________________
Description of Temples
77
daughter of the billionaire Chādā of Anahillapāțaka, added the Meghanāda mandapa. Excepting for the two large bhadraprāsādas, the rest of the devakulikās, as reported by the inscriptions, were subsequently and progressively added to the temple complex in the latter half of the 13th century.
The temple complex (Plate 6) is situated on a fairly lofty but, as with all other temples at the site, featureless jagatī. It has a balānaka or nāla-mandapa situated above the mukhacatuskī and the nāla-stairway inserted at a central point through the north front of the jagati (Fig. 11; Plate 5) which leads straight up into the rangamandapa (Plate 172) as is also the case at the site with the earlier instance of the temple of Jina Pārsva. The dviśākhā-doorframe of the entrance within the stairway-porch has its carving recently re-executed, seemingly after the earlier one, the doorsill though seems original.
The rangamandapa is of the Meghanāda class (as reported by the 15th century writers, earlier noticed) and thus having an attic storey (Plates 171, 174, 175). At the northern or balānaka end and at the southern or şatcatuṣki end, it is opened up since lintels do not bridge the pillars that stand within these two situations (Plates 168, 169, 171). Unlike the three preceding temples at the site, all of the 12 pillars of the square nave are fully carved according to the conventions of the Maru-Gurjara style (Plates 171, 173, 174), earlier encountered in the rangamandapa of the Sun temple at Modherā (c. A.D. 1070), and still earlier at Osiāñ (torana, A.D. 1018), Kirāļu, Nāgadā, and Ahāda, the last three instances are of the last quarter of the tenth century and all located in Rajasthan. However, unlike Kirādu and Modherā and near at hand in the three preceding temples in Kumbhāriyā itself, no toraņas apparently were intended to be inserted between the pillars even in the original scheme. This hall is surrounded by the colonnaded pattaśālā behind which are articulated the rows collectively of the 24 devakulikās disposed along east, north, and west (Fig. 11). As in the three preceding temples at the site, the peripheral kota-wall begins where the eastern and western rows of the devakulikās end.
The pattaśālā-cloister is devoid of carved ceilings, a regrettable deficiency. The only carved ceiling related to the central location in the east-west pattaśālā alignment, and of some consequence, is the one which is just above the nāla-stairway termination (Plate 170), the three other instances which occur behind it are composed of plain dardarikās (Plate 168); these latter were painted in the Mughal period. The aforenoted fully carved ceiling is of the Mandāraka class with the sunk sub-lintels
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
