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Description and Chronology of Caves
185 and carved with triangular plate, antarpatta, karnikā, antarpatta and ghata shaped capital. The central octagonal band on the round portion has a design of bells. The rūpa sakha has figures of male devotees, two figures in each compartment. Among the figures on the pedyā, there are male figures on the outer two sakhās, a male dvarapala on the sambha sakha and kumbhavahinis on the inner two sakhās. Unlike other caves, these figure stand on a moulded pedestal. The portion below the figures is destroyed. The manda raha and chandrašila are plain. On the uttaranga are three projected pieces of khura type mouldings interspersed by two small pieces. There are five niches, those above the projections with three compartments and those above the recesses with single compartments All the niches carry lozenges. The lintel has three compartments with a lozenge in the centual one and half lozenges in the side ones.
The hall is 7.25m wide along the back and 5.75m at the front. It is 3.45n deep on the right and 4.05m on the left. The ceiling is 2.53m high. On the back wall, flaking the shrine doorway is a bench. The bench on the right is 0.52m wide and 0.46m high, while the bench on the left is 0.62m wide and 0.4m high. On the right bench, near the shrine doorway is kept a loose slab of throne. This throne, measuring 1.05m by 0.64m and 0.31m high. has the mouldings of bhitta, bhitta, three antarapattas, karnika. three antarapattas and kapota. There is a niche in the right sidewall, near the back wail. It is 0.55m by 0.32m and 0.13m deep.
There are two pillars in the middle of the hall. The pillar has a square base and the shaft with a square block below and an octagonal portion above. The brackets are rolled with snake-hood (Fig. 57c). There runs a stone beam between the pillars.
The shrine doorway is very elaborate. Of all the doorways of the site, this doorway is most finely and minutely carved and is very well polished (Plate 122). Interestingly, the doorway is structural. It is made of four slabs of rock. The portion below the pedyā is carved of the rock in situ, while the upper portion of the door including the most part of the shaft of the stambha sakha is one slab. The upper portion of the doorway, including the capital of the stambha sakha and the uttaranga are made of three slabs, one on the right, one in the middle and one on the left. The part of the back wall of the hall, to the left of the doorway is broken through the shrine. Here one can clearly see the structural nature of the doorway (Plate 123).
It has five sakhās of vyāla, ratna, stambha, rūpa and valli. The pilaster in the stambha sakha is very decorative. It has a band of antarpatta, karņikā, antarpatta and kapota, octagonal portion carved with petals and filled in with ovals, antarpatta, karnika, round portion decorated with a floral square band, octagonal karnikā, stylised peacocok, beaded festoons and bell with chain, pürnaghata, square portion with rounded top, antarpatta, karņikā, urdhvapadma, antarpatta, tripatta kumuda and a ghata-shaped capital. On the portion with a rounded top, antarpatta, karnikā and urdhavapadma, there is a triangular plate on each side. The rüpa śakhā carries figures of male devotees. The figures on the pedyā, as usual are of male and females, standing in various postures and holding objects like fruit, staff, garland etc. But here the figures on jambs do not correspond, as there is a male figure on the right jamb and a female figure on the left jamb of the same śākhā or vice a versa. There are no kumbhavahinis. On the left jamb of the outermost sakhā is a four-armed figure of Sarasvati, standing in chatura posture, holding a Sakti in the upper right hand, a viņa in the upper left hand and fruit like objects in the lower hands
