652 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. voi,. 42. 



to Vishnu and Siva, respectively. Its dimensions may roughly be 

 stated as 200 feet square all over, including the subsidiary extension, 

 while the temple proper is 160 by 122 feet. It is constructed of 

 indurated potstone of volcanic origin, and stands on a terrace, 6 feet 

 in height, and paved with large slabs. On the base of the building 

 is a frieze 710 feet in length,^ adorned with 2,000 elephants, most of 

 them with riders and trappings. Above them is a frieze of sardalas 

 or conventional lions. Then comes a scroll pattern of great beauty. 

 Over which is a bas-relief with scenes and incidents from the Ramay- 

 ana epic. Then comes celestial beasts and birds, with groups from 

 human life. Then a cornice with a rail divided into panels, each 

 containing two figures. Over this, to the right and left, are windows 

 formed by elaborately pierced slabs, while the center is occupied by 

 a frieze 5 feet 6 mches high and 400 feet long, depicting repeatedly 

 the incarnations of Vishnu, dancing girls, Siva with his consort 

 Parvati upon his knees and Brahma, the third member of the great 

 Brahmin triad or trimurti of gods. 



3. The Dravidian style. The temples of this style are the largest 

 and the most numerous in India. "The Dravidian is the most 

 extensive style. There are perhaps more cubic feet of masonry in 

 buildings of this style than of all the other styles of India put 

 together." ^ This is perhaps due to the circumstance that the 

 iconoclastic zeal of the Mohammedans did not overwhelm the south 

 to the same extent as the other parts of India. The shrine of a 

 Dravidian temple is square in plan and decorated with pilasters and 

 niches. The tower surmounting it is pyramidal and always stepped 

 or storied, terminating in a small dome. Preceding the door leading 

 to the shrine is a hall, mantapa, or two such. The temple invariably 

 stands within a rectanguhxr inclosure with great pyramidal gateways, 

 called gopuras. These gopuras are in general design like the towers 

 over the shrine, excepting that they are twice as wide as deep, 

 forming a truncated pyramid (like that of tlie model). Frequently 

 they are more imposing than the temples themselves. Some temples 

 have several such inclosures, each with its gateways. Another 

 distinguishmg feature of the Dravidian temple is the pillared halls, 

 called choultries, which occupy the spaces between the various 

 inclosures. They range in size from a small pavilion on four columns 

 to a magnificent "hall of a thousand pillars." These pillars are often 

 of close-loiit granite and covered with sculptures from base to capital 

 in a way that in most instances no two are exactly alike. These 

 halls serve various purposes, as porches for the convenience of pil- 

 grims, halls of ceremony, etc. 



• The frieze of the Parthenon is not quite 525 feet long. 

 2 History of Architecture in all Countries, vol. 2, p. 548. 



