CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



: - ft 





which was covered with massy gold, and for the 

 it contained, having eight Urge vaults filled with 

 old, aflver, and precious stones. Tavernier, who visited 

 Afra awtr the end of the 17th century, and in the ab- 

 sence of the court had permission to examine the inside, 

 describes gallery, the ceiling of which was decorated 

 with braacbed-work of gold and azure, and the walls 

 hnag with rich tapestry. The gallery which fronted the 

 river, the monarch had proposed to cover over with a 

 tort of lattice-work of emeralds and rubies, to represent 

 grapes with their leaves, when they are green, and when 

 they begin to grow red ; but this design then remained 

 imperfect, there being only three stocks of a vine in 

 gold, with their leaves, enamelled with emeralds and ru- 

 Btet, representing grapes ; being a specimen of what was 

 fatrnnVl for the whole. 



We have been thus minute in the description of the pa- 

 bee of Agra, because, having been built by one of the most 

 enlightened princes of the East, it affords a perfect spcci- 

 mea of the scale upon which the monarchs of those ex- 

 teasive and rich countries acted. And it will be allowed, 

 that the establishments of Akbar and his great rajahs, 

 occupying four miles along the banks of the Jumna, and 

 connected with a handsome and prosperous city, must 

 have produced a picture sufficiently splendid, and emble- 

 matic of the wealth and power of the prince who erect- 

 ed it. 



At CCTTIK, or Cuttack, the capital of Orissa, there 

 is a fine palace. It consists of nine distinct buildings : 

 1. For elephants, camels, horset. 2. For artillery, mili- 

 tary stores, and quarters for the guards. 3. For porters 

 and watchmen. 4. For artificers. 5. For kitchens. 

 6. For the Rajah's public apartments. 7. For the transac- 

 tion of private business. 8. Where the women reside. 

 9. The rajah's sleeping apartments. 



The specimens here selected being the most noted, 

 will, we trust, convey an idea of the nature of the Indian 

 cities and palaces ; and we shall therefore proceed to con- 

 aider, 



II. Their tacrrtl edifices. We have already stain], that 

 Five differ, these were of five different sons ; that is, 1 . Pyramids ; 

 CM foraM. 8. Excavations ; 3. Square or oblong courts ; 4. In the 

 form of a cross ; and, 5. Perfectly circular. 



1 . We are here at a loss, equally as in the case of Egypt, 

 to determine whether or not the construction of Indian 

 pyramids preceded that of their excavations. To con- 

 struct a pyramid of rude stones, is certainly a much simpler 

 operation than forming a cavern ornamented with sculp-' 

 ture; so that although it may be conceived that mankind 

 might, tor the purposes of worship, make use of the sim- 

 ple plain cavern, either natural or artificial, previous to the 

 construction of buildings of great magnitude on thesurfacc, 

 yet it is not very probable that the splendid excavations of 

 Elephant* and Vellore,in which were rich sculptures, and 

 even pyramidi cut out of the solid rock, could have pre- 

 ceded * rude pyramid on the surface. But as the purpo- 

 ses to which toe pyramids of Deogur and Tanjore are ap- 

 propriated partake very much of the nature of the ca- 

 vern, their entrance-doors being very small, their interior 

 being lighted by means of lamps, and the middle cham- 

 ber by one lamp only ; there is some reason for suppo- 

 ag, that, in places where rocky eminences were not eon- 

 inunlly situated, or from motives now unknown, some 

 change of ideas taking place, these pyramids might be 

 constructed for purposes similar to the original cavern 

 r grotto, in the same manner as the Egyptian pyramids 

 *r cOMtdeitd to have been done whh regard to the 



3 



EICJTJ. 

 ticnu. 



City of Va- 

 mu 



The r- 

 pent. 



tombs of the Thebaid. The external faces of the pyra- Practice 

 mids of Deogur and Tanjore are very rudr, as will be *~T ** 

 shewn under the word PYRAMID, to which we must 

 refer the reader. 



2. In regard to excavations, they are numerous and 

 extensive. In eome instances, they are very simple and 

 plain j in others, highly ornamented with architectural 

 forms and sculptures. From Captain Wilson's paper in 

 the 6th vol. of the Arialic Researches, we learn, that an ex- 

 tensive branch of the Caucasus was named by the Greeks, 

 Parapamis, from Para I'ami, the pure and excellent city 

 of Vami, commonly called Bamaiya. It is situated on 

 the road between Balkli and Cabul, where vast numbers 

 of apartments ire cut out of the rock*, some of them so 

 large as to be supposed temples. And Abul Fazcl says, 

 that in the Soubah of Cashmere, in the middle of the 

 mountains, 12,000 apartments were cut in the solid rock. 

 At this place there were 700 places where the figure of 

 a serpent was sculptured. Although neither the precise 

 form nor dimensions are given, yet from the great num- 

 ber of excavations, and the place being noticed by the 

 Greeks, it must have, in former ages, been of importance 

 at least for its sanctity ; and its situation between India 

 and Persia, renders it still an interesting subject of en- 

 quiry. 



In other parts of India, the excavated temples have 

 fallen more frequently under the observation of well-in- 

 formed scientific persons, who have, with laudable in- 

 dustry, furnished the public with exact representations, 

 and full details respecting them. The three principal ones, 

 and which our limits will only enable us to notice, are, 

 Elephanta, Salsttte, and Vellore or Ellora. 



ELEPHANTA is situated near Bombay, in an island so Elephant*, 

 named from the figure of an elephant being cut upon the 

 rocks on the south shore. The grand temple is 120 feet 

 square, and supported by four rows of pillars j along the 

 side of the cavern are from 40 to 50 colossal statues from 

 12 to 15 feet high of good symmetry, and, though not quite 

 detached from the rock, boldly relieved ; some have a hel- 

 met of pyramidal form, others a crown decorated with 

 jewels and devices, and others have inly bushy ringlets 

 of flowing hair ; many of them have four hands, some 

 six, holding sceptres, shields, symbols ofjustice and re- 

 ligion, warlike weapons and trophies of peace ; some 

 inspire horror, others have aspects of benignity. Tin- 

 face of the great bust is 5 feet long, and the breadth 

 across the shoulders 20 feet. 



At the west end of this great pagoda is a dark recesa 

 SOfeet square, totally destitute of ornament ; the altar is in 

 the centre, and there are two gigantic btatucsateachof the 

 four doors by which it is entered. Niebuhr represents 

 these statues as naked, 13^ feet high, and the sculp- 

 ture good ; their heads are dressed like the other statues, 

 and they have each rich collars round their necks, and 

 jewels in their ears. Hunter states, that, on entering 

 Elephanta, there is a feerandah or piazza, which extends 

 from east to west 60 feet, that its breadth is 16 feet, 

 and that the body of the cavern is on every side 

 surrounded by similar feerandahs. (Archcfol. vol. vii. 

 p. 287.) 



Canara, in the island of SAI.SETTE, which is situated 

 also near to Bombay, is represented by Lmschotten, who 

 visited it in 1759, as being like a town. He describes 

 the front as hewn out of the rock into four stories or 

 galleries, in which there are 300 apartments ; these 

 apartments have generally an interior recess or sanctu- 

 ary, and a email tank for ablution. In these recesses, as at 



Canara < 

 Saitette. 



