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CHAPTER 18)
THE DECCAN piłapter on each side boing closed by a screon-wall. The ceiling of thret baye rendered so by cross-bearns has another Vidyadhara couple in its central bay. Thret rock-cut steps and a candra-fild or moon-stone tead up to the shrineentrance cut through the centre of the hind wall of the inner mandapa (plate 113B).
The entrance is framed by an omate over-door of five variegated fakhas for its jambs as is characteristic of the Calukyan order, while over the flaxed kapota-architrave with kudw-ornaments is an uttaránga series of miniature shrine-models-salās and two-storeyed pavilions or affalakas, with Tirtbadkarareliefs on the sala-faces. The centre pioce is a pattern of a kudw-arch mounted by a semi-arch in udg ama-fashion, with three scated Tirtharkara images inside the upper loops and two camara-dharins, one on either side. At the base of the jambs of over-door frame are the drara-pata panels. The shrine-cell has a Mahāvira seated on a simhdsana, occupying more than the rear half of the cell. Carved in the scooped-in end-walls of the two mand apas are reliefs of Gommafeśvara (plate 114A) and of Tirthankaras such as Pårávanátha (plate 115) and Adinatha (plate 114B) surrounded by a prabhāvali containing reliefs of twenty-four Tirthankaras-four small and seated on top, eighteen distributed equally on either side, also small, and two, one at each base of the stambhatorana of the prabhāvali, larger and standing. The Yaksa and Yakşl, forming the säsäna-deyatās, also find a place on either side of the main figure. Later sculptures, carved by the counter-sunk or scooped-in method, mostly of standing Tirthankaras, have been carved on the sides of the pillars and pilasters, and, in some cases, the entire area of the capital-facets are studded cameo-like with rows of miniature Tirtharkaras with a slightly larger central Mahavira. These embellishments appear to be mostly secondary,though perhaps closely following the completion of the cave-temple.
The Menābasti Jaina cave-temple (plate 116A) on the south-east face of the Meguti hill at Aihole, the mercantiše metropolis and main centre of the trado-guild 'the blameless 500', is slightly different on plan, belonging to the close of the seventh or the beginning of the eighth century. Like the Brāhmapical cave Ravulagudi at the same place, it has a narrow verandah behind the plain square-pillared façade with the bays, except the central one, walled up later by square ashlar blocks. The left-end wall of the verandah has a relief of Parsyanatba with his fasana deitiesDharanendra and Padmavati -and a host of other attendants. The inner mand wa is more a squarish hall with two sido-shrines cut into its lateral walls, the one on the left dedicated to Mahavira with his attendants, rather incompleto. Tho inner entrance to the shrine
