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The Structural Temples of Gujarat the subject of the construction of ceilings (vitāna-vidhana) as discussed in APPR. is amazingly complicated. It occupies four chapters.96
All these canonical works have prescribed three main varieties of Vitānas (I) Samatala i. e. Carved in flat slabs (II) Kșipt--Otkşipta i. e. ceiling in which several courses are going up and getting down simultaneously and (III) Udita i. e. going upwards by regular courses such as kolas and gajatālus, each of diminishing size. This variety is popularly known as Karotaka. The latter two varieties are depicted in the fashion of concentric circles.
(1) The Samatala ceilings in the extant temples of Gujarat may be analysed into mainly three types (a) Panel type where in floral and figural motifs are carved; for instance, Roda temples contain some examples of this type, the finest being one that of Temple (II) (Here fig. 185). The ceiling in the porch of Bhadresvara temple, that of large temple at Sander, that above the transept of the main shrine at Modhera, 97 those at the antarala of Rudresvar & Sun temples at Prabhas, those in the porches of Nilkanth temple at Sunak and Bahusmaraņādevi temple at Kanoda are some of the instances of this type. The finest example of this kind is the depiction of Kalpalatā or urmivelā found in one of the ceilings of the trika of Vimalavasahi at Aub.9 s
96. APPR. CLXXXIX-CXXIII APPR. & PM. have calculated as many as about 1115 varieties of ceilings. Many of them have only a theoritical value; it is very difficult or rather impossible to represent them in sculpture. Certain unpublished fragmentory works like Jayapracchā Inānaratnakoșa, Kšírāṇava, Vţikṣārņava and Vāstuśātra and Västuvidyā of Višvakarmā deal with the subject of Vitāņa at length. Pramāṇamanjari, though mainly dealing with woodern architecture, contains a special section on Vitāņa. 97. CTG. fig. 5. 98. CTG. figs. 20 & 22.
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