106 BULLETIN 148, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



"The Chalukyan temples," says Ferguson, "are throughout the 

 most elegant forms of Hindu art, and those which will best stand 

 comparison with European examples." '** Nothing surpasses the 

 richness and elegance of the decoration of the Chalukyan temples. 

 The most magnificent example of the Chalukyan style is the temple 

 of Hullabid in Mysore, dating from the thirteenth century A. D. 

 though, owing to the upheaval of the Mohammedan invasion in 

 1310 A. D., it remained unfinished. It is a double temple, dedicated 

 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 inches 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 

 Brahman 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 to- 

 gether." ^" This is perhaps due to the circumstance that the icono- 

 clastic 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 pUasters 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 rectangular inclosure with great pyramidal gateways, 

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

 o>v€fr the shrine, excepting that they are twice as wide as deep, 

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

 they are more imposing than the temples themselves. Some temples 

 have several such inclosures, each with its gateways. Another 



» James Ferguson, History of Architecture in all Countries, vol. 2, p. 648. London, 1867. 

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

 M History of Architecture in all Countries, vol. 2, -p. 549. 



