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MONUMENTS & SCULPTURE A.D. 1000 TO 1300
(PART V
the usual river-goodesses, Gangā being on the proper right and Yamună on the left flanked by a female cauri-bearer. On each door-jamb proper is represented a dvāra-pāla carrying lotus-flower and gadā. A dvāra-pāla carrying gadā and wearing kirița-mukuta occurs also below the surround of the doorway. The mandāraka (door-sill) shows lotus-scrolls in the middle projection, flanked on each side by a two-armed figure of Sarasvati. The flanking recesses show six water-divinities, each seated on a kari-makara and carrying a water-jar. Below the river-goddesses occur gaja-särdūlas, while below the outer dvārapälas are depicted scenes of dance and music.
The central ceiling of the mahā-mand apa is carried on a catuṣki of four pillars, which are similar to those of the ardha-mand apa but with the difference that they rest on a plain upapītha, They carry a plain lintel with three identicallyornamented offsets surmounted by three other courses, the first decorated with intersecting loops, the second embellished with cut triangles and the third left plain. Above the last rests a flat ceiling decorated with lotusflower in the middle enclosed by a square compartment with three borders. While the inner side of the castern lintel is quite plain, the outer side is decorated with designs of stencilled scrolls, flying Vidyādhara-mithuna flanking a seated Tirthankara in the middle, a band of stencilled heart-shaped flowers, diamonds Tringed by perforated squares and a cornice of lotus-petals with gagārakas issuing from them.
The pillars of the mahā-mundapa each show three brackets for keeping lamps. The top brackets, which project diagonally are carved with lotus-petals, the middle ones show bhūtas, and the bottom ones resemble a plain padmamoulding. The middle and bottom rows of brackets are repeated also on the four pillars of the ardha-mand apa which, however, show at the top four smaller bhūta-brackets on each pillar.
PĀRSVANĀTHA TEMPLE
Of all the local Jaina temples, the Pārsvanätha (plate 166) is the best preserved and indeed one of the finest temples of Khajura ho. It is distinguished by a few individual features of plan (fig. XXII) and design and is remarkable in several respects. Although it is a sāndhāra-prāsāda, the transepts with the balconied windows which characterize the local sändhara temples are absent here. The temple is oblong on plan with an axial projection on each of the two shorter sides. The projection on the east constitutes the entrance-porch (mukha-mand apa), while that on the west consists of a
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