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78
Doris Chatham
Nirgrantha
The third type is a novelty, combining the characteristics of our original type two with the variation on type one; for, in place of the upper band of floral decoration on the square base-section, we find the reduced pürņaghata. Again, the capital has reverted to a flattened symmetrical form, and the upper band of carving is "choking" the neck, so that the graceful proportions of the shaft and capital of this form in the Indra Sabhā mandapa has been lost. Finally, we may consider the pillars of the mandapa/(upper storey) of the Jagannātha Sabhā cave (Plate 16). The two pillar types here demonstrate the final evolution of the Indra Sabhä type one design. One, which lines the side aisles, is a further simplification of the variation referred to above as the fourth type. The tall, square, lower shaft is perfectly plain, and it is topped by a similar, fluted mushroom-capital and cylindrical upper shaft. Here, however, the pūrņaghata has been even further reduced, so that it appears only as wings of foliage arising from the corners of the square lower shaft. The capital has a less organic relationship to the shaft and the mushroom-cap is of the straight-sided flat disk variety; the roll-bracket is heavier than in the earlier versions. The prominent central pillars are, in a sense, simplified also; for they are cylindrical and fluted at both base and capital. But the central band, derived from the purnaghata form, is so strikingly distinctive as to create a rather startling effect. The cylindrical continuity of the shaft is broken by this part, which protrudes from the outer circumference and is broader at its base than its top, with sharp square corners, producing the appearance of a collar consisting of a pyramidalsection. The vase-shape has been eliminated, and the "ears” of foliage, stemming from overlapping curved planes, end in complete circles. This geometric rendering of the purnaghata motif is executed with crisp, plastically assured carving of the rich detail. The mushroom capital is flat and straight-sided, and, whereas the central collar thrusts out from the column, this crowning part is considerably smaller in circumference than those of the earlier pillars. The long, funnel-shaped transition from neck to cushion-capital is retained, echoing the flare of the "collar," in reverse, and thus adding another element of schematic unity. Referring again to the quotation from Fergusson and Burgess, we may take a critical view of the premise that there is a single proportion appropriate to rockcut architecture. The formal origin of stone architecture in wooden prototypes is still reflected in many of the details of these caves. (See, for example, the underside of the cornices in Plate 17.) It is apparent, however, that they are far removed from those sources. Rock-cut architecture is free of the structural demands of its material, and, whereas this freedom may be a distinct advantage expressively for the sculptor as at the Kailāsa temple, where he achieves a sense of limitless movement in his unrestrained spaces, it may become an architectural disadvantage. It is felt to be a weakness if the designer, lacking the discipline that those structural demands impose, loses touch with his instinctive sense of appropriate proportion
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