Lieut. Alexander's Visit to the Cavern Temples ofAdjunta. 367 



brushwood, and is particularly striking ; being a lofty portico, somewhat re- 

 sembling those of Caneri and Carli. In the centre of the portico is an im- 

 mense horse-shoe arch, on each side of which there stand colossal janitors, 

 ten or twelve feet in height, and with curled hair. At the request of the guide 

 we approached with great caution ; and on coming under the arch he pointed 

 to the roof, from which a number of wild bees {^cipis rufct) had suspended their 

 pendant hives. We were careful not to disturb them, or they would have 

 soon deprived us of the use of our visual organs, here so much required. 



We proceeded to the interior. On looking round, I found myself in a 

 lofty and well-lighted hall, which may be about twenty-five or thirty feet in 

 height, instead of the low caves with flat ceilings, as in the other parts of the 

 hill. This is a well-aired chamber, and in many respects similar to the 

 high coved excavation of Carli, or to what is commonly termed the carpen- 

 ter's cave at EUora. The form of the arch is however different. In the 

 Carli cave the roof bears a close resemblance to the high-pointed gothic 

 arch. It is ribbed with teak wood, so as to fit the cove, and is attached to 

 the stone by wooden nails or teeth. In the Ellora caves, stone ribs supply 

 the place of the teak ones of Carli ; but the Adjunta cave has a Saxon or 

 (nearly) semicircular roof, without ribs of any sort. Two rows of hexagonal 

 pillars run along the sides of the cave, and behind them is a passage. The 

 entablature of the pillars is without ornament, and the pillars themselves are 

 quite plain. Many of them are broken off, and have fallen on the floor.* 



Opposite to, and about fifty feet from the entrance, at the farther ex- 

 tremity of the cave, is what is called, in descriptions of the caves of Carli, 

 &c. a circular temple ; but which I consider to be nothing more than the 

 rostrum from which the Rhahans, or Buddhist priests, recited prayers and de- 

 livered homilies to the assembled congregation in the hall. A passage 

 from a description of the ritual of the Siamese will illustrate this idea. 

 Treating of the present state of religion in Siam, it goes on to state : 

 "Attached to the temples there are generally monasteries, and within these 

 are oratories or small pulpits. In these the priests, morning and evening, 

 recite prayers. From these same pulpits they likewise preach sermons, 

 taking as a text some sentences in the Bali or language of their sacred books,t 



• See the accompanying plate, fig. 1. 



■f The Burmans have likewise Iho languages, a sacred and a vernacular. The character of the 

 former is ec|uarc, like the Sanscrit, Hebrew, and Chinese ; that of the latter is circular. WTiile 

 at Ava I saw some of the eacred books with gold leaves, but they are commonly made of ivory. 



3 B 2 



