Some of the other temples at Girnar are interesting from their history, and remarkable from fragments of an ancient date that have survived the too constant repairs; but without illustrating them it would only be tedious to recapitulate their names, or to attempt to describe by words objects which only the practised eye of the Indian antiquary can appreciate. Not far from the hill, however, on the sea-shore, stands the temple of Somnath, historically perhaps the most celebrated in India, from the campaign which Mahmood of Gazni undertook for its destruction in 1025, and the momentous results that campaign had eventually on the fate of India.

As will be seen from the annexed plan (Woodcut No. 128) the temple itself never could have been remarkable for its dimensions, probably it never exceeded about 130 ft. over all, but the dome of its porch, which measures 33 ft. across, is as large as any we know of its age. From the accounts, however, which we have of the siege, it is evident that it was enclosed like the temple of Neminatha (Woodcut No. 126) in a courtyard, and that may have been of surpassing magnificence. Though very similar in plan, it is nearly twice the dimensions of that of Neminatha, and if its court was proportionately large, it may really have justified all that has been said regarding its splendour. From what fragments of its sculptured decorations remain, they too must have been of great beauty, quite equal to anything we know of this class, or of their age. It has not yet been determined, however, whether what we now see are fragments of the temple attacked by Mahmood, and consequently whether they belong to the 10th or even the 9th century, or whether they may be due to a repair which was effected in the 12th. As the story is now told, after Mahmood’s departure it was restored by Bhima Deva of Anhilwarra Puttun, who reigned 1021-1073, and adorned by Siddha Raja, 1093-1143, and lastly by Kumara Pala in 1168. Generally it is thought that what we now see belongs to the last-named king. Any one on the spot, thoroughly acquainted with the subject, might discriminate among these and tell us its story. In so far as photographs enable us to judge, it would appear that a considerable portion of what we now see belongs to the original fane, though very much altered and knocked about by subsequent restorers.

Another point of dispute is the name of the god to whom the temple was dedicated when the Moslem marched against it. From the name Someswara, it is generally assumed to have been Siva. If, however, that had been the case, the image in the sanctuary would almost certainly have been a lingam. The Mahomedan historians, however, represent it distinctly as having a head with eyes, arms, and a belly.[269] In that case it must either have been Vishnu or one of the Tirthankars. I can find no trace of Vishnuism in Gujerat at this period, but what seems to me to settle the case is, that all the kings above mentioned, who took part in the repairs after the departure of Mahmood, were undoubtedly Jains, and they would hardly have repaired or rebuilt a temple belonging to another sect.

Mount Abu.

It is hardly to be wondered at that Mount Abu was early fixed upon by the Hindus and Jains as one of their sacred spots. Rising from the desert as abruptly as an island from the ocean, it presents on almost every side inaccessible scarps 5000 ft. or 6000 ft. high, and the summit can only be approached by ravines cut into its sides. When the summit is reached, it opens out into one of the loveliest valleys imaginable, six or seven miles long by two or three miles in width, cut up everywhere by granite rocks of the most fantastic shapes, and the spaces between them covered with trees and luxuriant vegetation. The little Nucki Talao, or Pearl Lake, is one of the loveliest gems of its class in all India, and it is near to it, at Dilwarra, that the Jains selected a site for their Tirth, or sacred place of rendezvous. It cannot, however, be said that it has been a favourite place of worship in modern times. Its distance and inaccessibility are probably the causes of this, and it consequently cannot rival either Palitana or Girnar in the extent of its buildings; but during the age of Jaina supremacy it was adorned with several temples, two of which are unrivalled for certain qualities by any temples in India. They are built wholly of white marble, though no quarries of that material are known to exist within 300 miles of the spot, and to transport and carry it up the hill to the site of these temples must have added immensely to the expense of the undertaking.

The more modern of the two was built by the same brothers, Tejpala and Vastupala, who erected the triple temple at Girnar (Woodcut No. 127). This one, we learn from inscriptions, was erected between the years 1197 and 1247, and for minute delicacy of carving and beauty of detail stands almost unrivalled even in the land of patient and lavish labour.[270]

The other, built by another merchant prince, Vimala Sah, apparently about the year A.D. 1032,[271] is simpler and bolder, though still as elaborate as good taste would allow in any purely architectural object. Being one of the oldest as well as one of the most complete examples known of a Jaina temple, its peculiarities form a convenient introduction to the style, and among other things serve to illustrate how complete and perfect it had already become when we first meet with it in India.

The annexed plan (Woodcut No. 129) will suffice to explain the general arrangements of the temple of Vimala Sah, which, as will be observed, are similar to some we have already met, though of course varying considerably in extent and detail.

The principal object here, as elsewhere, is a cell lighted only from the door, containing a cross-legged seated figure of the saint to whom the temple is dedicated, in this instance Parswanatha. The cell, as in all other examples, terminates upwards in a sikra, or pyramidal spire-like roof, which is common to all Hindu and Jaina temples[272] of the age in the north of India. To this, as in almost all instances, is attached a portico, generally of considerable extent, and in most examples surmounted by a dome resting on eight pillars, which forms indeed the distinguishing characteristic of the style, as well as its most beautiful feature. In this example the portico is composed of forty-eight free-standing pillars, which is by no means an unusual number; and the whole is enclosed in an oblong courtyard, about 140 ft. by 90 ft., surrounded by a double colonnade of smaller pillars, forming porticos to a range of cells, fifty-five in number, which enclose it on all sides, exactly as they do in Buddhist viharas. In this case, however, each cell, instead of being the residence of a monk, is occupied by one of those cross-legged images which belong alike to Buddhism and Jainism, and between which so many find it difficult to distinguish. Here they are, according to the Jaina practice, all repetitions of the same image of Parswanatha, and over the door of each cell, or on its jambs, are sculptured scenes from his life.

In other religions there may be a great number of separate similar chapels attached to one building, but in no other would fifty-five be found, as in this example, or the seventy that surround the temple of Neminatha at Girnar (Woodcut No. 126), each containing an image of the same saint, and all so identical as to be undistinguishable. With the Jains it seems to be thought the most important point that the deity or saint is honoured by the number of his images, and that each image should be provided with a separate abode. In other examples, however, it is only a separate niche. On some Jaina monuments the image of the Tirthankar is repeated hundreds, it may almost be said a thousand times over, all the images identical, and the niches arranged in rows beside and above each other, like pigeon-holes in a dovecote.

Externally the temple is perfectly plain, and there is nothing to indicate the magnificence within, except the spire of the cell peeping over the plain wall, though even this is the most insignificant part of the erection.

The woodcut (No. 130) will give some idea of the arrangement of the porch, but it would require a far more extensive and elaborate drawing to convey a correct impression of its extreme beauty of detail and diversity of design. The great pillars, as will be seen, are of the same height as those of the smaller external porticos; and like them they finish with the usual bracket-capital of the East; upon this an upper dwarf column or attic, if it may be so called, is placed to give them additional height, and on these upper columns rest the great beams or architraves which support the dome; as, however, the bearing is long, at least in appearance, the weight is relieved by the curious angular strut or truss of white marble, mentioned above (p. 215), which, springing from the lower capital, seems to support the middle of the beam.

That this last feature is derived from some wooden or carpentry original, can, I think, scarcely be doubted; but in what manner it was first introduced into masonry construction is unknown; probably it might easily be discovered by a more careful examination of the buildings in this neighbourhood. It continues as an architectural feature down almost to the present day, but gradually becoming more and more attenuated, till at last, except in one example at Delhi, to be mentioned hereafter, it loses all its constructive significance as a supporting member, and dwindles into a mere ornament.

On the octagon so formed rests the dome, the springing of which is shown in Woodcut No. 130 (p. 236). In this instance a single block in the angles of the octagon suffices to introduce the circle. Above the second row of ornaments sixteen pedestals are introduced supporting statues, and in the centre is a pendant of the most exquisite beauty; the whole is in white marble, and finished with a delicacy of detail and appropriateness of ornament which is probably unsurpassed by any similar example to be found anywhere else. Those introduced by the Gothic architects in Henry VII.’s chapel at Westminster, or at Oxford, are coarse and clumsy in comparison. It is difficult, by any means of illustration, to convey a correct idea of the extreme beauty and delicacy of these pendant ornaments, but the woodcut on page 237 (No. 131) from a photograph will explain their form, even if it cannot reflect their beauty.

As before hinted, there never seems to have been any important town on Mount Abu. It was too inaccessible for that purpose; but a few miles to the southward on the plain are the remains of an extensive city, called Chandrávati, where there are extensive remains of Jaina temples of the same age and style as those on the mount, some of them probably more modern, but still all of the best age. The place, however, was destroyed at the time of the Mahomedan conquest in the middle of the 14th century, and has since remained wholly deserted. It has in consequence been used as a quarry by the neighbouring towns and villages, so that few of its buildings remain in a perfect state. The fragment, however, shown in Woodcut No. 132, may serve to illustrate the style in which they were erected, but as no two pillars are exactly alike, it would require hundreds to represent their infinite variety of detail.

Parisnath.

The highest point of the Bengal range of hills, south of Rajmahal, has characteristically been appropriated by the Jains as one of their most favourite Tirths. Its original name apparently was Mount Síkhar, and no less than nineteen of their twenty-four Tirthankars are said to have died and been buried there, among others Parswanatha, the last but one, and he consequently gave the hill the name it now bears.

Unfortunately, no photographer has yet visited the hill, nor any one who was able to discriminate between what was new and what old. Such accounts, however, as we have are by no means encouraging, and do not lead us to expect any very remarkable architectural remains. The temples on the hill are numerous, but they seem all modern, or at least to have been so completely repaired in modern times that their more ancient features cannot now be discerned. Something may also be due to the fact that, since the revival of that religion, Bengal has never been essentially a Jaina country. The Pala dynasty of Bengal seem to have remained Buddhist nearly to the Mahomedan conquest (A.D. 1203), when they seem suddenly to have dropped that religion and plunged headlong into the Vaishnava and Saiva superstitions. Whether from this, or from some other cause we cannot now explain, Jainism never seems to have taken root in Bengal. At the time that it, with Buddhism, took its rise in the 6th century B.C., Behar was the intellectual and the political centre of India, and Buddhism long held its sway in the country of its birth. Before, however, Jainism became politically important, the centre of power had gravitated towards the West, and Jainism never seems to have attained importance in the country where it first appeared. Were it not for this, there seems little doubt but that Parisnath would have been more important in their eyes than Palitana or Girnar; but it is not so, and it consequently occupies only a very slight corner in an architectural history of India.

Besides the effect the Jains sought to obtain by grouping their temples on hill-tops, the love of the picturesque, which they seem to have cultivated more than any other sect in India, led them to seek it in an exactly opposite direction. Some of their favourite Tirths are found in deep and secluded valleys. One at Muktagiri, for instance, near Gawelghur, is situated in a deep well-wooded valley, traversed by a stream that breaks in its course into numerous picturesque waterfalls.

Another example of this love of the picturesque is found at Sadri. In a remote valley piercing the western flank of the Aravulli, there is a group of temples, neither so numerous nor perhaps so picturesquely situated as those at Muktagiri, but of more interest architecturally, and situated in a spot evidently selected for its natural beauties.

The principal temple here was erected by Khumbo Rana of Oudeypore. He seems to have been a zealous promoter of the Jaina religion, and during his long and prosperous reign filled his country with beautiful buildings, both civil and ecclesiastical. Amongst others, he built this temple of Sadri, situated in a lonely and deserted glen, running into the western slope of the Aravulli, below his favourite fort of Komulmeer. Notwithstanding long neglect, it is still nearly perfect, and is the most complicated and extensive Jaina temple I have myself ever had an opportunity of inspecting.

From the plan (Woodcut No. 133) it will be perceived that it is nearly a square, 200 ft. by 225 ft., exclusive of the projections on each face. In the centre stands the great shrine, not, however, occupied, as usual, by one cell, but by four; or rather four great niches, in each of which is placed a statue of Adinatha, or Rishabdeva, the first and greatest of the Jaina saints. Above this are four other niches, similarly occupied, opening on the terraced roofs of the building. Near the four angles of the court are four smaller shrines, and around them, or on each side of them, are twenty domes, supported by about 420 columns; four of these domes—the central ones of each group—are three storeys in height, and tower over the others; and one—that facing the principal entrance—is supported by the very unusual number of sixteen columns, and is 36 ft. in diameter, the others being only 24 ft. Light is admitted to the building by four uncovered courts, and the whole is surrounded by a range of cells, many of them now unoccupied, each of which has a pyramidal roof of its own.

The internal effect of this forest of columns may be gathered from the view (Woodcut No. 134) taken across one of its courts; but it is impossible that any view can reproduce the endless variety of perspective and the play of light and shade which results from the disposition of the pillars, and of the domes, and from the mode in which the light is introduced. A wonderful effect also results from the number of cells, most of them containing images of the Tirthankar, which everywhere meet the view. Besides the twelve in the central sikras there are eighty-six cells of very varied form and size surrounding the interior, and all their façades more or less adorned with sculpture.

The general external effect of the Sadri Temple may be judged of by Woodcut No. 135; owing to its lofty basement, and the greater elevation of the principal domes, it gives a more favourable impression of a Jaina temple than is usually the case—the greatest defect of these buildings as architectural designs being the want of ornament on their exterior faces; this, however, is more generally the case in the older than in the more modern temples.

The immense number of parts in the building, and their general smallness, prevents its laying claim to anything like architectural grandeur; but their variety, their beauty of detail—no two pillars in the whole building being exactly alike—the grace with which they are arranged, the tasteful admixture of domes of different heights with flat ceilings, and the mode in which the light is introduced, combine to produce an excellent effect. Indeed, I know of no other building in India, of the same class, that leaves so pleasing an impression, or affords so many hints for the graceful arrangement of columns in an interior.

Besides its merits of design, its dimensions are by no means to be despised; it covers altogether about 48,000 sq. ft., or nearly as much as one of our ordinary mediæval cathedrals, and, taking the basement into account, is nearly of equal bulk; while in amount of labour and of sculptural decorations it far surpasses any.

Gualior.

The rock at Gualior is, and must always have been, one of the most remarkable high places in Central India, and seems, as such, early to have been appropriated by the Jains. Its position and its scarps, however, led to its being fortified, and, as one of the strongest places in India, it was attacked and taken by storm by Altumsh, the first Moslem emperor of Delhi, in A.D. 1232; and from that time till the fall of the Mogul empire it was held by the Mahomedans, or by Hindu kings subject to their suzerainty. Under these circumstances, we should hardly expect to find any extensive ancient Hindu remains in the place. There are, however, two very remarkable temples: one, known as the Sas Bahu, is generally understood to be a Jaina erection, and seems to be so designated and dedicated to Padmanatha, the sixth Tirthankar. General Cunningham doubts this adscription,[273] in consequence of the walls being adorned with bas-reliefs, belonging certainly to the Vaishnava and Saiva sects. As in the case of the Aiwulli temple, it is extremely difficult sometimes to say for what sect a temple was originally erected. In the times of which we are now speaking the sects had not become distinct and antagonistic as they afterwards were. The different deities were, like those of the Greeks and Romans, parts of one religion, which all shared in, and the temples were frequently of a most pantheistic character. Be this as it may, this temple was finished apparently in A.D. 1093, and, though dreadfully ruined, is still a most picturesque fragment. What remains is the cruciform porch of a temple which, when complete, measured 100 ft. from front to rear, and 63 ft. across the arms of the porch. Of the sanctuary, with its sikra, nothing is left but the foundation; but the porch which is three storeys in height, is constructively entire, though its details—and principally those of its roof—are very much shattered (Woodcut No. 136, next page).

An older Jaina temple is described by General Cunningham, but as it was used as a mosque it is more likely that it is a Mahomedan building entirely, though made up of Jaina details.[274] The most striking part of the Jaina remains at Gualior are a series of caves or rock-cut sculptures that are excavated in the rock on all sides, and amount, when taken together, to hardly less than a hundred, great and small. They are, however, very unlike the chaityas or viharas of the Buddhists, still less do they resemble the Brahmanical caves, to be mentioned hereafter. Most of them are mere niches to contain statues, though some are cells that may have been originally intended

for residences. One curious fact regarding them is, that, according to inscriptions, they were all excavated within the short period of about thirty-three years, between A.D. 1441 and A.D. 1474. Some of the figures are of colossal size: one, for instance, is 57 ft. high, which is greater than any other in the north of India, though in the south there are several which equal or surpass it, and, as free-standing figures are more expressive and more difficult to execute.

Khajurâho.

The city of Khajurâho, the ancient capital of the Chandels, is situated about 125 miles W.S.W. from Allahabad, and about 150 miles S.E. from Gualior. It is now a wretched deserted place, but has in and around it a group of some thirty temples, which, so far as is at present known, are the most beautiful in form as well as the most elegant in detail of any of the temples now standing in India.[275]

So far as can be made out from such inscriptions as exist, as well as from their style, it appears that all these temples, with two unimportant exceptions, were executed simultaneously and within the limits of the 11th century: and, what is also curious, they seem to be, as nearly as possible, equally divided between the three religions. In each group there is one greater than the rest—a cathedral in fact—round which the smaller ones are clustered. In the Saiva group it is the Kandarya Mahadeva, of which a representation will be given further on; in the Vaishnava group it is the Ramachandra; and in the Jaina the Jinanatha: all three so like one another that it requires very great familiarity with the photographs to distinguish the temple of one religion from those of the others. It looks as if all had been built by one prince, and by some arrangement that neither sect should surpass or be jealous of the other. Either from this, or from some cause we do not quite understand, we lose here all the peculiarities we usually assign to Jaina temples of this age. The vimana or sikra is more important than the porch. There are no courtyards with circumambient cells; no prominent domes, nor, in fact, anything that distinguishes Jaina from Hindu architecture. If not under the sway of a single prince, they must have been erected in an age of extreme toleration, and when any rivalry that existed must only have been among the architects in trying who could produce the most beautiful and most exquisitely adorned building.

As an illustration of one of the three great temples will be given further on, a view of one of the smaller Jaina temples, that of Parswanatha (Woodcut No. 137), will suffice to illustrate the style of art here employed. Its porch either never was added or has been removed and replaced in modern times by a brick abomination with pointed arches. This, however, hardly interferes with the temple itself. There is nothing probably in Hindu architecture that surpasses the richness of its three-storeyed base combined with the extreme elegance of outline and delicate detail of the upper part.

The two exceptional temples above alluded to are, first, one called the Chaonsat Jogini, or sixty-four female demons. It consists merely of a courtyard, measuring 105 ft. by 60 ft. and surrounded by sixty-four small cells each of which is surmounted by a small spire, as shown in the woodcut (No. 138). This is so essentially a Jaina arrangement (see Temple of Neminatha, for instance—Woodcut No. 126), that I have very little doubt this was originally a temple belonging to that religion. The temple itself it is true has gone, but if it was as old as I believe it is,[276] nothing is more probable than that it was of wood, like the old chaityas of the Buddhists, and has perished. If this view is correct it is probably the oldest Jaina temple yet discovered.

The other exceptional building is one of totally different character, and is as remarkable for its extreme elegance, even at Khajurâho, as the other is for its rudeness. It is called Ganthai, either from the bells sculptured on its pillars, or for some other cause unknown. Unfortunately it is only a fragment—a skeleton without flesh—a few pillars of a double portico now standing alone without the walls that once enclosed them (Woodcut No. 139, next page).

From the form of several letters in an inscription, found among these ruins, General Cunningham is inclined to believe that this temple may belong to the sixth or seventh century of our era; which is, as near as may be, the date I would ascribe to it, from the character of its architectural details. But when at the same time from finding a Buddhist statue and a short Buddhist inscription near them (p. 431), he is inclined to assign them to that religion, I beg leave to differ. Till, however, we know more than we now do of what the differences or similarities between the architecture of the Jains and Buddhists were at the age when the temple was erected, it is impossible to argue the question. Almost all we know of Buddhist art at that time being derived from rock-cut examples, we have no pillars so slender as these, but it by no means follows that they may not have existed. They are not known however, while many Jaina examples are known so nearly like these as to establish a strong presumption that they belong to that religion. The plan too of the building, so far as it can be made out, is utterly unlike anything we know that is Buddhist, but very similar to many that certainly are Jaina.[277]

Be this as it may, these pillars are singularly graceful in their form, and elegant in their details, and belong to a style which, if there were more examples of it, I would feel inclined to distinguish as the “Gupta style.” Except, however, some fragments at Erun and these pillars, we have very little we can ascribe with anything like certainty to their age, 400 to 600. It would be most interesting, however, if something more could be discovered, as it is the age when the great Vicramaditya lived, and when Hindu literature reached its highest point of perfection, and one Hindu temple of that age would consequently throw light on many problems. Some Buddhist caves

and these Jaina fragments are all, however, that have yet come to light. There seems, nevertheless, very little doubt that more exist in Rajputana and Central India. At Gyraspore, near Bhilsa, 140 miles south-west from this, there is a group of columns arranged like these,

and like them deprived of their walls (Woodcut No. 140). In the Mokundra pass there is a third example.[278] Was it that their walls were of sun-burnt bricks? or merely of small square stones which, being easily removed, were utilised? My impression is, the latter was the case; but be this as it may, these Gyraspore pillars are undoubtedly the remains of a Jaina edifice, but of an age considerably more modern than the Ganthai. They can hardly under any circumstances be ascribed to an age anterior to the great civil war which commenced A.D. 650; but they are almost certainly anterior to the great revival in the 10th century. In the same town of Gyraspore is a very grand old temple apparently of about the same age as these pillars. Its details at least are old, but it has been so ruined and repaired, and almost rebuilt, that it is extremely difficult to say what the form or purpose of the original erection may have been. There is also a toran of great beauty in the village, probably of the 11th century, and in fact throughout this region there are numberless remains partially made known to us by photography, but which if scientifically examined would probably suffice to fill up some of the largest gaps in our history, and especially in that of Jaina architecture.

At Bhanghur for instance, in the Alwar territory, there are some very beautiful Jaina temples. One in that neighbourhood, photographed by Captain Impey, belongs to the 10th or 11th century, and is as beautiful as any of its class, either at Khajurâho or elsewhere, and near it again is a colossal Jaina image, called Nan Gûngi, some 20 ft. in height, which is apparently of the same age as the temples, and consequently superior to any of the colossi at Gualior or in the south of India.[279] The Jains as a sect are hardly now known in Rajputana, and their temples are consequently neglected and falling into decay; though some of them, being of the best age and unrestored, are of extreme interest to the investigator of Indian art.

Among these, few are more pleasing than the little temple at Amwah, near Ajunta (Woodcut No. 141). It is only a fragment. The sanctuary with its spire are gone, only the portico remaining; and its roof externally is so ruined, that its design can with difficulty be made out. Yet it stands so well on its stylobate, and the thirty-two small columns that support the roof externally are so well proportioned and so artistically arranged, as to leave little to be desired.

The great feature of the interior is a dome 21 ft. in diameter, supported on twelve richly carved pillars, with eight smaller ones interspersed. Like all Indian domes, it is horizontal in construction, and consequently also in ornamentation, but as that is done here, it is as elegant or more so than the ribbed domes of western art. This one is plain in the centre, having no pendant—which, however, is one of the most marked and pleasing features of Jaina domes, as may be gathered from the example in the temple of Vimala Sah at Mount Abu (Woodcut No. 131).

As before mentioned, the Buddhists, though always employing circular roofs, and in all ages building topes with domical forms externally, never seem to have attempted an internal dome, in stone at least. The Hindus occasionally essayed a timid imitation of those of the Jains, but in no instance with much success. It is essentially a feature of Jaina architecture, and almost exclusively so among the northern Indians, though, why this particular sect should have adopted it, and why they, and they only, should have persevered in using it through so long a period, are questions we are not yet in a position to answer. It was an essential feature in the architecture of the Moslems before they came into India, and they consequently eagerly seized on the domes of the Jains when they first arrived there, and afterwards from them worked out that domical style which is one of the most marked characteristics of their art in India.

One of the most interesting Jaina monuments of the age is the tower of Sri Allat,[280] which still adorns the brow of Chittore (Woodcut No. 142, next page), and is one probably of a great number of similar monuments that may at one time have existed. From their form, however, they are frail, and trees and human violence so easily overthrow them, that we ought not to wonder that so few remain. This one is a singularly elegant specimen of its class, about 80 ft. in height, and adorned with sculpture and mouldings from the base to the summit.[281] An inscription once existed at its base, which gave its date as A.D. 896, and though the slab was detached this is so nearly the date we would arrive at from the style that there seems little doubt that it

was of that age. It was dedicated to Adnath, the first of the Jaina Tirthankars, and his figure is repeated some hundreds of times on the face of the tower, but, so far as I could perceive, not that of any of the other Jaina saints.

The temple in the foreground is of a more modern date, being put together principally of fragments of older buildings which have disappeared.

Most of the buildings above described belong to the first or great age of Jaina architecture, which extended down to about the year 1300, or perhaps a little after that. There seems then to have been a pause, at least in the north of India, but a revival in the 15th century, especially under the reign of Khumbo, one of the most powerful of the kings of the Mewar dynasty whose favourite capital was Chittore. His reign extended from 1418 to 1468, and it is to him that we owe the other of the two towers that still adorn the brow of Chittore. The older one has just been described and illustrated. This one was erected as a pillar of victory to commemorate his victory over Mahmúd of Malwa, in the year 1439. It is therefore in Indian phraseology a Jaya Stambha, or pillar of victory, like that of Trajan at Rome, but in infinitely better taste as an architectural object than the Roman example, though in sculpture it may be inferior. As will be seen from the last woodcut (No. 143), it is nine storeys in height, each of which is distinctly marked on the exterior. A stair in the centre communicates with each, and leads to the two upper storeys, which are open, and more ornamental than those below. It is 30 ft. wide at the base, and more than 120 ft. in height; the whole being covered with architectural ornaments and sculptures to such an extent as to leave no plain parts, while at the same time this mass of decoration is kept so subdued, that it in no way interferes either with the outline or the general effect of the pillar.[282]

The Mahomedans, as we shall afterwards see, adopted the plan of erecting towers of victory to commemorate their exploits, but the most direct imitation was by the Chinese, whose nine-storeyed pagodas are almost literal copies of these Jaina towers, translated into their own peculiar mode of expression.

Other examples of this middle style of Jaina architecture are to be found at Palitana, Girnar, and all the fashionable tirths of the Jainas, but they have not yet been described or illustrated to that extent that enables us always to feel sure that what we see really belongs to this date, and may not be a repair or a modification of some pre-existing building. The Chaumúk—or Four-faced—at Palitana seems certainly to have been erected in its present form in 1618, and is a very grand and beautiful example of the style.[283] The temple too of Ardishur Bagavan, which is the largest single temple on that hill, seems to have assumed its present form in 1530,[284] though parts of it may be older. At least, it is certain that an older temple stood on the spot, though not with the fabulous antiquity ascribed to it by the priests, and credulously repeated by Colonel Tod.[285]

Though deficient in the extreme grace and elegance that characterised the earlier examples, those of the middle style are bold and vigorous specimens of the art, and still show an originality and an adherence to the traditions of the style, and a freedom from any admixtures of foreign elements, which cannot be predicated of the modern style that succeeded it.

CHAPTER IV.

MODERN JAINA STYLE.

The two places in northern India where the most modern styles of Jaina architecture can probably be studied to most advantage are Sonaghur, near Dutteah, in Bundelcund, and Muktagiri, near Gawelghur, in Berar. The former is a granite hill, covered with large loose masses of primitive rock, among which stand from eighty to one hundred temples of various shapes and sizes (Woodcut No. 144, p. 256). So far as can be made out from photographs or drawings,[286] not one of these temples assumed its present form more than one hundred years ago. Their original foundation may be earlier, but of that we know nothing, no traveller having yet enlightened us on the subject, nor explained how and when this hill became a sacred mount.

Like most Hindu buildings of the period, all these temples show very distinctly the immense influence the Mahomedan style of architecture had on that of the native styles at this age. Almost all the temples here are surmounted by the bulbous dome of the Moguls. The native sikra rarely appears, and the openings almost invariably take the form of the Mahomedan foliated pointed arch. The result is picturesque, but not satisfactory when looked closely into, and generally the details want the purity and elegance that characterised the earlier examples.

Muktagiri, instead of being situated on a hill, as the tirths of the Jains usually are, is in a deep romantic valley, and the largest group of temples are situated on a platform at the foot of a waterfall that thunders down from the height of 60 ft. above them. Like those of Sonaghur, they are all of the modern domed style, copied from Moslem art, and none of them, so far as can be ascertained from such illustrations as exist, remarkable for beauty of design. It would, however, be difficult to find another place in India where