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CHAPTER 29]
THE DECCAN
superstructures of the peculiar stepped pyramidal type (plates 248, 249A). 'Most of the temples do not have any icons in the sanctum. The characteristic features of these temples are three shrines facing east, west and north; a common ardha-manḍapa; a front porch; walls with large rectangular slabs neatly dressed and fitted with a central horizontal band; heavy early cubical pillars with large corbels; and stepped pyramidal superstructures of stone with square domical sikharas." The absence of icons in the sanctum of these temples and the style of their superstructure may make one doubt whether they are really Jaina, and even otherwise there is no evidence to show that they were Jaina in origin. In fact, many of them are undoubtedly Śiva temples. Some of them are assigned on stylistic grounds to the fourteenth century. However, this type of tri-kūta temples is found at such places at Vardhamanapura (modern Vaddamani), a Jaina centre, and at Pragatur to the north of Alampur, which though perhaps of an earlier date, may be Jaina. A Jaina temple of this type is also known from Belgaum, dating from before 1205. Stylistically resembling the Hemakūtam group is a temple near the Elephant-stable at Hampi, with a garbha-gṛha, ardha-maṇḍapa and maha-mand apa with porches, but without any extant superstructure. The walls of the sanctum are built of long and broad rectangular neatly-dressed slabs. The ardha-manḍapa and mahāmandapa have plain heavy cubical pillars of the early type. The inscriptions here state that the temple was built by Devaraya II in 1426 and was dedicated to Pārsvanatha.
MONUMENTS AT SRAVANABELGOLA
Of the numerous temples in the great Jaina centre of Sravanabelgola, some belong to the period under review here. Stylistically, these temples are Dravidian, with decorative details in the Hoysala idiom. The Mangayi-basti, an early structure of this period, probably dates from 1325. The inscriptions in the temple state that it was caused to be built by Mangayi of Beļugula. This is a plain structure, consisting of garbha-gṛha, a sukanāsi and nava-ranga. There is a standing figure of Pārsvanatha, known from the inscription on its pedestal to have been donated by Bhima-devi, a lay-disciple of Panditācārya and the queen of Devaraya I (accession 1406) of Vijayanagara.
Another small temple of this period at the place is the Siddhara-basti (1398), enshrining a seated figure of a Siddha, about 1 m. high. On both
1 Devakunjari, op. cit., p. 49.
* Gopalakrishna Murthy, op. cit., pp. 50-51, plate XIV, figs. 31A, B.
Cousens, op. cit., pp. 121-22, plate CXXXV.
Epigraphia Carnatica, II, 1923, pp. 1-32 and plates.
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