true piece of architecture, these rock-cut caves, by their emulating structures of timber, bamboo and thatch, have important place in the history of Jaina architecture. Their importance is further increased by the paucity of extant Jaina buildings of this period. The excavators attempted to copy in live rock structural houses with which they were familiar, with the result that the features peculiar to wooden, tiled and thatched houses were reproduced even if they are irrational and unnecessary for stability. Thus, the ceilings of the cells are in some cases arched and convex like that of a hut; the ceilings of the verandahs supported on brackets and architraves perched on pillars, as in a hut with bamboo and wooden posts, are mostly lower than those of the cells; the floors of the verandahs are at a level lower than those of the cells; the roofs of the verandahs project outward in the form of caves, the inner sides of the latter being curved as in thatched or wooden huts to break the flow of rain-water; the door-jambs incline inwards making the opening slightly wider at the base than at the top, which is inappropriate in masonry or rock.
The cells are adequately lighted, not only through their opening directly into the verandah or even in the open but also by the profusion of doors, the number of which varies from one to four depending on the size of the cells. In some rare instances there are windows as well. The doors have grooves, cut all around their outer frames, probably to receive movable wooden shutters. Additional holes for hinges, one each at the threshold and the lintel, in a few cases, suggest a single door-leaf. That the walls of the caves were at one time plastored is indicated by patches of shell-lime lingering at places.
The caves can be grouped into two broad categories--one plain without a piltaned verandah and the other with a regular pillared verandah. Whether
